NDP Critic for Environment and Parks issued the following the recent release of the Auditor General’s Report:

We thank the Auditor General for his June 2021 Report, and concur with his recommendations. In particular, dealing seriously with the government’s environmental liabilities should be a top priority, and we urge the Kenney government to take action without delays.

“We remain critical of the December 15, 2019 decision by Finance Minister Travis Toews to eliminate the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Fund that was helping to clean up Alberta’s environmental liabilities, and instead redirect those funds to general revenue. That remains a short sighted and poorly considered decision, and we call on the Minister to reconsider his actions in light of this Report. 

“Finally, Environment and Parks Minister Jason Nixon should be ashamed that the final suite of recommendations related to fixing the Mine Financial Security Program has been sitting on his desk and gathering dust for more than a year. Instead of taking Alberta’s environmental liabilities seriously, Minister Nixon has been working overtime to stripmine the Rockies for coal development. He clearly has the wrong priorities for Albertans.”