Alberta NDP Leadership candidate Kathleen Ganley is committing, should she be elected Premier, to an inquiry into the total orphaned and inactive well clean-up liability, and a comprehensive review and complete overhaul of the Alberta Energy Regulator.
“Albertans deserve to know the true extent of the liability they are on the hook for,” Ganley said. “It is the responsibility of companies to clean up these sites, and to do it in a timely manner. It is high time to have a grown-up conversation about what exactly the cost is and how to get the job done.”
“The regulator needs a complete review and overhaul, it has lost the public’s trust,” Ganley said. “This is part of how we build an economy that works for people, by ensuring that companies who have committed to pay for clean-up fulfill the promises they have made to Albertans. I believe in the polluter-pay principle, and I would enforce it. Right now the UCP government wants to download these liabilities onto families and let profitable corporations off the hook. That isn’t fair.”
Ganley said her concerns about the AER and commitments to change are underscored not just by unaccounted environmental liabilities, but by the recent water contamination issues arising from Kearl Lake and the regulator’s decision to reconsider the Grassy Mountain open-pit mining operation.
“The Alberta Energy Regulator has failed in its duty to act in the public interest and protect our environment and safeguard the health and well-being of Albertans,” Ganley said. “Albertans have been clear that they don’t support mining our mountains for coal and they expect the regulator to protect the air, land, and water — that is the entire point of a regulator.”
Ganley’s proposed inquiry would include, but not be limited to, the following:
Assessment of Regulatory Oversight: An examination of the AER's regulatory practices and enforcement mechanisms to identify systemic deficiencies contributing to environmental risks and mounting liabilities.
Impact on Water Resources: Investigation into the potential contamination of Alberta’s water, and the broader implications for Alberta's water quality and ecosystem health.
Corporate Accountability: Scrutiny of industry practices and corporate accountability measures to ensure responsible development and protection of the public from environmental liability now and in the future
“Danielle Smith is proceeding with a plan to use $20 billion of Albertans’ money to clean up a mess that most of them had no hand in making,” Ganley said. “I would cancel her ridiculous RStar program and hand the bill back to those responsible. This was a deal — companies get access to resources, but they have responsibility to clean up after themselves. I will not allow the Alberta public to get stuck with this liability.”
Finally, Ganley said she would take necessary legislative action to ensure energy companies pay back outstanding municipal taxes. Figures released this week by the Rural Municipalities of Alberta put the total figure owed at roughly $300 million.
“RMA President Paul McLaughlin said this week that we need the AER to be a regulator, not a cheerleader and I couldn’t agree with him more,” Ganley said.
Kathleen Ganley Walks beside the Nanton Grain Elevators with conservationist Kevin Van Tighem