CAPE Alberta

UPDATE:

In an unsettling twist, the Alberta Ethics Commissioner Shawn McLeod has refused to investigate the potential conflicts of interest of Mr. David Yager.

Climate action also needs information integrity. Edmonton should ban fossil fuel ads on city-owned spaces, guard against greenwashing, and review education partners to ensure climate education is trustworthy. 3/

Key ideas to raise in the survey: prioritize methane reductions from oil & gas infrastructure (including aging and inactive wells), push for stronger landfill methane rules, and urge senior governments to cut methane 70% by 2030. 2/

Climate Action Plan Update (2027-2030) We invite you to learn more about the City’s climate action plan update and provide feedback on the draft action concepts.

Edmonton folks: the City’s Climate Action Survey closes Jan 30 (Friday). This is a quick, important chance to push for stronger climate and public health action. engaged.edmonton.ca/climateactio... 1/

Meet Teresa from Vermillion, #Alberta.

Teresa’s story is but one of thousands from Alberta landowners living with the fallout of leaking oil and gas wells and a #regulator that won’t protect them.

Learn more >> ecojustice.ca/news/landown...
TAKE ACTION >> www.cleanupyourmess.ca/write-your-mla

New Analysis Provides More Evidence That Heat Standards Save Lives - Inside Climate News As the Trump administration is expected to finalize a standard to prevent heat-related injury and illness for workers by early next year, a new study shows that clear, comprehensive rules save lives.

Heat is becoming deadlier for outdoor workers — but a new study shows that clear, comprehensive standards can prevent illness and save lives.

Action Alert: Talk to your MLA about Bill 7, the Water Amendment Act - Alberta Wilderness Association We need you to speak with your MLA and request that they oppose amendments to the Water Act proposed in Bill 7 before it becomes law.

📢 ACTION ALERT 📢

Calling all Albertans! Bill 7 is proposing worrisome changes to the Water Act, and we need your help.

Here's what you can do to oppose bad water policy in Alberta: albertawilderness.ca/action-alert...

Chasing methane, the invisible pollutant We’re being led to believe it’s possible to eliminate wasted methane, but this could be another false promise from an industry that has fooled us too many times.

Methane is an invisible health threat, and Alberta’s gas system is leaking it everywhere. Regulators claim progress, but real-world data shows massive underreporting. Rural families are breathing this in while industry shrugs. Alberta needs honest accounting and real protections.

Opinion: Alberta's AI boom poses hidden health, environmental risks Today, I'm concerned about a growing threat to health: the rush to build gas-powered AI data centres across Alberta.

edmontonjournal.com/opinion/colu... "As physicians, we’re already seeing the impacts of climate change in our practices, from heat-related illnesses to respiratory problems from wildfire smoke," says Julia Sawatzky of @cape-ab.bsky.social cont'd . .

Enbridge to spend $1.4-billion on pipeline networks to boost oil flows to U.S. refiners Mainline Optimization Phase 1 project will increase capacity on company’s Mainline network and its Flanagan South Pipeline by about 250,000 barrels a day

Another major pipeline expansion from Enbridge would mean higher emissions and more health impacts for Albertans. This is the opposite of a just, healthy energy transition.

Many of these people are in Alberta, where aging oil and gas wells litter our landscape and leak methane into our atmosphere.

@phillipmeintzer.bsky.social @c4re-for-ab.bsky.social
@cape-ab.bsky.social @calgaryclimatehub.ca @forourkidscanada.bsky.social #cleanupyourmess #ableg

Opinion: Alberta's AI boom poses hidden health, environmental risks Today, I'm concerned about a growing threat to health: the rush to build gas-powered AI data centres across Alberta.

A new op-ed from CAPE AB Co-Chair Dr. Julia Sawatzky cuts through the hype: gas-powered AI data centres mean more air pollution, more toxic chemicals, and more pressure on rural & Indigenous communities. Alberta deserves a cleaner vision.

