David Suzuki Foundation British Columbians watched news coverage of the Mount Polley Mine disaster with shock and concern after a collapsed dam released almost 15 million cubic metres of toxic effluent into the salmon-rich Quesnel River systems. In addition to concerns for area residents' immediate health and safety, dead fish are appearing and there are fears the spill could cause harm right up to the Fraser River. Details here.
The operator of the Mount Polley mine, Imperial Metals, was warned as recently as a few months ago that levels of wastewater in its tailings pond were too high! Details here.
If the pharmaceutical giant succeeds, it will have effectively found a mechanism to override the Supreme Court of Canada and hold Canadian taxpayers liable for hundreds of millions in damages in the process. The cost to the health-care system could be enormous as the two Eli Lilly patents may be the proverbial tip of the iceberg and claims from other pharmaceutical companies could soon follow. Details here.
Proposed answers from Environment Canada to questions about a 2013 oilsands leak triggered emails suggesting the department “limit information” given to media. Details here.