No independent review of duck deaths: Alberta
Last Updated: Tuesday, May 6, 2008 | 12:20 PM ET
CBC News
The Alberta government has ruled out an independent inquiry into the deaths of more than 500 ducks at an oilsands plant near Fort McMurray last week, but insists it is serious about finding out what went wrong.
Alberta Environment Minister Rob Renner ruled out an independent review of the duck deaths, saying he has 'a tremendous amount of faith' in his employees to do the job. (CBC) The birds died last Monday after landing on a pond at Syncrude's Aurora North Site mine, north of Fort McMurray. Only a handful of ducks were rescued and most of them died after being covered in oily residue.
Greenpeace Canada held a news conference Monday morning on the steps of the Alberta legislature to call for the independent review.
The government, said Greenpeace spokesman Mike Hudema, can't be trusted to investigate whether its own regulations are adequate to protect the environment and wildlife.
"I don't share that concern," Environment Minister Rob Renner said of the claim late Monday.
"I have a tremendous amount of faith in the employees in Alberta Environment. I've never met a group of more dedicated people that truly believe in what they're doing and I have the utmost amount of faith in the report that they'll be providing for me."
Greenpeace spokesman Mike Hudema, on the steps of the Alberta legislature, calls for an independent inquiry into the death of hundreds of ducks at an oilsands operation. (CBC) Greenpeace also called for more government field inspectors to make sure oilsands companies are following provincial regulations.
Provincial officials have said they learned of the dead ducks through anonymous tips, not from Syncrude.
But Renner said the government will always have to rely on the industry itself to report problems.
"We simply do not have and never will have enough members of the public service to be on-site at every site, every possible opportunity for there to be an infraction or something that needs to be noted. And so it is a true partnership between the department, the public and industry."
