On the books

Greenwashing bottled water
Who would believe that water packaged in plastic bottles is “the most environmentally responsible consumer product in the world”? Not Ecojustice or four other groups that launched a false advertising complaint against one of the world’s largest bottled water companies, Nestlé Waters, this fall.

The groups argue that Nestlé’s full-page Globe and Mail advertisement promoting its bottled water products as an “eco-friendly choice” contravened advertising standards by making false and misleading statements regarding the environmental impacts of its product.

The average energy cost to produce and ship one plastic bottle of water has been estimated to equal one-quarter bottle of oil. It is hoped that the complaint, filed with Advertising Standards Canada, will encourage the hugely profitable company to focus its efforts on greening its product, not just its image.

Spring court date for climate change appeal
Our legal team will be back in court this spring fighting to ensure Canada lives up to its legal commitments to cut greenhouse gases.

Ecojustice, on behalf of Friends of the Earth Canada, will be appealing a federal court ruling which found that the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act cannot be enforced by the courts.

The original lawsuit, launched in June 2007, sought a declaration from the court that the government had failed to meet the legal requirements of the bill, including the drafting of a plan based on meeting Kyoto targets and drafting and enacting legally binding regulations to combat climate change.

Sewage dumping continues in Vancouver
It doesn’t take a scientist to know that dumping poorly treated sewage into the ocean is bound to hurt salmon, whales and countless other unique ocean dwellers, but no level of government seems willing to address Vancouver’s toxic sewage pollution.

Last fall, the federal government stopped an Ecojustice lawsuit aimed at forcing Metro Vancouver to improve its basic standard of sewage treatment. The prosecution filed by staff lawyer Lara Tessaro alleged that the Iona sewage treatment plant near the Vancouver airport was violating the federal Fisheries Act by sending toxic sewage into salmon-bearing coastal waters.

The plant fails to remove the majority of heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants – like PCBs, copper and mercury. These heavy metals and chemicals bioaccumulate as they move up the food chain, making some of Canada’s most cherished species, such as the killer whale, also our most poisoned.

Fresh approach trickles into Alberta water policy
With input from Ecojustice, the Alberta government has drafted an encouraging water policy that will ensure the public is consulted before any major changes are made to how the province’s worrisome water supply is allocated.

As proposed by Alberta Environment, the draft water licence amendment policy would prevent the Eastern Irrigation District from reallocating up to 900 billion litres of freshwater for non-farming purposes. The Eastern Irrigation District proposal sparked mass public opposition when it emerged in 2007 and has since been on hold pending provincial review.

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