Current Problems:
Exploring Theme: "Specific Industry Environmental Issues"
Updates on this page: 113
(Filtered by Indigenous Group "First Nations")
November 22, 2024
The Prince Rupert gas pipeline doesn’t pass today’s health standards
Pipelines can not proceed until their construction is investigated for health effects. Photo by Francis Eatherington/Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)Listen to article Canada’s National Observer: On November 25, B.C.’s environmental assessment (EA) commission will rule on whether an environmental assessment certificate issued a decade ago for construction of the Prince Rupert Gas pipeline, should require a new,...
November 20, 2024
Controversial Pipeline Fighting to Avoid New Environmental Review
Prince Rupert gas line has applied to extend approval granted a decade ago. Nicholas Gottlieb YesterdayThe Tyee Nick Gottlieb is a writer and a graduate student at Simon Fraser University, as well as the author of Sacred Headwaters. The Tyee: The proponents of the 900-kilometre Prince Rupert Gas Transmission line have applied to the provincial Environmental...
October 28, 2024
Gitanyow First Nation file for judicial review on Ksi Lisims LNG project
Gitanyow seek declaration that they must be consulted on major LNG project First People’s Law Report: Business Intelligence for B.C. – Gitanyow hereditary chiefs have filed for a judicial review of the Ksi Lisims LNG project, challenging the BC Environmental Assessment Office’s ruling that they need not be consulted on the project. The $9 billion...
October 4, 2024
Opposition MPs call Fort Chipewyan dock contamination ‘environmental racism’
Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam at a press conference in Ottawa on April 17, 2023. Photo by Natasha Bulowski / Canada’s National ObserverListen to article Canada’s National Observer: Opposition MPs say the federal government’s failure to inform northern Alberta Indigenous communities about contamination at a critical dock in Fort Chipewyan is a clear...
October 4, 2024
Women of Aamjiwnaang First Nation evacuated during benzene removal express health concerns
Three women share their experiences living through the precautionary evacuation order with The Journal. On October 1st, INEOS began Part B of its benzene removal program at its Tashmoo Avenue site, and in anticipation of high benzene levels, a precautionary evacuation order was issued for residents of Aamjiwnaang First Nation. NationTalk: The Sarnia Journal –...
October 3, 2024
What does the future of salmon farming look like in B.C.?
The last open-net pen salmon farms in B.C. have until July 2029 to figure out a different way of doing business. Environmental advocates say the shift is long overdue but the industry warns the timeline is impossible. Photo: Jérémy Mathieu / The Narwhal The Narwhal: Following decades of controversy, open-net pen salmon farming in B.C....
October 2, 2024
Indigenous leaders in northern Alberta accuse Ottawa of environmental ‘cover up’
APTN News: Indigenous leaders in Fort Chipewyan in northern Alberta are accusing the federal government of failing to inform them of environmental contamination in their community. The leaders’ concerns are focused on a federally owned dock within the community, known locally as the “big dock.” The dock is commonly used by community members for fishing,...
October 1, 2024
Aamjiwnaang First Nation evacuations begin as Ineos starts removing toxic chemical
First Nation near Sarnia, Ont., declared state of emergency in April over high benzene levels CBC News: For Jason Plain, Aamjiwnaang First Nation is home. On Tuesday, he was deciding whether to leave temporarily, as a neighbouring Sarnia, Ont., company had started work to remove a toxic chemical, leading the First Nation to warn of potentially...
September 20, 2024
Victoria Gold owes millions to First Nation of Na-Cho Nyӓk Dun businesses, report says
Businesses are owned by the First Nation’s development corporation and citizens CBC North: Businesses owned by the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyӓk Dun’s development corporation and citizens are collectively owed at least $9.3 million by Victoria Gold Corp, according to figures released by the receiver in charge of the company’s assets. The amounts owed to creditors...
September 19, 2024
SCO seeking Charter Rights for Lake Winnipeg in suit against province, Manitoba Hydro
APTN News: The Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO) is taking the province and Manitoba Hydro to court over their long-term treatment of Lake Winnipeg, traditionally known as Weeniibiikiisagaygun. On Thursday, the SCO, along with four water protectors, filed a Statement of Claim seeking Charter Rights for Lake Winnipeg. They’re demanding the lake – which serves many...
September 17, 2024
Enbridge determined to build Line 5 tunnel amid calls to shut down the Canada-U.S. pipeline
Anishnaabe leader describes recurring nightmares of an oil leak in the Great Lakes CBC Indigenous: As Calgary-based Enbridge waits for key approvals to start building a tunnel that would house a segment of Line 5, Anishinaabe and environmental groups in the U.S. continue to ask for the complete closure of the pipeline. Built more than...
September 17, 2024
Piikani Nation Elders speak out against Crowsnest Pass coal mining project
Global News: Within the traditional boundaries of Piikani Nation sits the Grassy Mountain coal mining project, a previously mined site that Northback Holdings has applied to the Alberta government for exploration and water diversion licenses. Click here to watch video. While many believe the project will provide a critical economic injection into the area, others have environmental concerns...
September 12, 2024
Coastal Gaslink fined $590K for erosion, sediment control issues
CGL received 4 penalties for similar issues in 2022 and 2023 totaling nearly $800K The Tyee: CBC News: The B.C. Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) has fined Coastal GasLink (CGL) $590,000 for deficiencies related to erosion and sediment control measures. Coastal GasLink is a 670-kilometre-long pipeline project spanning northern B.C. that will carry natural gas across the...
September 10, 2024
Bloc Québécois backs First Nation fighting nuclear waste site
Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet takes questions at a press conference on Sept. 9, 2024. Photo by Natasha Bulowski / Canada’s National ObserverListen to article Canada’s National Observer: Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet is throwing his weight behind a First Nation fighting a nuclear waste disposal site near the Ottawa River. Flanked by three BQ MPs...
