Destructive ‘Development’
A major oil company, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd (CNRL), announced last week that it is appealing a $278,000 regulatory fine after hundreds of birds died last year in one of its toxic tailings ponds in Alberta.
More than 400 California gulls died from exposure to the contaminated water. The birds landed on an island that had formed in one of the company’s tailings ponds. According to the company’s formal protocols, such islands must be destroyed to prevent birds from touching down.
Join us in calling for greater accountability by sharing our Joint Letter: New Research Reveals Dereliction of Duty by the Alberta Energy Regulator on social media, or directly with the Albertan leaders listed in our call to action below.
A Complicit, Captured, and Corrupt Regulator
CNRL’s actions are not only irresponsible, they highlight a massive yet largely unrecognized threat to migratory birds in North America. The Athabasca tar sands are at the centre of a crucial migratory pathway and protecting the species that fly over the region is a condition of licensing for all oil sands producers. Their actions are a reflection of a sinister pattern of delayed responses, inadequate mitigation, and negligible oversight by the AER. Most bird deaths go undetected and unreported.
According to 2012 data collected by the Oil Sands Regional Bird Monitoring Program, 40 per cent of birds observed near tailings ponds were seen landing on them—an estimated 30,000 birds per year.
Concerns About Community Health Intensified
This issue demands greater public awareness. CNRL must not be allowed to evade accountability. While the deaths of birds are terrible and unacceptable in and of themselves, it raises concern about the harms in the region to other living things, including humans in nearby and downstream communities.
“It’s not hard to imagine how severely humans—our patients, families, and communities—can be harmed by the same toxic water and air pollutants that kill these birds. Clean air and water are foundational determinants of all of our health. To protect our collective wellbeing, Albertans need to demand an energy regulator that values public health and true accountability from both the government and industry. “
— CAPE Alberta Co-Chair Dr. Julia Sawatzky
Animals suffer from similar diseases as humans. Harm or death to animals can be indicators of environmental hazards and may be read as an early warning system of the need for health and environmental interventions–akin to a canary in a coal mine.
Research into oil and gas industry impacts on animals, in both field and lab settings, illustrates measurable, adverse health outcomes in animals as a result of direct exposure, acute toxicity, environmental changes and increased physiological stress. Sentinel events in animals can serve as early warnings of human health threats, even at a planetary scale.
The planetary health framework stems from the understanding that everything is connected–environmental harm to the planet and to animals is similarly a hazard for human health and the fundamental right to a healthy environment.
We Pay, Polluters Profit
As of 2023, the cost to clean up the environmental damage caused by Canada’s oil and gas industry was $123 billion and growing. Covering this cost would require only 20-37% of the industry’s profits. If CNRL is allowed to fight a $278,000 fine–which has already been reduced significantly–for causing death and destruction, it sets a dangerous precedent for Canadians to pay the environmental and health harms of polluting companies.
Alberta claims it is setting aside money for such environmental harms through its Mine Financial Security Program. However, a recent report has found that its “continued mismanagement has left Albertans with a significant risk that they will be responsible for cleaning up oil sands mines that threaten potentially irreversible environmental harm, including a growing inventory of nearly 1.6 trillion litres of toxic tailings”.
Alberta has failed to enforce the principle that polluters MUST pay for the costs of their pollution; instead, polluters MAY pay the minimum fine – only when there is enough public pressure. This incident is further evidence that companies like CNRL are unlikely to pay their fair share.
Join Us! Call for Sweeping Changes in Alberta Energy Regulation
Join our community of environmental and Indigenous organizations, including CAPE, in demanding the resignation of AER’s CEO and Board Members, all of whom have ties to the oil and gas industry. This call is reinforced by new research demonstrating that 97 percent of tailings spills were not inspected by the AER, among other egregious failures. Fines will not substitute the necessary reform of the provincial energy regulator. The recently appointed AER CEO came from a company with 500 inactive oil and gas wells, which shatters any hope for fair and effective oversight of the industry. New board appointments must reflect shared jurisdiction with Indigenous communities and be independent from fossil fuel companies.
Please share our Joint Letter: New Research Reveals Dereliction of Duty by the Alberta Energy Regulator widely, and send it directly from your organization to these contacts:
Honourable Rebecca Schulz
Minister of Environment and Protected Areas | Government of Alberta
epa.minister@gov.ab.ca
Honourable Brian Jean
Minister of Energy and Minerals | Government of Alberta
minister.energy@gov.ab.ca
Laurie Pushor
President and CEO | Alberta Energy Regulator
laurie.pushor@aer.ca
Duncan Au
Board Chair | Alberta Energy Regulator
duncan.au@aer.ca