Where is the Sanity in our Government?

For any of you that have lived in Squamish and been actively involved in environmental initiatives you likely are aware of the work being undertaken on a regular basis by the local Streamkeeper group to cover creosote pilings so that herring spawning upon these structures will stand a chance for survival of the eggs. As many as 70 billion herring eggs die each year in the Squamish harbour from herring that have spwaned on pilings.

I recently submitted a letter to Environment Canada asking for an explanation as to why they continue to allow the use of creosote in our marine environment. Their response was even more disturbing than no response would have been. This is the response from Janice Boyd at Environment Canada: "...given your concerns for creosote pilings, you would likely be interested in a recent Re-evaluation Decision for Heavy Wood Preservatives (including creosote) by Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency (website http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/pubs/pest/_decisions/rvd2001-06/index-eng.php). So, if I understand this all correctly, DFO defers to Environment Canada when it comes to the introduction of deleterious substances in the marine environment and Environment Canada defers to Health Canada. And how does this improve conditions for fish??

To say that I am confused and baffled would be an understatement. I do not understand how our legislation can be so full of holes and this is but one example. Under our current government I can also not imagine any changes any time soon so I guess we should feel lucky in our community that at least we have some concerned citizens who are willing to do what they can on their own dime to give the spawning herring a fighting chance for survival.

I'll continue to work with the Seagrass Conservation Working group to reestablish eelgrass beds and maybe collectively one day our government will see the light and take cue from the grass- root efforts being undertaken in ours and so many other coastal communities. One can always hope!

Welcome

Just trying this Blogger Business out. Let me know what you think. I've tried to set this up so that it has restricted access to only those that have been invited. As well, I have tried to set it up so that I will act as moderator and all posts should go to my 'in box' so that I can approve their content before posting. We can make changes as we go - this is just me playing around. So, enjoy!