News

With a lawsuit in U.S. Federal courts contesting the lax standards Shell is being allowed to operate under, safety of both workers and of the environment falls into question. The lawsuit invokes the U.S. Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act and Oil Pollution Act, statingthe Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) signed off on Shell's exploration plans despite oil spill plans requiring greater scrutiny.

Shell's plan to drill a thousand miles away from the nearest population centre means the ability to deal with spills is limited. The containment barge Shell was expecting to make use of has not passed inspection by the Coast Guard. Royal Dutch Shell is attempting to get the Coast Guard to relax certification standards so it can use the thirty-seven year old Arctic Discoverer.

Shell has published lengthy documentation on it's spill prevention and oil recovery plan, none of the actual machinery has ever been successfully tested in the Arctic.

Enbridge currently proposes to build a $5.5-billion, 1,177-kilometre Northern Gateway pipeline from the oilsands in northern Alberta to the west coast of British Columbia (BC).

The US NTSB report has only served to bolster already strong opposition to the Northern Gateway pipeline [in Canada.]

"I think the company should be deeply embarrassed about what unfolded. If they think they're going to operate like that in British Columbia – forget it," said BC Premier Christy Clark.

In Alberta the NTSB report, and a spat or recent pipeline spills, prompted more than 50 provincial organizations representing a broad cross-section of Alberta's population to issue an open letter calling on Alberta Premier Alison Redford to establish an independent inquiry into pipeline safety in Alberta.

Sunterra Horticulture Inc. applied for an Environment Act license to expand peat mining operations in the Bullhead, Little Deer Lake and Ramsay Point Bogs located approximately 40 and 80 km north of Riverton, Manitoba.

The public has until July 24, 2012 to submit comments to Manitoba Environment Officer Darrell Ouimet (darrell.ouimet@gov.mb.ca) on the proposed peat mine.

The proposed peat mine expansion is located within the traditional territories of Bloodvein River First Nation, Fisher River First Nation, and within both the traditional territory and treaty land entitlement notice zone of Peguis First Nation. Adequate consultations between the Crown and the affected First Nations have not yet taken place.

Holmes made the comments in support of the David Suzuki Foundation's "Radically Canadian" campaign. The campaign is a reaction to Canada's federal government's undermining of long-standing Canadian environmental laws and labelling of environmentalists as "un-Canadian," "foreign-funded money-launderers," and "radicals."

"Citizens throughout the country have joined us and shared their dismay at how brazenly the federal government pushed through a bill that will dismantle vital environmental protections that were created through decades of science and public input," said Peter Robinson, CEO of the David Suzuki Foundation.

"It's clear that Canadians see the need to make the right choices now to create a sustainable future," said Holmes.

In an episode of CBC's television show "Rick Mercer Report," most recently airing June 26, 2012, Mike Holmes and Dr. David Suzuki make cameo appearances to help install solar panels on houses in Oshawa, Ontario.

"The thing about sunlight that is wonderful, is that every country in the world has access to the sun, so it is not a matter of a few rich countries that happen to have big deposits of oil or coal. ... All the countries have access to this [solar power]," said Dr. David Suzuki.

Examples of strategies/plans include:

• Green Economy Action Plan
• Energy Strategy
• New Climate Plan
• Peatlands Stewardship Strategy
• New Water Conservation Strategy
• Eco-Tourism Strategy
• New Manitoba Boreal Plan
• Moose Action Plans

New laws, regulations, policies and programs called for, include:

• Replace the Sustainable Development Act with a new Green Prosperity Act;
• New legislation and policies to protect species and their habitats;
• Regulations requiring mandatory GHG emissions reporting and outlining thresholds and other key reporting requirements;
• 15 "new" provincial parks, ecological reserves, and wildlife management areas;
• New air quality management system;
• Province wide network of e-waste depots;
• Support for municipal and community based curbside organic pick-up and composting programs.

The new green plan does not contain a firm target for greenhouse gas emissions. The government failed to meet its previous target — a six per cent drop from 1990 levels by 2012. The number was based on the Kyoto Protocol and enshrined in provincial law.

"Before any other targets are concluded, it's absolutely critical that we have a mandatory reporting of emissions," Manitoba Conservation Minister Gord Mackintosh acknowledged, adding "You can't cut what you can't count."

Little Grand Rapids and Pauingassi, two Manitoba First Nations, submitted land-management plans to the Provincial government June 2012. Both are among the five First Nations who initiated the World Heritage Site undertaking in 2002.

The lands plans have been officially submitted to the province for approval and will be finalized following a period of public review. The public has until August 8, 2012 to submit comments on the two proposed lands plans.

Polar River First Nation and Bloodvein First Nation have also submitted land management plans. Poplar River's plan was submitted September 2005 and approved June 2011, and Bloodvein plan was approved January 2012.

Five First Nations started the designation bid in 2002 and will manage the lands with the Governments of Ontario and Manitoba.

Manitoba and Ontario nominated 33,400 square kilometres of boreal forest, rivers, lakes and wetlands spread across eastern Manitoba and into Ontario as a UNESCO World Heritage Site candidate January 18, 2012. The nominated area includes the already established Atikaki Provincial Park in Manitoba and Woodland Caribou Provincial Park in Ontario.

"Expanding both the number and diversity of species assessed on the IUCN Red List is imperative to have a clear understanding of our impact on the natural world," says Richard Edwards, Chief Executive of Wildscreen. Wildscreen is working with the IUCN Red List to raise awareness of endangered species.

