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$4 million habitat project for fish at Colony Farm

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Officials will mark the near completion of fish habitat at Wilson Farm at Colony Farm Regional Park with a celebration with the Kwikwetlem First Nation today.

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By Staff Writer – The Tri-City News

Juvenile salmon will have more protected habitat to get a good start in life thanks to a $4 million habitat enhancement project now nearing completion at Colony Farm Regional Park.

Environment Minister Terry Lake will be celebrating the near-completion of the project today, Monday, with members of the Kwikwetlem First Nation who were key to its development

Lake will join Metro Vancouver Environment and Parks Committee Chair Heather Deal and Kwikwetlem First Nation Chief Ron Giesbrecht in a ceremony to welcome the salmon, unveil a new interpretive sign on the Colony Farm walking path and showcase the habitat enhancement work.

The project, located on the “Wilson Farm” portion of Colony Farm Regional Park, has build a vital habitat for juvenile salmon and restored tidal function to a part of a river traditionally ranked high in the Outdoor Recreation Council’s ‘Endangered Rivers List’.

“This project went a long ways to addressing a major limiting factor to the production of salmon in the Coquitlam River,” said Dr. Craig Orr, environmental consultant to the Kwikwetlem First Nation in a press release. “Urbanization has claimed much of the juvenile salmon habitat in the lower Fraser River area, and this project aimed to restore a large part of that critical habitat.”

The Wilson Farm project, a negotiated highway construction mitigation project funded by the provincial Gateway Transportation Project, has deepened and expanded existing channels for juvenile fish, replaced old tidal pumps with newer and fish friendly pumps, and added cool groundwater to allow fish to survive better. The project was planned with help from experts from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the private sector, and input from the public. It was also designed to have minimal impacts on the old field habitat of Colony Farm Park and its associated wildlife.

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in proven science based, fish protection.

The project received complaints from Burke Mountain Naturalists but went ahead with public consultation.

dstrandberg@trictynews.com

Audit finds fish habitat not well protected

Audit finds fish habitat not well protected, fire suppression system inadequate

Published on July 5, 2012 by    ·   No Comments

THE CANADIAN PRESS

VICTORIA — An audit by British Columbia’s forestry watchdog has found 23 of 24 timber sales licence holders it investigated failed to comply with provincial legislation.

Auditors from the Forest Practices Board discovered instances where fish habitat was not being adequately protected because of sediment introduced into streams.

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in proven science based, fish protection.

The board says some BC Timber Sales licence holders failed to maintain the natural drainage patterns of several small streams while others did not have an adequate fire suppression system on site during extreme fire hazard conditions.

The areas audited include Gold River on the west coast of Vancouver Island, Sayward on the west, and Lower Mainland areas across from Campbell River.

Board Chairman Al Gorley says more than 100 compliance audits have been conducted since 1996, including more than 20 of BC Timber Sales operations, and typically very few problems are found.

He says this audit is an exception, although BC Timber Sales has committed to taking action to address the board’s concerns.

International Investigation of Canada’s Farmed Fish Operations

For Immediate Release, February 7, 2012

Contact:Jeff Miller, Center for Biological Diversity, (415) 669-7357
Alexandra Morton, Pacific Coast Wild Salmon Society, (250) 974-7086
Chief Bob Chamberlin, Kwikwasu’tinuxw Haxwa’mis First Nation, (250) 974-8282
Zeke Grader, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, (415) 561-5080 x 224

Petition Seeks International Investigation of Canada’s Farmed Fish Operations, Protections for Wild Salmon

NAFTA Panel Asked to Investigate Canadian Violation of Wildlife Law

SAN FRANCISCO— Conservation, fishing and native groups in Canada and the United States filed a formal petition today requesting an international investigation into Canada’s failure to protect wild salmon in British Columbia from disease and parasites in industrial fish feedlots. The petition was submitted to the Commission for Environmental Cooperation under the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation — an environmental side agreement to the North American Free Trade Agreement — and seeks enforcement of Canada’s Fisheries Act.

