Current Problems: Environment
Exploring Stakeholder: "Government of Alberta"
Updates on this page: 55
April 19, 2024
The federal government must tackle water pollution from the oilsands
The government already has the necessary power. It just needs the courage to use it to stop contamination from tailings ponds. NationTalk: Policy Options – Perched on the shores of the Athabasca River in northern Alberta are a staggering 1.4 trillion litres of toxic industrial waste, stored in open pits known as tailings ponds created...
April 17, 2024
Alberta pipeline sparks wildfire west of Edmonton
More than two dozen firefighers are battling the blaze A wildfire burns near Edson, Alta., in this Tuesday, April 16, 2024 handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Alberta Wildfire APTN News: The Canadian Press – The Canadian Energy Regulator says it’s working with the province and federal departments after a natural gas pipeline owned by TC...
March 11, 2024
First Nations, Métis and environmental groups request investigation of harmful tailings pond substance
NationTalk: OTTAWA/TRADITIONAL, UNCEDED TERRITORY OF THE ALGONQUIN ANISHNAABEG PEOPLE – In January 2024, Canada announced their decision to not include naphthenic acids in the list of regulated substances in the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. Environmental groups and a First Nation have submitted a formal request for the federal government to assess the harms caused by...
March 8, 2024
Why this First Nation is Right to Sue the Alberta Energy Regulator over Last Year’s Toxic Tailings Leak
NationTalk: Environmental Defence – Last year, one of Imperial Oil’s mines in the tar sands leaked toxic industrial waste into the surrounding environment. Instead of informing downstream communities, the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) helped Imperial cover up the spill for over nine months. Now the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) – one of the downstream...
March 6, 2024
‘Everything is going downhill’: Athabasca Fort Chipewyan files lawsuit against Alberta regulator over Kearl spill
Reaction mixed to spill and whether tar sands are harming environment. Jean L’hommecourt co-chair of the Keepers for the water holds up a sign at Tuesday’s meeting. Photo: Danielle Paradis/APTN. APTN News: At a tense community meeting, Athabasca Fort Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) Chief Allan Adam served the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) with lawsuit papers...
February 29, 2024
The protection of wetlands is tied to Indigenous and human rights
Despite their ecological, social, cultural and economic importance, over the past two centuries wetlands have been systematically destroyed for industrial, commercial and residential development. First Peoples Law Report: Rabble.ca, David Suzuki – In his 1972 non-fiction book No Name in the Street, James Baldwin asked, “Does the law exist for the purpose of furthering the ambitions...
February 8, 2024
Report on Alberta emission ‘astonishing’ says Athabasca Chipewyan chief
APTN News: When Allan Adam read a joint study from Yale University in the United States and Environment Canada, he says it affirmed everything his community has been finding for years. “We’ve been doing our own community-based monitoring program probably back in 2010, 2009. We do water sampling and everything and stuff like that. We’ve...
February 6, 2024
Indigenous and Environmental Groups Denounce Government Inaction on First Anniversary of Imperial Oil Tailings Disaster
ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE, KEEPERS OF THE WATER NationTalk: Ottawa | Traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg People – A year ago, news broke that Imperial Oil’s Kearl mine had been leaking toxic industrial wastewater for over nine months while keeping local Indigenous communities in the dark. The public only learned about the leak after a...
January 25, 2024
Canadian tar sands pollution is up to 6,300% higher than reported, study finds
Call for companies to ‘clean up their mess’ as Athabasca oil sands emissions vastly exceed industry-reported levels The Guardian: Toxic emissions from the Canadian tar sands – already one of the dirtiest fossil fuels – have been dramatically underestimated, according to a study. Research published in the journal Science found that air pollution from the vast Athabasca...
January 15, 2024
Siksika Nation State of Local Emergency Update: January 14, 2024
Originally announced on January 14, 2024 NationTalk: The State of Local Emergency (S.O.L.E.) in Siksika will remain in effect today as temperatures remain around -30 today and into the night as a precautionary measure. The Siksika Nation Emergency Management team has been working around the clock since yesterday morning responding to several calls from residents...
