EDMONTON — A dozen First Nations and conservation groups are asking Ottawa to step in and force the Alberta government to reinstate environmental monitoring in the province’s oilpatch.
The groups made the request in a letter sent to federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson.
They say Ottawa should step in because the suspensions threaten plans to restore damage done to the ecosystem in Wood Buffalo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Environmental monitoring is a big part of Ottawa’s efforts to ease UNESCO’s concerns about the park.
The letter asks Ottawa to urge Alberta to reinstate the monitoring and to withhold any pandemic-related aid to the province’s oil and gas industry until that happens.
No response was immediately available from Wilkinson’s office.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 10, 2020
The Canadian Press