“The Canadian inquiry into the collapse of Fraser River sockeye, the largest salmon-producing river in the world, suggests the primarily Norwegian-owned British Columbia salmon-farming industry exerts trade pressures that exceed Canada’s political will to protect wild salmon,” said biologist Alexandra Morton with the Pacific Coast Wild Salmon Society. “Releasing viruses into native ecosystems is an irrevocable threat to biodiversity, yet Canada seems to have no mechanism to prevent salmon-farm diseases from afflicting wild salmon throughout the entire North Pacific.”

Canada has permitted more than 100 industrial salmon feedlots in British Columbia to operate along wild salmon migration routes, exposing ecologically and economically valuable salmon runs to epidemics of disease, parasites, toxic chemicals and concentrated waste. The petition documents Canada’s failure to enforce the Fisheries Act in allowing industrial aquaculture to erode the capacity of ecosystems to support wild salmon. The proliferation of salmon feedlots is linked to dramatic declines in British Columbia’s wild salmon populations and the detection of a lethal salmon virus.

“Fish farms in Canada are an unholy marriage between various levels of the Canadian governments and foreign-owned companies,” said Chief Bob Chamberlain of the Kwikwasu’tinuxw Haxwa’mis First Nation. “We continue to explore, identify and act upon whatever means possible to rid our traditional territories of open net cage fish farms.”

“The Canadian government’s disregard for wild salmon stocks in pandering to multinational salmon farming corporations is outrageous,” said Zeke Grader, director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations. “Salmon feedlots put wild salmon, the communities that depend upon them, a billion-dollar fishing industry, tens of thousands of fishing jobs, and our nations’ shared natural heritage at risk of extinction.”

“Industrial salmon feedlots function as disease-breeding factories, allowing parasites and diseases to reproduce at unnaturally high rates,” said Jeff Miller with the Center for Biological Diversity. “Marine feedlot waste flows directly, untreated, into contact with wild salmon. Putting feedlots hosting a toxic soup of bacteria, parasites, viruses and sea lice on wild fish migration routes is the height of biological insanity.”

When a country signatory to NAFTA fails to enforce its environmental laws, any party may petition for enforcement. Canada’s Fisheries Act prohibits harmful alteration, disruption or destruction of fish habitat or addition of “deleterious substances.” The petitioners seek an investigation and finding by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation that Canada is violating its Fisheries Act with regard to industrial aquaculture. Such a finding could lead to international action to force Canada to protect wild salmon, ideally by relocating fish aquaculture into contained tanks on land.

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in  science based, proven, fish protection.

“Applying the Fisheries Act to fish feedlots as it is applied to all other marine users and removing feedlots from salmon migration routes will benefit wild fish and the economy of British Columbia,” said Miller. “Moving to contained aquaculture on land will benefit areas starved for employment and clean up the rivers to restore wild salmon runs.”

Scientific evidence of harm to wild salmon swimming through B.C. waters from fish feedlots has been mounting, as has public concern that feedlots could spread epidemic diseases. This is a threat that jeopardizes the health of every wild salmon run along the Pacific Coast, since U.S. and Canadian stocks mingle in the ocean and estuaries.

The Canadian petitioners are the Pacific Coast Wild Salmon Society in B.C. and Kwikwasu’tinuxw Haxwa’mis First Nation, a native tribe whose territory off northern Vancouver Island is being used by 27 Norwegian-owned salmon feedlots. The U.S. petitioners are the Center for Biological Diversity and Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, the largest trade association of commercial fishers on the west coast, representing family fishing men and women. The University of Denver Environmental Law Clinic helped prepare and submit the petition.

Recreational Fisheries Award to Kamloops

Minister Shea Presents 2011 National Recreational Fisheries Award to Kamloops Volunteer

KAMLOOPS, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwire – Jan. 19, 2012) – The Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of National Revenue and Cathy McLeod, Member of Parliament for Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo, on behalf of the Honourable Keith Ashfield, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Gateway today presented Mr. Mo Bradley with a Recreational Fisheries Award in their home community of Kamloops.

“Mr. Bradley has contributed to Canada’s world-renowned recreational fisheries,” said Minister Shea. “It is important to recognize the hard work of volunteers who are committed to building sustainable fisheries in their communities.”

