Consultation/community relations

Imperial was issued an Environmental Protection Order by the Alberta Energy Regulator in March 2023 in response to two industrial water incidents at our Kearl oil sands mine.  With both incidents, to date there is no indication of adverse impacts to fish population in nearby river systems, or risks to drinking water for local communities. Leading up to this, our approach to communication with Indigenous communities did not meet community expectations, which contributed to fear, confusion, and anger in these communities.

“I regret this has happened and, on behalf of our entire company, am deeply apologetic,” said Brad Corson, Imperial President and CEO. “We have broken trust with these incidents and by failing in our commitment to provide sufficient communications to neighbouring Indigenous communities. I know the process of rebuilding trust will take time, and it will require listening and learning. All of us at Imperial have dedicated ourselves to this important journey.”

Imperial continues to engage directly with Indigenous leaders and other community members to answer questions, provide information and work to rebuild trust. We have had numerous site tours, information sessions and community visits. We have shared our mitigation and monitoring plans with communities and have offered for them to complete their own independent reviews of our technical work. We are also seeking input from communities on our plans to improve our communications going forward.