Groups Call on Senate to Save Canada's Environment Laws

Winnipeg, Manitoba June 8, 2010

A coalition of 14 environmental and community groups from across Canada, including Resource Conservation Manitoba, is calling on Canadian senators to remove measures of a federal budget implementation bill that would reduce environmental oversight. Bill C-9, the Jobs and Economic Growth Act, contains several non-budgetary measures that are aimed at weakening the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA).

The groups have sent a letter to all 104 Canadian Senators asking them to fulfill their obligations "to defend Parliamentary tradition by refusing to pass the Budget as it stands, with non-budgetary measures buried inside it." The letter asks Senators to sever parts 19 and 20 from the 880 page bill to protect Canada's environment while not forcing an election.

"As Canadians' eyes turn towards the BP oil spill unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico, many of us are asking if such an event could happen here. By gutting environmental assessments we increase the chances that the next global environmental disaster will occur in Canada's Beaufort Sea or in some other cherished piece of Canadian wilderness. Without strong environmental protections, disasters are only a matter of time," said Josh Brandon, Living Green Coordinator with Resource Conservation Manitoba.

Provisions to undo the CEAA in the bill include:

• Allowing the Minister of the Environment discretion to avoid doing detailed environmental assessments on large projects by breaking the projects up into smaller pieces, overturning a recent Supreme Court decision.

• Exempting major projects from environmental assessments.

• Passing regulatory approval for pipeline and nuclear energy projects from the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency to the National Energy Board and Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. The latter bodies lack experience in assessments and tend to be more closely tied to industry.

This is the second year in a row that the budget bills have been used to undermine environmental legislation. Last year, the Conservative government exempted thousands of projects from environmental assessments and removed protections for many small waterways by amending both CEAA and the Navigable Waters Act in its 2009 budget.

Dr. John Sinclair, Director at Resource Conservation Manitoba will deliver a talk "Taking Action at Saving Canada's Environment Laws" at the environmental organization's AGM scheduled for 7 pm, Wednesday, June 9 at the Manitoba Eco-Centre, 303 Portage Ave.

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Sample Letter

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