OTTAWA
- CANADA, June 11, 2006 – In recognition of the
35th annual Environment Week, the Honourable Rona
Ambrose, Minister of the Environment has announced
that for the first time in Canada, the federal
government is taking action to reduce the amount
of mercury released into our environment from
scrap cars.
Mercury is a highly toxic substance
that can cause serious human health and ecological
effects. In the environment, mercury can move
between the air, soil and water. Mercury can be
re-emitted from land and water, undergo long-range
transport in the atmosphere, and be re-deposited
elsewhere. This process of emission and re-emission
is the reason why animals and people in remote
areas with no local mercury releases may have
elevated mercury levels. For the first time, Canada's
new government is going to introduce a measure
to ensure the automotive and steel sectors remove
all mercury from scrap cars before they are recycled.
Historically, automakers have
used mercury in switches for convenience lighting,
antilock braking systems and active ride control
systems. When vehicles are sent to recycling,
their mercury components become an environmental
threat. As a result of today's change, the automotive
and steel sectors will now ensure scrap vehicles
are free of mercury switches before they are sent
to recycling.
The Minister of the Environment
will be using the authority under the Canadian
Environmental Protection Act to issue a Pollution
Prevention Notice in the coming weeks for the
automotive and steel sectors that will prevent
the release of mercury into the environment –
mostly to the air – of almost 10 tonnes of mercury
over the next decade.
"I am very pleased to chart
our path forward to eliminate the uncontrolled
disposal of mercury switches from the processing
of scrap cars," said Minister Ambrose. "My
message to Canadians during Environment Week is
that the Government of Canada is working towards
a 'Made-in-Canada' approach to deliver real change
and real results for all Canadians, in our common
campaign to clean up our air."
A voluntary program run by the
Clean Air Foundation, Switch Out, successfully
recovered more than 130,000 mercury switches in
the past few years. A national program will do
even more to prevent mercury from entering the
waste stream and subsequently emitting into the
environment.
"We have long called for
a national automotive mercury switch removal program
from the government and believe that is an essential
step toward protecting people and the environment
from unnecessary exposure to this dangerous toxic
substance", said Ersilia Serafini, Executive
Director, Clean Air Foundation. "We are very
pleased that the government has decided to take
action on this".
The mercury switch initiative
is part of a broader strategy being developed
by Environment Canada to reduce mercury content
in a wide range of products. Consultations on
this strategy are planned for the fall.
Other current initiatives include:
• A National Air Quality Health Index
Minister Ambrose and the Honourable Minister Clement,
Minister of Health, are consulting with the provinces
and territories to introduce the world's first
Air Quality Health Index, an Internet tool to
help alert Canadians of bad air quality days and
smog.
• Base Metal Smelters Pollution Prevention Notice
Our government recently announced a pollution
prevention initiative for base metal smelters
which will reduce sulphur dioxide and metal pollutants,
such as lead and mercury, from a major industrial
source of these pollutants. As smelters address
emission reduction targets, it is expected that
the sector will reduce annual particulate matter
emissions containing metals by over 3,000 tonnes
(about 50 per cent) and reduce annual sulphur
dioxide emissions by over 600,000 tonnes (about
70 per cent) by 2015.
• Federal Transit Tax Credit
All Canadians are eligible to receive a transit
tax credit, to offset part of the cost of monthly
transit passes to encourage greater use of public
transit.
Environment Minister Proposes
to Add 42 Species, Including the Fin Whale and
Ancient Murrelet, to the Species At Risk Act
OTTAWA, June 12, 2006 – The
Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of the Environment,
in consultation with the Honourable Loyola Hearn,
Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, today announced
her proposed recommendation to add 42 new animals,
plants and fish to the list of species protected
under the Species at Risk Act (SARA).
The proposals to amend the list
of protected species were published in the Canada
Gazette, Part 1, on June 10, 2006. Canadians will
have until July 10, 2006 to provide further comments
or concerns about the listing recommendations.
A final decision on this set of species will be
made by the Government by August 16, 2006.
The recommendation to add new
species to SARA is based on scientific assessments
by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife
in Canada (COSEWIC) and on consultations with
governments, landowners, conservationists, Aboriginal
peoples, stakeholders and the Canadian public.
COSEWIC assesses the biological status and risk
of extinction using the best available scientific,
community, and Aboriginal traditional knowledge.
The assessments were received by the Government
in November 2005.
The Minister of the Environment
is recommending that 32 terrestrial and 10 aquatic
species be listed. These include birds, reptiles,
arthropods, plants, mosses and lichens, fish,
and whales. A significant benefit of adding species
to Schedule 1 is that the listing helps to maintain
diversity and healthy populations.
The Minister of the Environment
is recommending that eight aquatic species not
be listed at this time, including five populations
of beluga whales, the porbeagle shark and two
populations of white sturgeon. Further information
is provided in the attached backgrounder "Rationale
for recommendations to not list species under
SARA".
It is also proposed that Verna's
flower moth not be listed at this time, but be
referred back to COSEWIC for further information
and consideration, given the limited information
on this species.
The implementation of the Species at Risk Act
reinforces the Government of Canada's commitment
to ensure the protection for species at risk and
their ecosystems. Under the Act, stewardship is
the first response to habitat protection.
More information regarding the
Species at Risk Act is available on the SARA Public
Registry on the Internet at: www.sararegistry.gc.ca.
Information on the Habitat Stewardship
Program for species at risk, and on Canada's Strategy
for the Protection of Species at Risk, can be
found on the Internet at: www.speciesatrisk.gc.ca.