For over 30 years, Mr. Bradley has been developing and promoting recreational fishing in the Kamploops/Shuswap area of British Columbia. He is passionate about fishing and about teaching others how to fish, particularly young people. In teaching others, he never emphasizes the catching of the fish, rather the whole experience of fishing including observation of the natural world.

He has been an active member of local fishing clubs, contributing to expansion of programs to provide more fishing opportunities and educational experiences. As a board member for the Habitat Conservation Trust Fund, Mr. Bradley lent his expertise and understanding of the needs of the fishery to ensure that fisheries projects would be of long term benefit to the resource.

A master fly-tyer, Mr. Bradley donates more than 3,000 flies each year to conservation groups to raise funds; flies tied by Mr. Bradley are much in demand. Passing on his knowledge and expertise to the future generation of anglers is considered by his peers to be the best aspect of his accomplishments overall.

“As Mr. Bradley is committed to ensuring that recreational fisheries are preserved, so is our Government,” said MP McLeod “We are proud to honour the efforts of such dedicated volunteers who make such an important contribution to this important tradition.”

Canada’s National Recreational Fisheries Awards were created in 1989 to recognize outstanding contributions by individuals and organizations in areas such as recreational community leadership, restoring and enhancing fisheries and fish habitat or promoting conservation and sustainable recreational fishing. See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in  science based, proven, fish protection.

For Broadcast:

The Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of National Revenue and Cathy McLeod, Member of Parliament for Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo today presented a 2011 National Recreational Fisheries Award to Mr. Mo Bradley. Canada’s Recreational Fisheries Awards were created in 1989 to recognize outstanding contributions by individuals and organizations in areas such as recreational angling, community leadership, restoring and enhancing fisheries and fish habitat or promoting conservation and sustainable recreational fishing.

Contact Information

  • Frank Stanek
    Media Relations
    Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Ottawa
    613-990-7537

    Barbara Mottram
    Press Secretary
    Office of the Minister
    Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Ottawa
    613-992-3474
    http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Fraser River fish habitat threatened by gravel extraction

  Fraser River fish habitat threatened by gravel extraction

Approximately 280,000 cubic metres of gravel accumulated in the active channel of the river, this was largely offset by significant losses (4 million cubic meters) of over-bank sand on islands and river edges, resulting in little net gain of sediment. (Credit: janheuninck via Flickr)

B.C.’s Fraser River has become the battleground for the gravel industry and conservation groups fighting to protect one of the world’s most productive fish habitats. See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in  science based, proven, fish protection.

The Fraser has been a source of gravel for B.C. construction for decades. However, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) placed a moratorium on gravel extraction in the mid 1990s due to concerns about fish and fish habitat. Not long after the freeze, the B.C. Provincial government began to argue that gravel removal from the Fraser was necessary for flood protection as “massive” gravel accumulations were, allegedly, causing the river bed to rise. A series of public meetings was held to debate the issue and experts were called in to assess the scope of the problem.

Dr. Michael Church, a professor of Geography at the University of British Columbia, provided the most compelling testimony on how gravel and sand enter and move through the gravel reach. He estimated that while approximately 280,000 cubic metres of gravel accumulated in the active channel of the river, this was largely offset by significant losses (4 million cubic meters) of over-bank sand on islands and river edges, resulting in little net gain of sediment.

The B.C. government and proponents of the gravel industry incorrectly interpreted this to mean that 280,000 cubic meters of gravel and sand entered the gravel reach each year and merely “piled up” in the river causing a rise in riverbed elevation that would, over time result in increased flood risk. These groups argued that lives and property were at risk and pushed for DFO to lift the moratorium on gravel extraction.

In 2004, a five-year federal-provincial agreement was reached to allow removal of up to 500,000 cubic metres of gravel in each of the first two years and up to 420,000 cubic metres in the following three years. The agreement was touted as a long-term plan for reducing the flood hazard risk in the lower Fraser River.

