World renowned climate activist Bill McKibben of 350.org lent his voice to the “Our Coast, Our Decision” rally in Vancouver Monday. McKibben told the crowd of close to 2,000 outside the Vancouver Art Gallery, “This is one of these great moments in human history and you guys are absolutely at the white, hot centre of it.”
About two weeks ago I was leaked a secret Harper Government document and released it to the public (March 12, 2012). I commented on the significance of that government’s attempted move to eliminate the habitat protection provisions in the Fisheries Act [i.e. section 35(1) – also called the HADD section of the Act – “harmful alteration , disruption or destruction of fish habitat]. The government was to sneak those amendments through Parliament in the Budget Omnibus Bill and few Canadians would have been aware of what had happened.
Since MP Fin Donnelly ambushed the DFO Minister in the House of Commons, Mr. Ashfield had to admit what he was up to and is now trying to rationalize his actions. Based on new information and brief Ministerial statements we can now see what has motivated Ashfield and his government and it is less than convincing and actually a bizarre logic. It is obvious that his plans to neuter the habitat law in the Fisheries Act is definitely not in the public interest and will ensure the continued erosion of Canada’s wild fishery resources that have been in decline for many years.
During the past many days I have been contacted by hundreds of reporters and concerned citizens and those closely associated with the fishery and its essential habitat base. I have been forwarded information on the flooding of the Craven County (Saskatchewan) Jamboree campground (see below). It is indeed that issue that Minister Ashfield seems to depend on most to rationalize the need to eliminate habitat protection from the Fisheries Act. Apparently his actions are based on a flood event that some river experts say, based on probability, will happen once every 300 years.
A Saskatchewan fish and game organization noted that thousands of northern pike and walleye (valuable sports, First Nations and in some areas commercial fish and ecologically significant species in any prairie river) were stranded behind the dyke after river flooding. The obvious way of addressing such a major fish stranding problem would be by the breaching of the apparently poorly designed dyke ‘protecting’ a poorly located campground. The water and entrained fish would then naturally drain out of the Jamboree dyked campground and re- enter the Q’Appelle River and be safe and the campground would be drained.
This is a common sense solution and appears to have been suggested at the time. It is too bad that fish have to die because the Jamboree campground was located in a flood plain which would be an important and uncommon habitat type in an area that is dry and not rich in rivers. Also the building of such a dyke can be counter productive as has been learned in many river systems such as in this very Saskatchewan-Manitoba flood event in 2011 and in the Mississippi River system floods. The river needs to spread out during flood events and dykes block the natural functioning and value of a flood- plain and its floodplain habitat values.
If you do build such dykes you have to construct them in a way to get water out from out behind the dyke once the flood is over. If pumps had to be used, a fish salvage program could and should have been undertaken. This is not rocket science and is standard procedure! Once the dyke is breached to drain flood water, it would have been very logical to put in a drainage culvert and flap valve prior to filling in the breach and in future years the site would drain naturally in the event of another flood. Why would this not be treated as a learning opportunity for all involved versus a knee jerk response by Mr. Ashfield?
This fish stranding example as raised by Mr. Ashfield to rationalize why the habitat provisions of the Fisheries Act go too far in protecting fish habitat. He accused his own staff of declaring the campground fish habitat and obstructed the drainage of the campground. Why has Minister Ashfield declared war on his own staff? Instead should he not budget for their training, better select competent managers and audit their activities before he cuts them off at the knees?
This example makes no sense whatsoever and provides no basis for the Harper government to go off on a tangent and say the present habitat legislation is too powerful to do the necessary job of protecting fish habitat across Canada. Despite the bizarre assertions of Mr. Ashfield, I am certain no court in Canada would accept a campground as fish habitat.
What Mr. Ashfield does not seem to realize is that the example he waves about is not really a habitat problem! If his DFO staff were not muzzled by the Harper Government they could state what actually took place at this incident. The entrainment of fish behind the dyke that would be killed by conventional pumping is really covered by another section of the Act – i.e. Section 32 – No person shall destroy fish by any means other than fishing except as authorized by the Minister or by a regulation passed by the Governor in Council. Therefore why use this incident as an excuse to eliminate the habitat provision of the Fisheries Act?
