Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

Many people in Canada, including David Schindler, a respected environmental scientist at the University of Alberta, have for many years questioned the government sponsored environmental monitoring data of the oil sands as being inadequate. Last year, politicians and the general public in the United States began making critical remarks about “Canada’s dirty oil” threatening Canada’s reputation and possibly a portion of its export markets. This attention raised public concern to a new level resulting in both the federal and Alberta governments taking action. Several major initiatives, including work by the Royal Society of Canada, were started in the fall of 2010. These initiatives have now reached completion, and have presented governments with a wide array of analyses and recommendations for the management of the oil sands. The Alberta Environmental Monitoring Panel (AEMP) was appointed by Alberta Environment Minister Rob Renner in January 2011 to develop a world class environmental monitoring, evaluation a