Robert White, Syncrude’s lawyer, later told reporters the oil company has already expressed “deep regret” and “spent a tremendous amount of money to ensure it didn’t happen again.”I am glad that the company has acknowledged the problem and apologized. The trouble for Syncrude is that this is not a single isolated incident. It has a long record of migratory bird deaths, with hundreds of bird dying in its tailings ponds annually. The company clearly needs to do more to prevent these deaths from happening, and it is right for the Canadian government to enforce its laws.
“To now charge us and bring us to court is not going to bring back 1,603 ducks,” he added.
Mr. White rejected a reporter’s question about whether Syncrude thought it was above the law.
“Of course not,” he said. “However, the law has recognized for a long time that when people do their best to avoid something, then that isn’t a matter for charges. That’s a matter for fix-up.”
Now if only the government had a good solution for the other environmental problems with the oil sands industry.