Even if the Harper Government did get away with the elimination of the habitat provisions in the Act, the very amendment that Mr. Ashfield has proposed and was leaked to Canadians still would have prevented the pumping out of the water from behind the dyke. If his amendment was passed by Parliament, it would still be illegal to do any work or activity that would adversely affect fish of economic, cultural or ecological value. Also in this circumstance the Section 35(1) would not to be used to stop the pumping – it was a fish kill incident that DFO staff were preventing – not a destruction of habitat.
Mr. Ashfield, his advisers and senior staff must get their minds straight on what they are really trying to do and obtain a basic understanding of Canada’s habitat law and the need to protect fish and fish habitat as intended by Parliament in 1976. Mr. Ashfield again speculates that this is not the intent of that section of the Act. Again he is totally wrong. I was hired by DFO in 1969 to protect fish habitat and worked to get this section of legislation into Parliament in 1975. Mr. Ashfield was no where on the radar screen in 1975 so I do not understand how he is now an expert on what DFO staff and a public resource needed or what Parliament intended some 37years ago. Instead of criticizing his staff and attempting to raze the Fisheries Act for no good reason, should a Minister of Fisheries and Oceans not better support his staff and the true intent of the Fisheries Act?
Mr. Ashfield says there has to be balance between development and habitat protection. Where has be he been in the past 50 years? In the Fraser River Estuary (the ecosystem where habitat losses forced the creation of the Fisheries Act habitat protection section [Section 35] and the DFO National Habitat Policy in 1976 and 1986 respectively) about 90% of our Fraser Estuary marshes (essential habitat for fish) have been eliminated by agricultural and other land development. In Ontario 60% of all wetlands have been lost – 75% by agriculture. In BC’s Lower Fraser Valley 20% of all streams have been lost, 63% are endangered, 13% threatened and only 5% remain in a wild state! This is an ongoing pattern across Canada! Is retaining the last remnant key habitat as found in these steams and marshes asking too much – especially from a Fisheries Minister and his colleague the Environment Minister?
If Mr. Ashfield was going to neuter the Fisheries Act habitat law, should he not have made that known to the Cohen Commission which just completed hearings three months ago? Cohen was directed by Prime Minister Harper to do an in depth and lengthy judicial review of what is wrong with sockeye salmon runs in the Fraser River. He and Environment Canada did have several habitat and enforcement experts at the hearing but many were not credible and at no time did any of them indicate that the habitat law would be tampered with or eliminated. Should the government not now recall the Cohen Inquiry so they can tell the truth? Why would Mr. Ashfield make any knee jerk changes to the Fisheries Act before the Cohen Commission final report is released this summer?
One must question what drives the mentality of the Harper government as related to environment issues and especially the tactics and logic used by Minister Ashfield in this instance. What DFO staff did at that campground site seemed proper and should maybe be done again if the Jamboree Grounds owners do not install works to prevent this flood-caused fish stranding from occurring again. Certainly the amendment proposed by Ashfield would accomplish nothing other than to eliminate the use of the habitat law that is needed in thousands of other applications across Canada if future generations are to have healthy populations of fish for economic, cultural or for healthy ecosystem functioning.
I cannot believe that it is the Jamboree Campground or drainage ditches/streams on a few farms that is the issue that has motivated the attempted elimination of habitat from the Fisheries Act. It just a cover, smokescreen or just an excuse to deliver on an anti-environment ideology. Over the years I have heard many complaints from industrial lobby groups like the the BC Business Council and many other such lobby efforts related to the pipeline, oil and gas, electrical and other industries. Their primary goal is to get DFO and habitat protection and environment assessment processes off their backs. Harper and his Natural Resources Minster Oliver have often repeated that very mantra and are willing to undermine whatever legislation is necessary to keep industry and investors happy. It appears that our government and many industries have an agenda for a much faster exploitation of Canadian resources to export as much as possible in as little time as possible without any significant environmental hurdles to cross? Is that the type of sustainability that Mr. Ashfield says he adheres to?
If the habitat law is lost, a key environmental assessment trigger is probably eliminated in Canada and the public and First Nations will be cheated out of a more transparent and consultative approach to human activities that can harm fish and fish habitat. In addition this law trigger allows comprehensive environmental assessment studies related to much more than fish habitat. That is probably the real goal of the Harper government and their industrial lobby friends. One would be a fool to believe that it is just about some fish stranded in a country jamboree campground or in a farmer’s field by a natural flood event – i.e. it’s a red herring!
Many years ago I noted a passage by some author that said: “Business and government do not have an ethic for the environment or future generations.” Over the past few years this has become more and more apparent.
