Date: October 24, 2006
Subject: Stop The Destruction Of Trout Pond Newfoundland & Stand Up For The Sanctity Of The Fisheries Act
Dear Ministers Ambrose and Hearn:
Riversides encourages Rona Ambrose, Environment Minister and Loyola Hearn, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to re-examine and overturn the Metal Mining Effluent Regulation approval by their bureaucrats that will destroy the pristine habitat of Trout Pond, Newfoundland by Aur Resources.
The destruction of viable fisheries habitat for the disposal of toxic metal mining effluent at Tout Pond, Newfoundland on the Exploits River – one of Canada’s greatest salmon fisheries habitats, is a criminal violation of the Fisheries Act facilitated by the MMER. No amount of habitat restoration compensates for the loss of pristine habitat within one of Canada’s greatest salmon and trout watersheds – the Exploits.
There is nothing sustainable in resource extraction that results in the wanton destruction of freshwater ecosystems. Regardless of the slight of hand that the MMER allows, the result is that we are using viable fisheries habitat and drinking water resources as the dumping ground for mining effluent. As the world acknowledges every day the limitations of fresh water resources, Canada continues to abuse what we believe, foolishly, we have in abundance and there fore can wantonly destroy. These are not just a couple of small ponds Ministers, these are the conscience of the nation. How much longer must Canada continue to be an environmental miscreant?
Minister Ambrose and Hearn, stand up for the Fisheries Act, overturn your bureaucrat’s MMER approval destroying Trout Pond, and demonstrate the knowledgeable leadership that it takes to protect our freshwater environment. Stop the facilitators of its destruction before they make the names of DOE and DFO a laughing stock in the world of environmental protection.
We await your thoughtful action,
Sincerely,
Kevin Mercer | Executive Director
RiverSides | "Where Water Quality Begins"
511 Richmond St. W. | Toronto, Ontario| M5V 1Y3
www.riversides.org | 416 868-1983
==================================
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 24 October 2006
Ottawa – On October 18, two lakes in Newfoundland that are habitat to trout, Atlantic salmon, otter, and other species, received a death sentence as the newly amended Metal Mining Effluent Regulations (MMER) went into law.
In a precedent-setting move, Environment Canada (EC) amended the MMER, a regulation under the Fisheries Act, to allow Aur Resources to dump toxic waste from their copper-zinc-gold mine into Trout Pond and a nearby unnamed lake. Both these lakes are in Newfoundland’s largest watershed, the Exploits River system—a system that has had millions of taxpayer dollars pumped into it for fish habitat restoration.
This legalised destruction of fish-bearing lakes opens the door to the destruction of other fish-bearing water bodies all across Canada. Mining companies have only to ask the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and Environment Canada for permission, and bingo! they’ve got it.
Environment Canada confirms that at least nine other mine projects in British Columbia, Nunavut, Saskatchewan, and the Northwest Territories will be seeking similar amendments so they can use lakes as waste dump sites for their mines (see next page).
In response to a request by Aur Resources, EC added the two lakes to Schedule 2 of the MMER. Water bodies listed on Schedule 2 are thereby re-defined as tailings impoundment areas and are no longer considered to be lakes and, therefore, are no longer protected under the Fisheries Act.
"Government says the Fisheries Act and the MMER are intended to protect fish-bearing waters from destruction by mine tailings—certainly the public expects this—but by this regulatory sleight-of-hand, fish-bearing lakes across Canada are no longer protected from destruction by toxic mine waste," says Dr. Catherine Coumans of MiningWatch Canada, who participated in EC’s regulatory revision process.
Maggie Paquet, a biologist who also participated in the revision process, says EC seems to have ignored its obligation to review alternative options for tailings management. "We reviewed all the public documents made available to us and could find no evidence that Environment Canada provided any advice to Aur Resources about less damaging waste disposal technologies at this mine—and these do exist."
Federal officials in EC and DFO defend the amendment, saying that habitat destruction can be compensated for by altering nearby areas to create new fish habitat.
But independent fish and aquatic habitat experts examined the reports EC and DFO used to justify the amendment and say they are hopelessly inadequate and scientifically inferior, and that no new fish habitat will be created. They say the compensation described could be done under present legislation, and that they are using a confused and invalid argument that leads to fuzzy and inaccurate results.
Dr. Gordon Hartman, a retired DFO biologist in Nanaimo, BC, says: "Government’s approval of this amendment is built on problematic compensation plans and failure to consider potential impacts to fish in this river system. It appears to be unsound environmental management to allow the project to proceed and then listing these ponds in Schedule 2 of the MMER."
Dr. John Gibson, another former DFO biologist who lives in Newfoundland and knows the area, says, "The two lakes have populations of salmon and trout and associated wildlife, such as beavers, otters, and waterfowl, all of which will be poisoned. The life of the mine is expected to be six years, but the ponds will become toxic waste sites in perpetuity. Over that time there is a possibility that there will be leakage of copper and zinc, which are toxic to fish, and if the retaining dam breaks there will be massive mortality of salmon down the Exploits River."
Gibson says, "The so-called compensation plan is totally inadequate and is merely an excuse to allow the mine to pollute the two lakes. Trout Pond has effectively been privatised for the mining company to use as a toxic waste dump. The Fisheries Act, previously held in esteem, has been considerably weakened."
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Contacts
Dr. Catherine Coumans, MiningWatch Canada, 613-569-3439, catherine@miningwatch.ca
Maggie Paquet, Citizens’ Stewardship Coalition, 250-723-8802; maggie_paquet@telus.net
Dr. John Gibson, retired DFO biologist, NL: 709-726-2498, rjgibson@nf.sympatico.ca
Dr. Gordon Hartman, retired DFO biologist, BC: 250-758–7696, gordon_hartman@telus.net
For more information, see:
* Issue Summary and References: http://www.miningwatch.ca/index.php?/aur/mmer_concerns
* Regulations Amending the Metal Mining Effluent Regulations http://canadagazette.gc.ca/partI/2006/2 ... le2-e.html
Mining Caucus (RCEN) webpages: http://www.cen-rce.org/eng/caucuses/mining/index.html
Mining Projects Expected to Request Listing Tailings Impoundment Areas (TIAs) on Schedule 2 of the Metal Mining Effluent Regulations*
Project/Mine Name
Proposed or Existing TIA Location
Province/Territory
1.
Kemess North Project
Proposed
British Columbia
2.
