Media Releases

OTTAWA—Environmental groups are in court today to challenge the federal government's approval of an application to manufacture genetically-modified salmon eggs in P.E.I. The eggs would then be shipped to Panama for grow out before being sold as food in North America.

VANCOUVER—Environmental groups are in court today making the case for why the federal government’s approval of Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline should be revoked. “There’s too much at stake to let the Panel’s flawed report be the final word on Northern Gateway,” said Ecojustice lawyer Karen Campbell. “The federal government should never have given this project the go-ahead, and our clients will be asking the Court to overturn the approval of this risky project.”

VANCOUVER— Living Oceans Society and some 20 volunteers gathered up an estimated five metric tonnes of marine debris from the remotest shores of northern Vancouver Island over the past two weeks, bagging it all in helicopter lift bags for removal. Nearly all of the debris bore manufacturer’s marks or labels from Japan, meaning it was likely washed to sea by the 2011 Tohoku tsunami. Living Oceans put out an urgent call for funding today, saying that poor weather prevented them from bringing all of the debris in to the landfill over the September long weekend as planned.

VANCOUVER—Environmental organizations, fishermen and David Suzuki joined today in calling on the Province of British Columbia to impose an unequivocal moratorium on the granting of new licences to open netpen fish farms, in the wake of news that new tenures were just issued. On the eve of the B.C. Day long weekend, B.C. Minister of Agriculture Norm Letnick quietly granted the Norwegian salmon farming industry access to four more areas of the B.C. coast. News of the controversial move was posted on a government website, but no announcement was made.

VANCOUVER—The National Energy Board has denied a Living Oceans Society motion requesting the Province of British Columbia answer questions related to the five conditions it has imposed on Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion application. “This is a clear signal that it is time for Premier Clark to withdraw from the agreement and strike a customized process under the B.C. Environmental Assessment Act,” said Karen Wristen, Executive Director of Living Oceans Society. “The current National Energy Board process cannot possibly satisfy Premier Clark’s five conditions.”

VANCOUVER—Ecojustice lawyers, on behalf of Living Oceans Society, have filed a motion with the National Energy Board requesting that the Province of British Columbia answer questions relating to the five conditions it has imposed on Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion application.

VANCOUVER—A new study from Simon Fraser University concludes that the proposed Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion is not needed and far from being a benefit to Canada, would actually cost Canadians more than $6.4 billion. The study estimates that investment in the Kinder Morgan pipeline will create excess pipeline capacity that will cost $3 billion, including costs to the taxpayer in the form of reduced royalties and taxes.

VICTORIA—More than 100,000 people have signed a petition calling on the B.C. government to halt federal government and B.C. salmon farming industry plans to expand open-net salmon farming in B.C. waters. The petition has received the endorsement of more than one hundred conservation organizations, industry associations, independent business owners and the Tofino‐Long Beach Chamber of Commerce. MLA Andrew Weaver (Oak Bay-Gordon Head) will present the petition in the B.C. legislature today.

OTTAWA—A federal court lawsuit seeking to overturn the approval of the world’s first genetically modified (GM) food animal will finally proceed to hearing after enduring a year of delay at the hands of the government. Ecojustice lawyers representing Living Oceans Society and the Ecology Action Centre have now filed evidence in the case against the federal government’s approval of genetically modified salmon. This step means the case will finally move forward, after waiting nearly a year for the government to file the documents on which its decisions were based.