WASHINGTON, March 21 (UPI) -- The Canadian and provincial government of Alberta have a "lax and failing" set of regulations regarding tar sands oil, a Greenpeace delegate said.
The U.S. House Subcommittee on Energy and Power heard testimony about the safety of so-called tar sands oil from Canada.
Melina Laboucan-Massimo, an aboriginal Canadian and advocate from Greenpeace, told lawmakers that Canadian governments have shown little respect for environmental laws.
"In reality Canada and more specifically the province of Alberta have a lax and failing environmental monitoring system with little enforcement for its own laws when it comes to producing the tar sands," she said.
Critics of tar sands say its corrosive nature makes it more likely to cause pipeline failures. They also claim it's more energy-intensive to utilize.
U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky., who led the hearing, praised Canada's environmental record, however, saying the United States could learn from its neighbors to the north.
Murray Smith, former Alberta minister of Energy, testified that the oil boom in Alberta was coupled "with a surge in new technology focused on reduced greenhouse gas emissions, reduced environmental footprint in mining and 'in situ' recovery, and cost and production efficiencies."
Canada is the largest single exporter of oil to the United States.