Listen to this interview by Sean Holman of documentary filmmaker Damien Gillis on his recent trip to Northeastern BC to learn about some of the effects of the unconventional gas industry on farming families around the Dawson Creek area. Gillis has been working for the past year on a feature documentary film involving the controversial fracking business and recently followed independent BC MLAs Bob Simpson and Vicki Huntington to the community of Farmington to engage with local landowners on the issue. The pair have worked hard to raise in the Legislature issues surrounding the regulation of the industry and its impacts on water, health, and the province’s economy. (March 24 – 20 min)
This past week 625 Canadian scientists onto signed a letter calling for the Harper Government to cease its plans to remove habitat protections from the Fisheries Act. The changes were first made public by Common Sense Canadian contributor Otto Langer, prompting many prominent voices across the nation and political spectrum to condemn the gutting of the Act – including former Conservative fisheries ministers John Fraser and Tom Siddon. Read the scientists’ letter below.
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If the viewer isn’t visible, you can view the PDF by clicking here.
Read this story from the Edmonton Journal on the letter signed by 625 scientists calling on the Harper Government to cease its plans to gut habitat protections from the Fisheries Act. (March 23, 2012)
Pressure on the Harper government to reject private sector pressure to water down the Fisheries Act mounted Thursday as a letter endorsed by 625 scientists warned Prime Minister Stephen Harper against any move to weaken the federal government’s most potent tool to protect the environment.
The letter’s signatories include 18 fellows of the Royal Society of Canada and was written by David Schindler, the Killam Memorial professor of ecology at the University of Alberta.
“Weakening habitat protections will make Canada look irresponsible internationally,” Schindler wrote.
Two former Progressive Conservative fisheries ministers, John Fraser and Tom Siddon, and the Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution, which represents 1,000 ecologists and evolutionary biologists, have also condemned the reported move.
Otto Langer, a retired federal fisheries biologist, released last week a leaked internal information spelling out planned changes to the Fisheries Act.
Read article: http://www.calgaryherald.com/technology/Scientists+protest+Fish+changes/6346823/story.html
The momentum against the Harper government removing “habitat” from the Fisheries Act is growing rapidly – with 625 scientists having signed onto a letter to Stephen Harper urging him to kill the plan. Even former Fisheries Minister Tom Siddon, the prodigal son who was part of the Federal government’s tawdry deal with Alcan, has joined in.
Let’s talk a little about the man who blew the whistle on this latest fiasco, Otto Langer. This man, with no fanfare or appeal to the cheap seats, aka the mainstream media, has been a relentless lifetime fighter for our sacred salmon. He also had the dubious “honour” to be on my last show on CKNW just prior to my being fired in June 2003!
Here’s a brief overview on what Otto has done over his career:
Worked for DFO and DOE for 32 years in habitat and water quality protection issues. Helped organize BC Assoc. of Prof. Biologists and was President of the group. Qualified as an expert witness on over 100 pollution and habitat destruction cases in Canada from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island. Published and directed many studies relating to the protection status of BC habitats. Author of the red, yellow and green habitat color zoning system that is used to protect the Fraser River Estuary. Promoted the inclusion of habitat protection provisions into the Fisheries Act in 1975.
Awarded the BC Government Silver Metal for urban stream riparian protection in 2000; BCWF BC Conservationist of the Year 2009; Co-recipient of BC Best Regional Book Prize 2005 – Stain Upon the Sea – a book dedicated to exposing the salmon farm industry in BC. Awarded the CWF Roland Michener Canadian Conservationist of the Year Award for 2010. Left government in 2001 and joined the David Suzuki Foundation (2001 to 2005) and formed their Marine Conservation Program. Has been retired for past 7 years and does volunteer work for many conservation causes including VAPOR (no jet fuel tankers in the Fraser River) , Fraser River Gravel Stewardship Committee (Chilliwack), oil and oil sands issues, London UK based MSC (2001-2010), BC Marine Conservation Caucus and had legal standing at the Cohen Inquiry on declining Fraser River sockeye stocks.
When Otto speaks, people listen. He is one of my heroes.
Another of my heroes is former Speaker of The House of Commons and lifetime friend, John Fraser – who also came out this week against Harper’s plan to gut the Fisheries Act. Amongst many other accomplishments, John was Federal Minister of Environment at the same time I held the same position in BC. Two 1949 graduates from tiny Prince of Wales had the environment field covered! John has been a lifetime fisherman and his passionate commitment to his province and its amazing runs of Pacific salmon has led to his membership and leadership on too many committees to number and name.
