This fact sheet, Northern Lifeblood — Empowering Northern Leaders to Protect the Mackenzie River Basin from the Risks of Oil Sands Development, provides an overview of threats to the Mackenzie River Basin and actions that leaders in the North can take to protect their waters.

This report, Northern Lifeblood — Empowering Northern Leaders to Protect the Mackenzie River Basin from the Risks of Oil Sands Development, investigates current and future threats to the Mackenzie River Basin, including the risks associated with the 170 square kilometres of toxic tailings lakes in the Athabasca watershed. The report also details opportunities for both northern leaders and the federal government to proactively protect northern waters.

A chart comparing the review processes for the Mackenzie Gas Project and the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline

The views of more than 5,000 sustainability thought leaders in Canada, the U.S. and Europe are outlined in The 2010 Global Thought Leader Survey on Sustainability.

Mining vs. In Situ provides an initial, much-needed comparison of the environmental impacts of oil sands mining and in situ extraction.

Drilling Deeper provides a first-of-its-kind analysis of the environmental performance of in situ oil sands by comparing nine operational facilities.

Drilling Deeper provides a first-of-its-kind analysis of the environmental performance of in situ oil sands by comparing nine operational facilities.

Based on the in situ oil sands report card, this best practices checklist shows how industry can improve environmental performance.

In the wake of the release of its report, Opening the Door for Oil Sands Expansion: The Hidden Environmental Impacts of the Enbridge Gateway Pipeline, the Pembina Institute wrote this letter to Jim Prentice, Minister of the Environment, and Peter Sylvester, president of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency. In the letter, Pembina calls on the government to amend the terms of reference for the environmental assessment to include the upstream impacts of the proposed pipeline.

The proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline Project will facilitate the expansion of the Alberta oil sands, causing significant environmental impacts.

The proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline Project will facilitate the expansion of the Alberta oil sands, causing significant environmental impacts.

This document provides background information about tailings and about Directive 074: Tailings Performance Criteria and Requirements for Oil Sands Mining Schemes.

A comprehensive review conducted by the Pembina Institute and Water Matters found that only two oil sands operations reported they would meet new rules to reduce toxic tailings.

Joint statement from an industry–environmental organization partnership that outlines the key elements for an effective Canadian cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas emissions.

Four major pipeline projects have been proposed for northern British Columbia over the next five years, including the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project. All of the proposed pipelines would cross and at times run parallel to important salmon habitats in the Upper Fraser, Skeena and Kitimat watersheds.

Four major pipeline projects have been proposed for northern British Columbia over the next five years, including the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project. This fact sheet highlights the importance of salmon in northern British Columbia and gives an overview of the risks posed to salmon by the Enbridge oil sands pipelines.

 An Alberta court decision that permits the Energy Resource Conservation Board (ERCB) to ignore Royal Dutch Shell's breach of written agreements made to obtain regulatory approval signals a likely end to collaborative approaches in the oil sands.  Ecojustice, on behalf of the Pembina Institute and the Toxics Watch Society of Alberta, was denied Leave to Appeal the ERCB’s decision to uphold the approvals for two of Shell oil sands projects, even though the ERCB acknowledged Shell had broken written agreements to reduce greenhouse gas pollution.

The oil sands in Saskatchewan could hold as much as 2.3 billion barrels of bitumen, and cover an area of 27,000 square kilometres. Development of oil sands is still in its early stages in Saskatchewan, so there is still an opportunity to do things properly and avoid the mistakes in Alberta.

The oil sands in Saskatchewan could hold as much as 2.3 billion barrels of bitumen, and cover an area of 27,000 square kilometres. Development of oil sands is still in its early stages in Saskatchewan, so there is still an opportunity to do things properly and avoid the mistakes in Alberta.

The Oil Sands Myths guide provides concise, referenced information on oil sands environmental impacts and management. An overview slide show is also available.