Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline wins approval from Harper government

Game on.....

Depite overwhlming opposition from First Nations, environmentalists and the residents of Kitimat, the Harper governments has given its conditional stamp of approval to Enbridge's controversial Northern Gateway pipeline project.

LINK (via: Straight.com)

Canada lags in protecting oceans

Canada has been “dragging its heels” on commitments to create marine protected areas and ranks last on the list of countries with the longest coastlines in terms of the amount of ocean where human activity has been restricted to preserve biodiversity.

LINK (via: The Globe and Mail)

The beat goes on in Canada

Ottawa’s move to allow overfishing of salmon draws united condemnation from First Nations, fishermen, and conservationists.

First  Nations,  recreational  fishermen,  and  conservation  groups  from  the  Skeena   River  watershed  are  calling  on  Fisheries  Minister  Gail  Shea  to  abandon  a  reckless  fishing  plan   being  proposed  by  the  federal  Department  of  Fisheries  and  Oceans  (DFO).  The  new  plan  would   significantly  increase  harvest  rates  on  sockeye  salmon,  resulting  in  the  overfishing  of   endangered  sockeye  populations,  and  serious  impacts  to  other  salmon  species  caught  as  “by-­catch.”     

LINK (via:Skeena Wild)

Deadline looms to comment on two new B.C. salmon farm applications.

Ongoing government reviews of two salmon farm applications on the B.C. coast fly in the face of recommendations of the Cohen Commission related to expansion of the industry, industry critics charged Wednesday.

"It looks like there is major support from DFO to expand farming on this coast while ignoring the Cohen recommendations and the evidence around the science," said Craig Orr, executive director of Watershed Watch. "They're kissing it (the report) off, ignoring most of the recommendations around aquaculture and science."

LINK (via:The Vancouver Sun)

New Law Officially Opens B.C. Parks To Pipelines, Drilling

A little-known bill known as the Park Amendment Act will make way for industrial incursions into B.C.'s provincial parklands including energy extraction, construction of pipelines and industry-led research.

LINK (via: The Huffington Post)

Ottawa opens door to fish farm expansion

The Harper government has quietly opened the door to a major expansion of B.C.’s controversial fish farm sector despite warnings by the 2012 Cohen Commission about the effects of net-based farms on wild salmon.

Critics say the lifting of the 2011 moratorium violates the spirit of the Cohen report and could cause disaster for wild salmon stocks. And they condemned the lack of transparency by the government.

Unbelievable.

LINK (via: The Vancouver Sun)

Tar Sands Oil Boom Yields Toxic Wastewater Lakes

Canada's tar sands are an unequivocal environmental nightmare, ravaging the landscape and spewing billions of gallons of toxic water into the world. Now, oil companies are claiming they've figured out what to do with all that poisonous water: Turn Alberta into one giant man-made lake district.

LINK (via:Gizmodo)