Victoria. The announcement, in BC Budget 2010/11, of $69 million for justice and policing operations ignores the virtual collapse of the enforcement of BC’s environmental laws, according to West Coast Environmental Law. The group asserts that past and new cuts to the Ministry of the Environment play a key role in an ongoing drop in enforcement of laws protecting BC’s air, water and wildlife, and called for increased funding for environmental law enforcement.
Analysis of compliance and enforcement statistics released by the province, and posted to West Coast Environmental Law’s blog today, demonstrates that 2008 had the lowest level of convictions under 6 main environmental statutes in almost 20 years – 38 convictions, compared with 621 in 1991. 2008 was also the third worst year overall in terms of environmental enforcement action when tickets were considered alongside convictions. Preliminary figures released by the province for 2009 suggest that the final figures for that year will be similar.
“If cuts to police funding resulted in this type of near collapse in enforcement there would be a public uproar,” said Gage. “Enforcing environmental laws is not optional. When criminals break pollution laws, people can get sick and even die. British Columbians are poorer when salmon habitat is illegally destroyed.”
Gage called for some of the announced $69 million in new law enforcement funds to be put towards the province’s Conservation Officer Service (COS), the enforcement arm of the Ministry of Environment, which has a total annual budget of less than $16 million. While acknowledging that the province has maintained staffing levels in the COS in recent years, Gage argued that cuts to the Service and other Ministry of Environment staff have undermining the ability of the Conservation Officers to get into the field and do their jobs.
“The government says it’s not laying off Conservation Officers, but you can’t lay off field staff who help detect environmental violations and scientists who advise Conservation Officers and other Ministry staff who support them and expect the Conservation Officer Service to be able to do their job,” said Gage. “The real question is not how many Conservation Officers are on staff, but how many boots are there on the ground enforcing the law?”
Gage emphasized that increased funding to the Conservation Officer Service and the Ministry is not the only step needed to reverse declining environmental enforcement. “Laws need to be rewritten to make them enforceable, and the government needs to recognize that ultimately you can’t have compliance with environmental laws without a strong enforcement program.”
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For more information contact:
Andrew Gage, Staff Counsel at 250-412-9784 (Victoria), 604-684-7378 ext 206 (Vancouver) or 1 800 330-WCEL toll-free.
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