CALGARY, AB —Nathan Lemphers, Policy Analyst with the Pembina Institute responded to the federal panel report on oilsands water monitoring.
"Coming on the heels of reports by the Royal Society and the federal environment commissioner, this is the third recent report that concludes Canada's current water monitoring system in the oilsands is broken.
"A lack of effective monitoring makes it impossible for Canada to demonstrate that oilsands development is proceeding responsibly.
"No politician or corporate executive can claim they are protecting the environment while developing this resource if we don't even have adequate monitoring and oversight in place. It is another case of overpromising and under delivering to Canadians and our customers.
"Both the federal and provincial governments must co-operate to fix the monitoring system."
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Contact:
Nathan Lemphers
Oilsands Policy Analyst, Pembina Institute
Phone: 403-269-3344 x124
Cell: 403-370-9292
Background:
- Federal report: Building an Environmental Monitoring System for the Oilsands.
- Royal Society of Canada report on the environmental and health impacts of Canada's oilsands industry.
- Pembina report on federal responsibilities in Canada's oilsands.