Democracy and Southern Resident Killer Whales: Endangered! 

This article is roughly a 3-minute read. We hope you’ll enjoy it; but if you don’t feel you have the time, skip to take action for Canadian democracy and Southern Resident Killer Whales: [click here] 

Mark Carney is asking Canadians to trust him.  A lot. It’s tempting to do so: it’s been a while since we’ve had a statesman at the helm and he’s clearly that. He also understands economics, climate risk and the times we’re living in. When he says he’s going to ‘build Canada strong’ and reduce our dependence on the great orange dumpster fire to the south, it sounds reasonable and compelling. But how far are we collectively prepared to go to build Canada strong…and fast? 

When the Prime Minister and Alberta Premier announced a new pipeline deal, it was tempting to say, ‘well, it’s mostly following the existing line so it’s mostly messing with territory that TMX already carved up.’ But there’s a different terminus for this new one and therein lies the rub: the only place to locate the deepwater port that Alberta insists on is in the Fraser River estuary, at Roberts Bank. That estuary is critical to Fraser salmon and in turn, the Southern Resident Killer Whales. That’s not to mention millions of sea- and shore-birds and countless other wildlife that will fare poorly after oiling. 

And spill or no spill, oil ports and the tankers that visit them create chronic oil pollution. 

Balancing such important objectives as ‘building Canada strong’ and protecting threatened and endangered species is supposed to be the job of assessment authorities like the Impact Assessment Agency. Open public hearings with full public participation and accountable decision-making are vital elements of this balancing act. Recent legislation and policy announcements are eroding trust that balance is still on the government’s mind. 

It’s not just environmental protection that is being asked to take a back seat. It’s democracy itself. 

The government has legislated a ‘fast lane, one-window’ approach to approvals. If Cabinet feels a project is of national interest, accountable decision-making is the first victim: the Building Canada Act actually directs the conclusions of every Minister or civil servant involved in approvals: 

• 6(1) Every determination and finding that has to be made and every opinion that has to be formed in order for an authorization to be granted in respect of a national interest project is deemed to be made or formed, as the case may be, in favour of permitting the project to be carried out in whole or in part. 

A conflict with the Species at Risk Act becomes apparent: it says that no project can be approved if it would jeopardize the recovery of a listed species. We’re left with the Orwellian proposition that the Minister of Fisheries must decide that an oil port will not jeopardize the recovery of endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales, even though the port’s construction and operations will without question exacerbate the main risks to those whales: underwater noise, ship strikes, pollution and access to salmon. 

In legislation expected to be introduced when Parliament returns in late September, the government has signaled its intention to resolve conflicts of this sort by amending important legislation like the Species at Risk Act.  In a discussion paper circulated over the summer, reference was made to legislation to remove or suspend the operation of provisions like SARA’s jeopardy clause. 

Stop and think about all of that: instead of Canada being governed exclusively by laws passed in Parliament, we’re now apparently moving to govern selected projects through executive orders coming from Cabinet or the Prime Minister’s Office. And look where government by executive order has gotten our nearest neighbour. 

We don’t have much time to derail the upcoming legislation. It could be among the first bills the government introduces. Please take a moment right now to write your MP and the PM to remind them that you believe Southern Resident Killer Whales (and all of our threatened wildlife) are worth more than Premier Smith’s pipeline. [click here to send a message]