Monthly Archives: June 2008

2008 Media releases | Climate and energy |

Friends of the Earth takes federal government to court over Kyoto failure

MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release — June 18, 2008

Friends of the Earth takes federal government to court over Kyoto failure

Lawsuit demands government obey the will of Parliament

TORONTO — In a federal courtroom today, Canada will become the first country ever to be brought to court for failing to comply with its legal commitments to combat global warming.

On behalf of Friends of the Earth Canada, pro-bono lawyers from Paliare Roland Barristers and Ecojustice (formerly Sierra Legal Defence Fund) will be in court today challenging the Government of Canada for violating the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act (KPIA), a federal law which came into force less than one year ago.

“The case is about defending the fundamental principle that the government must be accountable and comply with the law,” said Ecojustice lawyer Hugh Wilkins. “The government cannot pick and choose which laws to obey. The law is the law.”

The KPIA sets out mandatory legal obligations and deadlines that the government is required to meet, including the publication of a climate change plan and the enactment of regulations to ensure that Canada takes effective and timely action to meet its international treaty obligations regarding under the Kyoto Protocol. The lawsuit alleges that the federal government has not complied with these requirements or met the deadlines set out in the Act.

“Put simply, Canada has failed to comply with the law,” said eminent Canadian lawyer Chris Paliare. “We are asking the court to declare that the government is bound by the law and must be held accountable to the will of Parliament.”

The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement that has been ratified by 180 countries to date and sets targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Of the 38 industrialized nations with binding international targets, Canada is the only country that has indicated that it does not intend to meet its international obligations.

“While other industrialized countries actively work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change, our government has offered pollution holidays for emitters for decades to come,” said Friends of the Earth Canada Chief Executive Officer Beatrice Olivastri. “This government has broken the law and, as Canadian citizens, we have both a moral and legal imperative to insist on enforcement of our own laws on climate action.”

The lawsuit seeks a declaration from the Court that the government has not complied with the law and an order requiring it to do so.

The hearing will commence at 9:30 am on Wednesday June 18, 2008 at the Federal Court, 180 Queen Street West in Toronto.

For further information please contact:

Beatrice Olivastri, Friends of the Earth Canada (613) 241-0085 ext. 26
Chris G. Paliare, Paliare Roland Barristers (416) 646-4318
Hugh Wilkins, Ecojustice (416) 368-7533 ext. 25
Albert Koehl, Ecojustice (416) 533-1231 [French interviews]

Read the Media backgrounder

2008 Media releases | Water |

Government of Canada must deal with the Devil

For immediate release
June 12, 2008

Government of Canada must deal with the Devil

Friends of the Earth Canada and the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce petition Canadian Auditor General for answers on Devils Lake Outlet, before permit to pollute is re-issued

(Ottawa / Winnipeg) The Devil’s in the details — especially when enforcing an environmental safeguard agreement established three years ago over the controversial Devils Lake Outlet in North Dakota. One year ago, the Federal House of Commons convened an emergency debate to discuss the Outlet’s operations. With no indicators of progress in sight Friends of the Earth Canada and the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce have joined to petition the Auditor General of Canada to ensure Canadian politicians and officials protect Canadian waters against the deleterious impacts associated with the Devils Lake Outlet.

The Petition submitted earlier today calls for public disclosure by Canada’s Ministers of the Environment and Foreign Affairs, including the actions taken by both the Canadian Ambassador to the United States and the Consul General, on matters agreed to by Canada and the USA in the August 2005 Multi-layered Safeguard Agreement.

“If Canada has not received assurances on execution of the safeguard terms,” says Beatrice Olivastri, CEO of Friends of the Earth Canada, “then Canada must insist the outlet be closed down permanently. Allowing this boondoggle to continue sets an unacceptable precedent for trans-boundary water issues to come.”

Under the 2005 Agreement, Canada and the United States were expected to work together on the construction of an advanced filtration/disinfection system, an early detection and monitoring system for water quality and aquatic nuisance species and take immediate measures to prevent the spread of any aquatic nuisance species that pose significant risk to the Basin should any be identified. The Red River and Lake Winnipeg, both downstream from the Devils Lake Outlet, are important natural, recreational and economic resources for the entire region.

