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Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency Shell.Reviews@Ceaa‐Acee.Gc.Ca Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency Shell.Reviews@ceaa‐acee.gc.ca October 1, 2012 Dear Joint Review Panel Secretariat, Re: Shell Jackpine Mine Expansion We are submitting this as a request to present evidence to the Joint Review Panel hearings. This letter documents our serious concerns regarding the proposed project. One of us (Anna Zalik) was born in Alberta, lived and worked in Edmonton through her late 20s and received her first degree from the University of Alberta. The other (Isaac ‘Asume’ Osuoka) was born in Nigeria’s Niger Delta where he later devoted most of his adult life to working with communities impacted by the oil industry. This letter is informed by our individual experiences and academic research on oil industry socio‐ecological practices since 1997 (Osuoka) and 2001 (Zalik) respectively, and collaborative research since 2008. From 2000 to the present Zalik conducted extensive field work in oil‐producing regions of Nigeria and Mexico. From 2005 onward she initiated research on the sociology of the oil and gas industry in the US and in Canada from onward, with field research visits conducted in Northern Alberta and British Columbia since 2008. This work has included interviews with community members, government agencies, NGOs and industry representatives. Both of us have presented research in various international fora. With regard to precedents set through previous Shell Jackpine EIA processes, several of which are now in the JRP public materials and analysed by the Pembina Institute and Ecojustice, Shell did not fulfill its earlier commitment to the Oil Sands Environmental Coalition (OSEC)1 to mitigate CO2 emissions. This raises questions as to its commitment to obligations under the current process. Shell presented an extensive revision of its EIA in response to OSEC/Pembina Institute’s criticism of its failure to properly account for cumulative impacts of the proposed mine expansion. As explained in that submission, the original EIA only considered 1/12th of the “reasonably foreseeable disturbance”; did not sufficiently incorporate available information on species‐at‐risk, and did not include a pre‐development baseline to allow for comparison of current and reasonably foreseeable future development that would take into account the combined effects of various projects.2 Shell’s revision demonstrates a much more extensive footprint than previously outlined and also documents greater effects on traditional plants. On a related point, in their August submission to the JRP, Environment Canada stated their concerns regarding Shell’s description of a 40% loss in high quality caribou habitat as a `low magnitude` event. 1 OSEC is composed of the Pembina Institute, the Toxics Watch Society of Alberta and the Fort McMurray Environmental Association. 2 http://www.ceaa.gc.ca/050/documents/53358/53358E.pdf 1 This is particularly disturbing given the recent news that the federal government has delayed finalizing its boreal woodland caribou recovery strategy.3 As presented in the submissions to this current JRP, the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation has extensively criticized Shell`s failure to adequately consult them on the Jackpine proposal.4 Other First Nations of the Athabasca area have made submissions indicating dissatisfaction with information and/or consultation on the Jackpine mine well as insufficient responses to supplemental information requests related to wildlife habitat, socio economic effects and waterflow impacts among others. Here it is significant to note that Amnesty International has analysed the relationship between the development of the Canadian Tar Sands and the abuse of rights of indigenous peoples. In their February 2012 briefing on Canada to a United Nations committee, Amnesty International states: The failure to reach timely resolution of outstanding land disputes often has the consequence of depriving Indigenous peoples of access to an adequate land base on which to sustain their ways of life, pass traditions on to future generations, meet the immediate economic needs of their communities and rebuild their economies. These harms are compounded by the failure to provide effective interim protection for Indigenous land rights while disputes remain unresolved. Large scale resource development on Indigenous lands, such as mining, oil sands extractions, oil and gas development and clear‐cut logging, presents an inherent challenge to the integrity of Indigenous peoples’ use of the land. Under international human rights standards, Indigenous peoples have a right to free, dprior an informed consent; i.e. to make their own informed decision about whether such development should proceed. In practice, consultation with Indigenous peoples typically occurs after