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Adjournment Proceedings

2026-06-17 Sitting 138 Showing 1–5 of 5

An adjournment debate where the Green MP expressed concern about environmental contamination from oil sands projects, pointing out rights violations and insufficient government response. The Liberal MP thanked the Green MP for her advocacy, said the government takes the issues seriously, and mentioned existing compliance regimes and penalties. Despite the serious environmental issues raised, much of the discussion focused on thanking each other and mentioning past work rather than concrete solutions.

Official Hansard ↗

Elizabeth May

Green 10:20 p.m.

“I am offended that the energy minister did not show enough concern about an oil spill. He should show more concern. I want him to change his answer. Also, there are more spills than just this one. I want the government to take environmental accidents more seriously.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, it is indeed nice that we have seen the clock at midnight. I cannot break the legal fiction, while we are all here together, but it is time for Adjournment Proceedings. I am raising a question I initially raised April 20, two days before Earth Day. I had, on a previous occasion, witnessed an exchange between the hon. member for Edmonton Strathcona and the Minister of Energy, in which he was dismissive of the concerns of the most recent oil spill from Imperial Oil on the Cold Lake First Nations territory. I asked on that occasion if there might be an interest on the part of the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources in amending his answer to reflect deep concern for the fact that it is not just one oil spill or one leaking tailings ponds in northern Alberta in the area of the oil sands, it is multiple. Some hon. members: Oh, oh! Elizabeth May: Mr. Speaker, I am having trouble hearing myself.

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Elizabeth May

Green 10:25 p.m.

“I asked about this before. The government keeps saying they're working on it. But they've known about this problem for over ten years. A scientist named David Schindler told them about it. The tailings ponds are leaking. The containment system doesn't work. It's a sieve. Imperial Oil didn't tell anyone when it happened. They just pumped the water back into the leaky container. I was at the hearings where this project got approved. They were supposed to protect people and the environment. But the government never did anything. When will they start?”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the difficulty we have and the reason I raised this issue again is that I did ask in the House, on April 20, for a better answer. The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment attempted to answer at that point, saying that the government was concerned and was “working closely with the Crown-indigenous working group along with the affected communities”, and that it would find “a long-term, science-based solution”. The difficulty I have with that answer is that it has been more than a decade since one of the most prominent scientists in Canada, the late Dr. David Schindler appeared before the fisheries committee in this place and testified that his research had found the component parts, chemical contaminants that could have come only from the tailings ponds, not from any natural source in the environment, of contamination that violated the Fisheries Act, yet the government had taken no action. Dr. Schindler made it very clear to the fisheries committee that there had already been extensive contamination of the Athabasca River from what are called tailings ponds. The difficulty is not so much that Imperial Oil is experiencing leaks. It is that the containment system is a failure. It is basically a sieve. What Imperial Oil did in the past, when it initially did not tell the community that it had what it could see was a breach of containment, was pump the water out of the areas where there was extensive recent contamination, and then pump it back into the same container, which was a sieve and was leaking. Years before, I had participated in environmental assessment hearings where this particular oil sands mine was approved to go ahead, with conditions to make sure that the river, the treaty rights, the rights holders in the area, and the indigenous people were actually protected. Their health, the environment where they live and the fish they eat needed to be protected. Dr. David Schindler warned the environment committee of this in public testimony more than a decade before these recent, continuing leaks and breaches. It would be easier for me to accept that the government, either the current government or previous governments, is concerned about the multiple breaches of the treaty rights of the rights holders throughout the area of the oil sands development, if it ever had been in the past. It would be easier to believe that something was going to happen, if it had ever happened in the past. I put it again to the government: When will it show concern for the environment in this area and the continual breaches and leaks?

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Karim Bardeesy

Liberal 10:25 p.m.

“Thanks for your concern about tailings pollution. We take this seriously. We will monitor it and talk with others. It's a core government duty to protect water and ecosystems. We must address tailings risks based on science.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the continuing work of the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands, the leader of the Green Party, on issues related to contaminants and leakage. I also want to thank her for the interventions regarding the work of the late Dr. David Schindler, who raised some of these issues, as she mentioned, in the decades and years past. These were issues I covered for some time in my previous life as a journalist. In terms of the issues that the hon. member has raised, we take these concerns regarding oil sands, tailings and related infrastructure seriously. The impacts of tailings pollution on water, ecosystems and community well-being continue to inform federal action. It is something we take very seriously, as we do the protection of the health of communities and the integrity of Canada's water and ecosystems. It is a core responsibility of the current government, and, I would say, of government, both now and for future generations. We need to address risks associated with tailings management in a way that gives sustained attention and brings solutions grounded in sound science. Environment and Climate Change Canada is advancing work on oil sands mining effluent through structured, ongoing engagement with indigenous communities, the Government of Alberta and the Government of Northwest Territories, industry, environmental NGOs and other governmental departments. The hon. member referred to the Crown-indigenous working group. That work continues, with Environment and Climate Change Canada and indigenous groups working together through that working group to develop long-term, science-based solutions that will form recommendations to the minister. I think the hon. member knows that Environment and Climate Change Canada also co-leads the oil sands monitoring program with the Government of Alberta, together with indigenous communities and industry. The program, for the interest and knowledge of people watching at home, seeks to enhance the understanding of the effects of oil sands development activities through ambient environmental monitoring in the oil sands region. Monitoring data and reports are publicly available on the oil sands monitoring program portal. I would add that, with some of the investments we have been making in science and research and some of the advances in technology, we hope this work can continue to accelerate and to inform policy-makers, government and hon. members in an even more timely fashion. In conclusion, the Government of Canada will continue to work with all partners, stakeholders, indigenous communities, and provinces and territories to support ongoing reconciliation efforts, ensure sustained environmental protections and uphold public trust.

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Elizabeth May

Green 10:30 p.m.

“First Nations people have rights. They should get more money.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the difficulty I have with this, again, is that we have had working groups and consultation groups, and if we ask the first nation peoples of Cold Lake, as well as those around the Cold Lake operations and the Kearl mine, there have been repeated breaches of their rights and contamination of their waterways, yet Imperial Oil last year, in 2025, had a profit of $3.5 billion. It seems that perhaps we have a disconnect between where the wealth of the area is going, which is not to sustain people's livelihood or assist in protecting the environment, and the treaty rights of the peoples of the region. I would ask again that when the government considers reconciliation, it would consider honouring the promises made in the treaties we have.

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Karim Bardeesy

Liberal 10:30 p.m.

“I'm here to assure you that we take this very seriously. The government has laws and rules in place. Our officials are in contact with the provinces and indigenous leaders. Canadians expect environmental protection, and we'll do what's needed.”

Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, treaty rights are sacrosanct to this government, as are the regimes that we have in place, including the regimes for non-compliance and the environmental damages penalties that we have under the legislation. Incidents such as the recent spill at Cold Lake are taken very seriously. Federal officials are in contact with their provincial counterparts and indigenous leadership to ensure that appropriate response and oversight measures are in place. If there is non-compliance with federal legislation, there is enforcement action that is available and will be pursued. This shows why the work to strengthen oversight of tailings and mine water is so critical. How do we do that work? We do that work through indigenous partnership, through transparency and through rigorous scientific work. Canadians expect strong environmental protection, informed, in part, through the advocacy of the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands. That is precisely what we will do to guide our actions.

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