Red Chris
Proposed
British Columbia
3.
High Lake
Proposed
Nunavut
4.
Doris North
Proposed
Nunavut
5.
Meadowbank Gold
Proposed
Saskatchewan
6.
Goldfields
Proposed
Northwest Territories
7.
Yellowknife Gold
Proposed
Northwest Territories
8.
NICO Property
Proposed
Northwest Territories
9.
Damoti Lake
Proposed
Northwest Territories
10.
Wabush Mines
Existing (mine has a transitional authorisation)
Newfoundland and Labrador
11.
Duck Pond
Proposed
Newfoundland and Labrador
12.
Iron Ore Company
Existing (mine has a transitional authorisation)
Newfoundland and Labrador
13.
Mount Wright
Existing
Newfoundland and Labrador
*source: Environment Canada
You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
-- Mahatma Gandhi
"The economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment."
-- Herman Daly, former senior economist at the World Bank.
Metal Mining Effluent Regulation
4 posts
• Page 1 of 1
Metal Mining Effluent Regulation
by Oscar » Wed Nov 01, 2006 4:24 pm
- Oscar
- Site Admin
- Posts: 9964
- Joined: Wed May 03, 2006 3:23 pm
NDP CONDEMNS CONSERVATIVES FOR GRANTING BIG MINING COMPANIES
by Oscar » Sun Nov 12, 2006 1:40 pm
NDP CONDEMNS CONSERVATIVES FOR GRANTING BIG MINING COMPANIES A GREEN LIGHT TO KILL LAKES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NOVEMBER 9, 2006
OTTAWA - NDP Fisheries and Oceans Critic Peter Stoffer (Sackville-Eastern Shore) today called on Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn to disallow mining companies the use of lakes as dump sites for toxic mining waste.
"It is quite shocking that in 2006 our federal government would allow healthy lakes to be used as dumping grounds," said Stoffer. "With the a stroke of a pen, they have given two healthy lakes in Newfoundland a death sentence. Both of these lakes are habitat for otter, trout, Atlantic salmon, and other aquatic species. Many more lakes will be sacrificed if the government does not amend their regulations immediately."
Two lakes in Newfoundland (Trout Pond, and an unnamed lake) are destined for destruction as a result of being placed on Schedule 2 of the Metal Mining Effluent Regulations (MMERs), under the Fisheries Act, which re-defines lakes as mine waste impoundments.
This will be the first time that healthy fish bearing lakes will have been destined for destruction as a result of being placed on Schedule 2, a decision that goes against the very spirit of the MMERs. At least nine other healthy Canadian lakes are currently under consideration for destruction by mine waste.
"Schedule 2 of the MMERs amounts to another huge public subsidy for the mining industry" said Catherine Coumans, Research Coordinator of MiningWatch Canada. "It is really quite amazing that the mining industry alone gets its very own schedule under the Fisheries Act that allows it to poison healthy lakes. We are now subsidizing this industry with Canadian lakes, our common heritage and that of future Canadians."
Lorraine Michael, NDP Leader for Newfoundland and Labrador, is also very concerned that the provincial government will permit Aur Resources to dump toxic tailings into Trout Pond now that the federal MMERs have been amended.
"They seem willing to issue permits to destroy the ponds without any further investigation. If the mine waste leaks out, it will pollute the largest river system on the island, known for its salmon runs," said Michael.
"I implore Minister Hearn to put a stop to this practice now," said Stoffer.
"He should also check the wording of the Fisheries Act. Allowing mining waste to be released into lakes clearly violates Section 36(3) of the Fisheries Act which prohibits the deposit of deleterious (toxic or harmful)substances into fish-frequented waters."
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For more information, please contact the Office of Peter Stoffer:
(613) 995-5822 or (902) 861-2311.
***
(613) 995-5822 ou (902) 861-2311
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NOVEMBER 9, 2006
OTTAWA - NDP Fisheries and Oceans Critic Peter Stoffer (Sackville-Eastern Shore) today called on Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn to disallow mining companies the use of lakes as dump sites for toxic mining waste.
"It is quite shocking that in 2006 our federal government would allow healthy lakes to be used as dumping grounds," said Stoffer. "With the a stroke of a pen, they have given two healthy lakes in Newfoundland a death sentence. Both of these lakes are habitat for otter, trout, Atlantic salmon, and other aquatic species. Many more lakes will be sacrificed if the government does not amend their regulations immediately."
Two lakes in Newfoundland (Trout Pond, and an unnamed lake) are destined for destruction as a result of being placed on Schedule 2 of the Metal Mining Effluent Regulations (MMERs), under the Fisheries Act, which re-defines lakes as mine waste impoundments.
This will be the first time that healthy fish bearing lakes will have been destined for destruction as a result of being placed on Schedule 2, a decision that goes against the very spirit of the MMERs. At least nine other healthy Canadian lakes are currently under consideration for destruction by mine waste.
"Schedule 2 of the MMERs amounts to another huge public subsidy for the mining industry" said Catherine Coumans, Research Coordinator of MiningWatch Canada. "It is really quite amazing that the mining industry alone gets its very own schedule under the Fisheries Act that allows it to poison healthy lakes. We are now subsidizing this industry with Canadian lakes, our common heritage and that of future Canadians."
Lorraine Michael, NDP Leader for Newfoundland and Labrador, is also very concerned that the provincial government will permit Aur Resources to dump toxic tailings into Trout Pond now that the federal MMERs have been amended.
"They seem willing to issue permits to destroy the ponds without any further investigation. If the mine waste leaks out, it will pollute the largest river system on the island, known for its salmon runs," said Michael.
"I implore Minister Hearn to put a stop to this practice now," said Stoffer.
"He should also check the wording of the Fisheries Act. Allowing mining waste to be released into lakes clearly violates Section 36(3) of the Fisheries Act which prohibits the deposit of deleterious (toxic or harmful)substances into fish-frequented waters."
-30-
For more information, please contact the Office of Peter Stoffer:
(613) 995-5822 or (902) 861-2311.
***
(613) 995-5822 ou (902) 861-2311
- Oscar
- Site Admin
- Posts: 9964
- Joined: Wed May 03, 2006 3:23 pm
ACTION ALERT: Help protect Teztan Biny (Fish Lake)
by Oscar » Sat Nov 21, 2009 5:01 pm
ACTION ALERT: Help protect Teztan Biny (Fish Lake)
----- Original Message -----
From: <bpatterson@canadians.org>
Sent: Saturday, November 21, 2009 4:13 PM
Subject: [coc-chaps-l] ACTION ALERT: Help protect Teztan Biny (Fish Lake)
Please see the following action alert written by BC-Yukon regional organizer Harjap Grewal:
Taseko Mines Ltd. is proposing the use of Teztan Biny as a acid tailings lake.
