Photo: Cover of the report Duty Calls, courtesy of Environmental Defence, The Pembina Institute and Equiterre.
Three environmental groups have issued a wake-up call to the federal government, telling it to get more involved in how the oilsands are developed.
Their report – Duty Calls: Federal Responsibility in Canada's Oilsands, says that the oilsands currently produce 1.7 million barrels per day. However, after factoring in projects that have been approved, waiting for approval, or recently announced, that number jumps to a staggering 7.5 million barrels per day.
Their report – Duty Calls: Federal Responsibility in Canada's Oilsands, says that the oilsands currently produce 1.7 million barrels per day. However, after factoring in projects that have been approved, waiting for approval, or recently announced, that number jumps to a staggering 7.5 million barrels per day.
At a press conference on Parliament Hill, representatives from Environmental Defence, Pembina Institute and Equiterre said the proposed level of development of the oilsands is a disaster waiting to happen.
"Each of the federal party leaders has said that more needs to be done to deal with the environmental impacts of the oilsands, but we seem to be stuck in neutral as a country on this issue and it is time to move forward," said Rick Smith, executive director of Environmental Defence.
If the oilsands continue to develop and expand at the current pace, the oilsands industry will outspend its share of Canada's carbon budget by 3.5 times by 2020 and by nearly 40 times by 2050, according to the report.
Steven Guilbeault, deputy director of Equiterre says the "sky is the limit for greenhouse gas emissions attitude" does not sit well in other parts of the country.
"One province (Québec) is on the verge of reaching its Kyoto targets," said Mr. Guilbeault. "We need to get on with the program."
The report says the federal government has both the authority to implement policies to minimize environmental harm and a legal obligation to do so under several federal laws, including: Species at Risk Act, Migratory Birds Convention Act, Fisheries Act, Canadian Environmental Protection Act and Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.
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