November 29, 2023
Balancing Indigenous perspectives and international policies at COP28
There are a wide range of perspectives from Canada headed to the UN climate conversation People walk near a logo for the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) APTN News: A major annual international climate meeting kicks off tomorrow in Dubai, in the United Arab...
November 24, 2023
Federal committee forces another round of Kearl questions on Alberta Energy Regulator
Alberta Energy Regulator president and CEO Laurie Pushor answers questions from reporters immediately after testifying before the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development on April 24, 2023. Photo by Natasha Bulowski Listen to article Canada’s National Observer: A federal committee is forcing the president of the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) to testify for a second...
November 24, 2023
Third Imperial Oil infraction raises Indigenous communities’ environmental alarm bells
Released sentiment due to a culvert collapse causing stress in Fort Chipewyan Aerial photograph from Kearl tarsands site. Photo: Danielle Paradis/APTN APTN News: Athabasca Fort Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam says he’s frustrated again with Imperial Oil Ltd. after learning that the Kearl oilsands facility had an incident where 670,000 litres from a settling...
October 18, 2023
Climate change solutions need to keep Indigenous knowledge at centre of approach
“It all comes down to resources…Resources are very important to be able to do what we need to do to work together.” —interim National Chief Joanna Bernard AFN Quebec-Labrador Regional Chief Ghislain Picard Windspeaker.com:The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) has released its National Climate Strategy and is calling on all levels of government to “make...
October 3, 2023
Imperial Oil knew Kearl oilsands was leaking tailings into groundwater for years
Tailings samples are tested in Calgary on Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018. File photo by The Canadian Press/Jeff McIntosh Canada’s National Observer: The Canadian Press – Documents filed by Imperial Oil Ltd. show the company and Alberta’s energy regulator knew the Kearl oilsands mine was seeping tailings into groundwater years before a pool of contaminated fluid...
September 13, 2023
‘They’re ramming it down our throats,’ Cold Lake First Nation Chief says of Pathways carbon capture project
Network to transport carbon from oil sands facilities and store it underground CBC Indigenous: The Chief of the Cold Lake First Nation said his community has concerns about a proposed carbon capture and storage network that’s the centrepiece of a plan by major oilsands producers to hit net zero by 2050. The plan by the...
July 19, 2023
Canadian wildfires hit Indigenous communities hard, threatening their land and culture
NationTalk: Associated Press – EAST PRAIRIE METIS SETTLEMENT, Alberta (AP) — Carrol Johnston counted her blessings as she stood on the barren site where her home was destroyed by a fast-moving wildfire that forced her to flee her northern Alberta community two months ago. Her family escaped unharmed, though her beloved cat, Missy, didn’t make...
July 14, 2023
Wildfires are disproportionately harming Indigenous communities
CTV News: Canadian wildfires are disproportionately affecting Indigenous people at a greater rate than non-Indigenous Canadians, a recent report finds. The audit published in June by Indigenous Services Canada and authored by a Metis fire researcher, found that in the past 13 years, Indigenous communities had more than 1,300 wildfire-related emergencies leading to more than...
July 5, 2023
Wood Buffalo National Park still on environmental threat list; UNESCO calls for action on oilsands
NationTalk: Canada’s National Observer – A United Nations body has affirmed earlier findings that Canada’s largest national park remains under environmental threats from dams, oilsands development and climate change. The UNESCO report, issued Friday, concludes that the vast Wood Buffalo National Park on the Alberta-Northwest Territories boundary shouldn’t lose its place on the list of World Heritage Sites at this time. Some things in the...
July 5, 2023
UNESCO report on Wood Buffalo National Park shows urgent need to fix problems, First Nation says
Document reaffirms threats from dams, oilsands development and climate change. But of 14 objectives for the park, UNESCO says only two are improving, with five stable and seven deteriorating. CBC News: A report from a United Nations body on environmental threats to Canada’s largest national park shows the urgency of the problems, says a spokesperson...
June 14, 2023
During the worst wildfire season this century, Indigenous communities need to consider their participation in resource extraction: says researcher
37 per cent of the total burned forest area in Western Canada and the United States between 1986 and 2021 can be traced back to 88 major fossil fuel producers and cement manufacturers. ‘These fires are a culmination of ongoing resource extraction projects’ says climate researcher APTN News: In light of increasing extreme weather and...
