Premier’s move right one on Athabasca report

Stelmach no doubt frustrated when his ministers undermine him

By Paul Marck

Premier Ed Stelmach must feel a bit like the guy who sweeps up behind the elephants at the circus parade.  He does a good job, wins applause for his effort, but never knows when the next mess is going to land in front of him. And so it was this week with government and industry’s ham-handed dealing with the Schindler report on oil sands pollutants in the Athabasca River.

Professor David Schindler’s peer-reviewed scientific paper examines the concentration of heavy metals in the Athabasca, linking their accumulation to the proximity of oil sands development.  The government — and industry –  moved quickly to dismiss the report, which was published in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Both Environment Minister Rob Renner — whose first gaffe was admitting he had not read the report — and a Shell Albian Sands spokesperson said that the toxins may have come from natural sources, including bitumen leaking into the river that has nothing to do with oil sands mining. Bad move. Even though there is a nugget of truth to that assertion, as a defense against government policy and industry practice, it is about as leaky as the Oilers’ blueline.

Then Ron Liepert, the charm-school dropout who runs the energy department, took a swipe at Schindler as well, questioning the scientist’s integrity.

Simply and irrefutably, David Schindler’s research is beyond reproach. He is one of maybe only a dozen scientists in the country to be awarded a million-dollar research chair. If a generation called Clapton, God, and if Maradona was right in claiming a deity had a hand in scoring a World-Cup winning goal, then Schindler does the Almighty’s heavy lifting in terms of water science. There is no disputing the validity of his work. Schindler is a science superstar and knows what he is talking about, period.

Thankfully, Stelmach realized this, weighing in when the unfortunate Renner and Liepert soiled the carpet after trodding through the elephant leavings. The premier is being criticized in some circles for waiting 48 hours before commenting. But we will give him the benefit of doubt. Government does not always move quickly enough to satiate the media maw.

I believe Stelmach is sincere in his desire to reconcile Schindler’s research and the findings of government scientists. Schindler says he will accede to Stelmach’s request for a high-level meeting of scientific minds. His stated fear is that there is no political will to examine and accept evidence that runs contrary to the government’s own watered-down reports.

Now it will be up to Stelmach to ensure the gloves are off so scientists can debate unimpeachable data and move ahead. There is a desperate need for visible action to effectively manage the environmental degradation caused by industrializing Alberta’s greatest natural resource, the oil sands.

And the premier needs to send his ministers back to PR school so they can stop making idiotic comments. At least Stelmach is taking ownership of the issue. Too bad the energy industry does not stand up and do the same.

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