September 3, 2024
Ottawa must crack down on bad actors in the oilsands
Imperial Oil president and CEO Brad Corson (in the foreground) before a federal committee meeting on Dec. 14, 2023, answering questions about the Kearl Mine spill. Photo by Natasha Bulowski / Canada’s National ObserverListen to article Canada’s National Observer: On September 4, 2020, an environmental watchdog created under the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)...
September 3, 2024
Yukon launches review board to investigate gold mine landslide, chemical leak
Ore material at the mine site that has moved towards Dublin Gulch valley. Photo: Yukon Government APTN News: The Yukon government has launched an independent review board into the cause of a landslide that occurred at the Eagle Gold Mine site on the traditional territory of First Nation Na-Cho Nyäk Dun (FNNND). The three-person board...
August 28, 2024
Blockades and Protests Greet New Pipeline Project
First Nations warn that the Prince Rupert line will face sustained opposition. The Tyee: At 6 a.m. Monday, Richard C. Mercer, a Nisga’a member, parked his truck across Highway 113, the Cranberry Connector, just outside Gitlax̱t’aamiks, B.C. For the next three hours, he turned back every vehicle associated with the construction of the Prince Rupert...
August 26, 2024
‘Ridiculously small’ fine sends wrong message to industry: Indigenous leaders
Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam at a press conference in Ottawa on April 17, 2023. Photo by Natasha Bulowski / Canada’s National ObserverListen to article Canada’s National Observer: The Alberta Energy Regulator’s decision to issue a “ridiculously small” $50,000 fine to Imperial Oil in connection with major tailings leaks in 2023 sends a...
August 24, 2024
Troubled water
In June, Yukon’s Eagle gold mine saw what the territory’s mines minister is calling a “catastrophic failure”: the release of hundreds of millions of litres of toxic cyanide solution into the environment. For many local residents, it’s a wake-up call about the risks and costs of large-scale mining in the territory. CBC News: Steve Buyck...
August 23, 2024
A New Pipeline Battle Looms for BC
The Prince Rupert line fights for its life. Opponents say no. The Tyee: The beloved performing arts showcase is back this September on Granville Island. That summarized the messages from more than 20 speakers opposing the proposed Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline at a community town hall in Kispiox, B.C., last month. The “it” they...
August 22, 2024
Alberta Energy Regulator guilty of ‘environmental racism’ says Fort Chipewyan First Nation chief
Regulator issues penalty, conditions on Imperial Oil amid ongoing Kearl investigation. Kearl tarsands mine, Imperial Oil. Aerial photo: Danielle Paradis/APTN APTN News: The Canadian Press – The Chief of Fort Chipewyan First Nation says the latest decision by the province’s energy regulator to fine an oil company that polluted the environment is something it expects...
August 16, 2024
Yukon minister says there’s still ‘hope’ for gold mining to continue at disaster site
APTN News: The Canadian Press – Yukon Justice Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee says the territory’s government is still hopeful that mining can eventually restart at the site of the Eagle Gold mine disaster after its owner was ordered into receivership this week. McPhee says mining remains an important part of Yukon’s economy, but “it must be...
August 14, 2024
Yukon asking court to appoint receiver over Victoria Gold Corp., says company
The Eagle Gold Mine in central Yukon. Photo: Victoria Gold Corp. APTN News: A gold company operating in Yukon says the territorial government is applying to the courts to appoint a receiver to take over its operations. Victoria Gold Corp. has been in the news since June 24 after a massive landslide at its Eagle...
August 14, 2024
Court grants Yukon government’s application to appoint receiver to oversee gold mine clean up
Victoria Gold’s Eagle gold mine site north of Mayo, Yukon. Photo: Yukon Government APTN News: An Ontario court has granted a request from the Yukon government to appoint a receiver to take control of the Eagle Gold Mine. The mine, owned by Victoria Gold, is located near the Yukon community of Mayo on the traditional...
August 14, 2024
Is Canada’s critical-minerals strategy a green shift or greenwashing?
Indigenous and remote communities will bear the long-lasting ecological, social and cultural impacts of mining. This cannot be ignored. NationTalk: Policy Options – Canada has followed the lead of many countries recently by adopting policies and measures to promote rapid development of its value chain for domestic critical minerals essential in clean energy technology. Climate change, geopolitical and economic turmoil are...
August 9, 2024
Yukon officials say dozens of dead fish found near Yukon gold mine landslide
APTN News: Yukon government officials say 68 dead fish were collected from Haggart Creek a few kilometers downstream of the gold mine that experienced a massive landslide that allowed cyanide and other chemicals to leach into nearby waterways. The mine’s owner, Victoria Gold Corp., discovered dead Arctic Grayling and Sculpin on Aug. 2. Officials said...
August 6, 2024
Experts say Quebec wind turbine project threatens caribou habitat
Developer maintains 17 wind turbines will have ‘no impact’ on caribou population CBC News: The developers of a project to install wind turbines in a habitat that’s home to a vulnerable caribou herd in central Quebec say they intend to proceed, despite reservations from provincial and federal experts. Renewable energy company Boralex is partnering with...
August 1, 2024
First Nation calls for removal of mining firm from managing Yukon disaster site
Victoria Gold’s Eagle gold mine site north of Mayo, Y.T., is shown in this handout aerial photo taken Wednesday, July 3, 2024. Photo: Yukon Government APTN News: The Canadian Press – The Na-Cho Nyak Dun First Nation in Yukon says the company that owns the gold mine where there was a massive ore slide and...