June 8, 2023
Wildfire season highlights the need for more emergency resources in remote Indigenous communities
You can’t be depending on people out there to defend your community’ says Athabasca Fort Chipewyan chief APTN News: A wildfire 10 km outside Fort Chipewyan in northern Alberta has slowed but authorities say the problems are a lack of rain in the forecast and the weather is hot and windy. The closest community to...
June 5, 2023
The Lie of a Cleaner Oilsands
Pollution protections are stripped while Canada boasts progress. This is the history of promises made and betrayed. The Tyee: In May 2022 a tailings pond at Imperial’s Kearl Lake facility started leaking toxic waste into groundwater and outside its lease boundaries. The foul water, the product of bitumen mining, contained arsenic, sulphates and hydrocarbons and other...
June 1, 2023
The Hamlet of Fort Chipewyan evacuates due to wildfires
By Danielle ParadisJun 01, 2023 Reports of looting in the area are not confirmed by RCMP Nearly a 1,000 people in the community of Fort Chipewyan located 300 km north of Fort McMurray were ordered to leave their homes this week ahead of approaching wildfires. The remote location of Fort Chipewyan in Alberta is complicating the...
May 4, 2023
Canada opens formal investigation into Imperial’s oilsands tailings leak in northern Alberta
Imperial first found discoloured water seeping from one of its tailings ponds in May CBC News: Federal environmental authorities have launched a formal investigation into a tailings leak at Imperial Oil’s Kearl oilsands mine in northern Alberta. Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) announced Thursday it is investigating a suspected contravention of the Fisheries Act,...
April 27, 2023
Canada oil sands leak heightens First Nations’ calls to clean up tailings
NationTalk: Reuters – In early February, Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation in northern Alberta started fielding calls from community members after the provincial regulator revealed toxic wastewater had been leaking for months from a tailings pond at Imperial Oil’s (IMO.TO) Kearl oil sands mine. Many in the community hunt and fish downstream of...
April 20, 2023
Imperial Oil CEO ‘deeply apologetic’ in Commons committee testimony on oilsands tailings leak
Brad Corson says Imperial is still pumping wastewater into ponds that spilled Imperial Oil president and CEO Brad Corson presented himself as humbled and “deeply apologetic” on Thursday in Ottawa during testimony at a parliamentary committee studying the leak of oilsands wastewater into the northern Alberta ecosystem. In his opening statement, Corson acknowledged his company...
April 20, 2023
Oilsands discharge into First Nations water supply latest example of exploitation
Indigenous lands are continuously exploited and delegated as sacrifice zones for the gains of the rich, powerful and white society. Toronto Star: Once again Indigenous communities are bearing the brunt of the corruption, contamination and pollution of their territories by industry. Yet another oilsands corporation has dumped 5.9 million litres of oilsands “overflow” water and mud into...
April 19, 2023
Suncor reports release of six million litres of water from settling pond on Fort Hills oil sands mine
The Globe and Mail: Almost six million litres of water with more than twice the legal limit of suspended solids was released from a pond at the Fort Hills oil sands project into the Athabasca River watershed over the weekend, the second large spill in the northern Alberta region this year. The water came from...
April 17, 2023
First Nations blast Alberta Energy Regulator at hearing; minister promises reform
Imperial first detected discoloured water near the oilsands site last May CBC News: Chiefs of First Nations affected by releases of wastewater from an oilsands mine excoriated Alberta’s regulator at a House of Commons committee hearing, calling it a system that serves the industry and not the public. “The [Alberta Energy Regulator] has zero credibility outside...
March 24, 2023
Northern Alberta residents demand answers from Imperial Oil after toxic leak from oilsands project
Imperial Oil v-p faces tough questions from Fort Chipewyan residents over Kearl Lake tailings pond seepage CBC News: There were sharp words and fiery exchanges this week at a town hall meeting between Imperial Oil and residents of Fort Chipewyan, Alta. It was the first time the company met with residents of the community on the western...
March 22, 2023
NWT Indigenous leaders call for investigation of oil sands’ impacts
Leaders of northern Indigenous peoples are calling for a “full, independent investigation” of the downstream impacts of oil sands pollution. CabinRadioThe call, issued at a water summit held in Inuvik last week, comes in the wake of controversy over months-long contamination emanating from Imperial Oil’s Kearl facility in northern Alberta. The Dene Nation, Inuvialuit Regional...