Further genetic analysis of shark species has lead to the discovery of 79 potential new species of shark. The IUCN has only assessed about half of the world's shark and ray species. A study out of the College of Charleston in South Carolina has done a DNA analysis of 4, 383 species of shark and ray and discovered hidden species.

"This will have an impact on what is considered endangered and the fragility of different organisms," lead author Gavin Naylor with the College of Charleston in South Carolina.

"The State of Canada's Birds report is a measurable indicator of how well we are fulfilling our shared responsibility as stewards of our nation's wildlife and wilderness areas. Clearly there is much we can do to ensure we have healthy ecosystems for years to come, and this report provides a path to do so." Ian Davidson, Executive Director, Nature Canada

"The findings of The State of Canada's Birds report clearly demonstrate the immediate need to maintain, and in some areas increase, the diversity of wildlife habitat across Canada. Without habitat, there is no wildlife... it's that simple." L.G. "Len" Ugarenko, President/Président, Wildlife Habitat Canada

The Blue Planet Prize, given by Japan's Asahi Glass Foundation to leaders who make a difference in safeguarding biodiversity, is one of the world's premier environmental prizes, often referred to as the Nobel Prize for environmentalists.

Three recipients were awarded the prize for 2012: William Rees, a professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia, Rees's former doctoral student and current president of the Global Footprint Network Dr. Mathis Wackernagel, and Dr. Thomas E. Lovejoy.

Rees and Wackernagel were given the award for developing the Ecological Footprint, a comprehensive accounting system that measures human carrying capacity and helps assess the risks to planetary stability from overconsumption.

Lovejoy was awarded the prize for becoming the first person to clarify human caused habitat fragmentation that damaged biodiversity and gave rise to environmental crisis.

This year's winners join a veritable who's who in the conservation world, with past winners that include Lester Brown, James Lovelock, David Brower, Paul Ehrlich, Theo Colborn, Gustave Speth, Amory Lovins, and James Hansen.

The omnibus budget Bill C-38, recently passed by the Canadian House of Commons in a marathon amendments voting session, completely rewrites the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA, 2012) and eliminates screenings, subject to ministerial exceptions.

"Current screenings (including those that are still identified as on hold) will be systematically terminated and removed from the Internet site," the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency wrote in the email.

The news sent government workers scrambling to create their own internal databases of the cancelled assessments, before the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency made an about face and decided to archive the records for public viewing instead.

Isabelle Perrault, spokeswoman for the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, at first denied that the records would be wiped from the system. Perrault later acknowledged: "the possibility of removing all elements of the old registry and developing a completely new registry with none of the old information was among the options we considered."

"As environmental non-profit organizations we also know that the Harper govenment's aggressive campaign to silence any dissenting voice, especially from environmentalist, is a far cry from the picture of constructive collaboration that Minister Kent sought to draw in his speech today." said Christian Holz, Executive Director of Climate Action Network Canada.

"After it received 5 consecutives Fossils of the years at U.N.'S climate change conference, Canada was the only nation singled out for its destructive policies on energy and extraction at the People's Summit here in Rio. What the Harper Government doesn't realize is that its abdication of environmental leadership and its commitment to a 'greed economy' has put Canada in the bulls eye of international social movements being mobilized through the Peoples' Summit here in Rio," says Tony Clarke, director of the Polaris Institute. (contact Richard Girard 21 79 32 05 12)

"With regards to blocking an agreement on protecting 45% of the planet, the high seas – Canada, already a party to the UN Law of the Sea Convention and an active participant in the past six years of discussions at the United Nations on protecting areas beyond national jurisdiction, has no excuse for its position at Rio." – Susanna Fuller, Ecology Action Center.

"Canada does not attend international environmental conferences in good faith. They pulled out of Kyoto immediately after returning from COP17 and have derailed progress here in Rio, all while gutting environmental regulations at home. Calling that good faith is an insult to people and the planet" – Amara Possian, PowerShift Canada

"20 years ago, our government played a pivotal role in helping foster a new era of international cooperation. Today, our government has become a liability for the reputation of our country. Despite the weak agreement adopted in Rio, we will continue to hold the Harper's government feet to the fire on matters of sustainabiltiy, climate change and fossil fuel subsidies." said Steven Guilbeault of Équiterre.

"Canada has been trampling our rights here in Rio and back home by expanding the controversial tar sands into our homeland and poisoning our water, air and earth, and negotiating on their behalf here at Rio+20. Our First Nation Rights are protected by both the Canadian constitution and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. They guarantee our access our lands to hunt, fish, and forage, as well as our rights to clean air and water. Canada has just been singled out for these horrible environmental and social abuses at the final Assembly of the People's summit here in Rio." Said Crystal Lameman of Beaver Lake Cree Nation and Member of the Indigenous Environmental Network

Each of the three component measures – life expectancy, experienced well-being and Ecological Footprint – is given a traffic-light score based on thresholds for good (green), middling (amber) and bad (red) performance. These scores are combined to an expanded six-colour traffic light for the overall HPI score, where, to achieve bright green – the best of the six colours, a country would have to perform well on all three individual components.

The scores for the HPI and the component measures can be viewed in map or table-form. By clicking on any individual country in the map or table you can explore its results in more detail.

Canada is ranked 65th out of 151 countries rated.