July 23, 2024
Yukon mine inspector directs Victoria Gold to shore up water treatment efforts
The Eagle Gold Mine in Yukon. Photo: Victoria Gold Corp. APTN News: The Canadian Press – A Yukon mine inspector has ordered Victoria Gold to shore up its water treatment efforts, finding the company’s plan to clean up after a disastrous spill of cyanide-laced-rock and water last month at its Eagle Gold mine is insufficient....
July 18, 2024
Yukon government ready to step in after mine disaster, firm’s silence ‘unhelpful’
Victoria Gold’s Eagle gold mine site north of Mayo, Y.T., is shown in this handout aerial photo taken Wednesday, July 3, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO — Yukon Government APTN News: The Canadian Press – Yukon’s deputy mining minister says it’s “unfortunate and frankly unhelpful” that the owners of the Eagle Gold mine have been “silent...
July 17, 2024
‘Every minute matters’: Experts with first-hand accounts at Victoria Gold mine disclose gravity of problems
The worst is yet to come, warn those working with Na-Cho Nyäk Dun CBC Indigenous: Experts working with the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun who have witnessed the fallout at Victoria Gold’s Eagle mine near Mayo, Yukon, say systems on-site are so severely compromised that damage to the land and water is all but inevitable....
July 10, 2024
Grassy Narrows First Nation appeals to international human rights commission over mercury contamination
IACHR hearing latest effort by the First Nation in Ontario to push governments to act CBC Indigenous: In its efforts to press the Ontario and federal governments to do more to address mercury contamination of its river, Grassy Narrows First Nation told the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) that many community members have “lost...
July 4, 2024
Yukon minister says cyanide found in creek after ‘serious and significant slide’ at Eagle Gold Mine
APTN News: Yukon government has confirmed traces of cyanide have been detected at the Eagle Gold mine site near the community of Mayo, though its findings seemly go against an announcement from the mine’s owners earlier in the day that no cyanide had been found. According to Yukon’s mining minister, elevated levels of cyanide have...
July 3, 2024
First Nation in Yukon calls for halt to mining in territory
June landslide on its territory put unknown amount of cyanide into the environment. APTN News: The Canadian Press – The First Nation of the Na-Cho Nyäk Dun says it wants an “immediate halt” of all mining activity in Yukon and is calling for an “urgent Independent Investigation and Review of the region’s most recent and...
June 28, 2024
Yukon First Nations blast gov’t, industry after ‘catastrophic’ slide at Eagle mine | CBC News Loaded
‘We’re concerned of the health of the land, the water, the fish and the animals,’ says Na-Cho Nyäk Dun chief CBC News: Some Yukon First Nations are blasting the territorial government and the mining industry, in the wake of this week’s major ore slide at the Eagle gold mine near Mayo, Yukon. Chief Dawna Hope of...
June 24, 2024
Environment minister responds to chief’s concerns about toxic sewage spill at Chalk River
‘We … have to be optimistic that it can’t get any worse,’ says Chief Lance Haymond of plant’s communication CBC Indigenous: The federal environment minister is open to improvements after an Algonquin leader raised concerns about a toxic sewage spill at the Chalk River nuclear research laboratory about 175 kilometres west of Ottawa. Steven Guilbeault,...
June 12, 2024
Chemical Valley plant under benzene orders to close by 2026
A photograph from the front yard of the Aamjiwnaang Resource Centre on the First Nations Reserve in Sarnia. Behind it stand Ineos Styrolution. Photo courtesy of TheKurgan / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0 Deed) Listen to article Canada’s National Observer: Ineos Styrolution, the plastics plant mired in controversy since high levels of benzene pollution were reported...
June 7, 2024
Canadian mines a threat to Alaskan Indigenous rights
Ooligan, caught on the Unuk River in Alaska. Photo by Sonia Luokkala/SEITC This story was originally published by High Country News and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Canada’s National Observer: In Southeast Alaska, winter fades and the return of the ooligan (also known as eulachon) in the Unuk River marks the arrival of spring. Ooligan, sm’algyax,...
June 6, 2024
Yukon board agrees to hold hearing on contaminated mine site
Public hearing for mining remediation dispute to be held this fall APTN News: The Yukon Water Board plans to hold a public hearing later this fall regarding a First Nation’s claims that remediation work at a former contaminated mine is making things worse – though both parties hope to reach a solution before then. The...
May 31, 2024
Sulphur dioxide levels off the charts in Ontario’s Chemical Valley
Children play outside the Aamjiwnaang First Nation Reserve school in Canada, across the U.S.-Canada border from Port Huron, Mich., Oct. 21, 2005. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio) FINAL WEEKEND! WE URGENTLY NEED YOUR HELP TO FUND BOLD CLIMATE JOURNALISM BY JUNE 3 Goal: $100k $82,316 Donate Canada’s National Observer: In the aftermath of a crackdown on benzene...
May 27, 2024
Grassy Narrows proves environmental racism is not over
NDP MP Blake Desjarlais in his office. Photo by Matteo Cimellaro / Canada’s National Observer SUPPORT JOURNALISM THAT LIGHTS THE WAY THROUGH THE CLIMATE CRISIS BY JUNE 3 Goal: $100k $35,153 Donate Canada’d National Observer: The discovery that pollution from a paper mill is contributing to the long-standing mercury poisoning afflicting Grassy Narrows First Nation...
May 25, 2024
Don’t take our jobs, First Nations spokesman tells Canadian PM
Failure to renew BC salmon farm licences would come at high cost to Kitasoo Xai’xais Isaiah Robinson pictured with Justin Trudeau last year. Robinson has added his voice to calls for six-year licence renewals for salmon farms in British Columbia.Foto: FNFFS NationTalk: FishFarmingExpert – PUBLISHED Friday 24. May 2024 – 11:55 LAST UPDATED Saturday 25. May 2024 –...