March 22, 2023
Supreme Court hears important federalism case without its only Indigenous member
The Globe and Mail: The first Indigenous judge in the Supreme Court’s 148-year history has been left off a case with important consequences for Indigenous peoples, so the court could avoid the possibility of a tie vote. With one of its nine members caught up in a disciplinary process, Chief Justice Richard Wagner chose to hear a...
March 15, 2023
First Nations living near Imperial Oil leak refuse to drink water from nearby reservoir
The Globe and Mail: A continuing leak at the Kearl oil sands project has left members of the nearby Mikisew Cree First Nation unwilling to drink or bathe in water from local waterways, fearing contamination from seepage that has lasted close to a year. Ottawa agreed Wednesday to cover the cost of bottled water and...
March 10, 2023
Canada, home to a massive boreal forest, lobbied to limit U.S., EU anti-deforestation bills
Canada’s boreal forest covers 270 million hectares, spanning from Yukon through to N.L. CBC News: Canada is facing international criticism for undermining efforts to protect one of the world’s last primary forests — our own. Jennifer Skene, natural climate solutions policy manager for the Washington-based Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), accuses the Canadian government of...
March 9, 2023
Federal environment minister condemns delayed reporting of oilsands tailings leak
‘Our systems are failing Indigenous peoples, clearly,’ Steven Guilbeault says CBC News: Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says Alberta’s silence about an oilsands tailing leak is a troubling failure that suggests the province needs more regulatory oversight. The release of at least 5.3 million litres of toxic tailings from Imperial Oil’s Kearl mine should have been...
March 8, 2023
First Nation slams Premier Danielle Smith for ‘spin’ on huge oilsands project leak: ‘This is basic science’
A project in northern Alberta is under scrutiny after a First Nation raised alarm over a leak that it claims the province and Imperial Oil tried to hide. Toronto Star: EDMONTON—A First Nation in northern Alberta has slammed Premier Danielle Smith for downplaying a massive toxic spill from an oilsands tailings pond that the community is...
March 2, 2023
Alberta First Nation angry at Imperial’s silence while tailings pond leaked for 9 months
Band members have been harvesting food from land adjacent to the spills, chief says CBC News: A northern Alberta Indigenous leader has accused Imperial Oil Ltd. of a nine-month coverup over a massive release of toxic oilsands tailings on land near where his band harvests food. Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation...
January 26, 2023
First Nations say Alberta’s oil sands mine security reform unlikely to fix problems
The Globe and Mail: Alberta is preparing to change how it ensures oil sands companies are able to pay for the mammoth job of cleaning up their operations, but critics fear a year of consultations hasn’t been enough to avoid repeating past mistakes. “There’s no signal to me from this government that they are going...
January 4, 2023
The Sacred Balance: Learning from Indigenous Peoples
We are no more removed from nature than any other creature, even in the midst of a large city. Our animal nature dictates our essential needs: clean air, clean water, clean soil, clean energy. NationTalk: Rabble.ca. David Suzikii The following is adapted from the prologue to the 25th anniversary edition of The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering Our...
October 4, 2022
Put out wildfires before they begin with Indigenous fire stewardship
The Keremeos Creek wildfire southwest of Penticton, British Columbia on July 31, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS IMAGES/Don Denton Canadian governments need to better engage with Indigenous fire stewardship to counter increased wildfire occurrence and severity Policy Options: by James Michael Collie, Hannah Verrips After the Keremeos Creek wildfire swept through the southern Interior of British Columbia in August,...
September 6, 2022
First Nation suing Alberta government over cumulative environmental effects
Toronto Star: EDMONTON – A northern Alberta First Nation has filed what experts say is the province’s first lawsuit claiming cumulative effects from industry, agriculture and settlement are so pervasive, they violate the band’s treaty rights. Duncan’s First Nation, southwest of Peace River, alleges the province has permitted so much activity and sold off so...
