Press

Media Release For Immediate Release April 28, 2004 VANCOUVER, BC – Sierra Legal Defence Fund submitted a formal petition to the federal Auditor General today alleging that the Government of Canada is failing to adequately regulate the release of toxic substances such as PCBs from sewage systems in many of Canada’s coastal municipalities. Filed on behalf of the Georgia Strait…

Funding for Sewage Treatment MEDIA RELEASE December 13, 2004 VICTORIA, BC – Environment Canada has responded to a formal petition filed by Sierra Legal Defence Fund on behalf of local conservation groups regarding Victoria sewage with good news: federal money is available to upgrade Victoria’s complete lack of sewage treatment. Environment Canada stated in their response that approximately $200 million…

Sept. 2004 View the National Report Card Report Card Highlights Evaluation of the 22 cities was based on: level of sewage treatment, volume of raw sewage discharged, compliance with laws and regulations, type of disinfection, method of sludge disposal, prevalence of combined sewer overflows and commitment to improvement Calgary, Edmonton and Whistler: Top of the class with 100% Tertiary treatment…

MEDIA RELEASE For immediate release September 8, 2004 Embarrassingly low grades for coastal cities, Victoria suspended VANCOUVER, BC – A national report card released today reveals that BC coastal communities continue to dump raw sewage into the environment, while more and more communities across Canada and around the world are moving towards more responsible sewage treatment. In its third “National…

Media Release: April 13, 2005 VICTORIA, BC – Documents recently obtained through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request show that Joyce Murray, then BC Minister of Water, Land and Air Protection (WLAP) ignored overwhelming evidence on the harmful effects of dumping raw sewage into the ocean when she approved Victoria’s Liquid Waste Management Plan (LWMP). The approved LWMP allows Victoria…

Media Release: April 21, 2005 VICTORIA, BC – Documents recently obtained through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request show that the current BC Government was pressured by the Capital Regional District (CRD) to approve Victoria’s lackluster 25 year Core Area Liquid Waste Management Plan (LWMP) in 2003 and that the province knowingly ignored a 1993 agreement with Washington State to…

Media Release: July 8, 2005 VICTORIA , BC –Environment Minister Stéphane Dion’s recent statement that he would like to see the city of Victoria, along with all cities across Canada, having a minimum of secondary treatment for its sewage is an important and welcomed step forward in efforts to reduce pollution impacts on our oceans from municipal waste, say local…

CRD sampling data reveals high levels of toxics near outfalls Media Release: November 15, 2005 VICTORIA, BC – Sierra Legal Defence Fund, on behalf of the Georgia Strait Alliance and T Buck Suzuki Environmental Foundation, made an urgent request today that the Province of British Columbia formally designate the underwater areas surrounding Victoria’s sewage outfalls as contaminated sites. The groups…

Media Release: February 8, 2006 VICTORIA, BC – Sierra Legal Defence Fund, the Georgia Strait Alliance and T. Buck Suzuki Environmental Foundation are expressing frustration over a mixed response recently received from the BC Ministry of Environment in regards to their request from last November. The groups had asked the province to formally recognize that the Capital Regional District (CRD)…

Media Release: February 22, 2006 VICTORIA, BC – The BC government’s budget is a major lost opportunity to stop the dumping of raw sewage by the Capital Regional District of Victoria (CRD), say local environmental groups. By not committing its 1/3 share for a new sewage plant, the government is allowing the CRD to continue flaunting the province’s environmental protection…