ENVI Committee Meeting
Notices of Meeting include information about the subject matter to be examined by the committee and date, time and place of the meeting, as well as a list of any witnesses scheduled to appear. The Evidence is the edited and revised transcript of what is said before a committee. The Minutes of Proceedings are the official record of the business conducted by the committee at a sitting.
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Minutes of Proceedings
Laurie Pushor made a statement and answered questions.
Adam van Koeverden moved, — Whereas, the Alberta Energy Regulator failed to contain a tailing pond seepage while waiting 7 months for a geochemistry study to be completed.
Whereas the Alberta Energy Regulator has referred to this disaster as a communications problem, yet failed to communicate the impacts of this spill to impacted communities and other levels of government.
Whereas, the Alberta Energy Regulator previously claimed that there was no contaminants found in the waterways when in fact Imperial staff told ACFN inspectors that dissolved iron was found in waterbody 3, and on April 3, 2023 that a test showed F2 hydrocarbons and naphthenic acids in a waterbody.
That the committee express its disappointment with the Alberta Energy Regulator and acknowledge that the Alberta Energy Regulator has been deficient in protecting the environment and health of communities adjacent to tailing ponds that it regulates.
That, in relation to the committee's study of freshwater and following the evidence provided by witnesses regarding the toxic leak of tailing ponds and ongoing deficiencies in protecting the health and safety of Indigenous communities at risk, the committee:
- Call on the Alberta Energy Regulator and the Government of Alberta work with companies that operate tailing ponds and the federal government to conduct a study to assess the impacts of tailing ponds on human health;
- Call on the Alberta Energy Regulator to require operators of tailing ponds to increase monitoring of adjacent drinking water sources;
- Call on the Alberta Energy Regulator to conduct a geotechnical audit of all tailings limits;
- Call on the Alberta Energy Regulator to require operators of tailing ponds to halt the release of tailings into waterways;
- Make formal recommendations in its study of Freshwater to improve the protection of Canada's freshwater resources from contamination from tailing ponds.
Debate arose thereon.
At 12:59 p.m., the sitting was suspended.
At 1:12 p.m., the sitting resumed.
The debate continued.
At 1:33 p.m., the committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.