This is a practice that since 2002 has been supported by controversial changes to the Fisheries Act under Schedule 2 which allow for the redefining of any lake as a 'Tailings Impoundment Area'.
The two kilometre-wide open pit of the proposed mine, along with tailings pond, waste rock piles, roads, and transmission lines would destroy the entire sub-alpine ecosystem around the lake and Teztan Biny.
CEAA PROCESS
The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) is asking for public input about a recent response by Taseko Mines Ltd. to a letter from the CEAA.
The letter asked Taseko to clarify its November 2nd declaration to investors that it intends to increase the life of the mine from 20 to 33 years, and “mine deeper, higher grade mineralization.”
The CEAA would like to determine if Taseko's response is adequate in order to proceed to public hearings on the proposed project.
Taseko is suggesting that the estimated 70% mineral reserves are not significant to their application even though they have promoted an increase in the life of the mine by 13 years in a recent press release.
We believe that the information provided by Taseko does not address the potential environmental impacts of this increase in mineral reserves.
TAKE ACTION
The notice from the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency states, "Aboriginal groups, governments and the public are invited to review the proponent's response and send comments to the Panel."
"The Panel must receive all comments on the response in writing by Monday November 23, 2009 in order to be considered."
As such, these comments should be sent as soon as possible to prosperity.review@ceaa-acee.gc.ca.
SAMPLE MESSAGE
I believe that Taseko's response is inadequate and that the environmental assessment process should not proceed to public hearings.
I am very concerned that the Stratus Consulting report highlights that the information Taseko has provided in its Environmental Impact Statement “does not permit a reasoned evaluation of potential adverse effects to water quality, water quantity, fish and wildlife under variable conditions.”
Furthermore, I am outraged that Teztan Biny and lakes across the country could even be considered as toxic dump sites for mining corporations under the Metal Mining Effluent Regulations of the Fisheries Act.
These so-called 'tailing impoundment areas' represent the privatization of a public resource and will have devastating social and environmental consequences.
As we deal with the impacts of climate change, mismanagement and overuse of fresh water, it is unconscionable to allow the destruction of entire bodies of freshwater for mining purposes.
I demand that you protect our natural bodies of water by preventing them from being used as dumping areas for mine waste. You can do so by rejecting the Taseko Mines Ltd. application for Teztan Biny.
BACKGROUND READING- "The Panel's letter regarding the announcement of increased mineral reserves is dated November 10, 2009 and is available on the project registry at http://www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/050/document ... 39478E.pdf (CEAR# 1316)."
- "The response provided by Taseko Mines Ltd. to the Panel's letter is dated November 12, 2009 and is available on the project's registry at http://www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/050/document ... 39528E.pdf (CEAR# 1344)."
- The Stratus Consulting report commissioned by the Tsilhqot'in National Government and Williams Lake Indian Band highlighting that the information that Taseko has provided in its Environmental Impact Statement “does not permit a reasoned evaluation of potential adverse effects to water quality, water quantity, fish and wildlife under variable conditions," can be read at: http://www.ceaa.gc.ca/050/documents/39529/39529E.pdf.
- A recent article about this report has been published in the Williams Lake Tribune:
http://www.bclocalnews.com/business/704 ... ml‬‪.
- A Tsilhqot’in Nation background document on Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) is at:
http://www.protectfishlake.ca/media/TNG_Teztan_Biny_
Backgrounder_April_2009.pdf.
- A Canadian Perspectives article on this issue, 'Mining Companies Turning Lakes into Toxic Dumps' (Spring 2009), can be read at http://www.canadians.org/publications/CP/2009/spring/
CP_spring_09_tia.pdf.
- Fight looms over Fish Lake (Georgia Straight, Aug 27th, 2009),
http://www.straight.com/article-249305/ ... ke‬‪.
- ACTION ALERT: Freshwater lakes, not 'tailings impoundment areas',
http://www.canadians.org/action/2008/27-Jun-08.html.
Brent Patterson
The Council of Canadians
www.canadians.org/campaignblog
= = = = =
ACTION ALERT: Tell Cabinet to Protect Teztan Biny (Fish Lake)
Say no to Taseko's Mine Proposal and Make Sure the Government Hears You!
http://www.canadians.org/action/2010/TIA-Sept-3.html
September 3, 2010
The federal government is preparing to announce its decision on Taseko's proposed 'Prosperity Mine' project as early as Friday September 10. Generations of the Tsilhqot'in people have opposed the plan for this open-pit mine and the destruction of Teztan Biny.
We are calling on all those who support indigenous rights and water justice to take action.
Taseko is currently seeking regulatory approval from the federal government to destroy Teztan Biny (Fish Lake), while developing their proposed Prosperity Mine. The copper and gold mine would operate in the heart of Tsilhqot'in territories, south-west of Williams Lake in British Columbia.
How can a mining company destroy a pristine fish bearing lake? Lakes that would normally be protected as fish habitat by the Fisheries Act can now be redefined as 'tailings impoundment areas' by Schedule 2 in the Metal Mining Effluent Regulations of the Act. An estimated 85,000 rainbow trout will have their habitat destroyed if Taskeo's project goes ahead and one of the most pristine watersheds in the country, as well as the Fraser River, will be impacted by toxic leeching.
The Tsilhqot'in Nation have clearly and collectively said 'No' to a project which would jeopardize a sacred site of great cultural and historic significance. The Tsilhqot'in communities have not given consent to the Prosperity Mine project that would be in an area of proven aboriginal rights as determined in the Supreme Court of B.C. Secwepmec communities have also expressed opposition to the development of a power line needed to develop the mine through their territories. The Canadian government continues to refuse signing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
While Taseko has clearly ignore traditional indigenous economies while trumpeting the economic benefits of this mine, they have also ignored the associated public costs. Dr. Marvin Shaffer has estimated that the provincial government would be subsidizing the project with $20 million per year for the life of the project. Tax revenues from the mine are unlikely to be more than $7.5 million. The Tsilhqot'in communities, the public, future generations and the environment stand to lose much more.
Please act today! Lakes not Toxic Dump Sites! Solidarity with the Tsilhqot'in!
