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"Allowing Shell to drill when it has no credible plan to cleanup an oil spill in the Arctic's icy waters, and instead simply assumes it can clean up 95 percent of oil spilled isn't just unrealistic, it's insulting and irresponsible," said Earthjustice attorney Holly Harris.

Earthjustice, on behalf of the Native Village of Point Hope, , Greenpeace, Natural Resources Defense Council, Oceana, Pacific Environment, Sierra Club, and seven other environmental organizations initiated litigation in the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals September 29th, 2011 challenging the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (BOEMRE) decision to allow oil drilling in the Beaufort Sea.

"Approving Shell drilling in the Beaufort Sea is irresponsible and risks disaster. We have a right to life, to physical integrity, to security, and the right to enjoy the benefits of our culture. For this, we will fight, and this is why we have gone to court today," said Caroline Cannon, President of the Native Village of Point Hope.

A joint statement "Canadian Interfaith Call for Leadership and Action on Climate Change" was developed in advance of the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held in Durban, South Africa, November 29th to December 9, 2011.

"We call for leadership to put the long-term interest of humanity and the planet ahead of short-term economic and national concerns. The teachings of our faiths tell us that the best interests of one group or nation are served by pursuing the best interests of all people. There is one human family and one Earth that is our common homeland. Climate change is a global crisis and requires global solutions that put the well-being of all people first - especially the most vulnerable," reads the joint statement signed by nearly 30 religious leaders and representatives of faith based organizations across Canada.

The Brokenhead Wetland Ecological Reserve was established in 2004. The 563-hectare parcel of land is located 70km north of Winnipeg near the southeast corner of Lake Winnipeg and Brokenhead Ojibway First Nation.

The Brokenhead wetland is a calcareous fen, a wetland type considered rare in North America. The ecological reserve features 23 species of provincially rare and uncommon plants, 28 of 36 native orchid species including the ram's head lady's slipper (Cypripedium arietinum) and eight of Manitoba's 10 species of carnivorous plants.

Eugene Reimer, a long-time naturalist, photographer, and board member of Native Orchid Conservation Inc., donated $600,000 to the Winnipeg Foundation to establish the Eugene Reimer Environment Fund, which will provide an annual grant to the Brokenhead Wetland Interpretive Trail.

"It brings me great joy and satisfaction to make a contribution towards protecting these wetlands where I spent so many happy hours enjoying and learning about nature," said Reimer.

Construction of the Brokenhead Wetland Interpretive Trail will begin in 2012 and take approximately two years to complete.

On November 6, 2011 an estimated 5,000 pipeline opponents are expected to arrive in Washington D.C. to encircle the White House, demanding that President Obama say no to the pipeline. Hollywood actor Robert Redford has lent his name to the cause in a recent online video.

Nebraskan legislators remain undeterred in their opposition to the pipeline after being offered a $100 million performance bond and other oil spill protection measures from TransCanada. Many Nebraskans fear the pipeline, which would run through Nebraska, could threaten aquifers. Republican Governor of Nebraska Dave Heineman has convened a special session of the state's legislature to consider imposing restrictions on the route of the pipeline.

The US State Department is slated to decide on the controversial project by the end of 2011, but many feel the State Department in biased in favour of the pipeline. The US Environmental Protection Agency has repeatedly challenged the State Department's environmental evaluation of the pipeline. These criticisms have been buoyed by revelations the company who provided the Keystone XL environmental impact assessment (EIA) has financial connections with TransCanada Pipelines.

In a November 2, 2011 television interview with Omaha's KETV President Obama strongly suggested he will make the decision about the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline. This is a sharp change from the President's previous statements that the decision rested with the State Department.

The channel drains water from Lake St. Martin through the new channel to the Dauphin River and into Lake Winnipeg. This will allow the Fairford control structure, which drains water from Lake Manitoba to Lake St. Martin, to run at full capacity over winter.

The channel, constructed in just over two-months, was built on a temporary emergency basis. The project was exempted from environmental review under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and Manitoba's Environment Act.

It is hoped the channel will prevent further Lake Manitoba flooding in 2012, after severe spring and summer flooding in 2011.

Manitoba struggled to contain the swollen Assiniboine River by operating the Portage Diversion, which funnels water from the Assiniboine River into Lake Manitoba, operating well over its capacity for weeks in 2011. (The Portage Diversion is over 40 years old, and required emergency adjustments spring 2011.)

That pushed water levels up on Lake Manitoba, and some 2,000 people were forced from their homes on the shores of Lake St. Martin and Lake Manitoba. Many are still waiting to return home. Hundreds of residents from the Lake St. Martin First Nation are still under an evacuation order as officials look to move the reserve permanently to a new location on higher ground.

Feldman told members of a parliamentary committee that the agency could lose 43 per cent of its annual budget and may have to lay off one-third of its staff, at a time when the country is facing a huge surge in major projects in mining, oil and gas and forestry.

"What I'm told is there is up to $500 billion of potential new investments in Canadian natural resource projects in the coming years, and if that is the right figure the agency is going to be very busy," said Feldman.

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency reviews a wide range of projects that fall under federal jurisdiction, use federal money or take place on federal land. The projects include mining, hydro, oil and gas projects. The agency's mandate is to make sure that projects don't harm the environment.

The federal government increased the agency's budget in 2007 and again in 2010 to help keep up with the surge in new applications for resource projects. But Feldman told the committee the money runs out at the end of this fiscal year.

"Part of that funding does include money for aboriginal consultation," Feldman said, adding, "We don't know if the... funds will be renewed ... we will just have to wait and see."

The Canadian Government has recently announced that it will no longer fund the Canadian Environmental Network, and will seek to cut more than 700 jobs at Environment Canada. Additionally in 2009 and 2010 the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency Act was amended through the budgetary process, without the usual opportunities for public review.

