Greenpeace responds to report Canada is ill-prepared for Arctic oil disasters

The Polar Pioneer oil rig left the port of Seattle for the Arctic Ocean on June 15, 2015. (CP/Sy Bean/The Seattle Times)
The Polar Pioneer oil rig left the port of Seattle for the Arctic Ocean on June 15, 2015. (CP/Sy Bean/The Seattle Times)
A report prepared for the government on Arctic oil drilling contains some interesting revelations.

Obtained under Access to Information laws, the document called “An Emergency Response Biomonitoring Plan for Accidental Spills” and dated May 23, 2014, was prepared for the government agency, Fisheries and Oceans Canada by the consulting firm SL Ross Environmental Research Ltd.

In regard to oil exploration, it indicates that Canada is not adequately prepared to handle spills in the Arctic.

Although the authors note that there haven’t been any significant disaster to date, they say should one occur, it “could pose some challenges for monitoring”.

Farrah Khan. (Andrew Norton- Greenpeace)
Farrah Khan. (Andrew Norton- Greenpeace)

Feature Interview

Greenpeace Canada’s Arctic Campaigner, Farrah Khan, spoke to RCI’s Marc Montgomery about the report:

Related stories from around the North:

Canada:  Oil spills in Arctic, deep water would cause challenges for government, Canadian Press

Finland: Finns still sharply divided over wind power, Yle News

Greenland: Arctic oil and gas must stay in ground to restrict warming to 2°C says study, Blog by Mia Bennett

Iceland:  From Arctic Circle 2013-2014, a big drop in the price of oil, Blog by Mia Bennett

Norway:  Norway surpasses Russia as top gas supplier, Barents Observer

Russia: Rosneft buys time in Arctic, Barents Observer

United States:  Let locals decide fate of Arctic drilling, says U.S. politician, Alaska Dispatch News

Marc Montgomery, Radio Canada International

With a passion for anything antique with an engine, and for Canadian and world history, Marc comes with a wealth of media experience. After DJ work at private radio in southern Ontario, and with experience in Canadian Forces radio and tv in Europe, the state broadcaster in Austria (Radio 3), and the CBC in Ottawa and Montreal, he was the host of the immensely popular CBC and RCI show, "The Link". He is now part of the new RCI online team producing stories from and about Canada from coast to coast.

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