Alberta’s auditor general says the government has only partly implemented recommendations made in 2015 tied to a program that is intended to ensure financial security for mine cleanup.

The Mine Financial Security Program (MSFP) was created to protect the public from having to pay for oilsands and coal mine closures while still allowing industry to grow.

Instead of collecting the full cost of cleanup upfront, the program uses an “asset-to-liability” approach — meaning, companies' assets can be used as collateral against future closure costs, as long as their assets are three times greater than their liability.

But because the government does not hold full security, the public bears some risk if operators fail to complete reclamation, auditor general Doug Wylie wrote in a report rel

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