The recovery strategy, required under Canada's Species At Risk Act (SARA), was initially released August 26, 2011 - four years later than required under the SARA.

The proposed recovery strategy faced immediate criticism.

"This is not a recovery plan. This is barely a survival plan. The federal government is setting an insultingly low bar. Essentially any herd in serious decline is being written off. The bottom line is that this plan is illegal under SARA, as it defies scientific evidence on what caribou need to survive, nevermind actually recover," said Melissa Gorrie, Ecojustice staff lawyer.

"By allowing 95 per cent of woodland caribou habitat in northeastern Alberta to be lost, the Government of Canada is proposing that Canadians 'write off' virtually all the habitat that supports Alberta's caribou herds in order to promote irresponsible levels of oilsands development," said Simon Dyer, Policy Director with the Pembina Institute.

Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) issued a report card on the recovery strategy in which they found that major improvements were required in 6 of the 8 categories examined.

The deadline for comments has now been extended until February 22, 2012.

The Canadian federal government rejected Taseko's first proposal. Public and First Nations concerns over conversion Fish Lake into a mining tailings pond, and findings of an environmental review panel resulted in Environmental Affairs Minister Jim Prentice rejecting the project November 2, 2010.

Minster Prentice described the panel report, as "scathing" and "the most condemning I have ever read."

The review panel found that a Fish Lake mine would cause irreparable damage to both First Nations rights and the environment, including to fish stocks and grizzly populations.

The company is back with a revised proposal. Fish Lake would be surrounded by the proposed open-pit mine and unusable for the life of the mine (up to 33 years). Over time, the water quality in Fish Lake would become "equivalent" to the water quality in the tailings facility, according to the company's own engineering expert.

The nearby Xeni Gwet'in First Nation, member of Tsilhqot'in Nation, strongly opposes this mine and like before, have not been adequately consulted.

"Why are we here again for the second time ... why can't we as first nations focus more on building partnerships with industry?" said Marilyn Baptiste, Chief of the Xeni Gwet'in First Nation.

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) will decide whether to accept Taseko's revised project by November 7, 2011.

In 2006, 8,000 acres of land was purchased by Highland Companies to start a large co-operative potato farm. In 2009, Highland Companies, announced a proposal for a quarry that would stretch over 2,300 acres in Melancthon Township, 110 km northeast of Toronto. The quarry would be deeper than Niagara Falls, and 600 million litres of water would be pumped out of the quarry every day. Thousands of 40-tonne trucks would travel on local roads, 24 hours a day.

Local citizens are worried about the potentially devastating effects on the local community and environment.

The mega-quarry proposal currently sits with the Ministry of Natural Resources’ Aggregates Resources, the Ontario government department responsible for ensuring sustainable extraction of sand, gravel, and stone in the province.

Ontario Minister of the Environment John Wilkinson ordered Highland Companies to undertake a comprehensive environmental assessment of the quarry proposal on September 1, 2011.

A joint panel review by Ontario and Canada to assess environmental effects of the quarry application is being requested.

Leading Canadian organizations are concerned the proposed regulations will deliver only a 3% improvement towards meeting Canada's 2020 emissions target.

Proposed regulations include a loophole that would allow the construction of a new Alberta coal plant by Maxim Power Corp. that then would not be subject to federal regulations until 2060. These regulations also allow coal power to play a role in Canada's electricity mix, which is inconsistent with the global need for emissions to peak between 2015 and 2020.

"New dirty coal is unacceptable today, not after 2025," said John Bennett, Executive Director of Sierra Club Canada. "These regulations do very little to cut emissions, and keep coal powering electricity for the next 45 years."

"If amended, these regulations have the potential to get us off coal and cut one tenth of Canada's emissions," said Graham Saul of Climate Action Network Canada. "Ontario phased out coal in under ten years - if they can do it, the rest of Canada can."

"Coal powered England in the 1800s. It has no place in today's more enlightened world," said Dale Marshall, Climate Change Policy Analyst, David Suzuki Foundation. "It's time to move beyond coal. Canada can lead the world, but these regulations fall far short of what's needed."

The documents do not include specific details on job losses. DFO, which has sustained repeated deep cuts to its science program over the last two decades, now must prepare for further cuts.

The Fisheries Resource Conservation Council, an advisory body that collects the views of fishermen to help make better science decisions, has been disbanded, according to Newfoundland New Democrat Member of Parliament Ryan Cleary.

"When you axe this, you take away a critical, a crucial voice for fishermen," said Cleary.

It is unclear how DFO will fulfil its many legislative and regulatory obligations.

The leaked memo follows on the heels of other recent announcements that the Canadian Government will not longer fund the Canadian Environmental Network, and will seek to cut more than 700 jobs at Environment Canada.

The dispute risks a repeat of the 2008 imprisonment of KI Chief Donny Morris and five other Council members, who were imprisoned for protesting mineral development and exploration on their traditional lands by Platinex Inc.

"God's Lake recklessly and deliberately ignored our advice and entered the land," said KI Chief Donny Morris.

KI issued a letter to Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, and an eviction notice to GLR at the end of September 2011.

KI has asked the Ontario Government to suspend the project, apologize to the community, agree that no further work will be undertaken, and honour a 2008 promise by the McGuinty government to create a joint review panel to address consultation protocols in the region before issues get to the point of direct action.

GLR has said it will ignore the eviction notice issued by KI, claiming requests to identify cultural sites have not been answered by KI, but agrees better consultation standards are required.

"We recognize that KI and GLR may have one goal in common: Ontario First Nations and all claimholders in Ontario need to have guidelines that help us to interact respectfully," said Edward Ludwig, GLR President & CEO.