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As writer and Keystone XL protest leader Bill McKibben wrote, "This isn't just the right call, it's the brave call."

A huge victory for environmental groups across North America who have been working on promoting awareness of the risks, and alternatives to Big Oil. While the Oil Industry is not likely to back down from building more pipelines, this is a good indication that the strength of the Public's Voice can be heard and does make a difference.

The affidavit alleges that the Prime Minister's Office made an attempt to influence the charitable funding of ForestEthics Canada. According to the affidavit, the Prime Minister's Office informed Tides Canada CEO, Ross McMillan, that it considers ForestEthics to be an 'enemy of the government of Canada' and that unless Tides Canada alters its charitable support of ForestEthics, there will be consequences.

ForestEthics conducts public information campaigns regarding the Enbridge pipeline, and oil sands in Alberta, including to get U.S. companies and cities to avoid and/or stop using oil generated from Alberta oil sands projects.

ForestEthics also is involved in efforts to sign up presenters at the National Energy Board's review of the proposed Enbridge pipeline from Alberta to the British Columbia coast. So far more than 4,000 people have signed up to present to the review board. Spokesman for the Prime Minister's office, Andrew MacDougall, has denied the allegations.

Although the entire area is 3,914 square kilometres (391, 400 hectares) only 1,326 square-kilometres (132,600 hectares) of newly protected land is created through establishment of Kichinatagon Special Management Zone, where industrial development, including logging, mining and development of oil, gas, and hydroelectric facilities is prohibited.

The draft Pimitotah Lands Management Plan was posted June 28, 2011 and open for comments until August 23rd, 2012.

Although comments were solicited and the plan apparently updated from the draft version filed in June 2011, Manitoba Wildlands was unable to find a record of any comments received or which changes made to the draft lands plan.

"This lack of access to information shows we need a real public registry under the East Side Traditional Lands Planning and Special Protected Act," said Manitoba Wildlands director Gaile Whelan Enns.

The decision making process generally takes 18 months, as UNESCO officials consider the natural and cultural value of site.

Known as Pimachiowin Aki — Ojibway for "the land that gives life" — the nominated area encompasses 33,400 square kilometres of boreal forest, rivers, lakes and wetlands spread across eastern Manitoba and into Ontario. The nominated WHS includes Atikaki Provincial Park in Manitoba and Woodland Caribou Provincial Park in Ontario. Five First Nations started the designation bid in 2002 and will manage the lands with the Governments of Ontario and Manitoba. The five First Nations entered into an accord in 2002, which called for establishment of the WHS.

"What it means for Manitobans is that we are going to be globally recognized for what we have done to protect this site," said Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger.

"It is Manitoba and Ontario's responsibility to design and protect these WHS lands. Road-building, mining and forestry operations will be allowed inside some areas of the proposed WHS, so it is not yet clear how much of the entire area will be protected," noted Manitoba Wildlands Director Gaile Whelan Enns.

If the bid is successful, the region would join other UNESCO world heritage sites such as Australia's Great Barrier Reef, Arizona's Grand Canyon and Canada's Banff National Park.

One day before the JRP hearing were set to begin Canada's Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver released an open letter which claimed foreign and radical groups "threaten to hijack our regulatory system to achieve their radical ideological agenda," stack the hearings with people to delay or kill "good projects," attract "jet-setting" celebrities and use funding from "foreign special interest groups."

"Just because a lot of people want to talk, it doesn't mean the process is broken. In fact, a lot of people would say the opposite," said Gerald Butts, president and CEO of WWF Canada.

Dene National Chief Bill Erasmus said that Minister Oliver's open-letter "pits people against each other. The federal government should be brining people together. That should be the focus."

Sun Gro Canada has applied for an Environment Act license for the proposed "Hay Point Peat Mine Development (Public Registry file #5548.00)" inside Hecla / Grindstone Provincial Park.

The proposed peat extraction project has not been approved and the public is being encouraged to submit comments to Darell Ouimet (darrell.ouimet[at]gov.mb.ca) at the Environmental Assessment and Licensing Branch (EALB). EALB is required to consider the comments received when making a licensing decision. Comments must be submitted by February 3, 2012 and include a reference to Public Registry file #5548.00, Hay Point Peat Mine Development."

Yet the licensing process is still moving forward despite: 1) a new law, The Save Lake Winnipeg Act, enacted June 2011 that the Manitoba Government claimed would stop rapid expansion of the peat industry in Manitoba; and 2) concerns raised by Manitoba Conservation Parks & Natural Areas branch that the proposed peat mine at Hecla/Grindstone Provincial Park could pose a fire risk for cottagers, damage the park's only road and harm habitat for Manitoba's dwindling moose population.

According to information obtained by Manitoba Wildlands from the Manitoba Government, 184 peat quarry leases have been granted in Manitoba meaning that more than 30,000 hectares peat lands could potentially be subject to peat mining – almost twice as much as the 17,000 hectares of peat land currently in production across Canada.

Peatlands act as important water filters, reducing harmful nutrients that enter the lake. Peat bogs also serve as important carbon sinks, and mining them releases both carbon and methane into the atmosphere.

"Peat mining has the distinction of disrupting water tables, removing our natural water filtration, and releasing vast stores of carbon. ... Peat bogs, then, are an essential climate change mitigation tool," said Manitoba Wilderness Committee Campaign Director Eric Reder.

