Question Period Note: Frontier Oil Sands Mine Project

Frontier Oil Sands Mine Project

• We are conducting environmental assessments using fair, predictable processes that are grounded in science and traditional knowledge.

FRONTIER OIL SANDS MINE PROJECT

o On July 25, 2019, the Panel submitted its report containing its conclusions and recommendations to my predecessor and the Chief Executive Officer of the Alberta Energy Regulator.
o The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada is consulting with Indigenous groups on the Panel Report, and potential measures to address potential impacts of the Project on Aboriginal or Treaty rights.
o I am considering the findings of the Review Panel and will issue my Decision Statement on the Project by the end of February 2020.
o Informed decision-making requires all available and relevant information to be gathered and considered.

• Teck Resources Ltd. is proposing to construct, operate and reclaim the Frontier Oil Sands Mine Project, a 260,000-barrel-per-day oil sands mining operation located in northeastern Alberta, approximately 110 kilometres north of Fort McMurray. The estimated project area is over 24,000 hectares. If approved, the Project would operate for 41 years.
• On May 24, 2016, a three-member Joint Review Panel was established with the Alberta Energy Regulator. The Panel held public hearings in fall 2018. In March 2019, the time limit for issuing the Decision Statement was extended from 120 days to 218 days (7 months) from the receipt of the Panel report in order to account for the federal election period. The federal decision on the Project is due by February 28, 2020.
• On July 25, 2019, the Joint Review Panel submitted its report containing its conclusions and recommendations under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 (CEAA 2012), and its decision under the Alberta Energy Regulator, to your predecessor and the Chief Executive Officer of the Regulator. The Panel concluded that the Project is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects, taking into account the implementation of the mitigation measures committed to by the Proponent together with the mitigation measures recommended by the Panel.
• The Panel concluded the Project is likely to result in significant adverse environmental effects to the following environmental components and Indigenous interests: wetlands, biodiversity, old-growth forests, asserted rights, wetland and old growth-reliant species at risk, use of lands and resources, culture of Indigenous groups who use the project area, and the Ronald Lake bison herd. In addition, the Panel concluded that the Project will also contribute to existing significant adverse cumulative effects in these areas.
• The Project is estimated to emit about 4.1 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year. The Panel noted that these contributions may make it more difficult for Canada to achieve its targets and commitments under the Paris Accord. The Panel also concluded that the possibility of exceeding the 100-megatonne limit established in Alberta's Oil Sands Emissions Limit Act in the near term is less likely even if the Project were to proceed.
• In its capacity as the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER), the Panel has approved the provincial authorizations required for the Project to proceed under Alberta’s Oil Sands Conservation Act, the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act and the Water Act, subject to limitations and 461 conditions.
• The Agency developed draft potential conditions to be included in the Decision Statement, should the Project be allowed to proceed, and have solicited input from federal departments, the province and Indigenous groups. A public comment period on these conditions will commence in late October and is anticipated to last 30 days (end of November 2019).
• In consultation with potentially impacted Indigenous group and other federal departments, the Agency is developing an accommodation package that seeks to address outstanding concerns relating to the impacts of the Project on asserted or established Aboriginal or Treaty rights, should the Project be allowed to proceed.
• Under CEAA 2012, timelines have been established for this Project as follows:
• The timeline for the Panel to be established was 150 days (five months) from the referral of the Project to a Review Panel (completed).
• The timeline for the Panel to submit was report is 727 days (24 months) from the establishment of the Review Panel (completed).
• The timeline for you to issue the Decision Statement is 218 days (seven months) from submission of the Review Panel’s report – February 28, 2020.

Question Period notes as provided by the Department to the Minister’s Office