Headshots of CAPE physicians Dr. Stephen Wilton, Dr. Christine Gibson, Dr. Kirsten Sjonnesen, and Dr. Philip Barber

Fri, Nov. 21, 2:30–3:30 p.m. (MT) Healthy Cities in a Changing Climate: A Panel Discussion on Urban Well-Being Climate change is not only an environmental issue - it’s a growing public health challenge. This panel brings together health professionals and experts to explore the deep connections between planetary health and human well-being. From the impacts of air pollution and extreme weather on physical and mental health, to the role of urban planning and nature-based solutions in building resilient communities, panelists will share insights from clinical, psychological, and public health perspectives. Topics will include eco-anxiety, the health effects of wildfire smoke and urban heat, and strategies for creating healthier, more sustainable cities. Join this timely conversation to learn how healthcare professionals are leading the way in climate resilience and advocating for healthier communities by design. Speakers: Stephen Wilton (CAPE / University of Calgary); Christine Gibson (CAPE / Safer Spaces Training); Kirsten Sjonnesen (CAPE); Philip Barber (CAPE); Cortney Hlady (Alberta Health Services)

Poster for the Calgary Climate Symposium, Nov 17-21 2025. Image is a colour drawing of people working in a garden.

The Calgary Climate Symposium runs Nov 17–21.
It’s free, online, and open to all — featuring keynote Dr. Katharine Hayhoe and a health-focused panel with CAPE members Dr. Steve Wilton, Dr. Phil Barber, Dr. Kristen Sjonnesen, and Dr. Christine Gibson.

Learn more: calgary.ca/ClimateSymposium

Alberta's pushing new coal mines and a plan to stick taxpayers with $60B in oil well cleanup costs. Join landowners & citizen activists Nov 5 in Calgary to fight back. Free admission + food. Details: CleanUpYourMess.ca/nov5-calgary-townhall #ABLeg

We need to treat fossil fuels like Big Tobacco To reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and stem disinformation that blocks effective climate action, a comprehensive ban on advertising, promotion and sponsorship of fossil fuel products and indust...

"For a rational civilization, there would be clear incentives to be much bolder in countering this existential crisis."

www.nationalobserver.com/2024/12/01/o...

Support Bold Action on Methane Pollution

Stronger methane regulations are within reach, but we need to keep the pressure on.

💬 Write your MP
📞 Call Minister Tim Hodgson (343-292-6837)

Tell them you want the methane rules passed now to protect our health and climate.

👉 Take action:

YouTube video by CAPE | ACME Clean Air, Healthy Kids & Communities: The Case for Strong Methane Regulations

Methane from oil and gas sites is fuelling the climate crisis and polluting the air our kids breathe.

CAPE joined @forourkidscanada.bsky.social this week for a webinar on why we need strong methane rules now.

Watch the recording here:

Clean Air, Healthy Kids & Communities: The Case for Strong Methane Regulations

Coming up on Thursday, Oct 23 - join us for Clean Air, Healthy Kids & Communities: The Case for Strong Methane Regulations.

Explore the impacts of methane on kids and communities - and the policy solutions we need in order to end emissions.

Registration is still open. RVSP now!

Join @thecityofedmonton.bsky.social and @ualberta.bsky.social on Thursday, Oct. 23 for a free virtual lunch and learn featuring experts on climate trends in Edmonton, the Climate Change + Health Hub, and new tools to connect climate researchers! 💡

➡️ Register: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Alberta Orphan Well Strategy Faces Pushback from Residents, Municipalities, Experts Pushback is growing among Alberta municipalities, landowners, and concerned residents who say the province is pressing ahead with a regulatory system that lets oil and gas companies dodge taxes, skip ...

Dr. Norm Campbell, CAPE: “As a general rule, there’s substantive increases in cancers and heart attacks, strokes, dementia, and birth defects [near orphan wells]. These are major causes of death and disability, and rates may be going up by 20% in some of the people living close to these wells.”

CAPE Alberta warns Premier Smith's mandate letter threatens public health and environmental justice - CAPE Premier Danielle Smith's newly released plans for expanding oil production would expose Albertans to more pollution and health harms, warns the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (...

