Renner Responds to Water Monitoring Plan :: My News :: Fort McMurray's News Portal
Alberta Environment Minister Rob Renner issued the following statement in response to the release on March 24 of a water monitoring plan for the oil sands region, led by Environment Canada.
“The plan presented by the federal government is the result of a lot of work within a short timeframe, with input from Alberta Environment. This is a technical monitoring plan about when and where to monitor surface water quality.
Although this work is a good starting point, physical monitoring of water is only one piece of the overall system needed. We need to build on this plan to develop a system that is robust, verifiable, transparent and governed appropriately. Most importantly, it must be credible, which is exactly what Alberta’s independent Provincial Monitoring Panel is working on.
The provincial panel will incorporate this work led by the federal government into its own review, as well as the work previously submitted by the province’s data review committee and report back to me with initial recommendations in June.
I want to assure Albertans that we all have the same goal in mind - a world-class monitoring system that encompasses air, land, water and biodiversity for the entire province. By drawing on expertise from across Canada - including our federal counterparts - we are certain we have the best information to build the best system.”
Showing posts with label water. Show all posts
Showing posts with label water. Show all posts
Friday, March 25, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
Carson: the real scandal - Inkless Wells
Carson: the real scandal - Inkless Wells - Macleans.ca
GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES IMMEDIATE ACTION ON FIRST NATIONS DRINKING WATER
OTTAWA, ONTARIO (March 21, 2006) -The Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians, with Phil Fontaine, the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), today launched a plan of action to address drinking water concerns in First Nation communities.
“The government will ensure that First Nation leaders have access to the tools and resources they need to deliver clean water to their residents,” said Minister Prentice. “All parties with responsibilities in this area must take decisive action and achieve measurable results.”
A year later, nothing. A year after that, “deplorable” water in First Nations communities. Three years after that, if the latest reports are accurate, Bruce Carson spotted an opportunity
GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES IMMEDIATE ACTION ON FIRST NATIONS DRINKING WATER
OTTAWA, ONTARIO (March 21, 2006) -The Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians, with Phil Fontaine, the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), today launched a plan of action to address drinking water concerns in First Nation communities.
“The government will ensure that First Nation leaders have access to the tools and resources they need to deliver clean water to their residents,” said Minister Prentice. “All parties with responsibilities in this area must take decisive action and achieve measurable results.”
A year later, nothing. A year after that, “deplorable” water in First Nations communities. Three years after that, if the latest reports are accurate, Bruce Carson spotted an opportunity
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Harper Government effectively privatizes Canada's water - News & Events - Sack Goldblatt Mitchell LLP
Harper Government effectively privatizes Canada's water - News & Events - Sack Goldblatt Mitchell LLP
SGM's Steven Shrybman recently told the the Standing Committee on International Trade that the Harper Government appears to have entered into a NAFTA settlement that will allow foreign investors to assert propriety claims to Canadian water.
In December 2008, AbitibiBowater announced the permanent closure of its Grand Falls-Windsor pulp and paper mill in Newfoundland. The Province claimed that AbitibiBowater had reneged on agreements to continue operating the mill, and that it had been granted water and timber rights on that condition. The Province then passed legislation expropriating AbitibiBowater's assets and terminating the water and timber licenses.
Rather than seeking recourse in the Canadian courts, AbitibiBowater filed an arbitration claim under NAFTA investment rules seeking $500 million in compensation. The claim not only sought compensation for the physical assets taken by the Province, but also for the loss of its water and forest licenses, which it referred to as "Water and Waterpower Rights" and "Timber Rights".
Instead of standing up for the public ownership of water and timber resources and refuting AbitibiBowater's claims to proprietary “rights” in Canadian public goods, the Harper Government entered into a $130 million consent judgment to settle the NAFTA claim. The potential consequences for the protection and regulation of Canada’s public resources are dire: the settlement goes farther than any NAFTA judgement to date, recognizing AbitibiBowater's “rights” to Newfoundland’s water and timber. This sets a precedent in which the obligation of governments to treat water as a public trust essential to both human well-being and biodiversity rank second to commercial and private interests.
