An All Too Familiar Scenario
Hi all.
This latest article in The Narwhal really is an all too familiar scenario, given the typical machinations of our Provincial Government as well as a certain Municipal Government. You can read between the lines on the latter. True and full Freedom of Information clearly seems a thing of the past, so bless the souls that keep banging on its door.
Bob Costa
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Sometimes, it just takes three full years for us to publish a story at The Narwhal. And it’s not just because our editing and fact-checking progress is that rigorous — every so often a government will fight you for years on end to keep, well, a secret.
The secret in question? Mike De Souza, The Narwhal’s director of enterprise and investigations, published a story today that revealed how more than a dozen companies operating in Canada’s oilsands region seemingly violated regulations that require them to pay for environmental monitoring.
The regulations provide a framework for a monitoring program, meant to prove to the rest of the world that Canada and Alberta were not in the business of producing “dirty oil.” Oilsands companies were asked to collectively pay $50 million per year to assess how the industry was affecting the surrounding air, water, land and biodiversity.
“When I noticed Alberta was paying a law firm tens of thousands of dollars to collect unpaid fees from oilsands companies, I decided to file some freedom of information requests to see that contract,” Mike told me. “The government refused to release it.”
And so, Mike ended up filing a formal complaint in 2021. The province made arguments to keep the data shrouded — arguments that Alberta’s information watchdog finally rejected this fall.
16 oilsands companies allegedly broke environmental rules. Alberta kept it a secret for 3 years
Mike even consulted with Drew Yewchuk, a lawyer at the University of Calgary public interest law clinic, to help us win the case. Three years in, the story was finally published — but if you thought that’d be the end of this saga, think again.
“I filed a new request in 2024 for the most recent data. The government used the same excuses to refuse, before this case was settled,” Mike said. “It certainly won’t deter us from pursuing, and publishing, what Alberta officials would like to keep hidden from the public.”
That’s the thing about fighting these battles to access information that people in power don’t want you to see — it takes time, effort and patience. Oh, and money — lots of it.
We do this work because we believe you have the right to know what happens in the halls of power. If you want to help us keep digging, now’s the time to chip in — your donation will be doubled this month, thanks to a group of generous donors!
Take care and spill the tea,
Karan Saxena
Audience engagement editor
P.S. The Narwhal can only spend years fighting for your right to know because of readers like you. Will you help Mike and the rest of our team gear up for another year of groundbreaking investigative reporting by donating what you can today? Bonus: all donations are being matched through Dec. 31!
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