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The Redford government won’t appeal a court decision that blasted the province for barring environmental groups from a regulatory review of oilsands projects, although it won’t necessarily grant standing to the organizations involved.
Opposition parties say the government hasn’t learned any lessons from the case, which they describe as another black eye to Alberta’s reputation as an environmental regulator.
Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Richard Marceau ruled in October that Alberta Environment officials “breached the rules of fundamental justice” and displayed bias as they refused to allow the Oil Sands Environmental Coalition to participate in a review of the proposed Southern Pacific Resource Corp. oilsands operation.
The Progressive Conservative government had suggested it might appeal the decision, but Environment Minister Diana McQueen released a statement Wednesday that said the province would pursue no further legal action.
In an interview, McQueen said the environmental coalition will be able to submit new statements of concern in relation to the project, which will be given a “fresh look.”
But the minister said she considered the situation an isolated case.
“I have a great deal of confidence in my staff. They review thousands of decisions every year. What’s important to me is that each individual application is reviewed by staff and it’s unbiased,” McQueen said.
But Simon Dyer of the Pembina Institute think-tank, one of the members of the environmental coalition, questioned why the government would not simply accept the organization’s original statement and grant it standing.
The province could once again reject the coalition’s submission, Dyer noted.
“Clearly the government of Alberta and industry seem to prefer a process where there isn’t an opportunity for public hearing or different views presented. So that’s the risk,” he said.
Dyer said he was pleased “the government has acknowledged they have to follow the law,” but noted it had neither communicated its decision directly nor apologized.
Wildrose MLA Joe Anglin said the Tory government is admitting guilt by not appealing while failing to acknowledge it has made a mistake.
The Opposition environment critic said that discredits the province’s regulatory system at a time when Alberta is under intense scrutiny as it seeks to open new markets for the oilsands.
“It undermines our reputation as a fair and just province and it undermines our ability to go out and tell the world that when we develop our resources, we’re going to do it in an environmentally responsible way,” he said.
Liberal MLA Laurie Blakeman said she was glad the government didn’t appeal “because it would have been a monumental waste of taxpayers’ money because they’re not going to win it.”
But she said the government’s contention it does not have a systemic problem after getting caught trying to manipulate the system is troubling.
“You do want to take them out and shake them sometimes,” said Blakeman.
The NDP’s Rachel Notley said the government should apologize and appoint a respected outside figure to evaluate the integrity of the review process.
In his decision last month, Marceau pointed to a 2009 briefing note from the department’s northern region director to the top bureaucrat in the department at the time.
The official, who is not named, wrote that the coalition was no longer assisting the government on environmental initiatives and one group member — the Pembina Institute — was publishing “negative media on the oilsands.”
The internal note said that while the coalition had been given standing in previous hearings, it should be rejected on the grounds it was not directly affected by the oilsands operations.
The judge found that was the exact reason given in 2012 to not allow the coalition to speak on the proposed Southern Pacific Resource Corp. project in northeastern Alberta. The court ruling and the government’s decision could have implications for other groups.
Earlier this year, Metis Local 1935 from Fort McMurray and the Fort McKay First Nation were denied standing at hearings after filing statements of concern regarding oilsands developments.
The Metis are concerned about the Thickwood project proposed by Grizzly Oilsands Ltd., about 60 kilometres northwest of Fort McMurray.
The Fort McKay band filed a statement of concern regarding an Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. proposal about 20 kilometres from one of its reserves.
In September, both groups were told they failed to make their case to be heard by regulators who will decide if the projects should go ahead.