GLIN==> MEDIA: Court victory forces Canada to report pollution data for mines

MEDIA RELEASE

For Immediate Release

April 24, 2008

 

Court victory forces Canada to report pollution data for mines

 

TORONTO - Great Lakes United, Mining Watch Canada and Ecojustice are hailing
a landmark decision from the Federal Court of Canada released late yesterday
that will force the federal government to stop withholding data on one of
Canada's largest sources of pollution - millions of tonnes of toxic mine
tailings and waste rock from mining operations throughout the country.

 

The Federal Court sided with the groups and issued an Order demanding that
the federal government immediately begin publicly reporting mining pollution
data from 2006 onward to the National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI).
The strongly worded decision describes the government's pace as "glacial"
and chastises the government for turning a "blind eye" to the issue and
dragging its feet for "more than 16 years".

 

"This is a huge decision for environmental justice in Canada," said
Ecojustice lawyer Justin Duncan. Fellow lawyer Marlene Cashin added, "The
court has unequivocally upheld the right of Canadians to know when the
health of their communities and the environment is under threat from one of
the country's largest sources of toxic pollution." 

 

The lawsuit was filed in Federal Court in 2007 on behalf of MiningWatch
Canada and Great Lakes United by Ecojustice (formerly Sierra Legal Defence
Fund). The lawsuit alleged that the Minister of Environment broke the law
when he failed to collect and report this pollution information from mines
in Canada under the NPRI.

 

"This is a victory that should be celebrated from Smithers to Voisey's Bay,"
said MiningWatch Canada spokesman Jamie Kneen. "The public has a right to
know what kind of toxic liabilities are being created every day. It's always
been bizarre to us that the mining industry should not face the same
reporting requirements as every other industrial sector, and we're pleased
that the Court agreed with us." 

 

In stark contrast, since 1998, the U.S. government has required mining
companies to report all pollutants under the American equivalent of the
NPRI, the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). In 2005, the 72 mines reporting to
the TRI released more than 500 million kilograms of mine tailings and waste
rock - accounting for 27% of all U.S. pollutants reported. With yesterday's
court decision, pollution data from Canada's 80 metal mining facilities will
now similarly have to be reported under the NPRI. 

 

"Canadians living in places like Sudbury, with mining operations in their
backyards, were blindfolded while millions of kilograms of carcinogens and
heavy metals accumulated in tailings ponds and waste rock piles across the
country," said John Jackson of Great Lakes United. "With this decision, the
blindfold comes off and citizens can truly hold these companies to account
for their pollution and the environmental and health dangers they pose."

 

For further information contact:

Justin Duncan, Ecojustice (416) 573-4258 (cell)

Marlene Cashin, Ecojustice (416) 368-7533 ext. 31

John Jackson, Great Lakes United, (519) 744-7503

Jamie Kneen, MiningWatch Canada (613) 761-2273 (cell)

 

 

____________________________________

Brent Gibson

Director, Communications

Great Lakes United

(613) 867-9861

 <mailto:bgibson at glu.org> bgibson at glu.org |  <http://www.glu.org/>
www.glu.org

 

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