On a fast track to destruction

A story today from the nation’s capital that reinforces our latest lawsuit: the city of Ottawa is using federal stimulus cash (and avoiding any environmental assessment) to run a highway through several endangered species' habitat. It’s one example of many municipalities seeking to benefit from the federal spending spree.

There have been several ridiculous justifications given for reckless stimulus spending. One such argument is that environmental assessments on these infrastructure projects is too costly – but of the $24 billion in spending, only 1% of that would be necessary to ensure environmental assessments are completed that reduce the toll on the surrounding land, water and species.

When we drop billions of dollars into the ever-growing deficit budget, one would hope it’s being done with vision, values and care – unfortunately, the relative temporary suffering created by this economic downturn could wreak long-term damages to our life-sustaining systems for generations to come.

Watering down the toxics

Ecojustice and the Canadian Cancer Society are taking action against a disturbing federal government trend that is seeing fewer and fewer dangerous chemicals making it onto the list of regulated contaminants.

Here’s some history on toxics in Canada: There are thousands of potentially harmful substances used domestically and abroad that make their way into our food, products, water and air, causing cancers, birth defects and a host of diseases. The government shortlisted about 4000 chemicals that will potentially harm human health or the environment, and prioritized 200 of these into 12 batches - we’re currently assessing Batch 6. If found to be toxic, a chemical placed on the Toxic Substances List is strictly regulated and managed under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act [CEPA].

The disconcerting trend we’re seeing is one where less and less chemicals being assessed are making their way on to the Toxic Substances List, with just one of the 14 to make the list in Batch 6. Industry and government do not appear willing to produce the much-needed missing information on how these chemicals may enter the environment, and worse still they are using this lack of data as a lack of proof to justify keeping potentially toxic chemicals off of the Toxic Substances List.

That’s why we’re sounding the alarm bells at Health Canada and Environment Canada on toxic chemicals and the precautionary principle. “Precautionary” means that instead of using the current gaps in knowledge to justify keeping chemicals off the federal list, this principle places the burden of proof on industry to show how these chemicals will not harm human or environmental health.

Ecojustice helped establish the precautionary principle in Canada at the Supreme Court back in 2001, and we’re working to ensure that this responsible approach comes through in the way Canada protects its citizens from dangerous chemicals.

CEPA clearly outlines how the precautionary principle should guide government’s thinking, and our challenge to Environment and Health Canada is to focus on this principle in their decisions that have vast implications for our health and our future.

Raising a stink in Sudbury

Sometimes all it takes is some information and outrage to make meaningful change in our community.

It’s happening near Sudbury, Ontario, where Simon Lake Community Stewardship is taking up the cause of sewage dumping in their community - moved to action as a result of our latest water quality report “Flushing Out the Truth: Sewage Dumping in Ontario.”

Their letter-writing campaign targets Ontario Minister of Environment John Gerretsen with the message that “dumping untreated and under-treated sewage into our watersheds is not acceptable.”

These disgusting yet all-too-common events have become standard practice in municipalities, as noted in our report: “In both 2006 and 2007, raw or undertreated sewage was dumped more than 1,000 times by Ontario municipalities. The quantities are staggering, with billions of litres escaping full treatment each year.”

We pride ourselves on our report-writing rigour, and when they inform and inspire communities to stand up for their rights we are doubly pleased.

If you’re in the Sudbury area, support their campaign with a letter of your own. For those outside of Sudbury, see our report to find out how your community is doing when it comes to responsible sewage treatment and let us know your thoughts.

Tasked with a death watch

When it comes to endangered species, we’re looking for ways to avoid the ‘litigation as law enforcement’ model we’ve had to take to get action for the most vulnerable organisms and ecosystems in Canada. One big step forward would be better provincial laws for endangered species, and in British Columbia there is hope that may just happen.

The feds already have a law, the Species at Risk Act, though we’ve consistently needed to take them to court to implement each incremental step the Act requires to protect species and their habitat. And federal law does not apply automatically on provincial land, except to aquatic species and migratory birds, but most land in Canada is provincial, only a minority of species are aquatic or migratory birds. Meanwhile, most provinces have yet to introduce legal protections for species and the habitat they depend on - greatly reducing our chances of ensuring that these species survive, let alone recover.

That might be changing in British Columbia, where we’re seeing talk that may lead to a meaningful species at risk law. Thanks in part to a multi-year effort by Ecojustice and our coalition partners highlighting the need for such a law, the BC government announced plans in its August Throne speech to create a Species-at-Risk Task Force. The team will be tasked with developing a new vision for endangered species protection in collaboration with the people of BC, and Ecojustice will be watching closely to see that this initiative delivers a much-needed endangered species law; as of now, the task force is yet to be created.

BC is Canada’s richest province biologically, but already at least 43% of BC’s +3800 species are at risk of disappearing. With a successful task force and a new provincial law we can end the current ‘death watch’ of endangered species in BC and provide a model for the rest of Canada.

Ecojustice Wins at the Supreme Court!

This morning at 9:45 a.m. we received word that we won our Supreme Court case concerning the Red Chris mine! We’ve been waiting for this ruling since we presented our case last October, and it’s a monumental victory for us, for the environment, and for public participation that will benefit Canadians for years to come.

The Court ruled that the Canadian government violated the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act when it split the project into artificially small parts to avoid a comprehensive assessment and public consultation. Despite the significant environmental risks posed by this mine, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Natural Resources Canada limited their assessment to a fraction of the mine proposal, removing the actual mine from its environmental review and rubber-stamping a provincial assessment. The Court has ruled that, in the future, the public must now be consulted about major industrial projects, such as large metal mines and tar sands developments.

“The Supreme Court has given Canadians back their voice and, with it, their ability to influence major industrial development across the country,” said Ecojustice lawyer Lara Tessaro, who represented MiningWatch Canada on the case. “This landmark decision confirms that the government can no longer shirk the environmental protection duties that Parliament has assigned to it.”

The proposed Red Chris mine is located near the Sacred Headwaters, the birthplace of Northern BC’s three greatest salmon rivers – the Stikine, Nass and the Skeena. Called “the Serengeti of the North” for its rich biodiversity, the area’s wildlife and waterways are severely threatened by the project. Most shocking of all, the mine seeks to wipe out pristine Black Lake by converting it into a “tailings impoundment area” – a dumpsite for toxic mine waste. And while the ruling did not stop the Red Chris mine from going forward, contrary to some industry reports this does not mean that the mine has been approved. Ecojustice and Mining watch will continue to follow the project throughout the future federal permitting process, and will oppose any permits that threaten our lakes and rivers, or that risk the health of the Sacred Headwaters area. In the meantime, we have successfully secured stronger environmental accountability for future projects throughout the country.

We’ll continue to fight the Canadian government policy of turning lakes into tailings dumps, in BC and across the country. Thanks to this win, our efforts will be even more successful in the future.