From Coast to Coast, Canadian Groups Say Strong, Inclusive Federal Environmental Laws Are Needed

News release, endorsing organizations – February 29, 2012

VANCOUVER and OTTAWA – Today 40 groups, from internationally-known organizations like Council of Canadians and Greenpeace, to local citizens’ groups like Grand Riverkeeper Labrador, have endorsed a statement confirming their support for strong federal environmental laws that protect our national values.

The groups warn that they will not stand by if the federal government moves to short-circuit environmental reviews for projects like the Enbridge Northern Gateway oil tankers and pipeline project, and they have rallied behind a statement of 10 principles they say form the basis of environmental assessment for a healthy, secure and sustainable Canada.

“Concern about ongoing cuts, and imminent threats to environmental laws, especially the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, is shared across the country,” says Rachel Forbes, Staff Counsel, West Coast Environmental Law and an author of the report, A Checklist for Strong Environmental Laws, released last week. “Scientists, physicians, lawyers, advocates for democracy and citizens’ groups from rural, coastal and urban Canada have come together to say we need strong, principled environmental laws so that development is done responsibly and for the long term benefit of the economy, human health and environmental protection.”

A full list of endorsing organizations can be found at: www.envirolawsmattter.ca“Strong environmental laws protect the air, water and land we need to be healthy and keep us safe from pollution and toxic chemicals,” said Devon Page, Executive Director of Ecojustice. “These federal laws are the backbone of every Canadian’s right to a healthy environment, and are as important to our well-being as laws that promote peace and democracy.”

“The Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) has endorsed the 10 principles because environmental assessment is meant to be, and can be, a tool to prevent harm and maintain a healthy, secure and sustainable Canada,” says Richard Lindgren of CELA. “Imminent rollbacks to public participation and the weakening of government programs and policies threaten to put all of that at risk.”

The principles endorsed by these groups include recognizing the legal imperative to involve Aboriginal governments in environmental assessment as equal decision makers.

“If the federal government is going to short-circuit opportunities for consultation and accommodation with Aboriginal peoples, it’s just going to pour salt on wounds that we, as societies, have spent decades trying to heal, from the Constitution itself to procedural fairness and access to justice,” says Jamie Kneen, Communications and Outreach Coordinator with MiningWatch Canada.

The Endorsement Statement, links to the endorsers’ websites, and background information on this issue are available at www.envirolawsmattter.ca