(CP)
Thursday, May 8, 2008

FORT MCMURRAY, Alta.—Greenpeace has launched a “whistleblower” campaign to gather anonymous tips about injured wildlife or environmental damage caused by the oilsands.
But officials with Alberta Environment and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers say they’re worried people will call the Greenpeace line rather than the government agency’s emergency line when wildlife is in distress.

The move comes after the environmental group said it alerted provincial officials about a flock of loons landing on a blowdown pond at the ConocoPhillips Surmont site on the weekend.
Sustainable Resource Development has confirmed six loons were brought to a wildlife rehabilitation centre in Edmonton on Tuesday, and that government officials euthanized a redheaded grebe to end its suffering.
Last week, 500 ducks died after landing on a Syncrude tailings pond and becoming covered in toxic sludge.
Greenpeace said both situations became public as the result of anonymous tips.
Spokesman Mike Hudema said the whistleblower campaign has been launched because the Alberta government has refused to hold a public inquiry into the Syncrude incident.
“What we’ve seen is most of these events are either going unnoticed or unreported, and we’re really trying to provide a line for people that is 100 percent anonymous,” he said.
“With the whistleblower campaign . . . if they notice something happening on their worksite or in the area where they are, they can call and report them, and we’ll definitely find people who will get those stories out and hopefully take action on it.”
Both Syncrude and ConocoPhillips have said company officials, not Greenpeace, alerted Alberta Environment about the problems with the waterfowl.
Alberta Environment spokeswoman Kim Capstick said the notification issues will be part of the ongoing investigation.
Capstick added Alberta Environment already has a toll-free telephone number for people to call about wildlife emergencies “so we can respond appropriately—quickly.”
She noted Greenpeace doesn’t offer emergency response.