SGM's Steven Shrybman recently told the the Standing Committee on International Trade that the Harper Government appears to have entered into a NAFTA settlement that will allow foreign investors to assert propriety claims to Canadian water.
In December 2008, AbitibiBowater announced the permanent closure of its Grand Falls-Windsor pulp and paper mill in Newfoundland. The Province claimed that AbitibiBowater had reneged on agreements to continue operating the mill, and that it had been granted water and timber rights on that condition. The Province then passed legislation expropriating AbitibiBowater's assets and terminating the water and timber licenses.
Rather than seeking recourse in the Canadian courts, AbitibiBowater filed an arbitration claim under NAFTA investment rules seeking $500 million in compensation. The claim not only sought compensation for the physical assets taken by the Province, but also for the loss of its water and forest licenses, which it referred to as "Water and Waterpower Rights" and "Timber Rights".
Instead of standing up for the public ownership of water and timber resources and refuting AbitibiBowater's claims to proprietary “rights” in Canadian public goods, the Harper Government entered into a $130 million consent judgment to settle the NAFTA claim. The potential consequences for the protection and regulation of Canada’s public resources are dire: the settlement goes farther than any NAFTA judgement to date, recognizing AbitibiBowater's “rights” to Newfoundland’s water and timber. This sets a precedent in which the obligation of governments to treat water as a public trust essential to both human well-being and biodiversity rank second to commercial and private interests.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Transboundary Basins; Geneva 12-13th April 2011
Second workshop on water and adaptation to climate change in transboundary basins: challenges, progress and lessons learnt (Geneva, 12-13 April 2011)
We would like to invite you to the "Second workshop on water and adaptation to climate change in transboundary basins: challenges, progress and lessons learnt" which will take place on 12 and 13 April 2011 in the Palais des Nations in Geneva, back-to-back with the fourth meeting of the Task Force on Water and Climate (14 April 2011). The workshop is the second one organized on this theme in the framework of the UNECE Water Convention, within its platform for exchanging experience on adaptation to climate change in the transboundary context. It will build on the results of last year’s workshop and illustrate recent developments in this area.
The workshop aims to exchange practical experience and share lessons-learned on the technical and strategic aspects of adapting to climate change; identify best practices, success factors and lessons learnt; share experience between the pilot projects on adaptation to climate change in transboundary basins under the Water Convention as well as other similar initiatives; and support governments, organizations and joint bodies engaged in the process of preparing national or regional adaptation strategies.
Proposals for presentations at the workshop relevant to the topics as described in the information notice can be submitted by 1 March 2011. Abstracts are especially welcome on the following topics:
- responding to climate change impacts on water uses such as hydropower, navigation, and irrigated agriculture
- addressing conflicts of interest in adaptation
- awareness-raising
- synergies and trade-offs between adaptation and mitigation measures
- ecosystem-based adaptation
- financing of adaptation
- practical examples of adaptation under uncertainty
More information on registration as well as relevant documents are available at
http://www.unece.org/env/water/meetings/transboundary_climate_adaptation_workshop.html
We look forward to seeing many of you at the workshop and Task Force meeting.
Best regards
Sonja Koeppel
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and
International Lakes
Tel: +41 (0)22 917 1218
Fax: +41 (0)22 917 0107
E-mail: sonja.koeppel@unece.org
Web site: http://www.unece.org/env/water/
We would like to invite you to the "Second workshop on water and adaptation to climate change in transboundary basins: challenges, progress and lessons learnt" which will take place on 12 and 13 April 2011 in the Palais des Nations in Geneva, back-to-back with the fourth meeting of the Task Force on Water and Climate (14 April 2011). The workshop is the second one organized on this theme in the framework of the UNECE Water Convention, within its platform for exchanging experience on adaptation to climate change in the transboundary context. It will build on the results of last year’s workshop and illustrate recent developments in this area.
The workshop aims to exchange practical experience and share lessons-learned on the technical and strategic aspects of adapting to climate change; identify best practices, success factors and lessons learnt; share experience between the pilot projects on adaptation to climate change in transboundary basins under the Water Convention as well as other similar initiatives; and support governments, organizations and joint bodies engaged in the process of preparing national or regional adaptation strategies.
