EDMONTON – Federal NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair says a judge’s finding that Alberta’s Environment Department has been covertly working to silence oilsands critics reinforces widespread cynicism that the province’s approval process for projects is rigged.
“It’s a very damning analysis of what’s been going on here,” Mulcair told reporters Thursday after meetings at the University of Alberta.
“To have a judge come out so clearly and to say that there’s an absolute breach of the fundamental rules of natural justice in the process simply reinforces the perception of a lot of Canadians in general – and a lot of Albertans in particular – that the dice have been loaded.”
On Tuesday, Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Richard Marceau said Environment Department bureaucrats contravened their own laws by enacting a shadow policy in 2009 to stop the Oil Sands Environmental Coalition from speaking to reviews of proposed oilsands operations.
Marceau, in his ruling, pointed to a 2009 briefing note to the top bureaucrat in the department at the time, Jim Ellis. The note said that while the coalition had been given standing in previous oilsands hearings, that should stop.
It said the coalition was no longer assisting the government on environmental initiatives and that one member of the coalition in particular, the Pembina Institute think-tank, was publishing “negative media on the oil sands.”
The note urged the coalition should be barred on the grounds it is not directly affected by the oilsands operations.
In June 2012, the department’s northern region director rejected the coalition’s application for standing on a Southern Pacific Resource Corp. oilsands in situ drilling operation south of Fort MacKay.
As per the briefing note, the director ruled the coalition did not have standing because it was not directly affected even though it has a “recreational lease” in an area downstream of the project.
Two members of the coalition, Pembina and the Fort McMurray Environmental Association, appealed the decision, leading to Marceau’s decision this week to quash the government’s rejection of the coalition.
In his ruling, Marceau noted that nowhere in Alberta’s Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act does it say the government can exclude from reviews “those persons or groups who voice negative statements about proposed oilsands development.”
The government has yet to decide if it will appeal. Simon Dyer of the Pembina Institute has said they don’t reject the oilsands operations outright, but want to see the industry developed in an environmentally responsible way.
Later on Thursday, Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development Minister Diana McQueen issued a statement in response to comments made by both the Federal and Provincial NDP regarding the ruling:
“Alberta is a world leader in responsible resource development and that’s something we, as all Canadians, should be proud of. After all, when Alberta does well, Canada does well. Alberta, Premiers of every persuasion across the country, industry, trade unions and the Federal Government have worked hard in developing our economy through responsible resource development
“While the NDP prefers to live in the past referring to documents from five years ago, we stand by our record of extraordinary provincial cooperation and making real progress on Premier Redford’s Canadian Energy Strategy.
“We have established the Alberta Energy Regulator and announced new regulations when it comes to expressing concerns about an application for development, which allows all Albertans who believe they are directly and adversely affected by an application the ability to provide a notice of concern to the regulator.
“The new process ensures a thoughtful and common sense approach to hearing all issues from all affected parties…which in turns means that Albertans will have more involvement at the beginning of a project.
“In addition this government has moved forward on establishment of a world class, arm’s length, fully transparent provincewide monitoring agency.
“Let’s not forget Alberta was the first jurisdiction in North America to put a price on carbon, which includes a clean technology fund which so far has provided more than $180 million for more than 49 green technology projects.
“Mr. Mulcair and his provincial cousins have made a habit of putting politics ahead of facts when talking about Alberta and the oilsands. The NDP have gone out of their way to undermine the good work done.”
McQueen is in Europe this week trying to convince European Union leaders to not place a sanction on oilsands crude based on research showing it is more harmful to the environment than conventional oil.
Mulcair said the issue demands immediate action.
“The minister responsible should come back and tell people how it is that a process is put in place that simply doesn’t respect the
basic principles of natural justice,” he said.
“People have a right to know that the environment is being protected. (When) laws are enacted, they have to be enforced and
respected, and the government has to be first among them in terms of respecting laws.”
The provincial NDP has called for the resignation of Ellis, who is now the CEO of the Alberta Energy Regulator, which oversees the
regulation of all energy projects in the province.
Ellis could not be immediately reached for comment Thursday.
Mulcair said the cynicism that results from issues like Marceau’s ruling has far-reaching consequences for government and industries
seeking to build public support for other controversial, big-ticket projects, such as pipelines.
“You can’t get to yes on any of these projects unless there’s social buy-in. You can enforce the rules, and change them in such a
way that you get the regulatory licence even faster, (but) in absence of a social licence they’re not going to be built,” he said.
One such big-ticket project is the Keystone XL pipeline, which has become a political lightning rod in the United States. Premier Alison Redford has made numerous trips to Washington in recent months to rally support for Keystone, which would take oilsands bitumen across North America to refineries on the Gulf Coast in Texas.
U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to rule on Keystone later this year or in 2014.
Alberta has also met fierce resistance from environmental protesters who fear the consequences of a pipeline spill from the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline, which would take crude from the oilsands across B.C.’s wilderness to tankers on the coast.
Redford has said Alberta has a first-rate regulatory system and is a leader in environmental initiatives to limit the impact of the oilsands on air, land, and water.
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