How You Can Help Us

There is a wide range of volunteer positions available for you to consider; start by getting hands-on experience at an Oil Spill Cooperative training exercise or volunteer to represent your company and area members on the Cooperative’s steering committee.

DOORS ARE READY FOR YOU TO OPEN

There are exciting opportunities and you can make a difference. Our world class spill preparedness program is dynamic and second to none.

WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU

You will gain valuable experience that can be used in your career pathway, the work is fun and you will be interacting with a great bunch of people who are all contributing to environmental protection.

HOW YOUR EMPLOYER WILL BENEFIT

The company that provides volunteers will benefit by increasing their in-house spill response capability, strengthening their due diligence program and having an opportunity to provide input into the Oil Spill Cooperatives’ programs.

  • Meeting and networking with people that have the same interest in augmenting spill preparedness and capability within industry – likely great assets to add to your internal resource list
  • Offering direction to WCSS with regards to training objectives and equipment needs specific to your area
  • Potential to work with equipment more frequently; an initiative that I would love to see come to fruition is having one of those meeting days for co-op steering committees be set aside to have the group do their own deployment to hone their skills and identify any gaps in equipment
  • When / if you choose to take on the role of Alternate Chair or Chair of the steering committee, you are invited to attend the Annual Chair Meeting in Edmonton at the end of November / beginning of December.  It’s a 1.5-day meeting that includes case studies with guest speakers, a more detailed overview of the whole WCSS operation and how all co-ops are connected to its success, and further opportunity to collaborate with more like-minded individuals that work throughout the jurisdictional boundary. 
  • When you are in the Alternate Chair or Chair role, you will be offered the opportunity to be sponsored to attend oil spill conferences (usually in the US, sometimes in Canada).  The value in sending our volunteers to conferences such as these is having them come back to share what they have learned about other training initiatives and new equipment that may be applicable to inland spill preparedness.  This sharing occurs at the Annual Chair Meeting as well.
  • Above all, it’s an excellent way to enhance your personal and professional growth.

WCSS manages a lot on behalf of each co-op SC but will always be dependent on industry direction. We need to know what is important in your area in terms of spill preparedness, equipment and training needs, and this is done most effectively via SC meetings.

We offer an open forum for these topics, and a lot of great ideas tend to come from these meetings of the minds. The more diverse the representation on each committee, the better! We have about 440 member companies, each with its own set of needs. We are committed to ensuring that we are an effective preparedness and response support system for each and every one of our members.

  • Meetings: we usually meet 2 – 3 times per year – at least once in person. Those are the better ones, namely because participation and resource identification are more likely. We also like to offer a small token of our appreciation by buying lunch for all those who can make it; sometimes the best ideas arise outside the confines of a meeting structure.
  • Co-op exercises: all SC members are invited and encouraged to attend the co-op exercise that they work together to plan. Some of the benefits to attending are:
    • Ensured representation of your company to meet regulatory training requirements
    • Access to direct feedback from attendees to support future exercise planning
    • Potential to develop mentoring skills for spill response training for your own team – or a better sense for ways you can support your ERP exercises
    • Continued networking opportunities with spill response resources

    Absolutely. Here is a guideline for the roles and responsibilities for your reference.

    Certainly not!  The co-op has been successful for over 50 years because of individuals who are committed to ensuring industry preparedness – whether this means identifying local water bodies for an exercise, putting us in touch with local services to support the exercise, or sharing local resource information like transportation options, chainsaw operators, or spill response companies with varying services.  Developing muscle memory through training and familiarity with what specialized equipment is available to industry is truly our focus – and there are many ways to support this outside of having spill response experience.

    We encourage you to have a look around our website – there is a ton of information that you may find useful.  An abbreviated version in PPT format includes several useful links, if you’d prefer to digest it that way.

    Signing Up

    Call your Oil Spill Cooperative Chair or Administrator; they can lead you in the right direction.

    2025 Member Company Volunteers

    Arc Resources
    Baytex Energy Ltd
    BTG Energy
    Cabot Energy
    Canadian Natural Resources Limited
    Cardinal Energy Ltd
    Cenovus Energy Inc
    Certus Oil & Gas Inc
    Conifer Energy Inc
    Connacher Oil & Gas
    Ember Resources Inc
    Enbridge Pipelines Inc
    Energy Transfer Canada
    Gibson Energy ULC
    Hawthorne Energy
    Husky Midstream
    Imperial Oil Resources Ltd
    Inter Pipeline Ltd
    Ish Energy
    InPlay Oil
    Karve Energy
    Keyera Energy
    Kingston Midstream
    Kiwetinohk Resources
    MEG Energy
    NorthRiver Midstream Energy Ltd
    NuVista Energy
    Paramount Resources Ltd
    Pembina Pipeline Corporation
    Petronas Energy Canada Ltd
    Pieridae Energy Canada Ltd
    Plains Midstream Canada ULC
    Pure Environmental
    Saturn Oil & Gas
    Shell
    Spur Oil & Gas
    Strath Resources Ltd
    Strathcona Energy
    Suncor Energy
    Syncrude Canada Ltd
    Tamarack Valley Energy Ltd
    Tourmaline Oil
    TAQA North
    TC Energy
    Torxen Energy
    Veren Energy
    Trans Mountain
    Whitecap Resources Inc
    Wolf Midstream

    2025 Non-Member Company Volunteers

    Alberta Energy Regulator
    BC Energy Regulator
    High Level Fire Department
    Mid-West Pump
    Oakridge Environmental
    Saskatchewan Ministry of Energy & Resources
    Slave Lake Fire Department
    Stonewood Projects