{"id":289209,"date":"2025-11-17T16:27:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T16:27:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/289209\/"},"modified":"2025-11-17T16:27:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T16:27:17","slug":"unacceptable-alberta-wants-to-treat-and-release-oilsands-waste","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/289209\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Unacceptable\u2019: Alberta wants to treat and release oilsands waste"},"content":{"rendered":"

Seven months after the Liberal Party vowed<\/a> to \u201cimmediately introduce and pass legislation\u201d affirming the right of First Nations to clean drinking water, Prime Minister Mark Carney\u2019s government says they\u2019re still working on it.<\/p>\n

This comes as First Nations leaders call on the government to better protect the health of their communities from the threat of toxic waste in the Alberta oilsands<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Alberta government is looking closely at recommendations made in September<\/a> to speed up the creation of standards, so oilsands companies can treat and release their giant reservoirs of wastewater, called tailings ponds, into the Athabasca River.<\/p>\n

The oil and gas industry has been asking for permission<\/a> to release the treated wastewater. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has given Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz a mandate<\/a> to come up with a plan for the reservoirs, which as of 2024 have grown to 1.5 trillion litres in volume<\/a>, covering an area larger than the city of Vancouver<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Several First Nations communities downstream of the oilsands rely on the river for drinking water and to support the ecosystem that produces their food. They are against treating and releasing the wastewater into their watershed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe technology for treating these oil tailings is unproven and cannot guarantee that the water would be safe for my people to drink,\u201d Mikisew Cree First Nation Chief Billy-Joe Tuccaro said during a Nov. 3 press conference in Ottawa.<\/p>\n

The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations asked the federal government this month to reintroduce a Trudeau-era bill called the First Nations Clean Water Act<\/a>. The bill, meant to establish legal pathways to protect drinking water sources flowing into First Nation territory, died when former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prorogued Parliament in early 2025 right before leaving office.<\/p>\n

\"WomanIndigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty, shown on Parliament Hill Nov. 5, said she\u2019s working carefully on new drinking water legislation to make sure it \u201ctruly reflects the needs and priorities of First Nations communities,\u201d some of which have complained about a Trudeau-era clean water bill. Photo: Adrian Wyld \/ The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty told The Narwhal in a statement she has been taking time to get the details right. She said ensuring safe drinking water for First Nations communities is a \u201ctop priority\u201d for the government.<\/p>\n

\u201cI take this issue very seriously and hope to have more to say very soon,\u201d Gull-Masty said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are working carefully to make sure the new legislation is strong, effective and truly reflects the needs and priorities of First Nations communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some First Nations leaders opposed the water bill<\/a> when it was first debated in Parliament, saying it doesn\u2019t go far enough to protect Treaty Rights, or guard against toxic industrial byproducts, and have criticized the national chief for pushing the bill despite their concerns. Mikisew Cree First Nation is still opposed to its reintroduction.<\/p>\n

\u2018Doing nothing\u2019 is not sustainable: Alberta government<\/p>\n

Oilsands mining processes need huge amounts of water. Extracting the petroleum substance bitumen creates toxic byproducts that are stored in tailings reservoirs.<\/p>\n

Currently, oilsands operations have no federal authorization to release any wastewater into any natural water bodies. Schulz has said \u201cdoing nothing\u201d while the tailings keep on swelling in size \u201cis not a sustainable long-term approach.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to being toxic, the tailings are dangerous to wildlife, like in 2022 when hundreds of birds died from contaminated water<\/a> at one site owned by Canadian Natural Resources Limited.<\/p>\n

Mikisew Cree First Nation, residing on the shores of Lake Athabasca, is skeptical of the idea after spending years sounding the alarm about the cancer crisis<\/a> it says it\u2019s dealing with.<\/p>\n

The community suspects its higher-than-average rates of some forms of cancer are tied to industrial activity on its traditional territory. The latest public data<\/a> available from Alberta Health Services is from 2014 and showed higher-than-expected instances of cervical cancer and biliary tract cancer in the community.<\/p>\n

The community\u2019s health concerns were heightened, Chief Tuccaro said, when wastewater leaked from an Imperial Oil oilsands site in 2022 and went unreported to the public for nine months<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdding yet another significant, cumulative effect to an already fragile system is unacceptable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe continue to work with the federal government to explore the alternatives of treat and release, and we encourage them to continue that work to find a solution that keeps our community safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Environment and Climate Change Canada has been working with<\/a> Health Canada and nine Indigenous communities to assess the need for regulations overseeing treated oilsands mining waste, including exploring how to manage oilsands tailings, a spokesperson told The Narwhal.<\/p>\n

The government published a paper<\/a> early this year \u201cdeveloped collaboratively\u201d with the group that discussed alternatives to treat-and-release and their potential benefits and risks.<\/p>\n

The federal department expects to publish a draft regulatory framework by the end of next March \u2014 and then carry out more analysis of potential impacts to Indigenous Rights and other concerns. The group will then make final recommendations to Environment and Climate Change Minister Julie Dabrusin.<\/p>\n