The publicity of the feelings of this pair of passionate defenders of our salmon has a profound effect upon the Environmental movement. I want to be careful here because, as Otto and John would doubtless agree, the backbone of the defence of our province’s environmental integrity has been many, many people who remain largely anonymous. Many community leaders have done yeoman service, often in the face of media and indeed public opposition and mockery.
What Otto brings is an unmatched resumé of public service for our province. It was he who made public the plan to remove habitat protections from the Fisheries Act – the fact it was leaked to him in the first place demonstrates the confidence others place in him.
John has spoken, in no uncertain terms, in criticism of his party and its leader. This has special meaning, for to speak against a party you don’t support is easy compared to dumping on a party you’ve been a part of for your entire adult life.
Otto reminds us that the establishment intentionally overlooks careful examination of environmental issues – that added to his lifetime service to our heritage is an example we in BC won’t overlook and the Harper government can’t ignore.
John brings awesome credibility to our fight, the awesome part being recognized as a thoroughly passionate environmentalist in face of opposition of his party and its leadership. This takes guts, something both Otto and John have in abundance.
Our province and coming generations are blessed to have people like Otto Langer and The Honourable John Fraser provide the leadership and reputations behind which we gird up our loins and continue the fight with renewed commitment and vigour.
Listen to this interview of Damien Gillis by CKNW’s Simi Sara on recent revelations that so-called run of the river projects are killing fish. The two also discuss Provincial Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Steve Thomson’s appearance on Sara’s show this past Friday and the complete lack of penalties or enforcement by either DFO or the Province on these blatant violations by several private power operators. They also touch on the Harper government’s plan to gut the Fisheries Act and how that benefits Enbridge and the private power industry. (March 20- 12 min)
Read this blog from Andrew Gage at West Coast Environmental Law on the Harper Government’s plan to gut of the Fisheries Act. (March 19, 2012)
Last week fisheries biologist, Otto Langer, went public with a leaked draft of proposed amendments to the federal Fisheries Act which would remove any mention of fish habitat from the Act. When asked about these rumours in Parliament the government seemed to confirm that changes along these lines have not been ruled out, although in a statement on Friday Fisheries and Oceans Canada emphasized that no final decision has been made.
We don’t know the truth of these reports. Indeed, the proposed amendments are so outrageous that one might ask whether they are a “straw man” – an idea set up to be knocked down. Could this proposed amendment have been leaked so that when abandoned the government can appear that much more reasonable and balanced if and when it guts the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, the Species At Risk Act and other environmental laws?
We’re concerned about proposed amendments weakening a range of Canadian environmental laws, all of which are extremely important, but the amendments can be complicated. But the proposed Fisheries Act amendment, if real, is easy to understand: removing legal protection for fish habitat will harm fish. And, in BC at least, that will harm what is an iconic species – the salmon.
Appreciation for the salmon, and concern about its habitat, cuts across the supporters of all political parties. These proposed amendments to the Fisheries Act are about allowing business interests to destroy fish habitat and will be very difficult for the government to sell to Canadians.
It’s wondrous to behold! So many have seen religion at the same time!
Vaughn Palmer of the Postmedia Sun has finally got religion and is openly questioning the Liberal government’s position on the use of Telus resources to help build the new roof on BC Place Stadium! One looks in vain to see any criticism of consequence over the deal to build the roof in the first place so that the jock world had a better playpen at taxpayers’ expense.
Where, oh where, has there been any coverage in Vaughn’s columns over the years on fish farms, private power development, Enbridge’s pipeline project and tanker traffic down our coast and increased tanker traffic through Vancouver Harbour?
Mike Smyth of the Postmedia Province has got religion at long last and is highly critical of the Clark government’s refusal of the $35 million Telus offered to have the jocks’ publicly financed sand box named for them.
Where, oh where, has there been any coverage in Mike’s columns over the years of fish farms, private power development, Enbridge’s pipeline project and tanker traffic down our coast and increased tanker traffic through Vancouver Harbour?
There’s a guy named Fletcher, I think, who works, I believe, for the David Black newspapers, who manages to kiss the establishment’s backside while anointing its feet – a daunting task which he has easily managed. I somehow doubt that he’ll see the light – although he did come out against the Enbridge pipeline not too long ago.
Tom Siddon, formerly Federal Fisheries Minister, has seen religion and is critical of his old party for removing “habitat” from the Fisheries Act. Here’s the story from the Edmonton Journal.
