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The April 24 release of terms of reference, and standards for the review was preceded by: a January 2011 formal directive from the former deputy premier of Manitoba, and the November 2012 announcement the review will in fact be conducted, and several confirmations from the Manitoba government along the way. The Bipole III 500 kv dc transmission project is not part of this review.

With a due date of June 2014 for the PUB report on the matter, for cabinet consideration, a variety of technical reviews, public hearings, and exchanges of information between the PUB and Manitoba Hydro will fill the next year.

The PUB will be announcing the public participation process soon. A panel of five has been appointed. The PUB will also contract experts to assist in this review.

The terms of reference for this review and hearings include standards for use of and discussion of commercially sensitive information.

Environmental assessments, reviews, and potential licensing are not part of this review, including with respect to new transmission, and new generation. The last time a NFAT review was conducted in Manitoba the Wuskwatim generation station and transmission system was reviewed through Manitoba's Clean Environment Commision, in 2004.

On many occasions the province has issued permits, licenses and other land dispositions which constitute a breach of constitutionally protected Aboriginal and Treaty rights. Due to mounting frustration, First Nations in Manitoba will stop the provincial blockade against their traditional economies by declaring moratoriums on resource development on their traditional territories. First Nation "Stop Work Orders" on mine development are now being posted and will be enforced.

On Friday, April 26, 2013 a dozen Manitoba Chiefs held a press conference at the Manitoba Mines Branch Winnipeg Offices. Each spoke about the need to protect lands, waters, and Aboriginal rights.

"I think it's an important scientific endeavour and I don't believe that either provincially, regionally, or nationally and internationally we can afford to let it go," Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said in her announcement.

"What is special about the ELA is that it takes research out of the lab and right into the environment - so the ELA presents a rare opportunity for research, perhaps unique in the world," president and IISD CEO Scott Vaughan said in a statement.

Premier Wynne says the Ontario government will provide operating support and work toward an agreement with the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and other partners so that the important science conducted in the ELA can continue.

The Experimental Lakes Area was established in 1968 and is located near Kenora, Ontario, in the Lake of the Woods watershed.

Source: ibajaynuuk.blogspot.ca

Aleqa Hammond, who was educated in Canada, and brought up with traditional skills such as curing seal skins, indicated she would take a more critical look at Chinese mining investments in Greenland. She also pledged to increase royalties on miners and ensure they talked through staffing plans with trade unions.

Her government has put a moratorium on any new oil drilling permits in Greenland's waters and lands. Greenland is a member of the Arctic Council, which Canada chairs for 2013.

"The environment has impacts on every area of life from health and infrastructure to poverty reduction and yet this budget relegates the environment to an area of minor concern," said Josh Brandon, communications coordinator with Green Action Centre.

Across the board cuts to (Manitoba) Conservation and Water Stewardship budget leave little room for ensuring Manitoba's environment is safeguarded for future generations.

"We agree with The Green Action Centre. Our environment is the basis for our economy. Our government seems to have lost track of this reality. We have to take care of our water and lands for now and future generations. Many government commitments for our environment are now at risk," said Gaile Whelan Enns, director of Manitoba Wildlands.

In the online survey of representative national samples, 58 per cent of Canadians believe that global warming is a fact and is mostly caused by emissions from vehicles and industrial facilities. The proportion of respondents who feel the same way is considerably lower in the United States (47%) and Britain (45%).

Three-in-five Canadians (60%) support protecting the environment, even at the risk of hampering economic growth, only 49 per cent of respondents in the United States—and 44 per cent in Britain—concur.

"It's time for some respect for our lands and waters from the company and the government," Mike Sutherland, Councillor for Peguis First Nation, said. Berger Peat Moss Ltd. is clearing forest and building roads prior to required plant study and inventory. Mike Sutherland said the mine was initially licensed in the summer of 2011 despite a moratorium on new peat mines, and a new license was issued in February despite months of formal appeals and community consultations.

The Washow Peninsula is situated within the Treaty Land Entitlement notice area for Peguis First Nation, and is a shared traditional use area for Peguis and Fisher River First Nations.

"We have taken every step with the Manitoba government in good faith. This peat mine, and the others intended for the Peninsula, are not right. Our First Nations, and our supporters know we need a real peat mine moratorium in Manitoba. Berger talks one way and acts another way. It is time for some respect for our lands and waters from the company and the government."

After tracking thousands of assessments over a decade, the peer-reviewed findings of Derrick de Kerckhove suggest a great majority of Fisheries Act environmental reviews over the last decade were completed well within recommended timelines. Nor was there a bottleneck of projects being held up by a clogged review process, he said.

"We didn't find any. Even when the input was high, it seemed to be handled very well." De Kerckhove, a University of Toronto PhD candidate, analyzed 10 years of data from Department of Fisheries and Oceans annual reports on the progress of environmental assessments triggered under the Fisheries Act. That legislation generates more such reviews than almost any other - anywhere from 7,700 to more than 12,000 in a single year.

Britain is blocking attempts to introduce a Europe-wide ban on the world's most widely used insecticides, neonicotinoids, arguing their impact on bees is unclear. British MPs say the government is acting complacently.

"We believe that the weight of scientific evidence now warrants precautionary action, so we are calling for a moratorium on pesticides linked to bee decline to be introduced by 1 January next year," said Joan Walley, chair of the committee.

The European Commission has proposed neonicotinoid sprays be restricted to crops not attractive to pollinators.

Two-thirds of wild species such as honey bees, considered vital for pollinating around one-third of the world's crop production, have suffered population declines in Britain, the parliamentary committee said.

'Climate change produces a variety of stresses on society, affecting human health, natural ecosystems, built environments, and existing social, institutional, and legal agreements. These stresses interact with each other and with other non-climate stresses, such as habitat fragmentation, pollution, increased consumption patterns, and biodiversity loss. Addressing these multiple stresses requires the assessment of composite threats as well as tradeoffs among the costs, benefits, and risks of available response options.'. - from the report

The Green Action Center received a Manitoba Excellence in Sustainability Award in the category of pollution prevention and product stewardship. Environmental awards are made annually by the Manitoba Round Table for Sustainable Development. The presentation was made by the Honourable Gord Macintosh, Minister of Conservation and Water Stewardship, in a ceremony at the Manitoba Legislature April 3, 2013.

The award reflects hard work by the Board and Policy Committee of Green Action Centre and by project staff to encourage recycling, composting, green commuting options like cycling and walking, energy conservation and other habits of sustainable living.

Executive Director Randall McQuaker has lead the organization through many projects to strong programs. The award confirms his hard work and leadership!

Source: Jacob Slaton, Reuters

The spills have come at a tenuous time for the oil and pipeline industries, as US President Barack Obama prepares to announce his final decision on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline from the Alberta tar sands to Port Arthur, Texas.

Enbridge recorded its fourth spill in two months along its Norman Wells Pipeline through the Northwest Territories. ExxonMobil's Pegasus Pipeline coated the streets of Mayflower, Arkansas, with diluted bitumen from the Alberta Tar Sands - the same kind the proposed Keystone XL would carry.

In Alberta, Suncor was furiously downplaying a leak from one of its massive waste ponds into the Athabasca River. This comes on the heels of a leaked memo to Canada Resources Minister Joe Oliver, which acknowledged routine spillage from these ponds throughout the tar sands.

Michigan was hit with another spill - this time up to 500 gallons of hydraulic oil spilled into the Lansing Grand River during an equipment malfunction at a local utility.

Does so many spills in one week mean spills are just business as usual for the oil companies?