First Nations leaders have also long asked the federal government to complete a comprehensive study of health impacts in the oilsands region. In 2024, after decades of concern, the federal government announced<\/a> it would spend $12 million over ten years to study the \u201cimpacts of the oilsands on community members\u2019 health.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chief Tuccaro was joined by Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta Grand Chief Trevor Mercredi, who said there are solutions available that could reduce the toxic tailings reservoirs \u2014 but they were considered expensive.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t give examples, but one potential solution that involves drying the tailings out<\/a> so they become stackable \u201ccakes,\u201d for instance, requires high upfront and operating costs.<\/p>\n

Mercredi argued the price shouldn\u2019t matter. \u201cIf it increases the cost of a barrel of oil by $2 a barrel, then it has to be looked at. There is no price for the health of our people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe understand that Canada\u2019s in a rough place right now, and we need development for a lot of this industry. Nobody up here is against any type of development or industry, but what we are against is the poisoning of our lands for many generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak also joined the two chiefs, and called on Carney to work with Treaty 8 First Nations and others on the issue of safe drinking water.<\/p>\n

\u201cWater sustains not just our bodies, but our spirits, our traditions, our way of life and our economy. First Nations are united in the belief that water is a fundamental human right,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"ManAssembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, right, shown in Toronto in June, wants to see the Carney government reintroduce the First Nations Clean Water Act, but the chiefs of Mikisew Cree First Nation and Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation have opposed that bill. Photo: Sid Naidu \/ The Narwhal<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s previously proposed clean water bill wasn\u2019t the answer for everyone<\/p>\n

In voicing concern about water protection, National Chief Woodhouse Nepinak called on Carney to \u201chonour his promise during the election and reintroduce the First Nations Clean Water Act this month. It should have been done by now.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the 2025 spring election, the Liberal Party platform<\/a> said they would \u201cimmediately introduce and pass legislation affirming that First Nations have a human right to clean drinking water.\u201d<\/p>\n

In June, provincial environment ministers in Ontario and Alberta called<\/a> on the Carney government to abandon that plan, saying they feared it would \u201cundermine competitiveness\u201d and \u201cdelay project development.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the provincial pressure, Gull-Masty said over the summer the federal government was still planning to table a First Nations water bill \u201cthis fall<\/a>.\u201d As of Nov. 13, no such bill had been introduced.<\/p>\n

The bill isn\u2019t the answer for everyone. When a parliamentary committee studied it last year, Chief Tuccaro appeared as a witness and said he was in \u201ctotal opposition<\/a>\u201d to it because of the powers it could hand Alberta.<\/p>\n

Chief Sheldon Sunshine of Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, in Treaty 8 territory, had also told the committee in October \u201cthis bill does not meet our needs or expectations<\/a>.\u201d He said it didn\u2019t meaningfully incorporate inherent and Treaty Rights to water.<\/p>\n

Asked whether Mikisew Cree First Nation still opposes the bill, even though the national chief was calling for its reintroduction, public relations director Tanya Adams said the nation\u2019s position remains the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe national chief stood with us to support our fight against the treat and release of toxic tailings into our water. We thank her for that. Unfortunately, she took this opportunity to reiterate the Assembly of First Nations executive\u2019s support for Bill C-61 [the First Nations Clean Water Act] \u2014 something we have opposed and continue to oppose,\u201d Adams said.<\/p>\n

Adams said the bill would create \u201ctwo tiers of drinking water guidelines.\u201d The bill would establish standards for drinking water on First Nation lands as meeting the level of quality for either federal guidelines<\/a>, or some other standards \u201cin place in the province or territory where the First Nation lands are located.\u201d<\/p>\n

It also makes a distinction between water and \u201csource water,\u201d or the untreated fresh water that becomes drinking water, and allows the federal government to enter into agreements with provinces with respect to protecting it.<\/p>\n

Mikisew Cree First Nation is worried these kinds of definitions surrender control over water to Alberta, while Canada\u2019s constitution says the federal government has jurisdiction<\/a> over navigable waters.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis legislation will do nothing for our nation on the issue of toxic tailings,\u201d Adams said, calling it \u201canti-treaty.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said the First Nation\u2019s position was shared by many chiefs and nations across Canada.<\/p>\n

A request for comment sent to the national chief\u2019s office was not returned by publication time.<\/p>\n

The Carney government\u2019s first budget, released this month, does propose $2.3 billion over three years<\/a> to renew the First Nations Water and Wastewater Enhanced Program, maintaining about 800 projects.<\/p>\n

But a steering committee for Treaty 6, 7 and 8 territories said Nov. 5 that the funding for First Nations was \u201cdramatically insufficient<\/a>\u201d to address infrastructure gaps across Alberta, especially for clean water.<\/p>\n

Chief Troy Knowlton of the Piikani Nation near the Alberta-Montana border, called it \u201ca small drop in the giant bucket that Canada created.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Seven months after the Liberal Party vowed to \u201cimmediately introduce and pass legislation\u201d affirming the right of First…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":289210,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":["post-289209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=289209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289209\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/289210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=289209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=289209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=289209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}