Fossil Fuels

The Saskatchewan Environmental Society (SES) strongly supports reduced consumption of fossil fuels because of their climate change impacts, which are projected to become more and more severe as the 21^st century proceeds.

In 2021, SES adopted a policy on the Line 5 oil pipeline – which carries up to 70% of Saskatchewan’s oil exports and has been identified as a potential source of pollution in the Great Lakes. SES encourages the Canadian government to insist the owner of the pipeline, Enbridge, who is in a legal dispute with the state of Michigan, to abide by the corrective actions needed to ensure the safety of the pipeline.

In the summer of 2016, a rupture in a Husky Energy oil pipeline spilled as much as 250,000 litres of crude oil and diluent into the North Saskatchewan River. The contamination spanned 500 kilometres of the river, putting the drinking water of nearly 70,000 Saskatchewan residents at risk, and resulted in at least 150 reported wildlife deaths. The spill exposed a lax regulatory system governing oil pipelines in Saskatchewan. In an inclusive set of recommendations, SES called for 13 new oil pipeline safety measures for the Saskatchewan government to implement, to ensure better safeguards for our water.

SES continues to monitor local environmental issues in Saskatchewan and respond to concerns raised by people around the province.