Review of oilsands cleanup funding program needs public input, says Alberta NDP
Alberta's New Democrat Opposition says a government review of the program that's supposed to ensure oilsands companies can clean up their mines was conducted too privately and should have been done in public.
Environment critic Marlin Schmidt said Albertans now know even less than before the review of the Mine Financial Security Program began.
"Given how much money is at stake and how important this sector is to our economy, the fact the public was completely shut out of this process is really concerning," he said.
Alberta's United Conservative Party government wrapped up consultations this month on how industry financially backstops its cleanup obligations.
It held a yearlong series of meetings with industry and First Nations. No public input was sought.
Estimates of the environmental liability of the mines and their tailings ponds vary widely. Official figures peg it at $34 billion, while an internal estimate from Alberta Energy Regulator staff put it at $130 billion.
The government currently holds no more than four per cent of the security required for a cleanup. Even that level of public disclosure has now been obscured, Schmidt said.
Schmidt said that during the program review, the government changed its rules on how companies must ensure their cleanup obligations can be met. Instead of relying on lines of credit or other forms of capital, the totals of which were made public, companies can now provide demand bonds from insurance companies.
The number of companies using such bonds and the size of the liability they insure against is not released, even on an aggregate basis.
"We need to have a simple accounting of how much money is available to cover liability," Schmidt said. "If the government and industry won't tell us how much of the liability these demand bonds cover, how will we know if the financial security program is working?"
Thomas Schneider, associate professor of accounting at Toronto Metropolitan University, said accepting insurance instead of requiring resources to be set aside allows producers to delay reserving the billions of dollars the cleanup would take even as some mines approach end of life.
The program review was called after two scathing reports from Alberta's auditor general. But First Nations consulted during the review have said the government's current direction holds on to most of the old program's mistakes and makes some new ones — including failing to account for changes in the oil market as countries move to low-carbon economies.
An analysis of the government's direction by University of Alberta energy economist Andrew Leach, who acted as a consultant to the First Nations, concluded the assumptions used in the government's modelling of the industry's future "provide a false and dangerous sense of security."
A spokesman for Alberta Environment and Protected Areas said the government expects to complete its review this year and begin implementing changes — "if any" — in 2024.
The department did not immediately respond to a request for an explanation of why the review shut out the public.
Schmidt said the process needs to open up. Proprietary business information can be kept confidential, he said.
"We're generally good at what needs to be protected and what doesn't," he said.
"Every mine, at some point, will have to end its operations. We need to have a plan for making sure there's enough money in the bank to cover those liabilities.
"We can't make that mistake, especially considering how big the bill to taxpayers will be if we get this wrong."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 27, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
NEW Iconic Canadian song turns 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Prince Harry, Meghan arrive in Nigeria to champion the Invictus Games and meet with wounded soldiers
Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, arrived in Nigeria on Friday to champion the Invictus Games, which he founded to aid the rehabilitation of wounded and sick servicemembers and veterans, among them Nigerian soldiers fighting a 14-year war against Islamic extremists.
Countries struggle to draft 'pandemic treaty' to avoid mistakes made during COVID
After the coronavirus pandemic triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies and killed millions, leaders at the World Health Organization and worldwide vowed to do better in the future. Years later, countries are still struggling to come up with an agreed-upon plan for how the world might respond to the next global outbreak.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Storm-battered U.S. South is again under threat. A boy swept into a drain fights for his life
Dangerous storms crashed over parts of the U.S. South on Thursday even as the region cleaned up from earlier severe weather that spawned tornadoes, killed at least three people, and gravely injured a boy who was swept into a storm drain as he played in a flooded street.