E-mail and call cabinet ministers now:
- Stephen Harper (Prime Minister) - Harper.S@parl.gc.ca; (613) 992-4211
or (403) 253-7990
- Jim Prentice (Minister of the Environment) - Prentice.J@parl.gc.ca;
(613) 947-9475 or (403) 230-4368
- Gail Shea (Minister of Fisheries and Oceans) - Shea.G@parl.gc.ca;
(613) 992-9223 or (902) 432-6899
- John Duncan (Minister of Indian Affairs) - Duncan.J@parl.gc.ca; (613)
992-2503 or (250) 338-9381
- Tony Clement (Minister of Industry) - Clement.T@parl.gc.ca; (613)
992-5092 or (705) 746-9053
- Christian Paradis (Minister of Natural Resources) -
Paradis.C@parl.gc.ca; (613) 995-1377 or (418) 338-2903
Web-links:
Read more the campaign against Schedule 2 changes to the Fisheries Act,
www.canadians.org/TIA
Read Dr. Marvin Shaffer's submission to the federal review panel,
www.ceaa.gc.ca/050/documents/41844/41844E.pdf
Read the Council of Canadians submission to the federal review panel,
www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/050/documents/41940/41940E.PDF (starting at page
280),
or listen www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/050/
document-eng.cfm?document=41852
(at the 1 hour, 18 minute mark).
Watch the documentary Blue Gold: The Fight for Teztan Biny (Fish Lake),
www.raventrust.com/projects/fishlaketez ... egold.html
Contact information for all cabinet ministers can be found here
<https://76.66.235.74/exchweb/bin/
redir.asp?URL=http://webinfo.parl.gc.c
a/MembersOfParliament/MainCabinetCompleteList.aspx?TimePeriod=Current> .
For more information please e-mail hgrewal@canadians.org or call
1-800-387-7177.
= = = = =
----- Original Message -----
From: Elaine Hughes
To: Prime Minister Harper ; Fed. Envir. Min. Prentice ; Fed. DFO Min. Shea ; Duncan.J@parl.gc.ca ; Fed. Ind.Min.Clement ; Paradis.C@parl.gc.ca
Cc: Toxic Nation ; Mining Watch.ca ; May, E. GPC ; Layton, J. NDP ; Ignatieff M. - Lib. ; Sierra Club - Can. ; Council of Canadians
Sent: Friday, September 03, 2010 11:25 AM
Subject: Lakes are NOT Toxic Dump Sites! Solidarity with the Tsilhqot'in!
Prime Minister Harper and Ministers
As your government prepares to announce its decision on Taseko's proposed 'Prosperity Mine' project, perhaps as early as Friday, September 10, 2010, I wish to inform you that I fully support the generations of the Tsilhqot'in people who have opposed the plan for this open-pit mine and the destruction of Teztan Biny.
How can your government allow a mining company to destroy a pristine fish-bearing lake? Lakes that would normally be protected as fish habitat by the Fisheries Act can now be redefined as 'tailings impoundment areas' by Schedule 2 in the Metal Mining Effluent Regulations of the Act. An estimated 85,000 rainbow trout will have their habitat destroyed if Taskeo's project goes ahead and one of the most pristine watersheds in the country, as well as the Fraser River, will be impacted by toxic leeching. We're talking about the wanton and intentional destruction of FOOD!
The Tsilhqot'in Nation have clearly and collectively said 'No' to a project which would jeopardize a sacred site of great cultural and historic significance. The Tsilhqot'in communities have not given consent to the Prosperity Mine project that would be in an area of proven aboriginal rights as determined in the Supreme Court of B.C. Secwepmec communities have also expressed opposition to the development of a power line needed to develop the mine through their territories. The Canadian government continues to refuse signing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
While Taseko has clearly ignored traditional indigenous economies while trumpeting the economic benefits of this mine, they have also ignored the associated public costs. Dr. Marvin Shaffer has estimated that the provincial government would be subsidizing the project with $20 million per year for the life of the project. Tax revenues from the mine are unlikely to be more than $7.5 million. The Tsilhqot'in communities, the public, future generations and the environment stand to lose much more.
Allowing Taseko to use the pristine Fish Lake as a toxic mine dump for the proposed Prosperity Mine would be, among other things, a case of gross irresponsibility and mismanagement on the part of your government; you are supposed to be protect this country, its people and its life-supporting water.
I stand in solidarity with the Tsilhqot'in people. I urge you to get your priorities in order - people before profits - and do what's right.
DO NOT allow Taseko to destroy this lake!
Yours truly,
Elaine Hughes
Box 23, Archerwill, SK S0E 0B0
= = = = = = =
Lakes across Canada face being turned into mine dump sites
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/06/ ... lakes.html
Lakes are in B.C., Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, NWT and Nunavut
Last Updated: Monday, June 16, 2008 | 9:42 PM ET By Terry Milewski, CBC News
CBC News has learned that 16 Canadian lakes are slated to be officially but quietly "reclassified" as toxic dump sites for mines. The lakes include prime wilderness fishing lakes from B.C. to Newfoundland.
Environmentalists say the process amounts to a "hidden subsidy" to mining companies, allowing them to get around laws against the destruction of fish habitat.
Under the Fisheries Act, it's illegal to put harmful substances into fish-bearing waters. But, under a little-known subsection known as Schedule Two of the mining effluent regulations, federal bureaucrats can redefine lakes as "tailings impoundment areas."
That means mining companies don't need to build containment ponds for toxic mine tailings.
CBC News visited two examples of Schedule Two lakes. In Newfoundland and Labrador, the Vale Inco company wants to use a prime destination for fishermen known as Sandy Pond to hold tailings from a nickel processing plant.
In northern B.C., Imperial Metals plans to enclose a remote watershed valley to hold tailings from a gold and copper mine. The valley lies in what the native Tahltan people call the "Sacred Headwaters" of three major salmon rivers. It also serves as spawning grounds for the rainbow trout of Kluela Lake, which is downstream from the dump site.
Lakes 'safest option': mining association
Vale Inco's proposal was the subject of a public meeting on June 10 in Long Harbour, N.L. Billed as a "public consultation" on the proposal, the meeting was attended by government officials, mining executives, environmentalists and fishermen.
Lakes are often the best way for mine tailings to be contained, said Elizabeth Gardiner, vice-president for technical affairs for the Mining Association of Canada.