May 23, 2024
The mercury poisoning Grassy Narrows First Nation was supposed to go away over time. A new study reveals why it’s worse than it should be
A new study has found current sulphate emissions from a paper mill are exacerbating the impact of the old mercury still in the river system. By Morgan Sevareid-BocknekInvestigative Reporter Toronto Star: For decades the people of Grassy Narrows First Nation were told the toxic mercury dumped in the river by a paper mill in the 1960s...
May 14, 2024
Oilsands carbon capture project must have a full assessment: Ecojustice
Canada’s National Observer: Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam pictured speaking at a press conference in Ottawa last spring. File photo by Natasha Bulowski / Canada’s National Observer Listen to article A massive carbon capture project in Canada’s oilsands should require an environmental impact assessment, say a local First Nation and environmental groups who are calling on...
May 2, 2024
The true cost of critical minerals
By Emilie Cameron, Rosemary Collard & Jessica Dempsey | Opinion | Canada’s National Observer: OPINION – Canada is positioning itself as a global destination for critical mineral extraction. Are we willing to destroy caribou herds and trample on Indigenous rights to do it? Barnabas Davoti/Pexels Listen to article The 2024 federal budget bolsters Canada’s ambitions to be a global supplier of critical minerals....
May 2, 2024
Toxic sewage discharged at Chalk River nuclear lab
Environment Canada issues direction to correct breach, confirms effluent was toxic to fish CBC Indigenous: Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) discharged toxic sewage at the Chalk River site along the Ottawa River during peak fish spawning season earlier this year, CBC Indigenous has learned. Environment Canada confirms its enforcement officers in late April issued CNL a...
April 30, 2024
Environment commissioner gives Canada failing grade on Northern contaminated sites
Federal Environment Commissioner Jerry V. DeMarco holds a press conference in Ottawa on Thursday, April 20, 2023. DeMarco is giving the federal government a failing grade on reducing their financial liability in remediating contaminated sites in the north — and says they’re leaving some Indigenous Peoples out of the process altogether. Photo: Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian...
April 25, 2024
Plastics industry treats Indigenous lands as ‘sacrifice zones’
Canada’s National Observer: A sign for the Aamjiwnaang First Nation Resource Centre is located across the road from NOVA Chemicals in Sarnia, Ont., on April 21, 2007. (CP PHOTO/ Craig Glover) Listen to article Days after the Aamjiwnaang First Nation issued an emergency alert due to high benzene levels in the air, members from the front-line community are...
April 25, 2024
Keep Sarnia plastic plant shut until First Nation says it’s safe: environment groups
APTN News: The Canadian Press – International environmental advocates are calling for a petrochemical plant in southern Ontario to remain closed, in light of reports about a benzene leak that continues to affect a neighbouring First Nation community. A letter signed by more than 100 organizations around the world calls on Canada’s environment minister to...
April 22, 2024
Hollow Water members set to deliver petition in last ditch attempt to stop mine
An In-depth exploration into the timeline and approval of the silica sand mine. APTN News: People who are opposing a silica mine in Hollow Water First Nation say they have a petition with 6,000 names on it who want the project stopped. A land protector group in opposition to the mine said they still haven’t...
April 20, 2024
Sarnia chemical plant to shut down for maintenance after safety outcry from First Nation
Members of Aamjiwnaang First Nation say emissions from plant made them ill CBC News: A chemical plant in Sarnia, Ont., announced on Saturday that it is temporarily shutting down for maintenance and to “address a mechanical issue” following complaints from a nearby First Nation whose members say they’ve become ill from the plant’s emissions. “At INEOS...
April 19, 2024
The federal government must tackle water pollution from the oilsands
The government already has the necessary power. It just needs the courage to use it to stop contamination from tailings ponds. NationTalk: Policy Options – Perched on the shores of the Athabasca River in northern Alberta are a staggering 1.4 trillion litres of toxic industrial waste, stored in open pits known as tailings ponds created...
April 17, 2024
Alberta pipeline sparks wildfire west of Edmonton
More than two dozen firefighers are battling the blaze A wildfire burns near Edson, Alta., in this Tuesday, April 16, 2024 handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Alberta Wildfire APTN News: The Canadian Press – The Canadian Energy Regulator says it’s working with the province and federal departments after a natural gas pipeline owned by TC...
March 14, 2024
Gitanyow Condemns B.C. Government’s Move To Proceed With Ksi Lisims LNG Review
NationTalk: Gitanyow Lax’yip, March 14, 2024: Premier Eby’s push for the expansion of LNG development directly contradicts his promises on climate action, exacerbating the very crisis he claims to combat. The Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs (GHC) condemn the Premier’s hypocrisy and dismissal of their plea to assess the impacts of the Ksi Lisims LNG project thoroughly....
March 11, 2024
First Nations, Métis and environmental groups request investigation of harmful tailings pond substance
NationTalk: OTTAWA/TRADITIONAL, UNCEDED TERRITORY OF THE ALGONQUIN ANISHNAABEG PEOPLE – In January 2024, Canada announced their decision to not include naphthenic acids in the list of regulated substances in the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. Environmental groups and a First Nation have submitted a formal request for the federal government to assess the harms caused by...
March 8, 2024
Why this First Nation is Right to Sue the Alberta Energy Regulator over Last Year’s Toxic Tailings Leak
NationTalk: Environmental Defence – Last year, one of Imperial Oil’s mines in the tar sands leaked toxic industrial waste into the surrounding environment. Instead of informing downstream communities, the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) helped Imperial cover up the spill for over nine months. Now the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) – one of the downstream...
