Canada PM: Oil Sands Industry May Need To Make Environmental Fixes

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Friday that Canada's oil sands industry may be required to make environmental fixes if a federal panel finds problems with monitoring.

"Obviously if there are significant problems, we would expect remedial action to be taken," Harper said in comments to journalists after a speech in Edmonton.

The federal government last month created a panel of independent scientists to review the environmental monitoring practices around the oil sands industry in northeast Alberta.

The panel was created to respond to reports by independent scientists and environmentalists alleging that higher-than-normal levels of heavy metals and other contaminants were found in the Athabasca River downstream from oil sands mining operations. The Alberta provincial regulators dispute the findings.

"What really matters in this debate is that we make decisions on the facts, not based on somebody's fund raising agenda somewhere," Harper said.

He said that it was important to respect the environment, "but also understand that this is one of the largest and most vital industries in the Canadian economy."

Companies that operate, or are developing, oil sands mines in the region include Suncor Energy Inc. (SU), Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (CNQ), Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA), Total S.A. (TOT), Imperial Oil (IMO), and Syncrude, which is operated by Canadian Oil Sands Trust (COS.UN.T)

-By Edward Welsch, Dow Jones Newswires; 403-229-9095; edward.welsch@dowjones.com

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