Proposals for presentations at the workshop relevant to the topics as described in the information notice can be submitted by 1 March 2011. Abstracts are especially welcome on the following topics:
- responding to climate change impacts on water uses such as hydropower, navigation, and irrigated agriculture
- addressing conflicts of interest in adaptation
- awareness-raising
- synergies and trade-offs between adaptation and mitigation measures
- ecosystem-based adaptation
- financing of adaptation
- practical examples of adaptation under uncertainty
More information on registration as well as relevant documents are available at
http://www.unece.org/env/water/meetings/transboundary_climate_adaptation_workshop.html
We look forward to seeing many of you at the workshop and Task Force meeting.
Best regards
Sonja Koeppel
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and
International Lakes
Tel: +41 (0)22 917 1218
Fax: +41 (0)22 917 0107
E-mail: sonja.koeppel@unece.org
Web site: http://www.unece.org/env/water/
Friday, February 11, 2011
Water Canada | Full Disclosure
Water Canada | Full Disclosure
Molson Coors has chosen to focus on water as one of its corporate responsibility initiatives and acknowledges that disclosure is a critical component of this process. “Self disclosure and participation in initiatives like the United Nations CEO Water Mandate and the Carbon Disclosure Project’s Water Disclosure Initiative will both highlight the importance of water and also encourage other companies to participate,” says Glade. “Ultimately, companies that do not have water risk information readily available could be considered a bad investment.”
Effective water disclosure provides stakeholders with information on which to base decisions about their interaction with a company. This information contextualizes the scale and scope of water related exposures and specific at-risk operations or supply chains.
While the quality of water disclosure in corporate reports is improving, there’s still much work to be done to provide stakeholders with the information needed to make high quality decisions. In particular, disclosure of information such as regional water use and water recycling metrics is less advanced. A recent report from CERES—the U.S.-based coalition of investors, environmental groups and other public interest organizations—indicated that businesses and investors are not fully taking into consideration the economic impact if water resources and that disclosure of risk and corporate water performance is weak. Similarly, a study commissioned by the United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Investment’s CEO Water Mandate found that while most of the 110 companies analyzed provided data regarding their total water use, data on regional or local water use or any contextual information in which their water uses and/or impacts could be understood at the regional level was missing. Since water issues at the local or sub-regional level have potential to pose real risks to operations (for example, restricted water access, conflicts with other users, production delays), this represents a significant void in corporate water disclosure and indicates more work to be done.
While the devil is in the details, stakeholder information needs for business strategy and for corporate disclosure are relatively straightforward and fall into four categories:
How does water relate to business strategy? Stakeholders want to know how water issues can impact on short and long-term business strategy—the profile of operations, manufacturing approaches, products and services.
What risks and opportunities does water present? Stakeholders want to know what risks and opportunities water presents to the business. They want to understand potential impacts and what locations or regions are particularly exposed.
How is water managed? Stakeholders expect information on how an organization is managing water and mitigating risks to the business. They want to know who is responsible and what the company is trying to achieve with its water practices. They expect evidence of consideration of the use of management tools including process optimization, transportation efficiencies, reuse and recycling and financing of innovative water management efforts (for example, clean technology).
Is the company meeting water performance goals? Perhaps the most important information for stakeholders has to do with water performance against targets. This might include reporting on direct and indirect water use, consumption
Molson Coors has chosen to focus on water as one of its corporate responsibility initiatives and acknowledges that disclosure is a critical component of this process. “Self disclosure and participation in initiatives like the United Nations CEO Water Mandate and the Carbon Disclosure Project’s Water Disclosure Initiative will both highlight the importance of water and also encourage other companies to participate,” says Glade. “Ultimately, companies that do not have water risk information readily available could be considered a bad investment.”
Effective water disclosure provides stakeholders with information on which to base decisions about their interaction with a company. This information contextualizes the scale and scope of water related exposures and specific at-risk operations or supply chains.