March 6, 2024
‘Everything is going downhill’: Athabasca Fort Chipewyan files lawsuit against Alberta regulator over Kearl spill
Reaction mixed to spill and whether tar sands are harming environment. Jean L’hommecourt co-chair of the Keepers for the water holds up a sign at Tuesday’s meeting. Photo: Danielle Paradis/APTN. APTN News: At a tense community meeting, Athabasca Fort Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) Chief Allan Adam served the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) with lawsuit papers...
February 16, 2024
First Nation challenges LNG project over climate, salmon concerns
An artist’s rendering of the Ksi Lisims LNG project in northern B.C. Screenshot Canada’s National Observer – Gitanyow is prepared to challenge Ksi Lisims, even through the courts, over what they say is “one-sided and industry-driven” consultation on its LNG project in northern B.C. The nation is concerned about the climate and environmental impacts, particularly...
February 14, 2024
First Nations urge Environment Minister not to green light Chalk River nuclear waste dump
The Globe and MaIl: Ottawa – Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault was urged by First Nations chiefs Wednesday not to issue a permit to allow a nuclear waste dump on a forested site northwest of Ottawa where a variety of wildlife, including “at risk” wolves, live. Ten chiefs and members of First Nations in Quebec and...
February 14, 2024
PM dismisses Algonquin concerns over Chalk River nuclear waste dump
Trudeau touts nuclear safety commission’s expertise as Bloc leader allies with First Nations CBC Indigenous: Algonquin leaders are finding the Canadian government largely unmoved, but they continue to fight construction of a radioactive waste dump on unceded territory near Deep River, Ont., roughly one kilometre from the Ottawa River. First Nations chiefs have allied with Bloc Québécois and federal Green...
February 13, 2024
First Nations say Ring of Fire development could have negative effects on water systems
First Peoples Law Report: CTV News – There are concerns from Indigenous leaders and community members about the development of mines, including the Ring of Fire in the far reaches of northern Ontario. At a three-day annual lands and resources forum in North Bay, members of the Anishinabek Nation expressed fears that further development could...
February 8, 2024
Report on Alberta emission ‘astonishing’ says Athabasca Chipewyan chief
APTN News: When Allan Adam read a joint study from Yale University in the United States and Environment Canada, he says it affirmed everything his community has been finding for years. “We’ve been doing our own community-based monitoring program probably back in 2010, 2009. We do water sampling and everything and stuff like that. We’ve...
February 6, 2024
Indigenous and Environmental Groups Denounce Government Inaction on First Anniversary of Imperial Oil Tailings Disaster
ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE, KEEPERS OF THE WATER NationTalk: Ottawa | Traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg People – A year ago, news broke that Imperial Oil’s Kearl mine had been leaking toxic industrial wastewater for over nine months while keeping local Indigenous communities in the dark. The public only learned about the leak after a...
February 1, 2024
What will mining the Ring of Fire cost the planet?
Canada’s National Observer: The peatlands in northern Ontario have been absorbing carbon for thousands of years. File photo Listen to article When she learns mining companies have set their sights on the Hudson Bay lowlands, Lorna Harris raises the alarm — the region is home to the planet’s second-largest terrestrial carbon sink. The peatlands — also...
January 30, 2024
Eyes turn to B.C. as U.S. pauses approval of LNG projects
Canada’s National Observer: Climate advocates are calling on Canada to follow the lead of U.S. president Joe Biden and pause Canadian liquified natural gas projects. Joe Biden in Charleston, South Carolina in 2015. Wikimedia Commons / https://www.instagram.com/p/-4GT-WFwUS Listen to article Calls from climate advocates to follow the lead of the United States and pause Canadian liquified...
January 26, 2024
First Nations question the economic toll of shipping through the Salish Sea
T’Sou-ke First Nation Chief Gordon Planes says shipping in the Salish Sea shouldn’t be free given the environmental impacts. Photo Rochelle Baker / Canada’s National Observer Listen to article Canada’s National Observer: Tsawout First Nation councillor John Paul Etzel stood up and posed a central question for hundreds of people gathered this week to preserve the...
January 25, 2024
Canadian tar sands pollution is up to 6,300% higher than reported, study finds
Call for companies to ‘clean up their mess’ as Athabasca oil sands emissions vastly exceed industry-reported levels The Guardian: Toxic emissions from the Canadian tar sands – already one of the dirtiest fossil fuels – have been dramatically underestimated, according to a study. Research published in the journal Science found that air pollution from the vast Athabasca...
January 21, 2024
Federal Green deputy leader convicted of criminal contempt for Fairy Creek logging blockades
Angela Davidson participated in Fairy Creek protests that tried to block logging on Vancouver Island The Tyee: Victoria Times Colonist, – Federal Green Party deputy leader Angela Davidson — also known as Rainbow Eyes — has been convicted of seven counts of criminal contempt for her participation in the Fairy Creek logging blockades on Vancouver...
January 11, 2024
Radioactive waste site ‘shoved down our throats,’ critics say
From left: Lance Haymond, chief of Kebaowek First Nation; Dylan Whiteduck, chief of Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg; Algonquin elder Verna McGregor from Kitigan Zibi; and Coun. Justin Roy of Kebaowek. Photo by Natasha Bulowski Canada’s National Observer: Some First Nations and environmentalists are dismayed by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission’s approval of a proposed storage facility...
January 10, 2024
Canada’s next big LNG project may be the sleeper climate issue of 2024
A delegate is silhouetted while walking past the ExxonMobil booth during the LNG2023 conference, in Vancouver, B.C., Monday, July 10, 2023. Photo by: The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck Listen to article Canada’s National Observer: One of the biggest climate stories in Canada in 2024 might well prove to be a project that, so far at least, few...
