Suncor Energy previously set a commuter only policy for the new Fort Hills project and this had some local residents, businesses, and politicians in Wood Buffalo very upset. The company has announced that they have reversed this policy, and the reversal may have been the result of push back from the community that the company was getting for their decision. When the controversial commuter policy was first announced Suncor defended it as necessary but they have done a complete turnaround. Suncor Energy executive vice-president of upstream operations Mark Little met with municipal councilors and the change was released the next morning in an email from the company. The email stated “There’s no community on the surface of this earth that’s more important to us than Fort McMurray. We’re hoping and encouraging any and all Fort McMurray residents to apply for any and all jobs in the region and join Suncor.”

The reversal f the commuter policy by Suncor Energy was explained by company spokesperson Sneh Seetal “We want, and absolutely need, qualified people regardless of where they are located. I understand people in Fort McMurray felt they were turned away. We apologize, because that was not our intention. If a Fort McMurray resident feels they were turned away, I would ask they would reapply or attend the career fair.” Brian Jean, the Wildose leader, sent Suncor a letter asking them to reconsider the commuter policy for Fort Hills. After the policy was reversed Jean said “Suncor’s an awesome part of our community, but it just seemed very contrary to the interests of what was in the interests of the local economy. I’ve always believed it was important to consider locals first, Albertans second and other Canadians third.”