Canadian lakes to be turned into dump sites.

[Save Us Sutter]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/cbc/08061...demned_lakes_2

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".

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?

[metal_geek]

Originally Posted by Save Us Sutter

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/cbc/08061...demned_lakes_2



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?

Doesn't supprise me, typical government stuff.

They pass some "Fish protection act"... selling it to everyone, and say don't worry about the other fine print, it'll never really be used. Then once it's law, a few years down the road, they quitely use said fine print for some business reason, that only a few people complained about, and the media never reported on cause it was "spun" out by the politicians.

Happens all the time, I imagin if you go though all the acts, there are clauses and wording in all of them that allow them to be circumvented by government and connected business. It's happening right now with the new copyright leglislation, there is a whole thread in the "tech" group about it right now..
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Two and a half men forums

[Locke]

Finally!

All that standing water is so inefficient. Why have a big pit of water when you could be filling that pit with toxic waste?

Who needs water anyways? What is it good for? Nobody and nuthin, thats what.

[GreenLantern]

I did a project on the Fisheries Act this year in one of my Hydrology classes, its very long and boring. But I also discovered this is far from the first time the Government has done something like this, nice to see it getting some publicity this time around.

[LIP MAN]

It's nice to see the Conservative government not give in to big business.

[metal_geek]

Who was in government when the act came in?...... don't know?... Let me save you some google time... Doesn't matter, they're all the same.....
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DIGITAL VAPORIZERS

[Save Us Sutter]

Well, the Liberals were in power when the "schedule two" crap got put into the Metal Mining Effluent Regulations part of the Fisheries Act.

However, the Conservatives were the first to use it, in 2006, destroying two lakes in NFLD after arbitrarily re-classifying them. No longer were they lakes... nope, now they were "tailings impoundment areas".

So this is not a partisan problem, as metal_geek said "they're all the same".

For anyone who cares or is interested (I know, we all have our causes, so much to do, so little time) a group called MiningWatch has a bit of a letter writing campaign going on over at http://www.miningwatch.ca/index.php?...nt_action_2008
Not endorsing the group just throwin' it out there... the 7 replies in this thread mean that this is clearly a hot issue among Canadians. There are eight more lakes to be decided upon this year (including salmon breeding grounds in BC) so who knows, might make a difference.