An Albertan environmental activist is taking oil giant Syncrude to court over the lives of 500 geese that met an oily fate last spring.
Jeh Custer, a representative from environmental group, the Sierra Club of Canada, has launched a lawsuit against the massive oil company, because he feels justice has not been served.
A flock of 500 migratory birds landed on the toxic Aurora mine tailings pond in April. All but a handful of the waterfowl became soaked in oil, sank to the bottom of the pond and died.
Though the recovered birds were flown to Edmonton where they were cleaned and cared for, most died.
Government officials, including then-industry minister Jim Prentice, promised the incident would not go without penalty.
Custer said he’s outraged at inaction by both the federal and provincial government, nine months after the incident.
“This provides further evidence that pollution from tar-sands extraction is making the environment too toxic,” he said. “It’s a regrettable failure for the government to not enforce their own laws, meaning that ordinary Canadians must act.”
He said his aim is to ensure that the ducks’ death does not become the acceptable standard in the Alberta oilsands.
