Statement – Shell Arctic permits still treated as valid despite recent revelations

Press Rrelease

11 April 2016 (Toronto) — Reacting to news that the federal government will continue to deal with Shell’s oil exploration permits in Lancaster Sound as being valid in despite of recent revelations suggesting they expired decades ago, Greenpeace Arctic campaigner Alex Speers-Roesch said:

“The government’s response is both inadequate and disappointing. The public deserves a more legitimate reason for thinking Shell’s permits are valid than simply that the government believes they are. The government must either provide some positive evidence to show the permits were properly maintained and renewed, or acknowledge the permits were allowed to expire.”

“The Trudeau government has commendably allocated millions for the protection of

Lancaster Sound in the recent federal budget. Inuit have expressed that they want this area protected, not opened up for drilling by Shell, a company whose record of accidents and mishaps in Alaska and beyond shows it cannot be trusted to operate safely in the Arctic.”

“There is still time for the Trudeau government to remedy this situation by standing up for strong protection of an important area of the Arctic and embracing its own vision of an improved relationship with Canada’s Indigenous Peoples.”

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For more information:

Diego Creimer, Communications, 514-999-6743 dcreimer@greenpeace.org

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