Neglected oil spills in Canadian little-known Canadian oilpatch go unpunished for years

Oil spills in Manitoba have gone unchecked for 16 years, with no fines or penalties issued for 6.5 million liters of leaked oil and saltwater.

Julia-Simone Rutgers reports for The Narwhal.

In short:

Manitoba has seen 6.5 million liters of oil and saltwater spill from pipelines since 2008, with no fines issued.
The provincial government previously cut environmental oversight, leaving oil companies to self-regulate and report spills.
Experts warn that this self-regulation model poses significant environmental and public health risks.

Key quote:

“It’s really a self-governance model where industry gets to mark its own homework.”

— Alan Andrews, lawyer with the environmental law charity EcoJustice.

Why this matters:

In rural Manitoba, where agriculture and natural resources play a crucial role in daily life, the impact of oil spills can be devastating. The leaked oil and saltwater can degrade soil quality, making it unsuitable for farming and contaminate water supplies, posing risks to both human health and wildlife. Despite these severe consequences, the lack of regulatory action highlights a troubling oversight in environmental governance.

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