The Government's
Partnership with the Nature Conservancy
of Canada Continues To Help Conserve Canada's
Natural Legacy for Generations to Come
PORT JOLI, N.S. -- August
12, 2009 -- Canada’s Environment Minister
Jim Prentice, today announced the successful
conservation of important lands in Port
Joli, Nova Scotia. The purchase marks another
achievement under the Government of Canada's
$225-million Natural Areas Conservation
Program.
“The Government of Canada
is proud of the results achieved through
the Natural Areas Conservation Program since
its inception two years ago, which greatly
benefit our country’s biodiversity,” said
Minister Prentice. “Prime Minister Harper
announced the creation of our Program in
partnership with non-government conservation
organizations such as the Nature Conservancy
of Canada, and today we celebrate yet another
important conservation project that will
continue to provide a vital home for a number
of migratory bird species, including Canada
geese and Harlequin ducks.”
Designated a Migratory
Bird Sanctuary in 1941, the Port Joli area
of south-western Nova Scotia has been an
important staging and wintering area for
Canada geese for hundreds of years, supporting
some 30 percent of the roughly 10,000 overwintering
Canada geese in the Atlantic Provinces.
It also provides home to Harlequin and American
black ducks as well as a number of otherwaterfowl
and shorebird species. During the winter,
Port Joli normally remains ice-free and
its extensive mudflats and small salt marshes
provide waterfowl with an abundant food
source of eelgrass. This new parcel of land
adds another 138 hectares to the existing
335 hectares of federally protected lands
in the area.
“The Government's Natural
Areas Conservation Program is an important
on-the-ground initiative that takes real
action to preserve Canada’s environment
and conserve its precious natural heritage
for present and future generations”, said
Gerald Keddy, Member of Parliament for South
Shore – St. Margaret’s.
As of March 2009, under
the Natural Areas Conservation Program,
over 336 properties totaling more than 103,660
hectares had been conserved, protecting
habitat for over 74 species at risk.
Frédéric Baril
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of the Environment
+ More
Minister Prentice Announces
Tough New National Regulations to Protect
Canada’s Water Resources
SAINT JOHN, N.B. --
August 6, 2009 -- The Honourable Jim Prentice,
Minister of the Environment, today announced
new regulations for managing municipal wastewater.
The proposed regulations will set national
performance standards, timelines and monitoring
and reporting requirements, and are expected
to be published in the Canada Gazette, Part
I, in December 2009.
The Minister made the
announcement at a speech delivered to the
Saint John Board of Trade, where he reaffirmed
the Government’s strong commitment to ensuring
that Canada’s precious water resources are
preserved and protected now and in the future.
“This Government is
taking real action to ensure that all Canadians
have access to clean and safe water,” said
Minister Prentice. “The proposed regulations
will ensure that, across the country, the
release of wastewater effluents does not
pose unacceptable risks to human and environmental
health and fishery resources.”
The new regulations
deliver on the Government’s commitment to
implementing the Canadian Council of Ministers
of the Environment Municipal Wastewater
Strategy. They will be developed under the
Fisheries Act for more than 4,000 wastewater
treatment facilities.
“We recognize the key
role that provinces, territories and municipalities
play in the management of the wastewater
sector and we are working in partnership
with these jurisdictions and other stakeholders
through the Canadian Council of Ministers
of Environment to improve wastewater effluent
quality,” said Minister Prentice.
Minister Prentice outlined
the Government’s commitments to protecting
Canada’s water resources. “We have put in
place a strong, comprehensive approach to
ensure that our water resources are used
wisely, both economically and ecologically.
Through this approach, we are making investments
in regulating and enforcing laws, monitoring,
science, and cleaning up of problem areas,
as well as building partnerships to protect
our fresh water.”
Under the Action Plan
for Clean Water, the Government of Canada
committed $96 million to restore Lake Winnipeg,
Lake Simcoe and several areas of concern
in the Great Lakes. The Action Plan complements
a number of other initiatives, such as the
St. Lawrence Plan, which has allowed the
Government to invest $323 million over the
past 20 years on priorities such as water
conservation and protection.
Further commitments
to protect Canada’s water resources include:
Accelerating First Nations’
infrastructure projects, focusing on schools
and water through $515 million under Canada’s
Economic Action Plan;
Investing in infrastructure through the
$33-billion Building Canada Fund to help
municipalities and First Nations communities
across Canada upgrade their wastewater treatment
facilities;
Regulating specific industries like metal
mines and pulp and paper to reduce the toxicity
of their effluents; and
Investing $2.5 million over five years to
support the United Nations Environment Programme's
(UNEP) Global Environment Monitoring System
GEMS/Water.
“As stewards of the third largest supply
of freshwater in the world, it is essential
that we preserve and protect our major watersheds
for future generations,” said Minister Prentice.
“Through this comprehensive approach on
water, this Government is taking action
to help Canadians become better stewards
of our precious water resources.”
For more information,
please visit http://www.ec.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=9C4881EA-1
and www.science.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=en&n=70FE597E-1
Frédéric Baril
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of the Environment
+ More
Toronto Man Sentenced
To Jail Under Species At Risk Act
SARNIA, Ont. -- August
5, 2009 -- Pak Sun Chung of Toronto, Ontario,
pleaded guilty yesterday in the Ontario
Court of Justice – Sarnia/Lambton Court
on two counts of unlawfully capturing Blanding’s
turtles and a spotted turtle contrary to
the Species at Risk Act. Mr. Chung was apprehended
with 26 live Blanding’s turtles and one
spotted turtle. He was sentenced to nine
months in jail and given three years’ probation.
“Today’s decision demonstrates
that environmental enforcement works,” said
Environment Minister Jim Prentice. “Protecting
and preserving Canada’s natural treasures
is a high priority for our Government.”
Mr. Chung was arrested
on August 23, 2007 in a joint operation
by Environment Canada and Ontario Ministry
of Natural Resources officers. He was charged
with the unlawful capture and unlawful possession
of the turtles, which were taken from the
waters of the Walpole Island First Nation.
Kung Wing So of Toronto,
who was arrested with Mr. Chung, was fined
$10,000 and given three years’ probation
on September 10, 2008. The fine was directed
to the Environmental Damages Fund. So’s
conviction was the first under the Species
at Risk Act in Ontario.
The spotted turtle was
already dead when seized, but the Blanding’s
turtles were returned to the wild by authorities.
Both types of turtles are listed in Schedule
I of theSpecies at Risk Act. Thespotted
turtle is listed as endangered and the Blanding’s
turtle (for its Great Lakes/St. Lawrence
population) is listed as threatened.Spotted
turtle numbers are declining partly due
to collection for the pet trade. Blanding’s
turtles are also desirable in the pet trade.
Removal of individual turtles from the reproducing
population is a severe risk to the survival
of the species.
Canada’s Species at
Risk Act is the Government of Canada’s principal
legislation to prevent wildlife species
from becoming extinct and to secure the
necessary actions for their recovery. The
Act aims to prevent Canadian indigenous
species, subspecies, and distinct populations
from becoming extirpated or extinct, provide
for the recovery of endangered or threatened
species, and encourage the management of
other species to prevent them from becoming
at risk.
Frederic Baril
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of the Environment
