Report: Canada’s Government Is Allowing Its Oil Industry To Pollute Rivers And Lakes

[deminks]

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/03/27/3639318/canada-trades-oil-for-water/

Canada’s federal government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, is systematically removing regulations and putting the country’s water at risk, according to a new report released this week by the Council of Canadians.

“Blue Betrayal,” written by Maude Barlow, a former UN adviser on water and national chairperson of the Council of Canadians, states that the Harper government has allowed mining companies to dump toxic waste into lakes, exempted oil and gas pipelines from environmental review, and allowed for-profit companies to sue for the right to use clean, potable water in fracking and other commercial applications.

The oil and gas industry in Canada is booming. Since 2008, when Harper took office, Canadian tar sands production has nearly doubled, according to an industry report. This has huge implications for water. Alberta’s tar sands alone could eventually use 20 million barrels of water each day, scientists estimate. Already, according to the report, nearly 3 million gallons of “toxic water” enters Canada’s watershed every day. Water used for oil and gas extraction is contaminated with a variety of toxic chemicals that are difficult, if not impossible, to remove.

(snip)

The Great Lakes supply drinking water for 40 million people and supports 250 different species of fish. A bitumen spill in the lakes could be disastrous.

“The U.S. Coast Guard will tell you they do not have the ability to respond to and clean up a spill of heavy crude oil in the Great Lakes,” Joel Brammeier, president and CEO of Alliance for the Great Lakes, a U.S.-based environmental group, told ThinkProgress. “Canadian energy policy could have a significant effect on the Great Lakes region.”

(end snip)

Gee, 'dump it in Canada!' What could go wrong? /sarcasm off.

[BarbaRosa]

1. Aargh