Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

Dear National Geographic ... Canadian industry IS A GLOBAL LEADER when it comes to environmental responsibility


National Geographic recently published a piece called “This is the world’s most destructive oil operation – and it’s growing.”



Its target? The oil sands. It had errors and of course failed to mention the fact that Canadian industry is a global leader when it comes to environmental responsibility, from reclamation to developing new technologies to reducing
emissions, and working in partnership with Indigenous communities.


My Comment (Alan Forseth):

LET’S TALK ABOUT OUTRAGEOUS EXAGGERATION ... this is a blatantly slanted opinion piece.  Just this one following paragraph alone shows how it is so excessively bad this story is ... one simply based on sensationalism and crude exaggeration ... in other words little more than hogwash.

... the scale of Alberta’s tar sands operations is hard to grasp. Especially north of Fort McMurray, where the boreal forest has been razed and bitumen is mined from the ground in immense open pits, the blot on the landscape is incomparable


Here’s just a quick sample of what we mean.

It’s implied that the oil sands mining footprint is the same as England, which is simply not true. It also failed to mention at any point the fact that oil and natural gas companies are required by provincial regulations to return lands they disturb to a self-sustaining natural state as close as reasonable to its original condition.

On tailings ponds, the column claims there is “no end in sight and no solution to clean them up” and that operators are “reluctant to spend money” to better manage tailings waste.

But here’s the reality, Suncor reclaimed a tailings pond to a 220-hectare watershed, named Wapisiw lookout, capable of supporting wildlife and a variety of plants.

Canadian Natural is working on a technology, called in-pit mining extraction that would eliminate the need for tailings ponds, reduce C02 emissions and overall costs.

Tailings is also one of the four environmental priority areas of the Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance.

And the column unfairly paints industry’s relationship with Indigenous communities as adversarial.

The fact is, between 2015 and 2016, oil sands operators provided $40.79 million in consultation capacity funding to Indigenous communities, invested more than $3.3 billion on procurement alone and worked with 399 Indigenous businesses in 66 Alberta communities.



Let’s work together to create a global vision for Canadian oil and natural gas that all Canadians can be proud of.


Canada's Energy Citizens
http://www.energycitizens.ca/
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BC’s Forestry Decline Is a Policy Failure, Not a Market Reality -- Forestry Critic Calls for Accountability and Urgent Policy Reset

Conservative Party of BC Forestry Critic, and Kamloops - North Thompson MLA,  Ward Stamer As the Truck Loggers Association convention begins today, BC Conservative Forestry Critic Ward Stamer says British Columbia’s forestry crisis is the result of government mismanagement, not market forces, and that an urgent policy reset is needed to restore certainty, sustainability, and accountability. “For generations, forestry supported families and communities across BC,” said Stamer.  “Today, mills are closing, contractors are parking equipment, and families are being forced to leave home, not because the resource is gone, but because policy has failed.” Government data shows timber shipment values dropped by more than half a billion dollars in the past year, with harvest levels falling by roughly 50 per cent in just four years. At the same time, prolonged permitting timelines, unreliable fibre access, outdated forest inventories, and rising costs have made long-term planning impossib...
Post a Comment
Read more

BC cannot regulate, redesign, and reinterpret its way to a stable forestry sector. Communities need clear rules, predictable timelines, and accountability for results.

Photo credit:  Atli Resources LP   BC’s Forestry Crisis Continues with Closure of Beaver Cove Chip Facility   As industry leaders, Indigenous partners, and contractors gather this week at the BC Natural Resources Forum in Prince George, the gap between government rhetoric and reality could not be clearer. Just hours after the Eby government once again touted reconciliation, certainty, and economic opportunity under DRIPA, Atli Chip Ltd, a company wholly owned by the ’Na̱mg̱is First Nation, announced it is managing the orderly closure of its Beaver Cove chip facility. The closure comes despite public tax dollars, repeated government announcements, and assurances that new policy frameworks would stabilize forestry employment and create long-term opportunity in rural and coastal British Columbia. “British Columbians are being told one story, while communities are living another,” said Ward Stamer, Critic for Forests. “This closure makes it clear that announcement...
Post a Comment
Read more

Stamer: Hope for Forestry Completely Shattered After Another Provincial Review Driven by DRIPA

IMAGE CREDIT:  Provincial Forestry Advisory Council Conservative Critic for Forests Ward Stamer says the final report from the Provincial Forestry Advisory Council confirms the worst fears of forestry workers and communities; instead of addressing the real issues driving mill closures and job losses, the NDP has produced a report that ignores industry realities and doubles down on governance restructuring. Despite years of warnings from forestry workers, contractors, and industry organizations about permitting delays, regulatory costs, fibre access, and the failure of BC Timber Sales, the PFAC report offers no urgency, no timelines, and no concrete action to stop the ongoing decline of the sector. “ This report completely shatters any remaining hope that the government is serious about saving forestry ,” said Stamer.  “ We didn’t need another study to tell us what industry has been saying for years. While mills close and workers lose their livelihoods, the NDP is focused on re...
Post a Comment
Read more

Labels

Show more