Maybe you’ve already seen the headlines: Imperial Oil accidentally bulldozed a black bear’s den in early December up in the northern Alberta woods.
To deal with the angry, injured bear blocking their bulldozers, Imperial Oil had the bear euthanized.
Many people are upset about it.
Secret Spills.
This isn’t the first time a foreign-owned company has hurt our environment and animals. Imperial Oil, which is majority-owned by the big American giant ExxonMobil, hasn’t done a great job taking care of nature, animals, or even people.
News emerged earlier this year that Imperial Oil had let one of its tail ponds at the Kearl Oilsands Facility leak an estimated 1,000 litres of toxic waste per second into nearby watersheds.
The kicker? They told no one about the spill for nine months!
And worse, documents filed by the corporation and Alberta’s energy regulator show they both knew the Kearl Oilsands Mine was seeping tailings into groundwater years before the toxic sludge spilled over the ground.
Ooof.
Beyond impacting surrounding wildlife, this leak severely impacted Albertans.
Among the people not informed of the leaks (there are multiple) were the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation living nearby.
The massive amounts of toxic oil sands tailings have been spilling onto land, absorbing into the ground and surface water near where band members regularly harvest food.
Mandy Olsgard, an environmental toxicologist and risk assessment specialist who has studied the impacts of oilsands operations, told the Narwhal just how lethal the pollutants are.
“There are five substances that they say are over surface water quality guidelines, and of those substances, three or more are toxic to humans.”
Imperial Oil couldn’t even be bothered to notify people who could potentially be eating and drinking toxic waste.
If they care so little about neighbouring people, why would we expect them to care about a hibernating bear or any wildlife for that matter?
When Imperial Oil finally owned up to this tailings leak early this year, the province’s energy babysitters ordered them – oops, we mean energy regulators, to submit a new wildlife mitigation plan before the end of the day on February 10.
So, what did Imperial Oil come up with?
An assessment of impacts and a “plan for the humane euthanasia of impacted fish and wildlife.”
So, leak toxins, and then the response? Humane euthanasia.
Hopefully, that same response doesn’t apply to the affected Albertans!
Fines for People, Apologies from Companies?
Phillip Meintzer, a conservation specialist with the Alberta Wilderness Association, said the spill was just another example of Albertans trusting an energy corporation to regulate itself and that trust is broken.
“These projects are having environmental consequences that aren’t being caught,” he told CBC News.
“It highlights our concerns that adequate monitoring may not occur with these projects.”
It’s worth noting how the provincial government’s response differs if it’s an individual impacts a denning bear – rather than a multi-billion dollar foreign-owned corporation.
Over in Kananaskis County, one denning grizzly bear has imposed a closure on Rawson Lake, Sarrail Ridge and the surrounding area of Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, covering more than 100 square kilometers.
Alberta Parks says the closure is for safety reasons and to give the bear the space it needs to feed, rest, reproduce, and survive.
Not only is the public not allowed to enter this vast area, but if an everyday Albertan decides to hike through the area, they’ll face steep penalties.
As Nick de Ruyter, Program Director for Bow Valley WildSmart, put it to the Cochrane Eagle,
“There is no excuse for entering a closed area, and violators should be fined.”
Conversely, after running a bulldozer directly through a sleeping bear’s den, Imperial Oil can simply apologize, no fines, no worries!
“We are very sorry this incident occurred.” the corporation said in an oh-so-sincere statement following the “unintentionally bulldozed” bear’s demise.
“We continually work to ensure our business operates in a safe and environmentally responsible manner.”
So Imperial Oil only had to apologize, while regular people would face fines. It’s like the teacher’s pet student getting away with mischief while everyone else gets detention.
The fact is toxic waste is still leaking; this bear is dead despite apologies.
It begs the question, why is there a double standard? One set of rules (and punishments) for a foreign-owned corporation and another for everyday Albertans?
