It should come as no surprise to hear that the Alberta government is rejecting calls for a public inquiry into the death of an estimated 500 ducks which recently landed on a toxic oilsands tailings pond near Fort McMurray. Fingers continue to be pointed in all directions after the ducks were found dead or dying in the toxic pond, which belongs to oilsands mega giant Syncrude Canada Ltd. Syncrude’s president and CEO Tom Katinas says noisemakers had been deployed at all the company’s other tailings ponds, which are formed during the oilsands extraction process. It’s called the Clark hot water process, where crush bitumen containing oil, is mixed with heated water and used to separate the bitumen out of the ore. The leftover water is then dumped in the tailings ponds, which contain a mixture of clay, sand water and hydrocarbons. The end result is a toxic concoction the consistency of yogurt which would be like drinking a diluted glass of oil. These ponds, and more specifically the companies which are responsible for them, are supposed to have stringent measures in place that keep migrating waterfowl from landing on the ponds, such as scarecrows and noisemakers (often referred to as sonic canons). But due to the extreme winter weather conditions in late April, the deployment of these devices on the Aurora Settling Basin was delayed. Alberta Environment Minister Renner says he has full confidence in the province’s ongoing investigation of what happened April 28 at a Syncrude Canada site near Fort McMurray. “The death of the ducks is unacceptable and the province will find out why it happened and take action to make sure it doesn’t happen again, says Renner. But it’s hardly enough, according to Alberta Liberal Leader Kevin Taft, who is calling for a public inquiry into the incident. And he’s not alone. Joining him are Aboriginal leaders in the Fort McMurray area, who are also calling on the federal government for an inquiry into the ecological disaster, which serves as a significant black eye to our province and its oil industry. And it may be only scratching the surface for a problem which many people suggest represents just a fraction of the wildlife being affected by the toxic ponds used to hold oilsands waste. Through it all, our beloved Premier Ed Stelmach comments about certain rules and regulations and pretends to be concerned. He also points out that Syncrude will face charges if found negligent in the death of the ducks. Those charges could result in a fine of up to $1 million, which for all intents and purposes is a mere drop in the oil barrel for a company which boasts profit margins in the billions each year. It’s like paying a traffic ticket. There’s no denying the fact that the loss of the 500 waterfowl represents a big hit to our fragile natural ecosystem. The real tragedy when you read between the lines, however, is the strain and irreparable damage which Syncrude and other money-hungry oil giants in this province are having on our fragile environment. But don’t expect that to change anytime soon. Especially in a resource-rich province which butters its bread with bitumen and natural gas royalties. Some would say that in itself makes our government the real ‘ugly duckling’ in all of this.

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