Critics argued that gravel removal was only taking place in areas where it was easily accessible to industry and that removal from the targeted areas provided no flood protection benefits whatsoever. In addition, fish and fish habitat were paying the price. In one case, at a location known as Big Bar, removal operations undertaken in 2006 resulted in the de-watering of thousands of salmon redds (nests) and the demise of possibly millions of young salmon which were just about to emerge from the gravel. There was evidence to suggest that similar losses of fish had occurred at other sites as well.

The Fraser River is also home to the white sturgeon, listed by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) as endangered, with gravel removal identified as one of the key threats affecting this species.

By David Suzuki.org

New Vessels for Aquaculture Regulation in British Columbia

CAMPBELL RIVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwire – Jan. 9, 2012) – The Honourable Keith Ashfield, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, welcomed six British Columbia-made vessels into the departmental fleet today.

“Our government is proud to ensure that Fisheries and Oceans Canada has the tools it needs to regulate the aquaculture industry in British Columbia and ensure that it operates in a sustainable and environmentally responsible manner,” Minister Ashfield said. “We are committed to an economically and ecologically viable fishing and aquaculture industry across Canada.”

The six vessels, of various sizes and construction, are dedicated to the B.C. Aquaculture Regulatory Program and carry out aquaculture regulatory and monitoring activities. Three of the vessels are used by aquaculture management staff for auditing and monitoring aquaculture sites, and three are used by aquaculture fishery officers for enforcement and compliance inspections.

As the majority of aquaculture operations are located along the coast of Vancouver Island and in mainland inlets, and most are inaccessible by car, ensuring DFO staff are able to move freely on the water is an important aspect of regulating the aquaculture industry in B.C. The new Conservation and Protection vessels will allow fishery officers to respond quickly to events or public reports of potential concerns at farm sites, while staff on the aquaculture management vessels can deploy tethered remote underwater vehicles for site inspections and conduct and analyze benthic (ocean bottom) sampling.

Nationally, aquaculture production has increased four-fold in the past 20 years. Approximately 70 per cent of all Canadian aquaculture products are sold to foreign markets, and the world increasingly depends on aquaculture as an essential food source. In fact, globally, half of all fish and seafood is now farmed. British Columbia contributes the most farm-raised fish and seafood to Canada’s output annually.

Backgrounders:

  • SIX DFO AQUACULTURE VESSELS FOR B.C.
  • FISHERIES AND OCEANS CANADA’S FIRST YEAR AS PRIMARY REGULATOR FOR BRITISH COLUMBIA’S AQUACULTURE INDUSTRY

SIX FISHERIES AND OCEANS CANADA AQUACULTURE VESSELS FOR BRITISH COLUMBIA

Fisheries and Oceans Canada has purchased six B.C.-made vessels to support its effective regulation of aquaculture activities in the province. As the regulator and manager of aquaculture in B.C., Fisheries and Oceans Canada is responsible for ensuring that the industry is abiding by the conditions of licence established for each aquaculture site in the province, adhering to the Pacific Aquaculture Regulations, and following strict guidelines for operations. These vessels will allow departmental staff to carry out these new duties.

Of the six vessels, three are being used by aquaculture management staff to undertake regular audit and monitoring activities at aquaculture sites, and three are tasked with aquaculture fishery officer enforcement activities.

Aquaculture Management Program

Three B.C.-made vessels, the Salmon Bay, the Sturgeon Bay, and the Oyster Bay, are being used by aquaculture management staff for audit and monitoring activities:

  • Fish health management inspections
  • Sea lice audits
  • Stream surveys
  • Benthic (ocean floor) sampling and remote-operated vehicle assessments
  • Facility inspections

The three program management vessels are named after the three sectors of the fish farming industry: marine finfish, shellfish, and freshwater aquaculture.

The Salmon Bay and the Sturgeon Bay carry departmental staff to fish farm sites for the purpose of conducting finfish facility inspections, fish health inspections, and soft-bottom benthic sampling. In addition, the vessels can deploy a remote-operated vehicle, which is used to capture video of hard-bottom benthic (ocean floor) environments for assessment purposes.

The Salmon Bay has an onboard work station that supports field testing of various benthic samples and the collection of samples for future analysis.

