Federal environment minister supports giving N.W.T. a seat on oilsands oversight committee

The federal environment minister says he supports giving the N.W.T. a seat at the table when it comes to environmental and water monitoring in Alberta's oilsands.

The comments come after the Canadian Press reported that Alberta and the federal government signed a deal to make major cuts to environmental monitoring of the oilsands due to the pandemic. As a result, the budget was reduced for fieldwork on the main branch of the Athabasca River which flows downstream into the Northwest Territories.

The N.W.T. has asked for a spot on the committee that oversees the Oil Sands Monitoring Program, which is jointly managed by Alberta and the federal government.

"We have said to the [N.W.T.] government as recently as yesterday, I sent a letter back to the minister, that we will certainly raise that," Canada's Environment and Climate Change Minister Jonathan Wilkinson told CBC Thursday.

"Personally, I have no objection to that, but obviously there are other parties to this, and we have to make sure they are consulted as well."

Wilkinson said that the Canadian Press story "got it a bit wrong," and said he wanted to clarify that there was no agreement between the federal and Alberta governments to cut budgets, but rather the recommendations to do so was from the oilsands oversight committee. He said that the budget cuts are a result of a shortened research season due to COVID-19. 

He said the committee has 12 members, including six Indigenous members, two representatives from the government of Alberta and one from the federal government.

N.W.T. minister 'very satisfied' with feds, Alberta

Shane Thompson, N.W.T.'s environment minister, said Friday that the N.W.T. government asked to have a seat on two committees to have more say in decisions — the oversight committee and a technical advisory committee.

"Those two tools, committees, are very important. We feel we need to be there," said Thompson. He said his counterparts have been supportive.

"They heard us and have been working with us behind the scenes."

It was a slip-up, a mix up. And these things do happen.- Shane Thompson, N.W.T. environment minister

Indigenous leaders in N.W.T. and northern Alberta said this week they were "angry" about the budget cuts, and they were "losing faith" in environmental protection of their land and water.

But Thompson said he's OK with Wilkinson's budget cut explanation that fieldwork couldn't be done in the South due to COVID-19.

"I'm very satisfied. When I talked to both the ministers from Alberta and the federal minister, it was very, very much clear that this change they implemented was across Canada — it wasn't just specifically the Slave or the Hay River," said Thompson.

"It was about safety for their staff and their people. So we understood what they did. And at no point in time are we disagreeing with their approach."

News came out in July that Alberta suspended environmental monitoring for oilsands companies without notifying the Northwest Territories, despite a legally binding agreement to do so.

When asked about this lack of consultation, Thompson was forgiving.

"It was a slip-up, a mix up. And these things do happen. They apologized and they said moving forward we're going to make sure that consultation and us working together is going to be first and foremost," said Thompson. 

Thompson said despite the interruptions in water monitoring, he's sure the water coming downstream from Alberta has been safe throughout the pandemic.

"We have been monitoring the water ... in our locations to ensure the water is safe. I can rest assure the residents of the Northwest Territories, we've been doing our due diligence," said Thomson.

Thompson said the N.W.T. will continue to test and monitor the water, and said his understanding is that the federal government will reimburse the territory for the cost.