Utoo Radio - March 6, 2024 - At a Tuesday meeting in Fort Chipewyan, the Alberta Energy Regulator was criticized for its handling of Imperial Oil's Kearl spill.
When Chief Allan Adam spoke, the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation representative honored a promise from last year and sued the regulator.
ACFN alleges that the regulator's handling of the spills between May 2022 and February 2023 was unlawful, negligent, reckless, and bad faith. The occurrences show regulatory flaws in Alberta.
The regulator's actions allegedly violated treaty rights and prevented Indigenous people from exercising them. The action seeks a part of Kearl's seepage royalties. It wants $500 million in damages. Claims have not been proven in court.
"We're taking legal action for the harm you've done to the Fort Chip community, and we won't stand for it," Adam told AER president and CEO Laurie Pushor who received legal documents. "We are among the first affected by events upstream in our community and demand answers... you will be held accountable in a court of law."
Nine months after the first incident, Imperial Oil and the regulator alerted Fort Chipewyan. The site released 5.3 million litres of tailings and 670,000 litres of polluted water.
Pushor apologized for his late entrance during the meeting. A June meeting was canceled owing to last summer's wildfires, he said. He saw that a photo of a staff member bringing bottled water into Fort Chipewyan raised concerns about the local water.
"We apologize for not keeping you informed about the events at that location or near the tailings pond," Pushor began the meeting.
Pushor and staff received no mercy or forgiveness throughout the two-hour meeting. Weak or non-existent oilsands regulation was criticized. Lack of information still frustrates many. Fort Chipewyan residents often discussed cancer and blamed oilsands development.
Dr. James Talbot, Alberta's chief medical officer, reported higher cervical, lung, and bile duct cancer rates in Fort Chipewyan in 2014. Beyond industrial pollutants, the research listed local medical staff and resource shortages as risk concerns.
Talbot did not dismiss requests for a larger oilsands cancer study. Adam and other community leaders thought the report was incomplete. They have supported an extensive cancer study from 2009.
The seepages raised water quality issues, according to Fort Chipewyan Metis president and RMWB councillor Kendrick Cardinal. The Cardinal doubted oilsands management.
"I no longer wish to be involved." Being in this circumstance hurts. I would shut down the oilsands today if I could "Cardinal called industry payments "the devil's currency."
He said, “No amount of money can bring back the lives lost to cancer.”
Fort Chip is declining and struggling. Unvarnished truth.
ACFN councillor Mike Mercredi spoke at the meeting. He called Pushor's community answers excuses and blamed regulators and industry for malignancies.
"Everyone missed job expectations. My cemetery is full with your victims."
"Their blood is on your hands," Mercredi said. "Regulations are being violated, rules are being broken, and no action is being taken."
In a Tuesday email, an Imperial representative said environmental testing has found no harm to adjacent rivers' fauna, fish, or water quality. To handle seepages, trenches, sumps, fences, pumps, and monitoring wells are being expanded or built. The company now allows Indigenous leaders to test and travel independently.
"The data indicates that the measures are functioning as planned and stopping any additional movement of affected water to other areas," she said. "We consistently share data and monitoring reports with communities, and we have updated notification protocols to ensure timely and widespread community awareness."
