From The Globe & Mail – Dec 17, 2010

by Josh Wingrove

Cutting through rhetoric that so often dominates debate over Canada’s
oil sands, a new report by a prominent academic group is a comprehensive
snapshot of the failings and successes of all the industry’s
stakeholders and raises hope for a new era of oversight.

The peer-reviewed report, to be published Wednesday by the Royal Society of Canada,
takes aim at oil companies, governments and environmental groups alike
while recommending steps to improve environmental monitoring in the
economically vital industry.

It paints Ottawa as an absentee oil sands parent and laments Alberta’s
weak regulatory system, adding both governments’ efforts haven’t “kept
pace” with development. It says industry has failed in efforts to
restore mined land to its original state. But it tosses the stakeholders
a bone, too, saying frequent claims of declining air quality and rising
cancer rates have no scientific footing.

Although often a target, a chastened Alberta appeared happy to take its lumps from academics, not activists.

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