While the quality of water disclosure in corporate reports is improving, there’s still much work to be done to provide stakeholders with the information needed to make high quality decisions. In particular, disclosure of information such as regional water use and water recycling metrics is less advanced. A recent report from CERES—the U.S.-based coalition of investors, environmental groups and other public interest organizations—indicated that businesses and investors are not fully taking into consideration the economic impact if water resources and that disclosure of risk and corporate water performance is weak. Similarly, a study commissioned by the United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Investment’s CEO Water Mandate found that while most of the 110 companies analyzed provided data regarding their total water use, data on regional or local water use or any contextual information in which their water uses and/or impacts could be understood at the regional level was missing. Since water issues at the local or sub-regional level have potential to pose real risks to operations (for example, restricted water access, conflicts with other users, production delays), this represents a significant void in corporate water disclosure and indicates more work to be done.
While the devil is in the details, stakeholder information needs for business strategy and for corporate disclosure are relatively straightforward and fall into four categories:
How does water relate to business strategy? Stakeholders want to know how water issues can impact on short and long-term business strategy—the profile of operations, manufacturing approaches, products and services.
What risks and opportunities does water present? Stakeholders want to know what risks and opportunities water presents to the business. They want to understand potential impacts and what locations or regions are particularly exposed.
How is water managed? Stakeholders expect information on how an organization is managing water and mitigating risks to the business. They want to know who is responsible and what the company is trying to achieve with its water practices. They expect evidence of consideration of the use of management tools including process optimization, transportation efficiencies, reuse and recycling and financing of innovative water management efforts (for example, clean technology).
Is the company meeting water performance goals? Perhaps the most important information for stakeholders has to do with water performance against targets. This might include reporting on direct and indirect water use, consumption
Saturday, February 5, 2011
The Meaningful Work Project .
The Meaningful Work Project | How can we make money and change the world? How can we create communities of practice that encourage creativity and innovation? The Meaningful Work Project offers an opportunity to share stories and collectively work toward solutions.
The man behind Greengate is Dan Balaban. Balaban grew up in the energy capital of Canada – Calgary – and he’s always been interested in alternative energy.
“It made sense to me,” Balaban says of alternative energy. “I thought it would be important for the future.”
This forward-thinking business savvy is earning the 36-year-old recognition, making the list as one of Avenue Magazine’s Top 40 Under 40 in 2009, named one of Alberta’s 50 Most Influential People 2010 by Alberta Venture, and a finalist for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2010 Awards.
Indeed, Balaban is no stranger to success. He first foray into entrepreneurship was Roughneck.ca Inc., a leading provider of software solutions (such as the ability to track, manage and report greenhouse gas and other air emissions) to the Canadian oil and gas industry. He sold that company for more than $5 million in 2005 and soon after, set his sights on wind energy.
Balaban’s playing with bigger numbers these days – to build out the wind projects he’s developing requires a $4-billion investment. And that investment is going to give back, but the payback won’t just be lining Balaban’s pockets.
Take for example, the 150-megawatt Halkirk I Wind Project. Between 100 and 200 jobs will be created this year as construction begins on Alberta’s largest wind energy project
The man behind Greengate is Dan Balaban. Balaban grew up in the energy capital of Canada – Calgary – and he’s always been interested in alternative energy.
“It made sense to me,” Balaban says of alternative energy. “I thought it would be important for the future.”
This forward-thinking business savvy is earning the 36-year-old recognition, making the list as one of Avenue Magazine’s Top 40 Under 40 in 2009, named one of Alberta’s 50 Most Influential People 2010 by Alberta Venture, and a finalist for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2010 Awards.
Indeed, Balaban is no stranger to success. He first foray into entrepreneurship was Roughneck.ca Inc., a leading provider of software solutions (such as the ability to track, manage and report greenhouse gas and other air emissions) to the Canadian oil and gas industry. He sold that company for more than $5 million in 2005 and soon after, set his sights on wind energy.
Balaban’s playing with bigger numbers these days – to build out the wind projects he’s developing requires a $4-billion investment. And that investment is going to give back, but the payback won’t just be lining Balaban’s pockets.
Take for example, the 150-megawatt Halkirk I Wind Project. Between 100 and 200 jobs will be created this year as construction begins on Alberta’s largest wind energy project
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