“In some cases, particularly in Canada, with this kind of topography and this number of natural lakes and depressions and ponds … in the end it's really the safest option for human health and for the environment," she said.
But Catherine Coumans, spokeswoman for the environmental group Mining Watch, said the federal government is making it too easy. She said federal officials are increasingly using the obscure Schedule Two regulations to quietly reclassify lakes and other waters as tailings dumps.
“Something that used to be a lake — or a river, in fact, they can use rivers — by being put on this section two of this regulation is no longer a river or a lake," she said. "It's a tailings impoundment area. It's a waste disposal site. It's an industrial waste dump."
Coumans said the procedure amounts to a subsidy to the industry and enables mines to get around the Fisheries Act.
"What Canadians need to know is that this year, from March 2008 to March of 2009, eight lakes are going to be subject to being put on Schedule Two, which is just about every mine that is going ahead this year is looking around, looking for the nearest lake to dump its waste into.”
A local environmentalist who attended the Long Harbour meeting, Chad Griffiths, said of Sandy Pond: “It's easy enough to consider just one lake as just one lake, as a needed sacrifice, right? But it's not one lake … It's a trend. It's an open season on Canadian water.”
'Open season on Canadian water': environmentalist
A test case: the Red Chris Mine in northwestern B.C.
Last fall, a Federal Court judge ruled that federal bureaucrats acted illegally in trying to fast-track the Red Chris copper and gold mine without a full and public environmental review.
The decision put the project on hold, but late last week, the Federal Appeals Court reversed the decision, paving the way for federal officials to declare lakes to be dumps without public consultation.
Imperial Metals said in a release Monday that federal authorities "are now authorized to issue regulatory approvals for the Red Chris project to proceed," although the matter could still be appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada.
In the earlier decision, Justice Luc Martineau overturned the decision by federal officials to skip a public review, saying it "has all the characteristics of a capricious and arbitrary decision which was taken for an improper purpose."
He also found those officials "committed a reviewable error by deciding to forgo the public consultation process which the project was statutorily mandated to undergo."
The dump site includes two small lakes in a Y-shaped valley. Imperial Metals plans to build three dams to contain mine tailings within the valley. But environmentalists say there is no way to stop effluent leaking downstream in groundwater.
Jim Bourquin of the Cassiar Watch Society, a conservation group, said Kluela Lake, immediately downstream from the site, is “one of the best trout fishing lakes in northern B.C.”
“This is a precedent-setting decision by the federal government to start using fish-bearing habitat as a waste management area," Bourquin said. "It's totally bizarre for the federal government to come here and say that this Y-shaped valley up here is no longer a fish habitat, it's no longer sacred headwaters, it's just a waste dump site.”
But Steve Robertson, exploration manager for Imperial Metals, told CBC News the dump site will be sealed and that the economic benefits of the planned Red Chris mine will be enormous.
“This is a project that can bring a lot of good jobs, long-term jobs, well-paying jobs to a community that desperately needs it,” Robertson said.
He added that the total investment over the 25-year life of the mine would be about half a billion dollars and that the risk to the environment will be carefully managed.
“Tailings are part of the mining process,” Robertson said, “and, if treated properly, if they're built into a proper structure and kept submerged, they should be able to withstand the test of time and actually not pose a detriment to the environment.”
But James Dennis, a 76-year-old elder of the local Tahltan people, told CBC News he doesn’t buy that.
“We want it stopped,” said Dennis, who lives in the native village of Iskut, 18 kilometres northwest of the mine site. “We want to stop the mine … The animals will be drinking that water and they'll all be polluted too.
"Once they do the mine, they’re going to leave, and we're the people who are going to live with that. Not me, but my grandchildren, the small little kids like this. That's who's going to live with the pollution.”
Lakes proposed for use as mine tailings ponds:
Since the introduction of Schedule Two of mining effluent regulations under the Fisheries Act, in 2002, 16 lakes have been proposed for reclassification as tailings dumps.
Four of the 16 are already being used as dumps — all in Newfoundland. Two of those are at the Duck Pond Mine and the other two are older mines due to be brought under Schedule Two retroactively.
Only one of the 16 — Kemess North in B.C. — has been turned down. Eight are to be decided in the coming year.
B.C.:
Kemess North - Duncan Lake - REJECTED.
Kutcho Creek - Andrea Creek.
Ruby Creek - Ruby Creek watershed.
Prosperity - Fish Lake.
Red Chris.
Mount Milligan.
Manitoba:
Bucko Lake.
Newfoundland and Labrador:
Duck Pond Mine - Trout Pond and Gill's Brook.
Carol Mine - Wabush Lake.
Wabush Mine - Flora Lake.
Long Harbour - Sandy Pond.
Northwest Territories:
Winter Lake.
Nunavut:
Doris North Project - Tail Lake.
Meadowbank - Second Portage Lake.
High Lake.
----- Original Message -----
From: <bpatterson@canadians.org>
Sent: Saturday, November 21, 2009 4:13 PM
Subject: [coc-chaps-l] ACTION ALERT: Help protect Teztan Biny (Fish Lake)
Please see the following action alert written by BC-Yukon regional organizer Harjap Grewal:
Taseko Mines Ltd. is proposing the use of Teztan Biny as a acid tailings lake.
This is a practice that since 2002 has been supported by controversial changes to the Fisheries Act under Schedule 2 which allow for the redefining of any lake as a 'Tailings Impoundment Area'.
The two kilometre-wide open pit of the proposed mine, along with tailings pond, waste rock piles, roads, and transmission lines would destroy the entire sub-alpine ecosystem around the lake and Teztan Biny.
CEAA PROCESS
The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) is asking for public input about a recent response by Taseko Mines Ltd. to a letter from the CEAA.
The letter asked Taseko to clarify its November 2nd declaration to investors that it intends to increase the life of the mine from 20 to 33 years, and “mine deeper, higher grade mineralization.”
The CEAA would like to determine if Taseko's response is adequate in order to proceed to public hearings on the proposed project.
Taseko is suggesting that the estimated 70% mineral reserves are not significant to their application even though they have promoted an increase in the life of the mine by 13 years in a recent press release.
We believe that the information provided by Taseko does not address the potential environmental impacts of this increase in mineral reserves.
TAKE ACTION
The notice from the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency states, "Aboriginal groups, governments and the public are invited to review the proponent's response and send comments to the Panel."
"The Panel must receive all comments on the response in writing by Monday November 23, 2009 in order to be considered."