August 17, 2022
UNESCO team in Alberta to judge if Wood Buffalo Park should go on endangered list
CityNews Everywhere Ottawa: A United Nations body that monitors some of the world’s greatest natural glories is in Canada again to assess government responses to ongoing threats to the country’s largest national park, including plans to release treated oilsands tailiBob Weber, The Canadian Press a day ago EDMONTON — A United Nations body that monitors some...
December 14, 2021
Tailings Pond release in Athabaska River
Fort McMurray Today – First Nation, Métis leaders raise concerns about plans to release treated tailings into Athabasca River. The federal government is developing protocols for when treated tailings water can be released into the Athabasca River. A first draft is scheduled to be finished by 2024 and a final draft will be published in...
March 26, 2021
Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act
The AFN, based on direction from the Chiefs-in-Assembly, intervened in this case, as well as court cases in Saskatchewan, Ontario and Alberta, arguing the Government of Canada has a direct legal obligation to recognize Aboriginal and Treaty rights in any legislative efforts to address climate change....
March 25, 2021
Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act
Westaway Law Group – The majority judges noted that climate change “has had particularly serious effects on Indigenous peoples, threatening the ability of Indigenous communities in Canada to sustain themselves and maintain their traditional ways of life.” [para 11] They also acknowledged that, “the effects of climate change are and will continue to be experienced...
March 25, 2021
Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act
Supreme Court finds that the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act 2018 is constitutional....
October 20, 2020
Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act
Toronto Star – The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) reserved judgement on whether the federal government’s Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act 2018 (GGPPA) is constitutional following hearings on September 22 and 23 with the United Chiefs and Councils of Mnidoo Mnising (UCCMM), along with the Anishinabek Nation (AN), granted intervener status. The GGPPA sets minimum...
June 5, 2020
Suspension of Environmental Monitoring in Oil Sands
Three First Nations in northeast Alberta – Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Fort McKay First Nation and Mikisew Cree First Nation – have jointly filed an appeal related to recent Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) decisions to suspend key aspects of environmental monitoring in the oil sands. The First Nations were not consulted on decisions that clearly impact...
April 6, 2020
Suspension of Environmental Monitoring in Oil Sands
Canadian Manufacturing – The Alberta Government has suspended all environmental reporting requirements for industry under emergency powers the province has enacted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The move effectively suspends environmental regulation in the province. Later, on May 6, 2020, the Alberta Energy Regulator suspended a wide array of environmental monitoring requirements for oil sands...
January 31, 2019
Redwater Energy avoids liability for orphaned wells
Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) – Supreme Court of Canada decision 2019 SCC 5 ruled in favour of the AER and Orphan Well Association’s (OWA’s) appeal of the Redwater decision. From the May 2016 Redwater decision until January 30, 2019, receivers and trustees involved in 28 insolvencies renounced their interest in more than 10 000 AER-licensed...
December 30, 2018
Redwater Energy avoids liability for orphaned wells
Macleans -Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act: requires owners of contaminated land – including oil and gas sites – seeking remediation certificates to report “new information” as well as meet specific timelines and instructions to remediate land and prevent future adverse effects....
December 1, 2018
Failure to protect Woodland Cariboo
Government of Canada – “Progress Report on Steps Taken to Protect Critical Habitat for the Woodland Caribou” indicates little progress is being made toward conservation. Meanwhile, provinces continue to issue permits for energy and forestry developments that do not comply with Species At Risk Act (SARA) , placing caribou at even greater risk. (David Suzuki...
November 3, 2017
Canadian Council of Ministers of the Envronment must include Indigenous views
Assembly of First Nations – First Nations must be full participants in all meetings of Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) to ensure their voices are heard in environmental and climate change solutions. “Reconciliation has to include respect for our Elder’s traditional knowledge and our understanding of the lands and waters, the animals...
July 4, 2017
Redwater Energy avoids liability for orphaned wells
Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) – The May 19, 2016, decision by the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta in the matter of Redwater Energy Corp. allows receivers and trustees to disclaim Alberta Energy Regulator licensed assets and avoid their abandonment and reclamation obligations. Disclaiming unprofitable sites allows a company to reap the benefits of producing...
Filter This Page
chevron_rightby Theme
chevron_rightby Indigenous Group
Explore Other Stakeholders
- Provinces and Territories
- Federal Government
- Other