Many Canadians are horrified by the knee-capping of environmental charities, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and the Fisheries Act in last week’s Federal Budget.
These are changes that will really matter. Yes, they really will make it much harder for anyone to dissent from the federal government policy of oil above all.
What is the point of protecting the places people like to fish, if we don’t protect the creatures those fish need to eat? Who will protect the wild areas where few people live, if only people who live there are allowed to speak for them? Who will do the hard, expensive, time-consuming work of collecting, analysing, and speaking about environmental information, if the civil servants are fired or silenced, and volunteers and charities are gagged?
Many eloquent voices are speaking out, with important things to say. Start with: Tzeporah Berman in today’s Globe; Ross McMillan of the wonderful Tides Foundation; Mark Mattson, the Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, three of the passionate people who have devoted their lives to protecting the environment on which we all depend. Public protests are being collected at SAVE CANADA’S ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS, envirolawsmatter.ca. Will enough people protest?