Canada has a toxic tailings problem

The tarsands tailings ponds are out of sight and out of mind for most Canadians, but the massive reservoirs of toxic waste from what was once dubbed the “largest industrial project on Earth” haven’t gone away. The toxic tailings are only growing larger, and pose a daily and direct threat to Indigenous people and the environment. The recent leak from Imperial Oil’s tailings ponds is not an isolated “incident,” but part of a much larger problem. It’s time for oil companies to be held accountable for cleaning up their toxic waste. For the last 10 months, four tailings ponds at Imperial Oil’s Kearl facility 70 kilometres north of Fort McMurray, Alta., have been leaking toxic sludge into the environment. Indigenous communities downstream say the Alberta Energy Regulator and Imperial Oil failed to inform, despite regularly discussing the disaster behind closed doors. They say it took another incident, which released an additional 5.3 million litres in late February, for the communities and the public to be notified. Now that they know about the leak, the communities are left wondering how much arsenic, heavy metals, and hydrocarbons have already made it into their water, food, and bodies. Some First Nations are asking their members to stay away from the affected area, and not to consume any game harvested since last spring. The disaster is a violation of their right to hunt, fish, and trap in their traditional territories. Imperial’s failure to keep toxic chemicals out of Indigenous communities is not an isolated incident. First Nations downstream of the tarsands are experiencing higher levels of cancers and respiratory diseases than the rest of the country. Despite repeated calls by community members and doctors, a comprehensive health study has never been conducted. Aliénor Rougeot is a Toronto-based climate justice organizer and a climate and energy program manager at Environmental Defence. Handout photograph It’s an atrocity. There was a time when tarsands and their toxic tailings made headlines regularly and garnered international attention. But today, Canadians hear comparatively little about these tailings ponds, which could well leave the impression that the situation has been addressed. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Since 2000, the ponds have grown by 300 per cent, and now take up 300 square kilometres, enough land to cover Paris three times over. In total, there are 19 tailings ponds located on the shores of the Athabasca River involving different oil companies, each posing a threat to the Indigenous communities downstream and to the environment. Imperial Oil’s irresponsibility breached the trust of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and other Indigenous Nations downstream. But the provincial and federal governments must also be held responsible. The Alberta Energy Regulator hasn’t assured there are adequate funds set aside to pay for the eventual clean-up of the ponds, and has repeatedly failed to enforce environmental laws and provide timely and accurate information about environmental incidents. Rather than compel companies to deal with the growing volume of tailings, the Alberta government hands out billions of public dollars directly to the tar sands companies, and spends a few more million dollars defending the industry’s interests through the war room. Ottawa’s hands are dirty, too. More than two years ago, the federal government declared that tailings seepage must be “urgently” addressed. Yet they have failed to enforce the Fisheries Act, which prohibits the deposit of harmful substances into fish-bearing waters. What will it take for someone to finally take this seriously and make companies begin the long and costly process of clean-up? The costs of remediation were pegged at $130-billion by the Alberta Energy Regulator in 2018. They are almost certainly higher than that today. Clean-up needs to start now so that Indigenous communities downstream are no longer subjected to this pollution, and to avoid leaving taxpayers with a hefty cleaning bill. Oil production will be winding down in the coming decades, and despite the triumphant claims, the tarsands’ carbon-heavy oil will not be the last barrel sold. Imperial Oil must demonstrate to the public how it will address the consequences of its recent disaster. Alberta and the federal government need to make oil companies develop a plan that demonstrates how they will clean up the vast mess they created and return all the area they disturbed back to a state acceptable to the impacted Indigenous communities—and guarantees those companies will be the ones paying for it. Aliénor Rougeot is a Toronto-based climate justice organizer and a climate and energy program manager at Environmental Defence, a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization where she advocates for a just transition for workers and communities. The Hill Times

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Canada has a toxic tailings problem

It’s time for oil companies to be held accountable for cleaning up their toxic waste.

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