Well, colour me surprised – Syncrude has to pay a fine. In this oil & gas centric province, the energy companies always come out the winners. Just ask our provincial politicians.
When oil giant Syncrude was taken to court for the death of 1,600 ducks that landed on their tailings pond in 2008, I expected the whole thing to be swept under the rug. It’s the usual procedure in Alberta when dealing with companies that pay the government millions in royalties each year.
Low and behold, they were actually found guilty in June 2010. A tiny shred of hope began to glimmer that justice might possibly be served this time.
Then we were made to wait until October, while Syncrude “negotiated a sentencing recommendation.” Aha, I thought, one tiny little tap on the wrist coming right up. Since when do criminals who have been found guilty get to negotiate their own sentencing recommendations? “Oh, if it’s OK with you, your honour, I’ll serve my time on the beach in Hawaii…”
So imagine my surprise when late last Friday, the news came out that Syncrude had been penalized $3M for the death of 1,600 ducks – the equivalent of $1,875 dollars per duck.
Here’s a breakdown of the creative sentencing that Syncrude must pay:
- $500,000 in provincial fines, the maximum under the law, half of which will go toward an environmental stewardship program at Keyano College in Fort McMurray
- $300,000 in federal fines, the maximum under federal law
- $1.3 million to the University of Alberta for research into migratory birds and technology to ward them away from hazards like tailings ponds
- $900,000 for a wetlands conservation project on 60 acres near North Cooking Lake, a key stopover point for migratory birds
There is much that could be debated about the sentencing provisions, starting with the fact that Syncrude will get a tax receipt for all but $550,000 of it. Giving money to education and conservation is tax deductible in Canada, so perhaps it is not so much a fine as a donation.
The point is, a precedent has been set in Alberta. A precedent that did NOT favor the oil and gas companies. Sure the penalty is a drop in the bucket for Syncrude, but the fact remains that they were found guilty, and are paying a fine. This just does not happen in this province.
Another point to be made is the power of the Internet and social media. As a card carrying cynic, I’m convinced this large fine came about because of the worldwide backlash against Alberta and the oilsands. Photos of oil covered birds and ugly scars on the landscape went around the world at the speed of light. It made Alberta (and therefore its politicians) look very bad, and good gosh, someone had to take a stand somewhere. If the local papers were the only ones who had picked up this story, the outcome would have been vastly different.
I’ve lived in Alberta my entire life, and you can’t live here without being familiar with the oil and gas industry. And because I’m a naturalist living in a resource-rich province, I pay attention to what the big guys are doing. Syncrude already spends millions of dollars each year on endangered species conservation and habitat reconstruction, without being ordered by the court to do so. Those stories don’t go very far in the media though. Good news rarely seems to go viral.
Yes, the tailings ponds are a disgrace, and yes, alternatives must be found. But when the provincial government turns a blind eye to what is going on, and gives the oil and gas companies carte blanche to regulate themselves, where is the incentive to fix the problem?
If I were to pick the most promising outcome of the Syncrude trial, it wouldn’t be the $3M fine. It would be the fact that our provincial government must now realize the world is watching, and that our natural resources are not theirs to give away, ignore, or sell to the highest bidder.
The jury is still out on that one.