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- Independent Wuskwatim Witnesses Speak
- Great Barrier Reef Protection
- Manitoba Challenges Devils Lake Project
- Freedom of Information & Privacy Protection Recommendations
- Top Catalogs Branded as Forest Destroyers - ForestEthics
- Wuskwatim Review Hearings Extended Again
- Ontario Culls Cormorants
- Strong Evidence for Claims of Mass Extinction
- Manitoba & Canada Climate Change Agreement
- Ontario Migratory Bird Violations
- Canada and Manitoba to Establish Lowlands National Park
- New Manitoba Water Protection Act
Independent Wuskwatim Witnesses Speak |
8 April 04 |
"The proponents have taken inadequate consideration of climate change on this project. The CEC should instruct the proponents to go back and re-examine climate change impacts," said Elizabeth May, Sierra Club Canada Executive Director.May joined presenters Robert Hornung, President of the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA); Will Gilmore, Tribal Archaeologist; and Dan Soprovich, Forest Habitat expert April 7, 2004, at the CEC Wuskwatim hydro project hearings. "The need for independent information for this important environmental decision has been clear during these hearings," stated Manitoba Wildlands Director Gaile Whelan Enns, "especially when the government is licensing its own public utility." Ecologist and wildlife consultant, Dan Soprovich questions the validity of habitat models used by Manitoba Hydro. "Manitoba Hydro used habitat models that were never verified or tested before they used them for Wuskwatim," Soprovich said. "Manitoba Wildlands will continue to fulfill its aim of providing the CEC with independent information," said Whelan Enns. "The CEC needs access to this information for their to recommendation on the Wuskwatim projects." View presentations, bios, daily transcripts and summaries at: energymanitoba.org View Wuskwatim information pages at manitobawildlands.org |
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Great Barrier Reef Protection |
5 April 04 |
Australia's parliament has passed a law, to come into force in July 2004, which will make the Great Barrier Reef the world's largest protected reef system. The law will ban fishing in one third of the World Heritage Site's 345,000 sq km area, and leave tourism as the only permitted industry. The ban comes in response to concerns that overfishing is depleting the reef's rich marine life. There will also be tougher limits on the movement of shipping in the area off Australia's north-east coast.The Great Barrier Reef, situated off Queensland state in north-east Australia, injects an estimated A$1.5bn into the economy each year through tourism and fishing. It is Australia's number one tourist destination, attracting a million visitors a year. The reef is home to sharks, turtles and numerous brightly coloured fish. View the March 25, 2004 BBC article Source: BBC News World |
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Manitoba Challenges Devils Lake Project |
5 April 04 |
Water Stewardship Minister Steve Ashton announced March 29, 2004 that the Manitoba government is launching a legal challenge in the form of an appeal against North Dakota's Devils Lake water diversion project.Devils Lake is a closed sub-basin lake that has been isolated from the Hudson Bay drainage basin for over 1,200 years. Manitoba opposes the outlet plan because it could release dissolved solids, sulphates and harmful nutrients (40 more tonnes of phosphorus per year) as well as foreign fish pathogens and fish diseases to the Sheyenne River. The Sheyenne connects to the Red River and eventually flows into Lake Winnipeg. "North Dakota is unilaterally and aggressively moving ahead with construction of the outlet in spite of recent concerns raised by the U.S. Department of State," said Ashton. "Manitoba has pursued diplomatic options to raise our concerns with the project but all of these have been ignored by North Dakota." Manitoba has been calling for the Government of Canada to pursue a joint reference with the United States to the International Joint Commission on the Devils Lake project. Opposition to the project has also been expressed by the Government of Canada, the states of Minnesota and Missouri, the National Wildlife Federation and the Peterson Coulee Outlet Association. In February 2004, several American First Nations agreed to joint action to oppose the Devils Lake outlet project. The Red Lake Nation, Spirit Lake Nation, White Earth Reservation and the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs participated in a First Nations and the Tribal summit. View the March 29, 2004 Manitoba Government press release Source: Government of Manitoba |
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Freedom of Information & Privacy Protection Recommendations |
5 April 04 |
The
Manitoba Library Association, Canadian Taxpayers Federation - Manitoba,
Provincial Council of Women of Manitoba Inc. and the Manitoba Eco-Network
are collectively known as the Manitoba Access to Information Network
(MATIN) submitted recommendations to the province's review of the
Freedom of Information & Privacy Protection Act (FIPPA) on March
31, 2004.MATIN's 26 recommendations range from addressing the role of the Information and Privacy Commissioner to providing advice regarding fees for requests for information under the FIPPA. The Network is also calling for the government to investigate its information system, institute a performance audit of the Manitoba Ombudsman Access and Privacy Division, and provide an interactive web site with full access to the necessary information to facilitate the FIPPA review. "Freedom of information is a fundamental democratic right which enhances timely access to substantive critical government information necessary for the full discussion of policy proposals and for holding governments to account for their actions, inaction and performance," stated MATIN spokesman Paul Nielson. Download the MATIN March 31, 2004 cover letter (DOC 56KB) Download the MATIN Recommendations (DOC 144KB) View the Manitoba Government FIPPA site Source: Manitoba Access to Information Network |
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Top Catalogs Branded as Forest Destroyers - ForestEthics |
