Compiled by ecologist Dr. Kevin Timoney, with the support of Greenpeace Canada, Sierra Club Prairie, Keepers of the Athabasca and Global Forest Watch Canada, the database shows a consistent pattern of infractions going unpunished by government regulators.

"The databases serve as an example of the government's failure to uphold the public trust," said Dr. Timoney. "If the database prove useful, they may in some small way contribute to replacing a culture of impunity with one of responsibility. When Albertans decide they will no longer tolerate bad government, things will get better. Until then, corporations may continue to pollute at will, sure in the knowledge that they operate outside meaningful controls and are immune from prosecution."

Timoney, who holds a PhD in ecology, is a longtime critic of the Alberta government's environmental management of the oilsands. After spending years prying the information free, Timoney hopes private researchers and environmental groups can now use it to paint a clearer picture of the oilsands' environmental toll.

"There is a paucity of relevant data available to the public. Scientifically-independent data are difficult to obtain because tar sands leases, while public lands, are administered as private property, patrolled by security; public ground access is prohibited," explains Peter Lee, Executive Director of Global Forest Watch Canada.