The Canadian petition arrives just prior to the reissuance of a permit to continue operating the Devils Lake outlet with only a rudimentary gravel filter in place. The permit will allow unaltered operation of the outlet until 2013.

“Economically and environmentally the stakes are huge,” says Graham Starmer, President of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce. “We need the political will to prevent the ill.”

The AG Petition process was established by Parliament to ensure Canadians receive timely answers from federal ministers on specific environmental and sustainable development issues that involve federal jurisdiction. Friends of the Earth and the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce believe that Canadians have the right to such answers on the enforcement of the 2005 Environmental Safeguard Agreement on the Devils Lake Outlet.

Contact information for media:

Beatrice Olivastri, Friends of the Earth Canada, (613) 241-0085 ext. 26, (613) 724-8690 (cellular) www.foecanada.org.

Graham Starmer, Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, (204) 948-0107, (204) 781-0492 (cellular)

2008 Media releases | Environmental justice |

Canadian Environmental Bill of Rights (CEBR)

MEDIA RELEASE

For immediate release
June 5, 2008

New law gives Canadians legal right to healthy environment
Cornerstone environmental legislation introduced by environmental groups

OTTAWA — Three leading environmental organizations are using the United Nations’ World Environment Day to launch the first Canadian Environmental Bill of Rights (CEBR), model legislation that would enshrine in law the right of all Canadians to a healthy environment.

The proposed Environmental Bill of Rights was researched and drafted by pro bono lawyers at Ecojustice (formerly Sierra Legal Defence Fund), on behalf of Friends of the Earth Canada and the Sierra Club Canada. The groups are asking parliamentarians from all federal parties to advance the legislation through the House of Commons.

“We are calling on our political leaders to rise above the gridlock of a minority government to embrace this transformative piece of legislation,” said Margot Venton, one of the Ecojustice lawyers who drafted the legislation. “Passing the Canadian Environmental Bill of Rights is both a rare and urgent opportunity for all parties to show political leadership at a time when it is sorely needed.”

The Bill would strengthen Canada’s framework for protecting the environment, by establishing a statutory (rather than a constitutional) right to a healthy environment and by imposing a legal duty upon Ottawa to protect this right. Environmental rights are well established in law. Over 100 countries recognize the right to a healthy environment in their constitutions, and Ontario, Quebec, Yukon and Northwest Territories have provided a statutory right to a healthy environment.

“It’s time that Canada caught up with the rest of the world in recognizing the rights of citizens to a healthy environment,” said Beatrice Olivastri, CEO, Friends of the Earth Canada. “Canadians, everywhere in this country, deserve protection against environmental destruction and its negative impacts on their health.”

Beyond establishing this basic environmental right, the Bill would also guarantee key procedural rights, such as access to environmental information, the ability to participate in environmental decision-making, and the ability to request investigations and policy reviews. As well, it would empower Canadians, in specific and limited circumstances, to sue the federal government when it fails to enforce its environmental laws.

“Canadians deserve environmental accountability, and the federal government must earn the trust of Canadians,” said William Amos, a lawyer at the uOttawa Ecojustice Environmental Law Clinic. “If federal laws and regulations are not being enforced, citizens need affordable recourse to the judicial system.”

The enforcement provisions of the proposed Bill are similar to federal and state laws passed in the U.S. in the 1970s that give citizens the ability to take legal action when environmental laws are not being enforced. Canada’s provincial and territorial laws, as well as certain federal laws like the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, provide for limited citizen enforcement mechanisms.

“This is a historic opportunity for Parliament,” said Jean Langlois, National Campaigns Director of Sierra Club Canada. “The interests of individual Canadians are compromised when decisions run roughshod over our common natural legacy. Our legal system currently provides limited and costly opportunities for the public to address such injustices. The CEBR would finally give all Canadians the tools necessary to protect their environmental rights.”

For more information, please contact:

Will Amos, Ecojustice (613) 562-5800 ext. 3378, cell (613) 255-7505 (English/French)
Beatrice Olivastri, Friends of the Earth (613) 241-0085 x26, cell (613) 724-8690
Jean Langlois, Sierra Club Canada, (613) 241-4611, cell (613) 266-5326 (English/French)

Media backgrounder

Canadian Environmental Bill of Rights — Summary