As such, these comments should be sent as soon as possible to prosperity.review@ceaa-acee.gc.ca.
SAMPLE MESSAGE
I believe that Taseko's response is inadequate and that the environmental assessment process should not proceed to public hearings.
I am very concerned that the Stratus Consulting report highlights that the information Taseko has provided in its Environmental Impact Statement “does not permit a reasoned evaluation of potential adverse effects to water quality, water quantity, fish and wildlife under variable conditions.”
Furthermore, I am outraged that Teztan Biny and lakes across the country could even be considered as toxic dump sites for mining corporations under the Metal Mining Effluent Regulations of the Fisheries Act.
These so-called 'tailing impoundment areas' represent the privatization of a public resource and will have devastating social and environmental consequences.
As we deal with the impacts of climate change, mismanagement and overuse of fresh water, it is unconscionable to allow the destruction of entire bodies of freshwater for mining purposes.
I demand that you protect our natural bodies of water by preventing them from being used as dumping areas for mine waste. You can do so by rejecting the Taseko Mines Ltd. application for Teztan Biny.
BACKGROUND READING- "The Panel's letter regarding the announcement of increased mineral reserves is dated November 10, 2009 and is available on the project registry at http://www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/050/document ... 39478E.pdf (CEAR# 1316)."
- "The response provided by Taseko Mines Ltd. to the Panel's letter is dated November 12, 2009 and is available on the project's registry at http://www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/050/document ... 39528E.pdf (CEAR# 1344)."
- The Stratus Consulting report commissioned by the Tsilhqot'in National Government and Williams Lake Indian Band highlighting that the information that Taseko has provided in its Environmental Impact Statement “does not permit a reasoned evaluation of potential adverse effects to water quality, water quantity, fish and wildlife under variable conditions," can be read at: http://www.ceaa.gc.ca/050/documents/39529/39529E.pdf.
- A recent article about this report has been published in the Williams Lake Tribune:
http://www.bclocalnews.com/business/704 ... ml‬‪.
- A Tsilhqot’in Nation background document on Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) is at:
http://www.protectfishlake.ca/media/TNG_Teztan_Biny_
Backgrounder_April_2009.pdf.
- A Canadian Perspectives article on this issue, 'Mining Companies Turning Lakes into Toxic Dumps' (Spring 2009), can be read at http://www.canadians.org/publications/CP/2009/spring/
CP_spring_09_tia.pdf.
- Fight looms over Fish Lake (Georgia Straight, Aug 27th, 2009),
http://www.straight.com/article-249305/ ... ke‬‪.
- ACTION ALERT: Freshwater lakes, not 'tailings impoundment areas',
http://www.canadians.org/action/2008/27-Jun-08.html.
Brent Patterson
The Council of Canadians
www.canadians.org/campaignblog
= = = = =
ACTION ALERT: Tell Cabinet to Protect Teztan Biny (Fish Lake)
Say no to Taseko's Mine Proposal and Make Sure the Government Hears You!
http://www.canadians.org/action/2010/TIA-Sept-3.html
September 3, 2010
The federal government is preparing to announce its decision on Taseko's proposed 'Prosperity Mine' project as early as Friday September 10. Generations of the Tsilhqot'in people have opposed the plan for this open-pit mine and the destruction of Teztan Biny.
We are calling on all those who support indigenous rights and water justice to take action.
Taseko is currently seeking regulatory approval from the federal government to destroy Teztan Biny (Fish Lake), while developing their proposed Prosperity Mine. The copper and gold mine would operate in the heart of Tsilhqot'in territories, south-west of Williams Lake in British Columbia.
How can a mining company destroy a pristine fish bearing lake? Lakes that would normally be protected as fish habitat by the Fisheries Act can now be redefined as 'tailings impoundment areas' by Schedule 2 in the Metal Mining Effluent Regulations of the Act. An estimated 85,000 rainbow trout will have their habitat destroyed if Taskeo's project goes ahead and one of the most pristine watersheds in the country, as well as the Fraser River, will be impacted by toxic leeching.
The Tsilhqot'in Nation have clearly and collectively said 'No' to a project which would jeopardize a sacred site of great cultural and historic significance. The Tsilhqot'in communities have not given consent to the Prosperity Mine project that would be in an area of proven aboriginal rights as determined in the Supreme Court of B.C. Secwepmec communities have also expressed opposition to the development of a power line needed to develop the mine through their territories. The Canadian government continues to refuse signing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
While Taseko has clearly ignore traditional indigenous economies while trumpeting the economic benefits of this mine, they have also ignored the associated public costs. Dr. Marvin Shaffer has estimated that the provincial government would be subsidizing the project with $20 million per year for the life of the project. Tax revenues from the mine are unlikely to be more than $7.5 million. The Tsilhqot'in communities, the public, future generations and the environment stand to lose much more.
Please act today! Lakes not Toxic Dump Sites! Solidarity with the Tsilhqot'in!
E-mail and call cabinet ministers now:
- Stephen Harper (Prime Minister) - Harper.S@parl.gc.ca; (613) 992-4211
or (403) 253-7990
- Jim Prentice (Minister of the Environment) - Prentice.J@parl.gc.ca;
(613) 947-9475 or (403) 230-4368
- Gail Shea (Minister of Fisheries and Oceans) - Shea.G@parl.gc.ca;
(613) 992-9223 or (902) 432-6899
- John Duncan (Minister of Indian Affairs) - Duncan.J@parl.gc.ca; (613)
992-2503 or (250) 338-9381
- Tony Clement (Minister of Industry) - Clement.T@parl.gc.ca; (613)
992-5092 or (705) 746-9053
- Christian Paradis (Minister of Natural Resources) -
Paradis.C@parl.gc.ca; (613) 995-1377 or (418) 338-2903
Web-links:
Read more the campaign against Schedule 2 changes to the Fisheries Act,
www.canadians.org/TIA
Read Dr. Marvin Shaffer's submission to the federal review panel,
www.ceaa.gc.ca/050/documents/41844/41844E.pdf
Read the Council of Canadians submission to the federal review panel,
www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/050/documents/41940/41940E.PDF (starting at page
280),
or listen www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/050/
document-eng.cfm?document=41852
(at the 1 hour, 18 minute mark).
