it wasn't that long ago that I respected Canada
maybe I was naive
but with the "conservative" or should I say, "extract any resource" government of Harper, things have been getting worse
the government has been shutting down government labs that tracked things like water levels in streams and lakes
they have charged some demonstrators as terrorists for trying to block extraction
now they are going to a new level to go after NGOs and shutting down science that tells the story of the results of extraction
TORONTO - Job cuts totalling 1,000 at Environment Canada’s climate change division this month means there will be even fewer government scientists onboard to monitor the impact of the extraction, development and transportation of crude oil from the carbon-intensive oil sands in Alberta.
The oil sands are a major source of fossil fuel emissions which are heating areas of the planet, including the Arctic.
“These audits are clearly designed to intimidate and disrupt their work." —Dennis Howlett
Ironically, this same department, just weeks earlier, produced new research confirming that toxic chemicals from oil sands tailing ponds covering 176 square kilometres in northern Alberta are leaching into the local groundwater and seeping into the Athabasca River.
But two experts on Canadian environmental policy say they expect fewer such studies to be financed by a Conservative government in Ottawa focused on the development of the Alberta oil sands.
“This government is taking out specific forms of [research] capacity and those are the kind of things we need to have if we are ever going to tackle climate change,” said John Bennett, executive director of Sierra Club Canada.
Canadian Govt Targets Environment NGOs