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HomeOur workChallenging Alberta’s failure to hold industry accountable for oil sands cleanup 
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Challenging Alberta’s failure to hold industry accountable for oil sands cleanup 

April 3, 2025

Alberta’s Mine Financial Security Program is failing to protect public interest — creating risks of astronomical public costs to Albertans and lasting pollution to the environment. 

On behalf of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN), we’re arguing that Alberta has failed to develop an effective regime to protect Albertans from bearing the massive costs of oil sands mine clean up, while also falling short on its duty to protect Treaty nations like ACFN from ongoing oil sands pollution. 

What’s the problem? 

Mining companies are legally responsible for cleaning up their oil sands mess. Alberta implemented the Mine Financial Security Program (MFSP) to ensure they live up to their legal obligations, while also ensuring that Albertans are protected if they don’t.  

However, there are fundamental flaws with the design of the MFSP that fail to protect everyday Albertans from risks of astronomical clean-up costs.  

While estimates indicate current clean-up costs for oil sands and coal mines are at least $57 billion, oil sands companies have chosen to post the bare minimum – less than $1 billion.  The result is a significant risk that Alberta taxpayers will be left to pay for the astronomical costs of clean-up. 

Indigenous Nations bearing the brunt of the harms 

Alberta had opportunities to listen to First Nations community concerns and reform the Program. Instead, they chose to prioritize industry profits over public interest.   

Oil sands production already severely impacts ACFN, dramatically impairing the Nation’s ability to exercise its Treaty rights to travel, hunt, fish, trap in traditional territories. Alberta has a legal responsibility to local Indigenous Nations like ACFN when making decisions about how to regulate industries in Treaty 8. 

If Alberta won’t fight to hold industry accountable and protect public interest, we will. 

Alberta has refused to take the opportunity to fix the glaring flaws in this program, ignoring the recommendations of Indigenous Peoples like ACFN, who have so much at stake from whether the oil sands mines are cleaned up properly. 

On behalf of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN), we have filed a judicial review of the Alberta Environment and Protected Areas’ decision to renew the rules for the Mine Financial Security Program  without addressing the flaws in the program. 

Failing to address critical flaws in the Program 

The MFSP is the program in Alberta that requires mine owners to provide financial security for the closure of their coal and oil sands mines. But according to many experts, is unfit for purpose and creates a serious risk that a) these mine won’t get cleaned up properly and b) Albertans will pay the cost of this clean up. 

Following two critical reports from the Auditor General about the MFSP (2015 and 2021), Alberta undertook a year-long review of the MFSP in 2022. 

As the oil sands are within ACFN’s traditional territories and Treaty 8 territory, ACFN engaged extensively in this review with a coalition of regional First Nations and identified several critical issues with the Program, including the fact that the MFSP: 

  • overestimates the value of assets of oil sands operators, 
  • underestimates the liabilities of oil sands mines, and 
  • is not prepared for potential structural changes to oil markets (e.g. a sharp or long-term decline in oil demand that affects the industry as a whole).  

On October 3, 2024, Alberta Environment and Protected Areas released the revised the rules of the MFSP without addressing the fundamental issues with the program or substantively responding to ACFN’s concerns. 

If Alberta won’t fight to protect public interest, we will. 

We are challenging the Director’s decision on several grounds, including: 

  • consistency with Alberta’s Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act 
  • failing to meaningfully consult with ACFN breaching Alberta’s duty to diligently implement the promises in Treaty 8  

We’re arguing that Alberta has failed to develop an effective regime to protect Albertans from bearing the massive costs of oil sands mine clean up, and to protect Treaty nations like ACFN from ongoing oil sands pollution. 

 

Ecojustice lawyers: 

Clients: 

  • Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation 
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