http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/cbc/08061...demned_lakes_2
Quote:
CBC News has learned that 16 Canadian lakes are slated to be officially but quietly "reclassified" as toxic dump sites for mines. The lakes include prime wilderness fishing lakes from B.C. to Newfoundland.Environmentalists say the process amounts to a "hidden subsidy" to mining companies, allowing them to get around laws against the destruction of fish habitat.
Under the Fisheries Act, it's illegal to put harmful substances into fish-bearing waters. But, under a little-known subsection known as "Schedule Two" of the mining effluent regulations, federal bureaucrats can redefine lakes as "tailings impoundment areas".
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Must admit, I don't know a lot about this other than having just stumbled upon this article. Seems pretty sketchy to me, though I need to do a bit more research before really making up my mind. The article is suggesting that the government can just decide that a lake (or river) is now a toxic dump without any kind of public consultation?
Anyone have any input? Am I misunderstanding something?