30 May 2023 – by Ella Kiyomi Dobson
Two leaks from an Imperial Oil tailings pond in Alberta, Canada, occurred in May 2022 and again in January 2023. Imperial Oil did not report the first spill to Athabaskan Chipewyan First Nations and Northwest Territories government officials until the second spill occurred nine months later. The Alberta Freedom of Information Act of 2015 requires companies to notify the public of environmental or public health and safety risks within 24 hours; this incident was a clear breach of this agreement.
First Nations have a large hunting and fishing presence in the Athabasca River and its connected tributaries. As a result of the failure of Imperial Oil to notify the public, First Nations were harvesting and collecting water from contaminated regions for nine months. The seepage contained high levels of iron, sulphates, and arsenic, among other toxins. This reporting error represents a massive breach of trust between the Indigenous communities, the oil industries, and the Alberta Energy Regulator. While the CEO of Imperial Oil has apologised for the incident and stated they are working tirelessly to prevent further leaks, some community members feel they may have to leave their homes due to health risks.
Federal inspectors have ordered Imperial Oil to stop the leak and take measures to prevent future incidents. However, this is not the first time Imperial Oil has been found in violation of environmental regulations. In July 2022, another wastewater leak in the Northwest Territories, not far from the Kearl Pond sites, led to the closure of the pipeline at Norman Wells. In 2021, they failed to disclose contamination in over 200 locations in Saskatchewan, some of which they had known were contaminated for years. These are just two examples of repeated incidents in which Imperial Oil has failed the communities that neighbour their operations by allowing harmful incidents to occur and, consequently, not communicating such harms to those involved.
The impact of the oil sands industry on Indigenous communities is often overlooked in discussions of the industry’s economic benefits. For Imperial Oil, 2022 saw record earnings and cash flow. However, First Nations rely on the Athabasca River for their livelihoods, and incidents like this highlight the importance of recognizing the environmental and social harms of oil sands extraction. It is imperative that the oil sands industry takes a more proactive approach to environmental stewardship and engages in genuine consultation with Indigenous communities, whose land they have directly benefited from, to ensure their well-being is the highest priority. Until this paradigm shift happens, marginalised communities worldwide remain most at risk from these extractive industries.