31 March 04 |
At the annual American Forest Products Association conference in New York on March 23, 2004, conservation organization ForestEthics named six companies as leading targets for the next phase of its Paper Campaign. Lands' End/Sears, LL Bean, Williams-Sonoma/Pottery Barn, Limited/Victoria's Secret, J Crew, and JC Penney collectively produce over 600 million catalogs a year in the United States on paper that comes directly from Endangered Forests including the boreal forest in Canada, which are the largest remaining wilderness areas in North America.According to ForestEthics, each year catalog retailers mail out 59 catalogs for every man, woman and child in the United States (about 17 billion catalogs). Almost none of thvis paper contains recycled content, which means that every year almost eight million tons of trees are used for catalogs that are often discarded or unread. Catalogs have surpassed magazines in overall paper use in the United States, using around 3.6 million tons of paper annually. ForestEthics and its allies are turning their focus towards the catalog industry and challenging it to stop buying paper from endangered forests and to maximize post-consumer recycled content in catalogs. The six companies were named as the top targets because they have some of the largest circulations in the industry, have links to endangered forests, and have refused to change their purchasing practices. View the full ForestEthics press release Visit the ForestEthics Paper Campaign |
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Wuskwatim Review Hearings Extended Again |
30 March 04 |
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The Clean Environment Commission (CEC) released a revised schedule for the Wuskwatim Generation and Transmission projects review hearings March 29, 2004. The new schedule extends the hearings, adding an additional six dates in May (May 11 - 14, May 25, 26). The original schedule adjourned the hearings on April 8, and has already been extended once to include three days of the following week in April (April 13 - 15). Additional scheduled days mean the CEC Wuskwatim hearings will have run for 27 days. The original hearing schedule was for 13 days. Gaile Whelan Enns, Director, Manitoba Wildlands, CNF expressed concern about the time required of participants as a result of the unanticipated hearing dates. "The CEC has been directed to fulfill its mandate, and certainly this process should not be rushed." she noted, "However, as public participants we have not been allocated resources for these additional days and our resources are being stretched beyond the limit. Both Manitoba Hydro and the CEC are able to expand their budgets and timelines." The week of May 11 - 14, 2004 is to allow for additional public participants' presentations on the Wuskwatim Environmental Impact Statements and cross-examination of those presenters. Two days in the following week are reserved for closing statements by all parties. To view the updated CEC schedule, hearing summaries, news about the hearings, and links to official hearings transcripts: Visit energymanitoba.org View the manitobawildlands Wuskwatim Projects page Download the CEC schedule (Excel) |
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Ontario Culls Cormorants |
29 March 04 |
The Ontario Government is currently soliciting public comment on its plan to shoot more than 6,000 cormorants to protect vegetation on two islands at Presqu'ile Provincial Park near Brighton, east of Toronto. The plan has been called a cynical political ploy by Natural Resources Minister David Ramsay to pacify a hunter and angler lobby upset by a continued ban on the spring bear hunt and a permanent ban on hunting wolves from Algonquin Park.The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters claim the birds are responsible for declines in fish stocks, but an Environment Canada fact sheet says that "studies have repeatedly shown that in a natural environment, cormorants feed primarily on small, largely non-commercial, shallow-water fish". The Ontario government says that it isn't waging war on the Presqu'ile cormorants just to placate fishermen (although it acknowledges that its plans are consistent with this aim). The stated purpose of the cormorant cull is to protect trees. Fish and Wildlife officials say the problem is that cormorants have denuded Gull Island and threaten to eliminate the vegetation on High Bluff Island. The corrosive nature of the birds' feces can eventually kill the very trees in which they nest. The government says it wants to protect these trees so other big waterfowl, such as the great blue heron, can use them. However, great blue herons can also kill the trees in which they nest. View the March 20, 2004 Toronto Star article View the March 23, 2004 Toronto Star article Source: Toronto Star |
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Strong Evidence for Claims of Mass Extinction |
29 March 04 |
Two studies published in the journal Science this week document declining biodiversity in Britain, with serious implications for world ecology. The first study provides strong evidence of shrinking plant, bird and butterfly populations in Britain. The second, on plant biodiversity, points a finger squarely at humankind. The authors of the first study "tentatively suggest" their results support the hypothesis that world is facing the sixth major extinction in history.Scientists are uncertain what caused each of the past five extinctions, said author Jeremy Thomas of the British Natural Environment Research Council, but most agree on physical factors such as asteroids, volcanic eruptions, and climate change. If human environmental pollution were the cause of the disappearance of all forms of life, it would be the first time that an "organic factor" had brought about a mass extinction. One author stressed that the comparative figures for Britain would have to carry over to global populations for the warning to hold true. In the first study, 28% of plant species declined over 40 years, 54% of bird species decreased over 20 years, and an astonishing 71% of butterfly species declined over 20 years. The second study monitored 68 grasslands across Great Britain over 2 years. The results indicated that in areas of high pollution the species richness is significantly lower than areas of low pollution. According to the author of the study, no other environmental variable could explain the observations so well. View the March 20, 2004 Wired article Source: Wired News |
