Austria and Italy Fully Ban GM Crops With EU Opt-Out

AgroNews

Austrian Health Minister Sabine Oberhauser and a number of Italian Ministries have confirmed that both countries are officially requesting an opt-out from growing the eight varieties of  GM maize permitted or set to be permitted at the EU level, thus there will now be a full ban on GM crops in both countries under new EU regulations. Story here.

The Canadian Province of Manitoba Makes Largest-Ever Land Donation to Protect Iconic Lake Manitoba Wetland

Flood Control, Water Quality, Carbon Storage, Wildlife to Benefit:  Minister Mackintosh

Photo credit - Town of Gladstone. 

A Lake Manitoba wetland about five times the size of Birds Hill Park called Big Grass Marsh has been donated by the municipalities of Lakeview and Westbourne for conservation, making this the largest such land donation in the province’s history, Conservation and Water Stewardship Minister Gord Mackintosh announced today.  This is the largest conservation agreement of its kind in Canada.

Island of Maui Defies Monsanto, Passes Ban on GMO Farming

Bloomberg

The measure puts a temporary moratorium on the farming of genetically modified crops in Maui County. Story here.

Good News For St. Lawrence (Canada) Belugas… at Least, For Now

Canadian Parks & Wilderness Society

Photo credit: W. Klenner

Last week, we had good news (albeit temporary) about one of Canada’s most threatened wildlife species – the beautiful beluga whales of the St Lawrence Estuary. Story here.

NAFTA Environmental Body Asks Ottawa to Respond to Oilsands Waste Concerns

The Canadian Press 

A North American trade body has asked Ottawa to respond to allegations that it has failed to enforce its own laws when it comes to oilsands waste known as tailings. Full story here.

Exploration Company to Lose Drilling (Fracking) Licence Near Newfoundland's Gros Morne Park

InfoTel Multimedia

An oil exploration company says it will lose its licence next month to drill wells near Gros Morne National Park in western Newfoundland. Details here.

Ottawa to Designate Crude Oil as Highly Dangerous

The Globe and Mail

The federal government will, for the first time, designate crude oil a highly dangerous substance and introduce tougher safety and testing measures for shipping oil by rail. Details here.

Related: "Have Our Servants Become Our Masters?"

Court Rules Alberta Improperly Excluded Pembina Institute From Oilsands Regulatory Process

Pembina Institute

EDMONTON — Alberta’s Court of Queen’s Bench has quashed a government decision not to allow the Pembina Institute and the Fort McMurray Environmental Association to participate in the regulatory review of a proposed oilsands project. Full story here.

Tar Sands Supporters Suffer Setback as British Columbia Rejects Pipeline

theguardian

Canadian province rejects plan for Enbridge Northern Gateway, saying company failed to demonstrate adequate clean-up plan. Full story here.

Hungary Won't Tolerate GMO Seeds, Burns 1,000 Acres of Corn

MSN

A GMO crop in Manitoba, Canada. PLT photo.

Think you can plant genetically modified seeds with your crop and no one will notice? Better not try it in Hungary, where agriculture officials literally took a scorched-Earth approach to GMO seeds...Details here.

Pollinator Protection - Europe Shows Us How It's Done

Dear Editor, 

Oh, to be in Europe, now that they have put us to shame, once again! 

Member states of the European Union have just voted to clamp a temporary (2 year) ban on members of that "devil family" of bee-killing insecticides known as "neonicotinoids." It is now illegal to use the stuff anywhere over that entire continent! While Europe has finally seen the light, they're still applied prodigiously on food crops in North America. The seeds of crops such as corn and canola are now shot-full of them before they even go into the ground!

Vancouver Island Declares Itself a GE Free Zone

Society for a GE Free BC

51 municipalities yesterday supported a motion brought forward by Metchosin to make Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities a genetically engineered free zone – Details here.

Designed by PLT

"The House" Apologizes Over an Interview on the Keystone Pipeline

by Larry Powell

This morning,"The House" apologized over an interview done on that CBC Radio program on July 23rd. In the interview, Derek Burney, once Canada's ambassador to the US, sung the praises of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline and attacked critics in the environmental movement as "emotional" and even "violent."

In the process of responding to that interview, I discovered Burney is a Director of TransCanadaPipelines, the company building the project. He did not disclose this in the course of the interview.

After complaining twice to the CBC ombudsman, I received an apology from "The House," yesterday, saying it was unaware of Burney's vested interest at the time. It ran this clarification on its program this morning (Sept 10th).

"On July 23rd we aired a conversation with former ambassadors Derek Burney & Gordon Giffin about Canada-US relations. Part of the discussion was about the Keystone XL pipeline project. We failed to inform you that Derek Burney sits on the board of Trans Canada, the company behind the project. We apologize for that."

And below is a copy of the response I received yesterday from the senior producer of "The House" &, in turn, my answer to him.