the decision to prioritize extractive development over other land uses has already taken place. Consequently consultation tends to be confined to the mitigation of adverse project impacts rather than to the more fundamental question of whether the project should proceed or whether the land should be protected for other uses. Furthermore, governments in Canada typically rely on project proponents, or on regulatory agencies with limited mandates in respect to Indigenous rights, to carry out such consultations. Indigenous peoples who determine that a proposed project is incompatible with their use of the land typically have little recourse to prevent it going ahead, short of a lengthy legal battle that most are unable to afford.5 3 See http://albertawilderness.ca/news/2012/2012‐09‐29‐awa‐news‐release‐more‐death‐in‐the‐woods‐feds‐delay‐action‐ on‐caribou‐again. 4 A recent letter from ACFN that documents earlier correspondence is at http://www.ceaa.gc.ca/050/documents/p59540/81451E.pdf 5 See Amnesty International (2012) “Briefing to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination http://www.amnesty.ca/files/CanadaUNCERDBriefingFebruary12.pdf, p 12. For an excellent account of of the structural inequality arising from oilfield development in Alberta, see Melina Laboucan Massimo’s photo essay on the 2011 Plains Midstream spill at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qz3nSscXamI 2 Shell has also faced global criticism, and various lawsuits, for damages in sites that include Nigeria and Russia. In 2011, the Shell Bonga offshore project experienced the largest spill Nigeria had seen in over a decade, of approximately 40,000 barrels. On various occasions, NGO representatives, community members and Church groups have criticized Shell Nigeria and other oil companies for accusing local populations of sabotage in cases where spills were caused by erosion or poor facility maintenance. Most recently the organization Environmental Rights Action (ERA ‐ Friends of the Earth Nigeria) reported a case of surreptitious behaviour in an August 2012 spill near Shell’s Nembe flowstation.6 According to the ERA report, Shell representatives tried to convince community leaders to sign documentation on a joint inspection prior to undertaking a site visit. In 2009 a court in The Hague “ruled that, “ it did have jurisdiction over Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, Shell’s onshore Nigerian subsidiary” in cases where ERA/Friends of the Earth Nigeria claim”that Shell in Nigeria has failed to clean up oil spills properly or done so belatedly and without paying compensation. It also claims (Shell) is quick to ascribe spills to sabotage “.7 This case will go to Court this October in the Netherlands and concerns the impacts of spills and leakages from Shell facilities on community members of Oruma, Ikot Ada Udo and Goi in the Niger Delta.8 Also in August, the Director of Global Issues at Amnesty International made the following statement with regard to recent Shell spills: “The investigation process into oil spills in the Niger Delta is a fiasco. There is more investment in public relations messaging than in facing up to the fact that much of the oil infrastructure is old, poorly maintained and prone to leaks – some of them devastating in terms of their human rights impact.”9 Significant to this JRP process, a United Nations Environment Programme 2011 report on oil pollution in the Niger Delta of Nigeria states that “control and maintenance of oilfield infrastructure in Ogoniland has been and remains inadequate: the Shell Petroleum Development Company's own procedures have not been applied, creating public health and safety issues.” 10 Such results parallel the inability of Shell and other companies to meet Alberta’s provincial 6 See Yusuf (2012) “Shell‐Host Communities bicker over oil spill” in The Daily Independent at http://dailyindependentnig.com/2012/08/shell‐host‐communities‐bicker‐over‐nembe‐oil‐spill/ and ERA Field Report 317 at http://www.eraction.org/component/content/article/432 7 See Steen, M (2009). Court Rules on Niger Delta Oil Spill. Financial Times. December 30 at http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/efddb15a‐f55f‐11de‐90ab‐00144feab49a.html#axzz27zzqBPRl 8 Background information on the case is available at http://www.milieudefensie.nl/english/shell/oil‐ leaks/courtcase/press/documents/documents‐on‐the‐shell‐legal‐case#factsheets. 9 The full statement may be found at: http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/nigeria‐oil‐spill‐investigations‐fiasco‐niger‐delta‐ 2012‐08‐02 10 That report argued that the Nigerian government is “at the mercy of oil companies when it comes to conducting site inspections” UNEP (2011) Environmental Assessment of Ogoniland; p 40. See http://www.unep.org/nigeria/ Also see the Executive Summary and portions of the report concerning
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