December 19, 2023
More than minerals at stake in Ontario’s claim-staking boom
Northern peatlands are key to Canada meeting its climate commitments, but they are threatened by a boom in Ontario mineral claims. Cheryl Chetkiewicz/WCS Canada CLIMATE JOURNALISM IS URGENT. HELP US RAISE $125,000 BY DECEMBER’S END. Goal: $125k $51,228 Donate Canada’s National Observer: With a click of a mouse, mining interests have laid claim to more...
November 30, 2023
Environmental Health study finds high levels of benzene at Aamjiwnaang First Nation, south Sarnia
NationTalk: LONDONNewToday.ca – An air exposure review of the Sarnia area, which looked at air quality dating back to 2015, has found that there are elevated airborne concentrations of benzene. The final results of the Sarnia Area Environmental Health Project were released Wednesday evening in Point Edward. Benzene is a chemical that is clear or light-yellow in colour that is primarily used...
November 28, 2023
First Nations group says environmental impacts of B.C. salmon fish farm industry overstated
APTN News: A councillor with the Kitasoo Xai’xais Nation in British Columbia says uncertainty in the open-net salmon farm industry is negatively affecting First Nations that rely upon it. “This overall industry supports a 99 per cent employment rate within my community and 51 per cent of its overall economy is represented in this sector,”...
November 24, 2023
Third Imperial Oil infraction raises Indigenous communities’ environmental alarm bells
Released sentiment due to a culvert collapse causing stress in Fort Chipewyan Aerial photograph from Kearl tarsands site. Photo: Danielle Paradis/APTN APTN News: Athabasca Fort Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam says he’s frustrated again with Imperial Oil Ltd. after learning that the Kearl oilsands facility had an incident where 670,000 litres from a settling...
November 24, 2023
Federal committee forces another round of Kearl questions on Alberta Energy Regulator
Alberta Energy Regulator president and CEO Laurie Pushor answers questions from reporters immediately after testifying before the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development on April 24, 2023. Photo by Natasha Bulowski Listen to article Canada’s National Observer: A federal committee is forcing the president of the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) to testify for a second...
October 26, 2023
Government of Canada Releases Interim Guidance on the Impact Assessment Act
NationTalk: Impact Assessment Agency of Canada – Attracting investment and supporting major job-creating projects requires regulatory certainty from all levels of government. Following the recent opinion by the Supreme Court of Canada on the Impact Assessment Act (IAA), the Government of Canada is setting a clear path forward for impact assessments in Canada to provide...
October 13, 2023
Former B.C. mining exec fined $30K for environmental violations — but First Nation says damage costs far more
Yellow Giant mine released excess waste water into wetland and waterways on Gitxaała territory in 2015 CBC Indigenous: The former executive of a now-bankrupt mining company has been fined nearly $30,000 for environmental violations dating back to 2015 — an amount that has led to competing appeals from both sides. The charges follow a July 7 ruling...
October 12, 2023
First Nation in B.C. ‘furious’ after federal government rejects order to protect owls
This June 1995 file photo taken in Point Reyes, Calif., shows a northern spotted owl. The chief of a British Columbia First Nation says members of his community are “furious” after the federal government reversed course on an emergency order to protect the endangered northern spotted owl. Photo: Tom Gallagher/The Canadian Press. APTN News: The...
October 4, 2023
Coastal Gaslink Is Facing 11 More Potential Fines
The company’s current total for penalties is $800,000. But that number is likely to grow. The Tyee: B.C.’s Environmental Assessment Office says it’s still considering nearly a dozen administrative penalties against the Coastal GasLink pipeline after issuing its heftiest fine so far to the project last month. The recent fine, for $340,000, was a result...
October 3, 2023
Imperial Oil knew Kearl oilsands was leaking tailings into groundwater for years
Tailings samples are tested in Calgary on Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018. File photo by The Canadian Press/Jeff McIntosh Canada’s National Observer: The Canadian Press – Documents filed by Imperial Oil Ltd. show the company and Alberta’s energy regulator knew the Kearl oilsands mine was seeping tailings into groundwater years before a pool of contaminated fluid...
September 25, 2023
Why First Nations Bear the Brunt of BC’s Drought
If we’re serious about the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, we need water policy reform. The Tyee: The state of drought in British Columbia is at a critical point, and government officials are watering down their responsibility to act. This points to widespread governmental policy failures in climate change, forest and mining...
September 22, 2023
Coastal GasLink fined $340,000 for erosion, sediment control challenges
The Globe and Mail: Coastal GasLink has been fined $340,000 by the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office for issues related to erosion and sediment control. Coastal GasLink, which is owned by Calgary-based TC Energy Corp. TRP-T +0.64%increase, said the fines stem from four inspections of its ongoing pipeline construction project that occurred in April and May of 2022....
September 13, 2023
‘They’re ramming it down our throats,’ Cold Lake First Nation Chief says of Pathways carbon capture project
Network to transport carbon from oil sands facilities and store it underground CBC Indigenous: The Chief of the Cold Lake First Nation said his community has concerns about a proposed carbon capture and storage network that’s the centrepiece of a plan by major oilsands producers to hit net zero by 2050. The plan by the...
August 29, 2023
BCFNEMC and FNLC Call for Moratorium on Placer Mining in British Columbia
NationTalk: (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C.) )originally published on August 28) The BC First Nations Energy and Mining Council (BCFNEMC) and the First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) urgently call on the British Columbia government to immediately impose a moratorium on placer mining claims and leases as highlighted in a recently released report prepared for...
August 10, 2023
Proposed radioactive waste dump in Deep River met with opposition at final hearing
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission heard final arguments Thursday CBC News: The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) held its final hearings in Ottawa on Thursday into a proposed radioactive waste disposal site further north in the Ottawa Valley that is fiercely opposed by Algonquin First Nation groups. Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) wants to build an engineered mound near the...