The Oyster Bay is used primarily to transport departmental staff to and from aquaculture facilities to conduct fish health and shellfish farm inspections.

Enforcement Program

The regional Conservation and Protection Branch is operating its three new vessels to transport fishery officers to aquaculture facilities to conduct announced and unannounced site inspections and enforce compliance with the Pacific Aquaculture Regulations and the Fisheries Act.

The MacLeod Bay is a 9.7-metre rigid-hull inflatable boat. It is named for J. Ronald MacLeod, a retired departmental employee and Officer of the Order of Canada who was recognized for his contributions to Pacific fisheries.

The Weaver Bay is a 9.7-metre rigid-hull inflatable boat. It is named after Kenneth E. Weaver, a Pacific Region fishery officer who died in an airplane accident in the line of duty on September 2, 1948.

The Max Bay is a six-metre aluminum vessel. It is named after Max Tscharre, a well-respected retired fishery officer dedicated to the protection of fish and fish habitat. This vessel is the “sister ship” to the Oyster Bay, with similar design, features and equipment.

FISHERIES AND OCEANS CANADA’S FIRST YEAR AS PRIMARY REGULATOR FOR BRITISH COLUMBIA’S AQUACULTURE INDUSTRY

In December 2010, Fisheries and Oceans Canada assumed primary responsibility for the regulation of the aquaculture industry in B.C., including the licensing of marine finfish, shellfish, and freshwater aquaculture sites, as well as enhancement facilities. Staff were hired to implement and undertake the federal B.C. Aquaculture Regulatory Program, with the majority of positions located on Vancouver Island. The program provides economic stimulus to coastal communities, as its employees work to ensure that the aquaculture industry is operating in an environmentally sustainable fashion.

After its first full year in operation, the program has achieved success in a number of areas:

  • A total of 104 inspections were conducted at marine finfish aquaculture sites by departmental field biologists and fishery officers to assess compliance with their site’s conditions of licence, and applicable acts and regulations;
  • Conditions of licence inspections were conducted at 140 shellfish and 22 freshwater aquaculture operations, and fishery officers also conducted 18 compliance inspections;
  • More than 65 marine finfish site health audits (including sea lice audits) were conducted;
  • Benthic (ocean bottom) environmental audits were conducted at 23 operational marine finfish farm sites;
  • An enhanced Atlantic Salmon Watch Program has surveyed six rivers for the potential presence of Atlantic salmon escapes;
  • Two new freshwater aquaculture licences were issued;
  • A pre-site audit was conducted for one proposed new farm site; and
  • A total of 12 marine finfish licence applications and amendments were processed.

In 2011, the Department also initiated consultations on the development of draft Integrated Management of Aquaculture Plans. These consultations will continue in 2012: http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/consultation/aquaculture/index-eng.htm.

As part of its commitment to transparency, the Department undertakes regular public reporting of fish health, sea lice levels, disease presence, and other data on the environmental performance of the aquaculture industry in B.C. Information is regularly posted to the Department’s website: http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/aquaculture/index-eng.htm.

The British Columbia aquaculture industry provides an estimated 6,000 jobs and over $224 million in wages for British Columbians. Salmon farming has grown to take its place as the province’s largest agricultural export, generating $800 million in economic output. Cultured shellfish production has reached 10,000 tonnes with a landed value of $21.7 million.

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in  science based, proven, fish protection.

Contact Information

  • Fisheries and Oceans Canada
    Michelle Imbeau
    Communications Advisor, Pacific Region
    604-666-2872 or Cell: 604-219-5730

    Fisheries and Oceans Canada
    Barbara Mottram
    Press Secretary
    Office of the Minister
    613-992-3474
    http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Mineral exploration is exploding, is the government assessing the environmental impact?

Critics claim mineral exploration in B.C. needs more accountability

Campaigning for the B.C. Liberal Party leadership, Christy Clark promised to put the controversial Prosperity Mine project back into play.

Mineral exploration is exploding in B.C., but critics claim the provincial government isn’t assessing the environmental impact.