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Manitoba & Canada Climate Change Agreement |
29 March 04 |
Honourable Tim Sale, Manitoba's Minister of Energy, Science and Technology signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for Co-operation on Addressing Climate Change with the Honourable David Anderson, Canada's Minister of the Environment, and Honourable John Efford, Minister of Natural Resources in Winnipeg on March 19, 2004. The MOU signifies the commitment of both governments to work together to address the challenges of climate change.Under the MOU, the governments agree to explore co-operation on renewable energy development opportunities such as wind-power and alternative forms of energy such as ethanol. In addition, co-operation to promote energy-efficiency practices, assess the impacts of climate change, develop adaptation strategies, promote individual actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and maximize reductions and removals of greenhouse gases in the agricultural sector are also part of the MOU. As part of his official remarks regarding the MOU, the Honourable Tim Sale made reference to Manitoba's leadership role with new initiatives such as the east-west transmission grid. He also highlighted new generation hydroelectric power, geothermal technologies and emissions trading as initiatives and technologies that "reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect our environment and traditional ways of life, and contribute to our province's economic growth". View the Government of Manitoba press release View the Climate Change MOU Source: Government of Manitoba |
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Ontario Migratory Bird Violations |
24 March 04 |
The Council of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation of North America (CEC) voted unanimously March 12, 2004 to instruct the CEC Secretariat to prepare a factual record on allegations that Canada is failing to effectively enforce Section 6(a) of the Canadian Migratory Bird Regulations (MBR) adopted under the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994. Section 6(a) of the MBR makes it an offense to disturb, destroy or take a nest or egg of a migratory bird without a permit. The allegations were made in the Ontario Logging submission, filed with the Secretariat on February 6, 2002, by Sierra Legal Defence Fund (SLDF) on behalf of several Canadian and US environmental groups.The conservation groups' submission concerns clearcut logging carried out in 49 forest management units (FMUs) in areas of central and northern Ontario in 2001. The submission estimates that clear cutting activity in 2001 destroyed over 85,000 migratory bird nests in central and northern Ontario forests. The submission also alleges that Environment Canada has taken virtually no action to enforce Section 6(a) of the MBR in regard to this logging activity. View the March 15, 2004 CEC news release Visit the CEC web site to view:
Source: CEC |
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Canada and Manitoba to Establish Lowlands National Park |
23 March 04 |
The governments of Canada and Manitoba signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) respecting the establishment of a national park in the Interlake region of Manitoba, March 19, 2004. The MOU commits the two governments to work together to conclude consultations and negotiations for a national park establishment agreement by May 2005. Signatory to the MOU are the Honourable Gary Doer, Premier of Manitoba, along with the Honourable David Anderson, Minister of the Environment. A national park in Manitoba's Interlake (between Lake Winnipeg and Lake Winnipegosis) would protect important features of the Manitoba Lowlands Natural Region not yet represented in the national park system of Canada. The national park would also be part of Manitoba's network of protected areas, and contribute to regional representation in the provincial system of protected areas. Suggested Lowlands national park boundaries and mapping reflect recommendations from Canadian Nature Federation and WWF Canada technical reports in 1996 and 1999. Boreal forest areas, important habitat for species such as woodland caribou, migratory birds and elk moose, shoreline and wetlands along Lake Winnipeg, critical fish spawning areas, and karst landforms are some of the important landscape features that would be represented by the park. View CNF's: Canada's Most Wanted New National Parks View more information on Protected Areas in Manitoba Download the Canada-Manitoba MOU View the CNF press release View the Government of Canada news release View the Government of Canada Backgrounder Source: Government of Canada |
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New Manitoba Water Protection Act |
22 March 04 |
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A new piece of legislation, the Water Protection Act (Bill 22) had its first reading in the Manitoba Legislature March 4, 2004. The purpose of Bill 22, introduced by Minister Ashton, is to provide for the protection and stewardship of Manitoba's water resources and aquatic ecosystems. It includes provisions to allow water quality standards, objectives and guidelines to be established and implemented, and will allow water conservation programs to be established. It will establish water quality management zones, requires the preparation of watershed management plans, and their adoption in local development plans. The Act, after legislative approval, possible amendments and regulations, will establish a new advisory body, the Manitoba Water Council, and dissolve the Manitoba Water Commission. A new Water Stewardship Fund will also be established to support projects relating to water management and water quality. For the full text of Bill 22 as is currently exists, visit the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba |
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