How low can we go? Canada's environmental descent

Recently, a new version of Canada's most powerful environmental law appeared in the House of Commons. Bill C-32, the Fisheries Act, dramatically weakens environmental protection rules in Canada. First introduced in 2006, this "modernized" Act attracted sharp criticisms from environmentalists including Waterkeepers, Alberta Wilderness Association, Conservation Council of New Brunswick, David Suzuki Foundation, Ecology Action Centre, Fisheries Recovery Action Committee, Friends of the Oldman River, Georgia Strait Alliance, Great Lakes United, Les Intendants du Madawaska, Living Oceans Society, Newfoundland and Labrador Healthy Oceans Coalition, Ottawa Riverkeeper, Sierra Club of Canada, Southpeace Environment Association, and Yukon Conservation Society.

The existing Fisheries Act protects every waterway, every community, and every Canadian. The proposed Fisheries Act protects only some waterways and some communities, some of the time. Under the current Act, clean water is a right for person in the country who lives on a fish-bearing waterway. Under Bill C-32 (once known as C-45), clean water will become a privilege, reserved for a limited number of communities with the political allies and economic clout to preserve still-pristine lakes and rivers.

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