July 11, 2023
Yukon First Nation unhappy with cleanup of abandoned mine
The area has been a source of devastating contamination for decades. APTN News: A First Nation in Yukon is raising serious concern about the remediation work being conducted at an abandoned mine site and its asking the Yukon Water Board to intervene. The Mount Nansen mine lies on the traditional territory of the Little Salmon/Carmacks First...
July 5, 2023
Wood Buffalo National Park still on environmental threat list; UNESCO calls for action on oilsands
NationTalk: Canada’s National Observer – A United Nations body has affirmed earlier findings that Canada’s largest national park remains under environmental threats from dams, oilsands development and climate change. The UNESCO report, issued Friday, concludes that the vast Wood Buffalo National Park on the Alberta-Northwest Territories boundary shouldn’t lose its place on the list of World Heritage Sites at this time. Some things in the...
June 20, 2023
Proposed Chalk River nuclear dumpsite violates UNDRIP, says Algonquin chiefs
‘We never agreed to this and it continues to be operated on our unceded territory.’ APTN News: Algonquin First Nations are calling on the federal government to abandon a proposed radioactive waste dump site on their unceded territories. On Tuesday, the Chiefs of Kebaowek First Nation, Kitigan Zibi First Nation, the Algonquin Secretariat and the...
June 5, 2023
The Lie of a Cleaner Oilsands
Pollution protections are stripped while Canada boasts progress. This is the history of promises made and betrayed. The Tyee: In May 2022 a tailings pond at Imperial’s Kearl Lake facility started leaking toxic waste into groundwater and outside its lease boundaries. The foul water, the product of bitumen mining, contained arsenic, sulphates and hydrocarbons and other...
May 31, 2023
Minister to delay plan for closure of B.C. salmon farms after pressure from industry, Indigenous chief
The Globe and Mail: The federal Fisheries Minister is delaying a decision on closing the remaining ocean-based salmon farms in British Columbia, after pressure from First Nations and the fish-farm industry. Joyce Murray had been expected in June to release a transition plan to move open-net fish farms out of B.C’s coastal waters, to land-based...
May 17, 2023
Tracing the toxic impact of B.C. coal mining
Concern is mounting over the effects of B.C. mines on aquatic life, with Indigenous groups, scientists and environmentalists in Canada and the U.S. saying action cannot be delayed. CBC News: South of the border, in Bonners Ferry, the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho is working to restore the population of Kootenai River white sturgeon. The landlocked...
May 4, 2023
Canada opens formal investigation into Imperial’s oilsands tailings leak in northern Alberta
Imperial first found discoloured water seeping from one of its tailings ponds in May CBC News: Federal environmental authorities have launched a formal investigation into a tailings leak at Imperial Oil’s Kearl oilsands mine in northern Alberta. Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) announced Thursday it is investigating a suspected contravention of the Fisheries Act,...
May 2, 2023
UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues calls on Canada to shut down the Line 5 pipeline
NationTalk: THE GREAT LAKES | ANISHINABEK TERRITORY – Last Friday, the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) recommended that Canada and the United States decommission the Enbridge Line 5 oil pipeline. In the Final Report of its annual session, issued last week, the UNPFII recognized that Line 5 “jeopardize[s] the Great Lakes” and...
April 27, 2023
Canada oil sands leak heightens First Nations’ calls to clean up tailings
NationTalk: Reuters – In early February, Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation in northern Alberta started fielding calls from community members after the provincial regulator revealed toxic wastewater had been leaking for months from a tailings pond at Imperial Oil’s (IMO.TO) Kearl oil sands mine. Many in the community hunt and fish downstream of...
April 20, 2023
Imperial Oil CEO ‘deeply apologetic’ in Commons committee testimony on oilsands tailings leak
Brad Corson says Imperial is still pumping wastewater into ponds that spilled Imperial Oil president and CEO Brad Corson presented himself as humbled and “deeply apologetic” on Thursday in Ottawa during testimony at a parliamentary committee studying the leak of oilsands wastewater into the northern Alberta ecosystem. In his opening statement, Corson acknowledged his company...
April 20, 2023
Oilsands discharge into First Nations water supply latest example of exploitation
Indigenous lands are continuously exploited and delegated as sacrifice zones for the gains of the rich, powerful and white society. Toronto Star: Once again Indigenous communities are bearing the brunt of the corruption, contamination and pollution of their territories by industry. Yet another oilsands corporation has dumped 5.9 million litres of oilsands “overflow” water and mud into...
April 19, 2023
Suncor reports release of six million litres of water from settling pond on Fort Hills oil sands mine
The Globe and Mail: Almost six million litres of water with more than twice the legal limit of suspended solids was released from a pond at the Fort Hills oil sands project into the Athabasca River watershed over the weekend, the second large spill in the northern Alberta region this year. The water came from...
April 17, 2023
First Nations blast Alberta Energy Regulator at hearing; minister promises reform
Imperial first detected discoloured water near the oilsands site last May CBC News: Chiefs of First Nations affected by releases of wastewater from an oilsands mine excoriated Alberta’s regulator at a House of Commons committee hearing, calling it a system that serves the industry and not the public. “The [Alberta Energy Regulator] has zero credibility outside...
March 24, 2023
Northern Alberta residents demand answers from Imperial Oil after toxic leak from oilsands project
Imperial Oil v-p faces tough questions from Fort Chipewyan residents over Kearl Lake tailings pond seepage CBC News: There were sharp words and fiery exchanges this week at a town hall meeting between Imperial Oil and residents of Fort Chipewyan, Alta. It was the first time the company met with residents of the community on the western...
