Alberta has signed an agreement with the federal government that makes major cuts to environmental monitoring of the oilsands. The monitoring program, initiated in 2012 under Stephen Harper's Conservative government, funds research by outside organizations as well as government scientists.
Signed July 7 by top bureaucrats in Ottawa and Edmonton, it cuts funding by at least 25 per cent. The budget has been cut to no more than $44 million this year. It was $58 million last year and $60 million in 2018.
Signed July 7 by top bureaucrats in Ottawa and Edmonton, it cuts funding by at least 25 per cent. The budget has been cut to no more than $44 million this year. It was $58 million last year and $60 million in 2018.
The deal says no fieldwork is to be done on the main branch of the Athabasca River. That means the program won't fund monitoring downstream of the oilsands even as the province considers proposals to allow the water from oilsands tailings ponds to be released into the river.
The deal also says there'll be no field studies on wetlands, fish or insects.
The deal also says there'll be no field studies on wetlands, fish or insects.
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