Watch the documentary Blue Gold: The Fight for Teztan Biny (Fish Lake),
www.raventrust.com/projects/fishlaketez ... egold.html
Contact information for all cabinet ministers can be found here
<https://76.66.235.74/exchweb/bin/
redir.asp?URL=http://webinfo.parl.gc.c
a/MembersOfParliament/MainCabinetCompleteList.aspx?TimePeriod=Current> .
For more information please e-mail hgrewal@canadians.org or call
1-800-387-7177.
= = = = =
----- Original Message -----
From: Elaine Hughes
To: Prime Minister Harper ; Fed. Envir. Min. Prentice ; Fed. DFO Min. Shea ; Duncan.J@parl.gc.ca ; Fed. Ind.Min.Clement ; Paradis.C@parl.gc.ca
Cc: Toxic Nation ; Mining Watch.ca ; May, E. GPC ; Layton, J. NDP ; Ignatieff M. - Lib. ; Sierra Club - Can. ; Council of Canadians
Sent: Friday, September 03, 2010 11:25 AM
Subject: Lakes are NOT Toxic Dump Sites! Solidarity with the Tsilhqot'in!
Prime Minister Harper and Ministers
As your government prepares to announce its decision on Taseko's proposed 'Prosperity Mine' project, perhaps as early as Friday, September 10, 2010, I wish to inform you that I fully support the generations of the Tsilhqot'in people who have opposed the plan for this open-pit mine and the destruction of Teztan Biny.
How can your government allow a mining company to destroy a pristine fish-bearing lake? Lakes that would normally be protected as fish habitat by the Fisheries Act can now be redefined as 'tailings impoundment areas' by Schedule 2 in the Metal Mining Effluent Regulations of the Act. An estimated 85,000 rainbow trout will have their habitat destroyed if Taskeo's project goes ahead and one of the most pristine watersheds in the country, as well as the Fraser River, will be impacted by toxic leeching. We're talking about the wanton and intentional destruction of FOOD!
The Tsilhqot'in Nation have clearly and collectively said 'No' to a project which would jeopardize a sacred site of great cultural and historic significance. The Tsilhqot'in communities have not given consent to the Prosperity Mine project that would be in an area of proven aboriginal rights as determined in the Supreme Court of B.C. Secwepmec communities have also expressed opposition to the development of a power line needed to develop the mine through their territories. The Canadian government continues to refuse signing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
While Taseko has clearly ignored traditional indigenous economies while trumpeting the economic benefits of this mine, they have also ignored the associated public costs. Dr. Marvin Shaffer has estimated that the provincial government would be subsidizing the project with $20 million per year for the life of the project. Tax revenues from the mine are unlikely to be more than $7.5 million. The Tsilhqot'in communities, the public, future generations and the environment stand to lose much more.
Allowing Taseko to use the pristine Fish Lake as a toxic mine dump for the proposed Prosperity Mine would be, among other things, a case of gross irresponsibility and mismanagement on the part of your government; you are supposed to be protect this country, its people and its life-supporting water.
I stand in solidarity with the Tsilhqot'in people. I urge you to get your priorities in order - people before profits - and do what's right.
DO NOT allow Taseko to destroy this lake!
Yours truly,
Elaine Hughes
Box 23, Archerwill, SK S0E 0B0
= = = = = = =
Lakes across Canada face being turned into mine dump sites
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/06/ ... lakes.html
Lakes are in B.C., Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, NWT and Nunavut
Last Updated: Monday, June 16, 2008 | 9:42 PM ET By Terry Milewski, CBC News
CBC News has learned that 16 Canadian lakes are slated to be officially but quietly "reclassified" as toxic dump sites for mines. The lakes include prime wilderness fishing lakes from B.C. to Newfoundland.
Environmentalists say the process amounts to a "hidden subsidy" to mining companies, allowing them to get around laws against the destruction of fish habitat.
Under the Fisheries Act, it's illegal to put harmful substances into fish-bearing waters. But, under a little-known subsection known as Schedule Two of the mining effluent regulations, federal bureaucrats can redefine lakes as "tailings impoundment areas."
That means mining companies don't need to build containment ponds for toxic mine tailings.
CBC News visited two examples of Schedule Two lakes. In Newfoundland and Labrador, the Vale Inco company wants to use a prime destination for fishermen known as Sandy Pond to hold tailings from a nickel processing plant.
In northern B.C., Imperial Metals plans to enclose a remote watershed valley to hold tailings from a gold and copper mine. The valley lies in what the native Tahltan people call the "Sacred Headwaters" of three major salmon rivers. It also serves as spawning grounds for the rainbow trout of Kluela Lake, which is downstream from the dump site.
Lakes 'safest option': mining association
Vale Inco's proposal was the subject of a public meeting on June 10 in Long Harbour, N.L. Billed as a "public consultation" on the proposal, the meeting was attended by government officials, mining executives, environmentalists and fishermen.
Lakes are often the best way for mine tailings to be contained, said Elizabeth Gardiner, vice-president for technical affairs for the Mining Association of Canada.
“In some cases, particularly in Canada, with this kind of topography and this number of natural lakes and depressions and ponds … in the end it's really the safest option for human health and for the environment," she said.
But Catherine Coumans, spokeswoman for the environmental group Mining Watch, said the federal government is making it too easy. She said federal officials are increasingly using the obscure Schedule Two regulations to quietly reclassify lakes and other waters as tailings dumps.
“Something that used to be a lake — or a river, in fact, they can use rivers — by being put on this section two of this regulation is no longer a river or a lake," she said. "It's a tailings impoundment area. It's a waste disposal site. It's an industrial waste dump."
Coumans said the procedure amounts to a subsidy to the industry and enables mines to get around the Fisheries Act.
"What Canadians need to know is that this year, from March 2008 to March of 2009, eight lakes are going to be subject to being put on Schedule Two, which is just about every mine that is going ahead this year is looking around, looking for the nearest lake to dump its waste into.”
A local environmentalist who attended the Long Harbour meeting, Chad Griffiths, said of Sandy Pond: “It's easy enough to consider just one lake as just one lake, as a needed sacrifice, right? But it's not one lake … It's a trend. It's an open season on Canadian water.”
'Open season on Canadian water': environmentalist
A test case: the Red Chris Mine in northwestern B.C.
Last fall, a Federal Court judge ruled that federal bureaucrats acted illegally in trying to fast-track the Red Chris copper and gold mine without a full and public environmental review.
The decision put the project on hold, but late last week, the Federal Appeals Court reversed the decision, paving the way for federal officials to declare lakes to be dumps without public consultation.