Siddon said the wording would turn fish into a commodity and overlook the importance of the broader ecosystem that, for instance, allows British Columbia’s famous salmon resource to thrive.
“It’s like saying as long as we have a happy lifestyle and can go to the rec centre and keep fit, it doesn’t matter what the air is like that we breath or the water that we drink,” Siddon said.
“If we want to preserve and protect our fish stocks, it’s more than a commercial equation.”
Wasn’t Siddon the federal Fisheries Minister when a so-called compromise was brokered between the senior governments and Alcan which agreed to lower the Nechako River – which Alcan’s Kemano II project would do despite a Department of Fisheries study condemning the project in no uncertain terms? A report of 1985 which didn’t see the light of day until it was leaked to me at the height of the battle in the 1990’s?
Here’s what I said during the fight against this hideous project. Scientists were giving evidence that the proposals were catastrophic to salmon runs. The deal was struck in the absence of all seven DFO scientists who had worked on the project and the commission was, in effect, given Alcan’s figures to work with. The chairman of the Settlement Group, Dr. David Strangway, wouldn’t know a sockeye salmon from a sea cucumber.
I strongly support what Mr. Siddon said last week and hope his former mates take him seriously. I say – in all seriousness – that we all should be like Mr. Siddon and ponder on positions we took in earlier times. As Emerson put it, a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.
As environmentalists, the Common Sense Canadian welcomes Mr. Siddon’s support. With his long government experience and his position as Fisheries Minister his words carry considerable weight.
When one looks at the entire picture of the Harper government in the environment, a thought occurs. That bunch are for fish farms, private river projects, pipelines carrying toxic gunk over 1,100kms of our pristine wilderness, huge tankers down our extremely dangerous coast, all without much meaningful public input.
It seems clear that our MPs join the Prime Minister in giving British Columbians the finger, leaving civil disobedience the only option left for thousands of British Columbians who condemn Harper’s wanton abandonment of our heritage.
May I respectfully suggest that you post on the fridge this list of 21 Conservative toadies who have abandoned their province to the Harper whip:
Ed Fast Abbotsford ed@edfast.ca
Dick Harris – Cariboo – Prince George Harris.R@parl.gc.ca
Mark Strahl – Chilliwack – Fraser Canyon mark.strahl@parl.gc.ca
Kerry Lynne Findlay – Delta – Richmond East MP Kerry-Lynne.Findlay@parl.gc.ca
Nina Grewal – Fleetwood – Port Kells Grewal.N@parl.gc.ca
Cathy McLeod – Kamloops – Thompson – Cariboo McLeod.C@parl.gc.ca
Ron Cannan – Kelowna – Lake Country ron.cannan@parl.gc.ca
David Wilks – Kootenay – Columbia David.wilks@parl.gc.ca
Mark Warawa – Langley Warawa.M@parl.gc.ca
James Lunney – Nanaimo – Alberni Lunney.J@parl.gc.ca
Andrew Saxton – North Vancouver Saxton.A@parl.gc.ca
Dan Albas – Okanagan – Coquihalla http://www.danalbas.com/contact-dan.html
Colin Mayes – Okanagan – Shuswap Mayes.C@parl.gc.ca
Randy Kamp – Pitt Meadows – Maple Ridge – Mission Kamp.R@parl.gc.ca
James Moore – Port Moody – Westwood – Port Coquitlam Moore.J@parl.gc.ca
Bob Zimmer – Prince George – Peace River Bob.Zimmer@parl.gc.ca
Alice Wong – Richmond Wong.A@parl.gc.ca
Russ Hiebert – South Surrey – White Rock – Cloverdale Info@RussHiebert.ca
John Duncan – Vancouver Island North Duncan.J@parl.gc.ca
Wai Young – Vancouver South info@waiyoung.ca
John Weston – West Vancouver – Sunshine Coast – Sea to Sky Country Weston.J@parl.gc.ca
Listen to Damien Gillis and CHLY’s “A Sense of Justice” host Rae Kornberger’s recent wide-ranging discussion on the war being waged against fish by both the Canadian and BC Governments. The pair cover everything from Stephen Harper’s underhanded plan to gut the fisheries act in order to pave the way for oil pipelines and other major industrial projects that would harm fish habitat, to news on the impacts of salmon farms and private river diversion projects on wild fish. (March 14, 2012 – 46 min)