Environment critic Marlin Schmidt said Albertans now know even less than before the review of the Mine Financial Security Program began.
“Given how much money is at stake and how important this sector is to our economy, the fact the public was completely shut out of this process is really concerning,” he said.
Schmidt said that during the program review, the government changed its rules on how companies must ensure their cleanup obligations can be met. Instead of relying on lines of credit or other forms of capital, the totals of which were made public, companies can now provide demand bonds from insurance companies.
The program review was called after two scathing reports from Alberta’s auditor general. But First Nations consulted during the review have said the government’s current direction holds on to most of the old program’s mistakes and makes some new ones — including failing to account for changes in the oil market as countries move to low-carbon economies.
The department did not immediately respond to a request for an explanation of why the review shut out the public.
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