Soaring global demand for metal has caused a surge in mining and exploration in British Columbia, and Premier Christy Clark has promised to open eight new mines by 2015. However, recent reports from B.C.’s auditor general and the UVic Environmental Law Centre suggest the provincial environmental-assessment office is not up to the task.

Mines, typically subject to both federal and provincial reviews, are extremely complex. They often require hundreds of millions of dollars in investment capital and promise high-paying jobs and a windfall in tax revenue, but their environmental footprint is equally dizzying, with potential long-term impacts on fish-and-wildlife habitat. See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the industry leader in science based, man made and artificial fish habitat, proven to provide all fish with cover they prefer to prosper.

Currently, the 50-person staff at the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office (BCEAO) is weighing the socioeconomic benefits and environmental impacts of 60 projects, half of them for new mines, mine expansions, or old mines being resurrected, thanks to recent high mineral prices. Among them are projects like the Ajax Mine, a proposal by Abacus Mining and Exploration Corporation (in partnership with Polish mining giant KGHM Polska Miedz S. A.) for a massive 500-million-tonne (over 23 years) low-grade-copper property that was operated by Teck Cominco in the 1980s and 1990s but abandoned when copper prices were low.

This open-pit project on the doorstep of Kamloops is worth $550 million in capital investment, and is expected to have a 400-person full-time work force. It is undergoing both federal and provincial environmental assessments and has dominated public debate in this city of almost 90,000, just as the divisive Prosperity Mine, approved by the province but rejected by the feds, did and continues to do in the community of Williams Lake.

Vancouver-based environmental lawyer Mark Haddock, author of a report titled Environmental Assessment in British Columbia, published by the UVic Environmental Law Centre in November 2010, believes citizens have good reason to be wary of the process.

“I don’t think the B.C. assessment process is equipped to deal with these proposals,” Haddock says.

In his critique, Haddock called B.C.’s Environmental Assessment Act “weak and discretionary”, and wrote that decisions by the environment minister are often arbitrary and sometimes run counter to advice from government biologists and technical experts. Furthermore, the fact that the BCEAO hasn’t rejected a single proposal since 1995 further undermines public confidence in the process, according to Haddock.

For many, the Prosperity copper-gold mine, being proposed by Taseko Mines Limited for a site 125 kilometres southwest of Williams Lake on the Chilcotin Plateau, is the poster child for what’s wrong with B.C.’s environmental-assessment process.

The story of Prosperity is convoluted. Given the mine’s considerable potential impacts on the Tsilhqot’in aboriginal people and on Fish Lake—home to more than 80,000 rainbow trout—which Taseko proposed to use for waste-rock impoundment, the mine met the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency’s requirements for a joint review panel that would unite federal and provincial authorities in a single entity.

However, in 2008 Taseko Mines wrote a letter to federal and provincial officials criticizing the joint-review-panel process for putting “the future of a billion-dollar project in the hands of three unelected, unaccountable individuals” and placing an “excessive emphasis on established or asserted Aboriginal rights and title”.

Soon after receiving this letter, the province opted out of the joint review and decided to conduct its own independent assessment. Consequently, Tsilhqot’in leaders and environmental groups such as the Friends of the Nemiah Valley (FONV) boycotted the provincial process, claiming that Victoria was biased in favour of the proponent. In January 2010, acting on recommendations from the executive director of the BCEAO—and despite concerns raised by provincial biologists about impacts on grizzly-bear and fish habitat—the province approved Prosperity.

Meanwhile, the federal review was still under way, participants poring over a raft of First Nations cultural and environmental concerns. Almost a year after the province rendered its green light for Prosperity, the feds rejected the mine and Taseko’s plans to replace Fish Lake with an artificial fish habitat, among other concerns. In a strongly worded decision, Jim Prentice, federal environment minister at the time, called the mine’s impacts on fish of “high magnitude and irreversible”, and wrote that the project would destroy “an important cultural and spiritual area for the Tsilhqot’in people”. The company went back to the proposal stage.

Two processes, two dramatically different results, Haddock says.

“The feds and the province were using the same data but with a different set of criteria,” he says. “It’s important that these assessments appear credible, and when you have two very different decisions, as in the case of Prosperity, it raises some very serious doubts in the minds of the public and participants.”

