7 stories to keep you informed about Canada’s environment

 

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty resigned and prorogued the legislature on Monday, which killed a proposed law that would have protected Ontarians who speak up for the environment from lawsuits meant to intimidate them into silence (Read about our take on the legislation). But that wasn’t all the news. The federal government unveiled its newest budget bill, which weakens several of the laws meant to preserve our environment. Enbridge is still trying to convince Canadians that it can build and operate the Northern Gateway pipeline safely despite their record and Canadians learned about a rogue experiment in the Pacific Ocean. 

 
All that and more in this week’s recap. 

• Enbridge vice-president Janet Holder visited CBC’s Power & Politics on Wednesday. In an interview with Evan Solomon, Holder told Canadians that it would only take the company about 12 minutes to respond to an oil spill. That’s fast, but it’s not enough to convince us that this project is a good idea. We're still working to stop the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline. Until then, here's a clip to keep you occupied.  

How the federal government’s new bill leaves Canada’s waterways with less protection 

 

• Buried in the 457-page budget bill tabled on Thursday are changes that will limit the protection to just 97. Canada has almost 32,000 lakes and that leaves a lot of lakes vulnerable. “Lake, rivers and streams often stand in the path of large industrial development, particularly pipelines,” said Devon Page, executive director at Ecojustice. This is another instance of government sacrificing Canada’s rich natural legacy in order to please the oil and gas industry. And that’s not all the bill does. Find out by visiting this link. 

People & Health 

• On Monday, we took another step towards creating an environment that’s healthier for you and every Canadian. We asked the government to reduce your exposure to pesticide chemicals. Why? Because we know that some of these chemicals have been linked to developmental illness and cancer. We also know that our communities are healthier when our government bans 30 pesticide chemicals already banned in other countries. So we partnered with the David Suzuki Foundation and Equiterre to ask Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq for a special review of the chemicals. You can read about it here or check out what the Ottawa Citizen wrote about it here.   

• The National Wildlife Federation says that if two ageing Enbridge pipelines rupture, a source of drinking water for 30 million would be at risk. The pipelines run from Superior, Wisc., to Sarnia, Ont., home to Chemical Valley -- already a pollution hotspot because of the large amount of petrochemical refining. The pipelines run under the Straits of Mackinac and the National Wildlife Federation says a plan to increase the amount of oil flowing through those pipes might cause them to bust. Why are the Great Lakes so important? They provide water to Americans and Canadians, support a $7 billion fishery and a $16 billion recreational boating economy,” according to the report, Sunken Hazard. Find out more at inside climate news. 

Wildlife & Wilderness 

• An American entrepreneur dumped 100 tonnes of iron sulphate into the Pacific in July. The Toronto Star reports that Russ George has created “an artificial plankton bloom as large as 10,000 square kilometres” while attempting to fertilize the ocean. The problem is that the process, which was supposed to help the ocean, isn’t proven. And its effects, according to the international scientific agency Royal Society, has a “high potential for unintended and undesirable ecological side effects.” Click here to find out more.

Meet a town that’s wants Canada’s nuclear waste 

• Twenty-one communities in Saskatchewan and Ontario want to be a dumping ground for Canada’s nuclear waste. One of those towns is Hornepayne, Ont., and the CBC’s Margot McDiarmid filed a report about why any town would want to take the risks. Visit the link for the full story or watch the video below.