March 22, 2023
NWT Indigenous leaders call for investigation of oil sands’ impacts
Leaders of northern Indigenous peoples are calling for a “full, independent investigation” of the downstream impacts of oil sands pollution. CabinRadioThe call, issued at a water summit held in Inuvik last week, comes in the wake of controversy over months-long contamination emanating from Imperial Oil’s Kearl facility in northern Alberta. The Dene Nation, Inuvialuit Regional...
March 16, 2023
Ontario pledges $29M to protect boreal caribou — but the spending isn’t without criticism
4-year funding plan to support habitat restoration, protection and monitoring CBC News: Ontario plans to spend $29 million to help protect an iconic — and threatened — species: boreal caribou. David Piccini, the provincial minister of environment, conservation and parks, made the announcement Wednesday at Lakehead University’s campus in Thunder Bay, Ont. The funding will be distributed...
March 15, 2023
First Nations living near Imperial Oil leak refuse to drink water from nearby reservoir
The Globe and Mail: A continuing leak at the Kearl oil sands project has left members of the nearby Mikisew Cree First Nation unwilling to drink or bathe in water from local waterways, fearing contamination from seepage that has lasted close to a year. Ottawa agreed Wednesday to cover the cost of bottled water and...
March 11, 2023
Sitting on a carbon bomb
CBC News: Under the ground in the B.C. Peace lies Canada’s largest potential source of greenhouse gases. Some want to leave it there. Others say we need the energy. One First Nation is uniquely positioned to play a key role. Elder Jerry Davis pulls his pickup truck over to the side of a road on...
March 9, 2023
Federal environment minister condemns delayed reporting of oilsands tailings leak
‘Our systems are failing Indigenous peoples, clearly,’ Steven Guilbeault says CBC News: Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says Alberta’s silence about an oilsands tailing leak is a troubling failure that suggests the province needs more regulatory oversight. The release of at least 5.3 million litres of toxic tailings from Imperial Oil’s Kearl mine should have been...
March 8, 2023
First Nation slams Premier Danielle Smith for ‘spin’ on huge oilsands project leak: ‘This is basic science’
A project in northern Alberta is under scrutiny after a First Nation raised alarm over a leak that it claims the province and Imperial Oil tried to hide. Toronto Star: EDMONTON—A First Nation in northern Alberta has slammed Premier Danielle Smith for downplaying a massive toxic spill from an oilsands tailings pond that the community is...
March 7, 2023
Indigenous chiefs fly to Ottawa in rival moves as salmon farm battle intensifies
The Globe and Mail: Indigenous chiefs representing B.C. Indigenous communities came to Ottawa on Tuesday to make opposing arguments about whether open-net salmon farms should be able to continue off the coast or be closed and moved to tanks on land. As the battle over the future of ocean-based salmon farms off the coast of British...
March 6, 2023
Ontario and two First Nations agree on terms for last of three roads into Ring of Fire
The Globe and Mail: Ontario and two First Nations have agreed on terms of reference on an environmental assessment for the last of the three proposed roads into the Ring of Fire, a small step forward in the province’s ambitions to become a major player in electric vehicle minerals. Webequie, Marten Falls, and the province...
March 6, 2023
Ontario approves environmental assessment terms of reference for 3rd and final road to Ring of Fire
Plan co-developed and submitted by 2 First Nations in the area, but faces pushback from others in region CBC News: The province has approved the terms of reference for an environmental assessment (EA) on the third and final road leading to the mineral-rich Ring of Fire in northern Ontario. The terms of reference lay out the work...
March 2, 2023
Alberta First Nation angry at Imperial’s silence while tailings pond leaked for 9 months
Band members have been harvesting food from land adjacent to the spills, chief says CBC News: A northern Alberta Indigenous leader has accused Imperial Oil Ltd. of a nine-month coverup over a massive release of toxic oilsands tailings on land near where his band harvests food. Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation...
February 24, 2023
One fish, two fish, red fish, dead fish? Feds fail to disclose Coastal GasLink data on salmon eggs, habitat
Pipeline contractors estimated there were at least 273,000 salmon eggs in a Wet’suwet’en river crossing. Fisheries and Oceans Canada said it was ‘impossible to confirm’ The Narwhal: Shannon McPhail said she felt like the “world’s biggest schmuck” after reading an email from a senior official at Fisheries and Oceans Canada. The official told her it...
February 17, 2023
Fisheries department to shut 15 salmon farms off B.C.’s coast to protect wild fish
The Globe and Mail: Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray has announced the federal government will not renew licences for 15 open-net Atlantic salmon farms around British Columbia’s Discovery Islands. Murray says in a news release the Discovery Islands area is a key migration route for wild salmon where narrow passages bring migrating juvenile salmon into close...
December 8, 2022
Tahltan’s decades-long struggle to protect Sacred Headwaters
David Suzuki Foundation: That’s just one of many revelations in the powerful new film The Klabona Keepers, about the Tahltan Nation’s struggle to protect the Sacred Headwaters, or Klabona, from mining. (The film, co-directed by my grandson Tamo Campos, is a collaboration between non-Indigenous filmmakers and Indigenous elders, who were given ownership of the intellectual property....
November 22, 2022
Standing Committee on Public Accounts to Hold Public Hearing on Auditor General Report on Physical Mitigation of Muskrat Falls Reservoir Wetlands
“PHYSICAL MITIGATION…” CONCLUSION: The Department of Municipal Affairs and Environment did not appropriately communicate and monitor the timelines and deadlines of the Independent Expert Advisory Committee recommendation for physical mitigation of the Muskrat Falls reservoir wetlands. However, we did not find any evidence that government intentionally missed the wetland capping deadline. There were numerous missed...