“Alberta is taking a zero-tolerance approach to crime,” bragged Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in 2023 on social media after her government announced more enforcement, greater emphasis on public safety, and limited discretion of prosecutors to let offenders off the hook. “ 

“There is an increasing sense that the system is not holding criminals properly accountable and letting the public suffer the consequences,” chimed in Alberta Minister of Justice Mickey Amery during the announcement. “This is simply unacceptable.” 

If only the governing United Conservative Party applied those laudable principles to oil sands companies that repeatedly flout legal requirements not to pollute waterways, air and land. Major petroleum companies stacking record profits seem to have little to fear regarding enforcement – no matter how egregious their conduct. 

Regulators failed to inform local First Nations for over eight months of a known toxic tailings leak from the Imperial Oil Kearl bitumen mine into tributaries of the nearby Athabasca River. This dangerous delay from May 2022 to February 2023 occurred despite the UCP’s stated commitment to prioritize public safety when dealing with violators. 

Only after a second spill occurred at the Kearl mine in February 2023 was the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation warned of poisonous effluent contaminating the primary watercourse that has sustained their hunting and fishing for generations.

As for tough enforcement, the Alberta Energy Regulator – entirely funded by the companies it allegedly oversees – waited over two years to assign a fine of $50,000 on Imperial Oil for the initial leakage. Lawyers for the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation noted the AER could have fined the oil giant at least $1.3 million based on the scale of the pollution. Instead they gave Imperial a “95 percent discount.” 

‘Highest Cancer Rate in the Province’

To put this piddling penalty into perspective, $50,000 represents a mere 0.004 percent of Imperial Oil’s $1.13 billion Q2 profits from 2024. This would also amount to less than one day’s work for CEO Brad Corson, who was paid $14,831,530 in 2023. 

After months of negative press coverage and almost two years of delay, the AER this month announced charges against Imperial Oil for the second spill of 5.3 million litres of toxic tailings and 670,000 litres of contaminated water – larger in size than two Olympic swimming pools. The regulator also commissioned a third-party review of their much-maligned Kearl spill enforcement, which concluded “there were no areas of non-compliance.” Problem solved. 

Tailings are the thick toxic waste stream from bitumen production consisting of contaminated water, suspended clay, heavy metals and naphthenic acids with the consistency of yogurt. With no current treatment solution, tailings are instead stored behind leaky earthen dams in ever-growing volumes now exceeding 1.4 trillion litres.  

This growing crisis threatens the Athabasca River that flows 1,200 kilometres through seven provincial and national parks. The watershed is also home to over 150,000 people in 12 towns and 14 Indigenous settlements.

Those downstream from leaking tailings ponds are particularly at risk from being harmed by poisonous chemicals in their water and harvested food. “It’s no surprise that we live with the highest cancer rates in the province,” said Chief Allan Adam of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation. “Over twice that of the rest of Alberta.”

Many Spills Not Reported

This Kearl incident is part of an ongoing record of disregard for pollution from bitumen mine tailings ponds. A recent study by biologist Kevin Timoney reported on by APTN showed that the AER had only done field investigations on less than 4 percent of over 500 reported tailings spills from 2014 to 2023. 

Despite this record of rarely straying far from the office coffee pot, regulators seemed certain there was no cause for alarm. “[AER] made the statement that in all 514 of the spills that they divulged to the public, that there were no environmental impacts. None,” Timoney told APTN. “And of course that is also another red flag.” 

After six-months of sifting through 6,000 pages of internal AER documents accessed by Alberta Freedom of Information laws, Timoney found that many spills were simply not reported. “There were another 454 spills of tailings of one sort or another that were not part of the publicly available database.”

Effective law enforcement also needs to earn the respect of the public – particularly among those impacted by crime. Aboriginal leaders whose communities are bearing the brunt of ongoing tailings pond pollution travelled to Ottawa in 2023 to testify at a federal committee hearing. Here are some of their public comments regarding AER oversight: 

 “The [AER] has zero credibility outside Calgary’s echo chamber. They actively dismiss and downplay impacts of oilsands on communities and their Aboriginal and treaty rights,” Daniel Stuckless of the Fort McKay Métis Nation said.

“The [AER] is completely broken and should be dismantled,” said Chief Allan Adam, who broke down in tears describing what it was like telling his people their water may be contaminated. “Alberta’s reaction throughout is to simply say this is a communications issue…The Alberta Energy Regulator is a joke. A complete joke.”  

Timothy Clark of the Fort McMurray Métis had this to say: “[The AER] is more concerned about protecting the image of the industry and the investment than it is about protecting the health and rights of the people who live in this area.“ 

Tailings pond pollution remains a gargantuan and growing problem with no effective solution in sight. Alberta regulators have clearly demonstrated they are prioritizing continued oil production over public safety. Does Alberta have a “zero-tolerance approach” to enforcement? Apparently, it depends on who’s breaking the law.