Blog posts

The Pembina Institute's Simon Dyer lays out the case against the oilsands as a "green" alternative to offshore drilling.

It's been more than two months now that oil from BP's blown out Deepwater Horizon rig has been gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. A man-made disaster of epic proportions, some people are now claiming that it makes Alberta's landlocked oilsands look safe in comparison. In fact, that statement couldn't be further from the truth.

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The Environmental Law Centre posts on a couple of recent developments. Adam Driedzic posts on Bill C-469: An Act to establish a Canadian Environmental Bill of Rights, which recently passed second reading in the House of Commons.

Laura Bowman comments on proposed wastewater regulations under the Fisheries Act.

There is no assurance from regulators that public health and the environment will be adequately protected while municipalities take 10-30 years to comply.  These timelines are not consistent with those ordered by the courts on the rare occasions when municipalities have been charged and convicted.

• Link: Environmental Rights: Bill C-469 moves forward
• Link: Canadian government decides that your sewage doesn’t stink for up to 30 years from now

Water Matters posts a quick look at and a fact sheet on the leaked Draft Wetlands Policy for Alberta.

Imagine wetlands as a savings account for Albertans that stores carbon and pays compound interest by storing, purifying, and filtering water. According to a leaked draft obtained by the Sierra Club, Albertans may lose the benefits of maintaining wetlands because under the Government of Alberta's draft wetlands policy, Albertans not industry would pay the cost of restoring wetlands.

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Matthew Bramley, Climate Change Director of the Pembina Institute, critiques Environment Canada's recently released annual Climate Change Plan:

Sadly, this report confirms that the Harper government is neither implementing nor planning to implement any policies to substantially reduce Canada's greenhouse gas pollution. In the face of urgent calls for action coming from the world's most authoritative scientific bodies and ambitious policies in some of Canada's peer countries, this shows an astonishing failure to grasp what's at stake.

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