On April 25^th the witnesses were Arne Mooers, Biology Professor from Simon Fraser University; Kim Barrett, Senior Terrestrial Ecologist with Conservation Halton, Doug Chorney, President of Keystone Agricultural Producers; and Darrell Crabbe, Executive Director of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation.  Mooers argued for full implementation of SARA, while the agricultural representatives recommended financial incentives to help private landowners care for habitat conservation.

These two meetings had a few takeaways focused more on agriculture and the relationships between private property owners and wildlife.

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“Among the more than 160 signatories nations to the Ramsar Convention, Canada has the largest area of wetlands – about 25 percent of the world’s total,” said Green Leader Elizabeth May, Member of Parliament for Saanich-Gulf Islands.

“Because these natural systems help purify water, prevent flooding, provide habitat, and, probably most important, store carbon, we owe it to ourselves and the world to protect them. Sadly, the Harper Conservatives are doing the opposite,” added May.

May pointed out a number of recent changes to Canadian laws which will have a negative impact on our wetlands: the gutting of the Fisheries Act so that it now protects certain fish rather than all habitat; the destruction of the Environmental Assessment Act, and replacing the Navigable Waters Protection Act with the Navigation Protection Act – which now protects only 65 rivers and 97 lakes across Canada from development.

At the same time, Stephen Harper’s plans to aggressively expand the oil sands will further destroy the great peatlands of northern Alberta. Contrary to Conservative and oil industry assurances, top scientists have revealed that these plundered lands can never be restored.

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The corn-based biofuel ethanol has long been considered a questionable alternative to oil and gas; there has been no valid environmental assessment, even though it is close to sensitive wetland; there are blatant examples of patronage surrounding the project, and the entire Oshawa City Council along with many citizens are opposed to it.

‘It’s hard to find a project that fails on so many fronts,” said Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, MP Saanich-Gulf Islands.  “The problems with corn-based ethanol have been known for years, especially its impact on the price and availability of corn.  Also, this is a post-Bill C-38 venture and we are seeing how token the environmental assessment has been.

“At the same time, this reeks of a small group of insiders ignoring the will of the local people.  It’s shameful on all counts.”

With the feeding of cars competing with the feeding of human beings, the price of corn has risen steadily, as demand overtakes supply.  Now about 40 percent of the world’s production heads to gas stations, rather than grocery stores.  On Friday, the US Department of Agriculture’s world-agricultural-outlook board estimated that global corn consumption will be short by 38.9 million tons.

Ethanol also requires considerable amounts of energy in the production process.  The US Congressional Budget Office found that reducing carbon dioxide emissions by using ethanol costs at least $750 per ton of carbon dioxide – much more than other methods.

If ethanol lacks credibility, so has the entire process behind the Oshawa Harbour Commission – established by the Harper Conservatives to replace the Port Authority – deal to build the plant.  It was approved Thursday morning at an “in-camera” meeting – with no minutes, no independent witnesses. 

Flaherty-appointee Gary Valcour, chair of the Oshawa Harbour Commission, is the past-president of the Conservative riding association in Flaherty’s Whitby-Oshawa riding.  Tim O’Connor, a former director of FarmTech and brother of the company’s president, Dan O’Connor, is also connected to the riding association.

Apparently, Valcour plans to resign as Commission president – but it is a pathetic gesture.  Flaherty insisted that the Commission’s seven-person board – appointed mainly by the Conservatives – would replace Valcour with a permanent head.

In the spirit of the Conservatives’ Bill C-38, which weakened the environmental assessment process and limited the number of projects requiring an assessment, the ethanol plant’s environmental assessment by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency has been discontinued.  Valcour claimed that the Commission’s board had seen enough to sign off on the project.

“We are satisfied there’s no…significant environmental impact,” explained Valcour. “Due diligence has been done in terms of environmental issues.”  

