Flawed Fur Farm Bill too Hasty, Leaves Watersheds Open to Pollution
Yarmouth and Halifax, NS - A network of environmental and community organizations are objecting to the hasty adoption of a flawed Fur Industry Act for Nova Scotia. Bill 53 was introduced for First Reading on Thursday April 29th and was passed by the House of Assembly on its Third Reading on Thursday May 6th. Although the Department of Agriculture worked closely with the Nova Scotia Mink Breeders Association for over a year to develop this Bill, members of the public, including members of the affected communities were not consulted.
"It is ironic that a law intended to address community concerns has been pushed through without due consultation with those communities or environmental experts," says Steve Hawboldt of the Clean Annapolis River Project. "The Act has value but there are a number of changes that would have taken seriously the need to ensure environmental protection and addressed community concerns.."
Community groups rallied last year when toxic 'blue-green' algae (cyanobacteria) blooms occurred once again in the Wentworth / Carleton River Watershed, near Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. A March 2009 Nova Scotia Environment study of nine lakes in the affected watershed included the recommendation that large suspect contributors of nutrients to the lakes (including mink farms and a mink food processing facility) should be further investigated and where appropriate and possible, discharges reduced or eliminated.
"The intensity of mink farming has soared in the last few years, in fact there were 1.7 million mink processed in Nova Scotia last year and mink in our province consume 7 tractor trailer loads of feed every day. This is big business with the ability to do significant environmental damage," says Gretchen Fitzgerald, Director, Sierra Club Atlantic. "The industry is growing and if we are to ensure that Nova Scotia's wetlands, rivers and lakes are protected from the impacts of this growth we must have legislation that reflects that goal. Instead, we have the Fur Industry Act, a law that leaves all decisions related to the environmental management of the industry in the hands of its greatest promoter, the Department of Agriculture. There is no oversight by other government departments such as Nova Scotia Environment or by members of the public."
The organizations were disturbed by the comments made in the House by the Minister of Agriculture, John MacDonell, when the Bill was presented for Second Reading debate. The Honorable Mr. MacDonell thanked Clean Annapolis River Project, Tusket River Environmental Protection Association, Yarmouth County Environmental Justice Committee, Sierra Club Atlantic, Ecology Action Centre, East Coast Environmental Law Association and other stakeholders for their contribution as the legislation was drafted.
"We were not asked to make a contribution to the development of the Fur Industry Act," says Deborah Carver, Executive Director, East Coast Environmental Law Association. "It's accurate that we met with two representatives of the Department of Agriculture in April 2010, but we were told that the Bill was too far along in the process to present any details."
Members of the organizations submitted comments to the Law Amendments Committee that can be found at www.gov.ns.ca/LEGISLATURE/committees/61_2_LACSubmissions/20100507.pdf
The passage of the Bill was so swift that it took the organizations by surprise and they did not attend the Committee's deliberations on May 5.
The organizations concerned are calling for the Department of Agriculture to provide full and meaningful consultation during the next stage of regulatory development to ensure high environmental standards and public scrutiny. They also are asking the Department to conduct a full cost accounting of the fur industry before further measures are taken to promote more growth in the sector.
In their haste to pass Bill 53 before summer break the NDP government forgot the value of democratic process and passed a law that was developed in a vacuum.
- 30 -
For more information, please contact:
Gretchen Fitzgerald, Sierra Club Atlantic:
gretchenf@sierraclub.ca 902-444-3113
Jocelyne Rankin, Ecology Action Centre:
water@ecologyaction.ca 902-442-5046
Deborah Carver, East Coast Environmental Law:
dcarver@ecelaw.ca 902-489-7997
Steve Hawboldt, Clean Annapolis River Project:
carp@annapolisriver.ca
Randy Cleveland, Tusket River Environmental Protection Association:
rg_cleveland@yahoo.com 902-761-2335
Shelley Wilson, Yarmouth County Environmental Justice Committee:
Ricshel2@eastlink.ca 902-742-9727