Cottagers and permanent residents in Hecla/Grindstone park are also concerned by the proposed mine. "It will leave a permanent scar in that area -- at least permanent within my generation for sure," said Heather Hinam, who owns a home in Hecla park.

There are 201 quarry leases for peat in all of Manitoba. Most are clustered in the Interlake and southeastern Manitoba. Several are near Lake Winnipeg.

In June, the province announced it was "banning the rapid expansion of peat extraction from wetlands" as part of its Save Lake Winnipeg Act. But all the government did was place a hold on granting new leases to peat producers. Those holding existing leases accelerated their environmental license applications.

"Why are we mining in parks? Why would we want to do anything other than abide by the intent of the Save Lake Winnipeg Act?" said Manitoba Wildlands Director Gaile Whelan Enns.

Chloe Burgess, manager of sustainable resource policy with Manitoba Conservation, said the province is developing a peatland-management strategy. The government plans to solicit input from the public in late February, 2012.

In a January 3, 2012 Ontario Superior Court decision, Justice Carole Brown ordered Solid Gold Resources to stop drilling for 120 days while the company and the Ontario government pay for a third party mediator to begin a consultation process with Wahgoshig First Nation.

Brown found that the company made a "willful effort not to consult" with the community despite provincial requests since 2009. The provincial government even offered to "facilitate the process" for Solid Gold.

Wahgoshig hunters came across the company's drilling crew in the spring of 2011, and the workers refused to reveal the name of their employer. The area in which Solid Gold Resources was drilling contains ancient burial grounds and many sacred sites. Wahgoshig band officials managed to find out Solid Gold was the company behind the drilling. They attempted to initiate contact with Solid Gold, but receiving no response they applied for the injunction.

"We are very pleased with this decision. We feel that justice has been done," said Wahgoshig Chief David Babin.

"Canada is willfully ignoring the deep trouble that polar bears are already in and the likely extinction they face without rapid cuts in greenhouse emissions. Time is running out for the world's polar bears. They deserve real protection," said Kassie Siegel, director of the CBD's Climate Law Institute

Siegel was instrumental in a winning a ruling to have polar bears listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act June 2011. Her attention has now turned to Canada.

Canada's polar bear population makes up about 60% of the world's total population of 20,000 to 25,000 individuals.

Canada completed its long-overdue assessment of the status of polar bears under SARA November 2011. Instead of listing the imperiled bears as "threatened" or "endangered," the government designated the bears as a "species of special concern," which affords no substantive protections.

"Had Canada fully complied with SARA, the polar bear would have been listed as endangered two and a half years ago, and the species would be protected by a recovery strategy and have identified critical habitat by now," claims CBD.

The CEC Secretariat is reviewing the submission to determine whether it meets the criteria for submissions set out in Article 14 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC). Upon instruction from the CEC Council, the CEC Secretariat may examine a submission further and develop a factual record.

The report follows a December 12, 2011 Ecojustice report showing the Canadian government is jeopardizing Canadians' health and the environment by failing to enforce its own environmental laws.

Environmental groups are pleased the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development (CESD)'s report emphasizes the importance of transparency and accountability, and the need to better integrate scientific knowledge into federal decision making.

"Today, the Commissioner made the point that effective governance requires a two-way exchange between government and its partners based on meaningful public participation," says Olivier Kolmel, chair of the Canadian Environmental Network.

The Canadian Environmental Network previously coordinated consultations on environmental issues for the Canadian Government for more than 30 years, but funding for the Network was suddenly slashed October 2011 without notice. The Canadian Government claims it is moving towards web-based consultation.

"The web-based consultation system that this government is implementing is just one tool in the consultation tool kit and should not replace face-to-face and other important forms of dialogue," said Kolmel.

FIPPA requests were made to Water Stewardship February 2011 for records related to: establishment and operation of the Fairford Water Control Structure and/or the Assiniboine Diversion from the 1960s to present; and respecting flooding of Lake St. Martin. Under FIPPA the public body has 30 days to respond to a FIPPA request. After no response by August 2011 a complaint was filed with the Manitoba Ombudsman.

The Ombudsman found that Manitoba Water Stewardship failed to respond within the time period required under FIPPA. The Ombudsman also found that the department failed in its duty to assist an applicant by not responding openly, completely and without delay.

Three recommendations were made to the department, all of which were accepted. Water Stewardship is now working to provide the information.

Lake St. Martin First Nation has experienced repeated severe flooding, and in 2011 the whole community remains evacuated.

The Government of Manitoba enacted Save Lake Winnipeg Act June 16 2011, which placed a two-year moratorium on the granting of quarry licences and quarry permits for peat and peat moss under Manitoba's Mines and Minerals Act.

Three Environment Act licenses for peat mines have been granted in Manitoba since passage of Save Lake Winnipeg Act on June 16, 2011.

The current Sun Gro application and review is the first time an Environment Act license has been requested following the passage of Save Lake Winnipeg Act.

"Potentially permitting peat mines inside a provincial park, less than six months after a moratorium on new peat quarry licenses and permits, is contradictory to the aims of Save Lake Winnipeg Act. How many other peat mines could become operational in Manitoba on the basis of historical Mines and Minerals Act licenses and permits?" questioned Manitoba Wildlands Director Gaile Whelan Enns.