Premier Smith’s plan to nearly double Alberta’s oil production puts profits ahead of people’s health. Physicians warn it will worsen air pollution, raise rates of asthma, heart disease, and cancer, and leave taxpayers with the cleanup bill—all while fast-tracking industry projects.

REGISTER: Virtual Town Hall - Alberta Oil and Gas Well Cleanup Crisis Join us October 2nd for a virtual town hall exposing the government's plan to make taxpayers pay for oil and gas cleanup. Free registration - secure your spot now.

Without proper cleanup, aging oil and gas wells at the end of their producing lives continue to leak methane and toxic pollutants — and potential policy changes in AB risk shifting these cleanup costs onto taxpayers.

Learn more at tonight's town hall. 👇

A poster for the event. Text reads as follows: University of Alberta; Metro Cinema Climate Health Action Talks presents The Magnitude of All Things: Love, Grief, and Climate Action www.metrocinema.org A Film and Conversation Join us on October 3! 1:45-4:30pm MST The Garneau Theatre, 8712-109 Street Dr. Sherilee Harper Dr. Ashlee Cunsolo Stephanie Olsen (image includes headshots for all three presenters)

Join us Oct 3 at Edmonton’s Garneau Theatre for an Ecological Grief Dialogue & Film Screening – The Magnitude of All Things with Dr. Ashlee Cunsolo. 🎬🌍 Free event + popcorn & soda! CAPE AB will have a booth, so come say hi! www.eventbrite.com/e/climate-he...

Want to learn more about the health + environmental risks of abandoned wells, and what we can do? Join our virtual town hall, featuring CAPE's Dr. Norm Campbell on health impacts.
📅 Thu Oct 2, 2025
🕖 7–8:15 PM MT
💻 Zoom, free
Register: www.cleanupyourmess.ca/oct2-townhall 4/4

Instead of real accountability, the MAS leans on deregulation, subsidies, and delay, rewarding companies that shirked cleanup. This is a direct threat to Albertans’ health, land, and water. 3/4

Alberta has nearly ½ million wells, 274,000+ inactive or unreclaimed. Independent estimates peg cleanup costs at $320B, more than half of all oil & gas revenue collected since 1970. The MAS refuses to even give a credible estimate. 2/4

The Mature Asset Strategy for Alberta’s Oil and Gas Closure Liability Crisis: Where there is Smoke [and Mirrors], there is Fire By: Martin Olszynski, Drew Yewchuk, and Shaun Fluker Matter Commented On: Alberta’s Mature Asset Strategy: What we Heard and Recommendations Report, April 3, 2025 PDF Version: The Mature Asset Stra…

Alberta’s “Mature Asset Strategy” (MAS) is smoke & mirrors. As @ablawg.bsky.social shows, it hides the real origins of the oil & gas cleanup crisis - decades of lax rules + industry lobbying - and shifts costs onto the public instead of making polluters pay. 1/4

Sevenfold Underestimation of Methane Emissions from Non-producing Oil and Gas Wells in Canada Millions of non-producing oil and gas wells around the world are leaking methane and other contaminants, contributing to increased greenhouse gas emissions and polluting our water, soil, and air. Quan...

Leaking inactive wells are becoming a huge climate and public health problem around the world. Earlier this year McGill University researchers found about 470,000 inactive wells across Canada, emitting ~7x more methane than estimated in 🇨🇦's official emissions inventory.

🛢️💨 Join us for a virtual town hall exposing how Alberta is letting oil and gas companies off the hook while everyday Canadians pay the price – with their tax dollars and their health.
🗓️ Oct 2 @ 7pm MT 🎤 CAPE AB physicians + landowners + lawyers
🎯 Register: cleanupyourmess.ca/oct2-townhall

Dr. Courtney Howard, former CAPE president, CAPE AB physicians Andrea Hull & John O’Connor, and others coauthored a CMAJ commentary calling for urgent, community-led research on the health impacts of Alberta’s oil sands, amplifying Indigenous concerns and linking environmental protection to health.