CBC News
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach said Monday he has not seen pictures of oil-soaked ducks dying and struggling on a lake that have been shown at the Syncrude trial into environmental charges against the company.
“I haven’t seen them,” he told reporters in his first news conference at the legislature since the pictures were released last week.
“It’s in [the] trial, the trial is proceeding and it doesn’t matter if there’s 500 ducks, 1,500 ducks, 1,600 or five. They’re still ducks that landed in the pond. It’s unacceptable. It’s not the way we do things in Alberta and that’s why the company was charged under our act and also under the federal act.”
Syncrude is in the second week of its trial in St. Albert, Alta. The company faces provincial and federal environmental charges in the case of 1,600 ducks that died after landing on the company’s Aurora tailings pond in northern Alberta in April 2008.
The pictures and video – which were taken by an Alberta wildlife biologist nearly two years ago – were prominently featured in many newspapers, television newscasts and online news sites after they were released last Tuesday.
Laurie Blakeman, deputy leader of the Alberta Liberals, believes officials in the premier’s office have intentionally kept Stelmach from seeing the pictures.
“Deny, deny, deny,” she said. “I think that’s a deliberate procedure that they’re using to try and insulate themselves from what’s really going on because that is what the rest of the world is looking at is the pictures of those ducks.” New video shows attempted duck rescue
The trial resumed Monday with testimony from Alberta Environment official Cory McLaughlin, who spoke about being part of a crew that took a boat onto the ponds to assess damage and attempt to save some of the birds.
In videos screened in court, the boat is shown moving normally through open water on the pond, but slows as soon as it enters the bitumen mat floating on top ot the water.
The crew then comes upon two ducks in distress and an Alberta Environment official is shown trying to use a paddle to fish one of them out of the bitumen, but isn’t successful because the substance was too thick.
“I’ve handled roofing tar before. I’d say that this is what this is most like. Molasses, very thick and oily,” McLaughlin testified.
McLaughlin then put on a pair of gloves and grabbed the duck with his hands. The duck had to be killed, he testified, because it was in too much distress.
Syncrude faces one count under Section 155 of the Alberta Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act for failing to provide appropriate waterfowl deterrents at the pond.
The company has also been charged with one count under the federal Migratory Birds Convention Act for allegedly depositing or permitting the deposit of a substance harmful to migratory birds in waters or an area frequented by birds.
Syncrude has pleaded not guilty to both charges.
The trial is expected to last six to nine weeks and is being heard before a provincial court judge.