Environment Minister John Baird said Ottawa will follow the recommendation of a high-level panel and implement an environmental monitoring system for Alberta's oilsands.
"The actions we take will be guided by science and facts, not by politics and public relations," Baird said.
He made the announcement Tuesday alongside Elizabeth Dowdeswell, chair of the advisory panel to the federal government that was set up in September.
The panel was tasked with investigating the state of environmental research and monitoring in the oilsands, largely due to concerns about heavy metals leaching into the Athabaska River.
Dowdeswell said environmental monitoring is in place in the region, but is largely piecemeal and requires a major overhaul.
She said the panel is recommending a system that brings together the provincial and federal governments, scientists and stakeholders, to create a comprehensive monitoring system that will provide useful, credible data.
"Our primary overarching recommendation was that there was a need for a shared vision and a management framework that would be developed collaboratively by relevant jurisdictions and shareholders," Dowdeswell told reporters at the Ottawa news conference.
She said the establishment of a world-class system would result in long-term environmental sustainability, economic viability, and would restore trust in the eyes of Albertans, Canadians and the international community.
Baird said he acknowledges the need for such a monitoring system and said "we hear the panel loud and clear and we're ready to act."
Bill Donahue, a science and policy adviser for Water Matters, an Alberta-based advocacy group, says he's concerned about how much industry will be involved in developing the monitoring system.
"As the panel pointed out, the industrial priorities have taken over the existing monitoring priorities and program and that's why it's lacking in scientific legitimacy," he told CTV News Channel Tuesday afternoon from Edmonton.
