Is Canada Fudging the Numbers on Marine Protection?
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- Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00
- Written by editor
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Canada has an awful lot of coastline.
But is Canada doing its part to protect the coast?
As part of an international agreement to protect 10 per cent of Canada's coastline, the federal government has recently announced that it's most of the way there. Which is great news! Except some of the accounting behind the headline is a little sketchy — so we took a closer look.
In fact, water came up again and again this week.
Read on for new developments on the infamous Mount Polley mine tailings spill; a proposal to drill off the coast of Nova Scotia, deeper underwater and further from shore than Deepwater Horizon; a lawsuit trying to prevent the Site C dam; and an admission from the B.C. government that it is totally blowing its emissions targets.
Okay, that last one isn't completely water-related but, still. Big week for water.
Decision on Private Prosecution Against Mount Polley Expected Any Day
By Carol Linnitt
Premier John Horgan said this week he's anxiously awaiting a court decision on charges against Mount Polley mining corporation brought in a private prosecution by former Xat’sull chief Bev Sellars for violations of B.C.’s environmental laws — but B.C.'s role in that case is still unclear. Read more.
Is Canada Fudging the Numbers on its Marine Protection Progress?
By Jimmy Thomson
Canada has made significant progress in the last year toward meeting its international commitment to protect 10 per cent of its oceans by 2020.
But a closer look at the numbers that make up the total shows that, far from establishing sprawling new protected areas, new accounting is responsible for much of the growth — and whether all of the areas will ultimately be eligible to count toward Canada’s international target is still up in the air. Read more.
First Nations File Civil Action Against Site C, Citing Treaty 8 Infringement
By Carol Linnitt
The West Moberly and Prophet River First Nations filed a civil suit in the Supreme Court of British Columbia Tuesday claiming the Site C dam, along with two other hydroelectric projects on the Peace River, unjustifiably infringe on their constitutionally-protected rights under Treaty 8.
The two nations, whose traditional territory will be flooded by the Site C reservoir, have also requested an injunction on Site C construction work be reviewed by the courts this spring. Read more.
BP Wants to Drill Underwater Wells Twice the Depth of Deepwater Horizon in Canada
By James Wilt
BP Canada plans to drill up to seven exploratory wells off the southeast coast of Nova Scotia that are at least 3.5 times the distance from land and up to twice the depth of the well beneath the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig.
The company’s proposed solution if a catastrophic blowout happens in Canadian waters relies on shipping a capping device from Norway, a process that is estimated to take between 12 to 19 days — but it could take between 13 and 25 days total to actually cap the well with the device. Read more.
B.C. Quietly Releases Emissions Update That Shows It’ll Blow 2020 Climate Target
By Judith Lavoie
Figures in a B.C. greenhouse gas inventory released quietly before Christmas show emissions have risen for four of the last five years.
By law the province is required to reduce emissions 80 per cent from 2007 levels by 2050. In 2008 the province created a benchmark within that reduction, committing to get to 33 per cent reductions by 2020.
But the new figures show B.C. is not on course to meet that 2020 target. Instead emissions are only 2.1 per cent lower than the baseline year of 2007 and are on the rise. Read more.
What we're reading this week
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