Imperial Metals said in a release Monday that federal authorities "are now authorized to issue regulatory approvals for the Red Chris project to proceed," although the matter could still be appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada.
In the earlier decision, Justice Luc Martineau overturned the decision by federal officials to skip a public review, saying it "has all the characteristics of a capricious and arbitrary decision which was taken for an improper purpose."
He also found those officials "committed a reviewable error by deciding to forgo the public consultation process which the project was statutorily mandated to undergo."
The dump site includes two small lakes in a Y-shaped valley. Imperial Metals plans to build three dams to contain mine tailings within the valley. But environmentalists say there is no way to stop effluent leaking downstream in groundwater.
Jim Bourquin of the Cassiar Watch Society, a conservation group, said Kluela Lake, immediately downstream from the site, is “one of the best trout fishing lakes in northern B.C.”
“This is a precedent-setting decision by the federal government to start using fish-bearing habitat as a waste management area," Bourquin said. "It's totally bizarre for the federal government to come here and say that this Y-shaped valley up here is no longer a fish habitat, it's no longer sacred headwaters, it's just a waste dump site.”
But Steve Robertson, exploration manager for Imperial Metals, told CBC News the dump site will be sealed and that the economic benefits of the planned Red Chris mine will be enormous.
“This is a project that can bring a lot of good jobs, long-term jobs, well-paying jobs to a community that desperately needs it,” Robertson said.
He added that the total investment over the 25-year life of the mine would be about half a billion dollars and that the risk to the environment will be carefully managed.
“Tailings are part of the mining process,” Robertson said, “and, if treated properly, if they're built into a proper structure and kept submerged, they should be able to withstand the test of time and actually not pose a detriment to the environment.”
But James Dennis, a 76-year-old elder of the local Tahltan people, told CBC News he doesn’t buy that.
“We want it stopped,” said Dennis, who lives in the native village of Iskut, 18 kilometres northwest of the mine site. “We want to stop the mine … The animals will be drinking that water and they'll all be polluted too.
"Once they do the mine, they’re going to leave, and we're the people who are going to live with that. Not me, but my grandchildren, the small little kids like this. That's who's going to live with the pollution.”
Lakes proposed for use as mine tailings ponds:
Since the introduction of Schedule Two of mining effluent regulations under the Fisheries Act, in 2002, 16 lakes have been proposed for reclassification as tailings dumps.
Four of the 16 are already being used as dumps — all in Newfoundland. Two of those are at the Duck Pond Mine and the other two are older mines due to be brought under Schedule Two retroactively.
Only one of the 16 — Kemess North in B.C. — has been turned down. Eight are to be decided in the coming year.
B.C.:
Kemess North - Duncan Lake - REJECTED.
Kutcho Creek - Andrea Creek.
Ruby Creek - Ruby Creek watershed.
Prosperity - Fish Lake.
Red Chris.
Mount Milligan.
Manitoba:
Bucko Lake.
Newfoundland and Labrador:
Duck Pond Mine - Trout Pond and Gill's Brook.
Carol Mine - Wabush Lake.
Wabush Mine - Flora Lake.
Long Harbour - Sandy Pond.
Northwest Territories:
Winter Lake.
Nunavut:
Doris North Project - Tail Lake.
Meadowbank - Second Portage Lake.
High Lake.
Last edited by Oscar on Fri Sep 03, 2010 11:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
- Oscar
- Site Admin
- Posts: 9964
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NEWS: Liberal MP introduces Bill on Schedule 2
by Oscar » Thu Jun 17, 2010 10:13 pm
NEWS: Liberal MP introduces Bill on Schedule 2
http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=3959
Thursday, June 17th, 2010
A media release issued today by Francis Scarpaleggia, Member of Parliament for Lac-Saint-Louis and Chair of the National Liberal Water Caucus, highlights that he has, “introduced a private member’s bill to prohibit Canada’s lakes from being used as low-cost disposal sites for tailings waste from mining operations.”
“The Montreal West Island M.P. believes it is more urgent than ever to close this (Schedule 2) Fisheries Act loophole given that the recent federal budget weakens the federal environmental assessment process by giving the environment minister the power to exclude projects from having to go through comprehensive reviews of their overall impact on ecosystems—including proposals that envisage using lakes as dumping grounds for mining wastes.”
The ‘Act to amend the Fisheries Act (mining activities)’ has not yet been assigned a number (it would likely be Bill C-559) and should be posted soon at:
http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HouseBills/
billsprivate.aspx?Parl=40&Ses=3&Language=E&Mode=1#C558.
NDP Member of Parliament Peter Stoffer has also put forward C-219 ‘An Act to amend the Fisheries Act (deposit in lakes)’, which is still in first reading.
The text of that Bill is at http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/
Publication.aspx?DocId=4329858&Language=e&Mode=1&File=24.
The Council of Canadians is campaigning to have the Schedule 2 loophole closed.
Information and action alerts are at http://www.canadians.org/water/issues/TIAs/index.html.
http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=3959
Thursday, June 17th, 2010
A media release issued today by Francis Scarpaleggia, Member of Parliament for Lac-Saint-Louis and Chair of the National Liberal Water Caucus, highlights that he has, “introduced a private member’s bill to prohibit Canada’s lakes from being used as low-cost disposal sites for tailings waste from mining operations.”
“The Montreal West Island M.P. believes it is more urgent than ever to close this (Schedule 2) Fisheries Act loophole given that the recent federal budget weakens the federal environmental assessment process by giving the environment minister the power to exclude projects from having to go through comprehensive reviews of their overall impact on ecosystems—including proposals that envisage using lakes as dumping grounds for mining wastes.”
The ‘Act to amend the Fisheries Act (mining activities)’ has not yet been assigned a number (it would likely be Bill C-559) and should be posted soon at:
http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HouseBills/
billsprivate.aspx?Parl=40&Ses=3&Language=E&Mode=1#C558.
NDP Member of Parliament Peter Stoffer has also put forward C-219 ‘An Act to amend the Fisheries Act (deposit in lakes)’, which is still in first reading.
The text of that Bill is at http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/
Publication.aspx?DocId=4329858&Language=e&Mode=1&File=24.
The Council of Canadians is campaigning to have the Schedule 2 loophole closed.
Information and action alerts are at http://www.canadians.org/water/issues/TIAs/index.html.
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- Site Admin
- Posts: 9964
- Joined: Wed May 03, 2006 3:23 pm
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