David Williams, FONV president, agrees, and he says it’s the reason his group didn’t participate in the provincial process.

“We didn’t take part in the provincial review because we didn’t think there was any point,” Williams says.

Wayne McCrory, a bear biologist and cofounder of the Valhalla Wilderness Society, also boycotted the provincial process but, like FONV, made submissions to federal reviewers. He says the contempt for unbiased scientific opinion that he believes underpinned the B.C. approval of Prosperity is something he has seen before: when, in 2004, the province approved the contentious Jumbo Glacier Resort project in the Purcell Mountains east of Kootenay Lake after a lengthy process that started when the proponent first filed an application in 1996.

“In the case of Jumbo, 11 biologists on the former grizzly-bear scientific advisory committee wrote a letter to the minister, opposing Jumbo. I was one of those members,” McCrory tells the Georgia Straight over the phone from his home in the Slocan Valley. “Valhalla [Wilderness Society] hired independent biologist Dr. Brian Horejsi to do an impact study on grizzly bears related to Jumbo. He did an extensive job, including a CEA [cumulative effects assessment]. A number of Ministry of Environment biologists were also opposed.”

McCrory says he believes the province’s biggest weakness is in assessing cumulative effects, which, by the federal government’s definition, are “changes to the biophysical, social, economic and cultural environments caused by the combination of past, present and reasonably foreseeable future actions”. McCrory believes that if the BCEAO conducted thorough CEAs, it would never have authorized the Prosperity Mine and the destruction of a culturally and environmentally significant water body like Fish Lake.

Although the BCEAO is finding few friends in the environmental and conservation community, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency is considered more robust than its provincial counterpart, the last line of defence for the environment. It was the CEAA that ultimately rejected the proposed Kemess North copper-gold mine in 2007 as well as Prosperity, in both cases citing impacts on fish-and-wildlife habitat and significant conflicts with aboriginal rights and titles.

However, under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the CEAA is under attack, according to Josh Paterson, a lawyer with West Coast Environmental Law. He says the Conservatives buried profound changes to environmental-assessment legislation deep within the 900-page March 2010 budget bill, giving the federal environment minister far more discretionary power to exempt projects from full environmental reviews. Then, last summer, the feds took the scalpel to the CEAA’s budget.

“The federal government is now cutting funding to the environmental-assessment agency,” Paterson says, referring to a more than 40-percent cut announced in the June 3, 2011, speech from the throne.

Paterson shares McCrory’s concern about the province’s incomplete approach to assessing the cumulative effects of major projects. However, in fairness to the BCEAO, he says he believes that this type of analysis is complex and may be beyond the current capacity of the office, especially with metal mines that may face technically challenging and costly cleanup of toxic mine waste for years after they cease operation.

Though many critics are lamenting the weakening of environmental-assessment capacity at both federal and provincial levels, mineral exploration and mine development continue to explode. Developing economies like China have an insatiable appetite for metal, and we need it for the cars we drive, our electronic gadgets, and the appliances in our homes. According to Lyn Anglin, president and CEO of Geoscience B.C., the province has plenty of untapped mineral wealth. Geoscience B.C. is an industry-led organization created in 2005 to undertake geological-data-gathering projects with the hope of attracting more mining investment to the province.

Currently, the organization is spearheading surveys of the Quesnellia Terrane, a chunk of central B.C. rich in copper-gold porphyry and extending from the Gibraltar and Mount Polley mines near Williams Lake to the Mount Milligan copper-gold property northwest of Prince George. According to Anglin, the 2007 announcement of the project, which Geoscience B.C. dubbed QUEST, resulted in a frenzy of online claim-staking.

Zoë Younger, vice president of corporate affairs for the Mining Association of B.C., says the province hasn’t seen this much excitement around mining since the 1860s Cariboo gold rush. Regarding environmental assessments, Younger says she believes in a robust regulatory framework, but she is primarily concerned about wasteful duplication of efforts, which she says was the case with Prosperity. That’s why the association is cheering September’s B.C. Jobs Plan, which included a commitment of $24 million in funding to natural-resources ministries with the goal of reducing the time it takes to get decisions on permits and approvals.

