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August 2012

Will your tax dollars subsidize BC’s unsustainable fish farms?

14 August, 2012

How’s this for a business model: You bring together thousands of fish, stick them in an open net in the ocean, despite warnings that the conditions invite infectious disease, and then, when they all get sick, you receive compensation from the Canadian taxpayer.  Both Grieg Seafood and Cermaq are hoping for compensation from Health Canada for their recent virus outbreaks, but such a bail out would be a subsidy to an industry that many, including West Coast Environmental Law, believe to be unsustainable.  

How’s this for a business model: You bring together thousands of fish, stick them in an open net in the ocean, despite warnings that the conditions invite infectious disease, and then, when they all get sick, you receive compensation from the Canadian taxpayer.

5 rules for a science-based decision on the Enbridge Pipelines

13 August, 2012

Prime Minister Harper was in Vancouver on August 7 and took the opportunity to tell Canadians that any decision on the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipelines and tankers project would be made through an “independent process” and on the basis of science, not politics. The Prime Minister is not technically correct in implying that his cabinet will not be “picking and choosing particular projects”.  However, if Prime Minister Harper is serious about a science-based decision on pipelines – even if Cabinet makes the ultimate decision – here are 5 rules that we think need to be in place:

Prime Minister Harper was in Vancouver on August 7 and took the opportunity to tell Canadians that any decision on the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipelines and tankers project would be made through an “independent process” and on the basis of science, not politics.