Notley: Lower Athabasca plan continues government

May 16, 2011

The draft Lower Athabasca Regional Plan released today is further evidence of the Alberta Conservative government’s determination to ignore good science and long-term prosperity for Albertans in order to keep big business friends happy, according to NDP MLA Rachel Notley.

 Notley, the NDP’s environment critic, says, “I am frustrated but not surprised that even the modest recommendations from the advisory process are weakened in this report. After receiving a more balanced set of recommendations from its advisory committee, the government went behind closed doors and capitulated to industry demands.

 “After the sorry record of the past months, with both scientists and Indigenous Peoples of the area highlighting decades of irresponsible activity in this important part of Alberta, this plan does nothing to re-establish confidence. Global concerns about oil sands production, which can hurt Alberta economically, will continue.”

 Notley proposes, “To establish public and international confidence, the government should subject its patchwork and brokered plan to independent scientific review.  We need to make sure we are developing this area in the best interests of the public, now and in the future. So far, the Tories have done nothing to convince Albertans they can be trusted with this task.”

 Notley is critical of the plan for reducing the standards called for in the advisory report last summer by such things as reducing the percentage of protected areas, not ensuring an adequate caribou territory, and identifying areas for protection on the basis of oil and forestry development plans rather than good environmental design.