“With their plans to build the ethanol plant on port lands after a token environmental assessment, the Harper Conservatives could very well be putting the many people of Oshawa who use their waterfront at risk,” said area-resident Stacey Leadbetter, Green Party of Canada Federal Council (Ont. Rep.).  “Without a proper assessment we’ll know only if and when something tragic happens.” 

“Even the mayor has been quoted as feeling he’s been left out of the decision-making regarding this refinery and he’s certainly not alone,” said Gail Bates, former Green Party candidate for Oshawa.  “Where is democracy and an interest in citizens’ opinions in this process?

“Local people aren’t going to accept this example of Harper bullying and cronyism all in the name of a few dirty jobs because there won’t be many,” added Bates. “We want clean, safe, sustainable jobs.”

Leadbetter noted that the community is organizing to fight the plant.

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“The protection of wetlands is much more difficult in Canada now that the Conservatives have gutted the Fisheries Act to protect certain fish, rather than fish habitat,” said Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, MP Saanich-Gulf Islands.  “It must have been difficult for government representatives at the UN conference to hold their heads up in front of the rest of the world.”

The little-known Ramsar Convention is the only global environmental treaty that deals with a particular ecosystem.   Adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971, it provides the framework for national and international action and cooperation to conserve or wisely use wetlands and their resources. 

Wetlands include lakes and rivers, swamps, wet grasslands, peatlands, oases, deltas, mangroves, coral reefs, as well as human-made sites such as fish ponds, rice paddies, and reservoirs.

The theme of the conference was “Wetlands: home and destination,” reflecting the focus on sustainable wetland tourism and recreation.  Historically, Canada, with about 25 percent of the world’s wetlands, has provided international leadership in supporting Ramsar. 

However, with the aggressive expansion of the Alberta oil sands, for example, Canada’s wetlands, in this case peatlands, are rapidly being destroyed.  A recent study by top scientists revealed that, contrary to Conservative and oil industry promises, the peatlands, which took thousands of years to form, cannot be restored.

These unique landscapes play a key role in filtering water, feeding caribou (an increasingly endangered species in northern Alberta), storing carbon, recharging groundwater, protecting biological diversity, and providing flood protection.

May acknowledged the efforts of Canadians who support the sustainability goals of the Ramsar Convention.

“I want to recognize the hard work of Canadians who are trying to protect wetlands in Canada and around the world,” said the Green Party Leader.  “We all know that, given the political climate in Canada, it isn’t easy to stand up for the conservation and sustainability of any natural resource.”

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Ducks Unlimited Canada cites a 2006 research study by Euliss et al. (2006) finding that restoring Canada’s Prairiewetlands could sequester 378 Tg of carbon over a 10 year period.  Potentially, this could offset 2.4 % of carbon dioxide emissions (from 1990 levels) produced annually in North America.

Wetlands are some of the most productive and bio-diverse areas on the planet.  They will be key in mitigating the impacts of climate change but they are also vulnerable to climate change impacts.  With the warming of the planet, small wetlands will dry up while larger wetlands will have greater fluctuations in water levels, leading to a loss of carbon sinks and release of greenhouse gases.

“Wetlands provide vital services to our society, preventing flooding, purifying our water, and offering crucial habitat for many species,” said Green Leader Elizabeth May, MP for Saanich-Gulf Islands.  “It is so important to conserve as many wetlands as possible; they are immensely valuable.”

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World Rivers Day is in partnership with the UN Water for Life Decade initiative with the goal of increasing public awareness and improving stewardship of  rivers.

Canada encompasses one of the Earth’s most freshwater-abundant regions, with 9% of the world’s renewable water.  “Fresh water is our lifeblood.  We must steward our  fresh water resources for this and future generations,” said May. “Sustainable communities need healthy watersheds.”

The Green Party is committed to responsible water stewardship. That  includes protecting watersheds from industrial and urban activities and  restoring those that have been damaged by such activities. We advocate a renewed federal government role in water management, focused on strong  regulations and programs created in collaboration with provincial and  municipal governments. When it comes to our vision for fresh water, the  Green message is clear: Keep it. Conserve it. Protect it.

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