Younger says industry opponents often overstate the environmental impact of mining and understate its economic importance. According to 2008 government figures, metal mining alone contributed $2.6 billion to the provincial economy, and that excludes what was generated from coal mining and other fossil-fuel extraction.

“The [environmental] footprint of a mine relative to its economic contribution to GDP is much lower than other resource industries,” Younger says, referring to industrial logging and commercial fishing.

Industry boosters like Geoscience B.C. and the mining association can rest assured they have the support of the provincial government. Christy Clark promised to put the Prosperity Mine back in play when she was campaigning for the B.C. Liberal Party leadership, and she has made mining one of the pillars of her jobs plan.

The province estimates that projects worth a potential $30 billion in capital investment are piled up in the BCEAO system. Of the 222 projects that the environmental-assessment office has handled since 1995, only one was rejected, while 115 were approved and the remainder either are still under review, have been withdrawn, or have been determined to be exempt from environmental assessments. Yet the annual budget of the BCEAO is telling: at only $8,754,000, it’s one-third less than what the province gave to Geoscience B.C. last May.

The provincial government may be able to dismiss criticism of its environmental-assessment record from NGOs and environmental lawyers, but it’s harder to ignore the words of its own auditor general. Last July, John Doyle, then auditor general of B.C., released a critical report on the BCEAO, saying that “adequate monitoring and enforcement of certified projects is not occurring, and follow-up evaluations are not being conducted.” He also said that information being supplied to the public is insufficient “to ensure accountability”. But what’s even more troubling is what Doyle referred to as the government’s “hostility” toward environmental assessments, as revealed in the February 2010 throne speech, during which the Speaker called the CEAA a “Byzantine bureaucratic process” that holds “jobs and investment hostage”.

John Mazure, the BCEAO’s executive director, says that although he would have preferred a “glowing report” from the auditor general, his office is taking it seriously. However, he takes issue with critics who continually point to the office’s green-light track record as a sign of fallibility. He admits that most applications that make it to the minister’s desk get approved, but he says that what’s missing from this statistic is the number of projects that are altered and improved in consultation with government specialists as they work through the assessment. Mazure calls it an “iterative process”, which is described on the BCEAO website as being intended “to address all issues satisfactorily such that there are no residual adverse impacts that would prevent an EA certificate from being issued”.

“I’ve heard everything, that we rubber-stamp projects without looking at them, but that’s simply not the case. What people don’t realize is that once a project reaches the minister, we’ve had a pretty good kick at it,” Mazure says. “Our specialists work with the proponents throughout the process on mitigative measures.”

The Prosperity Mine proposal, positioned as an economic lifeboat for the struggling Cariboo region, is like a festering wound for the province. The federal government’s rejection of Prosperity was a huge embarrassment for then-premier Gordon Campbell, who had been a vocal and enthusiastic supporter of Taseko’s bid. This fiasco also nags the BCEAO. Mazure refuses to second-guess his predecessor at the BCEAO, who recommended approval of Prosperity in spite of what appeared to be glaring environmental concerns.

He also says observers forget that the federal and provincial environmental-assessment agencies have different mandates: the former is focused primarily on environmental impacts and aboriginal rights and title, while the latter weighs economic, social, health, heritage, and environmental factors. However, Mazure admits that the mining boom has the potential to stretch the BCEAO’s resources.

“Fifty percent of our projects right now are mines,” he says. “It’s one thing assessing a mine that’s not near a water body, but when it’s metres from a water body, the environmental impacts are complex. They are very complicated and they take more of our resources. We’re very dependent on specialists from other ministries. And in these processes, not everybody will be pleased with the outcome. One side will be complaining, the other side will be celebrating.”

David Williams, of the Friends of the Nemiah Valley, belonged to one of those sides. He was heavily involved in fighting the Prosperity Mine and is now preparing for a renewed battle, as Taseko Mines has submitted a retooled proposal that could spare Fish Lake.

“Honestly, I think the Environment Ministry has been so watered down that they lack the capacity to handle these issues,” Williams says.By Andrew Findlay

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