….See Page 63 at: http://nslegislature.ca/pdfs/proceedings/hansard/61-3/h18apr27.pdf

Our letter to the government of Nova Scotia was mailed April 25^th ….
MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Yarmouth.

ENVIRON. - DAVID SUZUKI FDN.: WATERWAYS PROTECTION- LETTER

MR. ZACH CHURCHILL: Mr. Speaker, recently the Premier received a letter from the David Suzuki Foundation, along with other concerned groups, urging this government to take action to protect Nova Scotia‟s precious waterways. The foundation says that because government has not performed due diligence in dealing with the causes of serious nutrient pollution along the Wentworth-Carleton, Meteghan and Sissiboo river systems, that the government is putting our environment in jeopardy and acting contrary to the province‟s own water strategy.

My question is for the Minister of Environment. Is he aware of this letter and what action has he taken, as minister, to address these concerns?

HON. STERLING BELLIVEAU: Mr. Speaker, to the member opposite, through you, I want to tell the member that I‟m very aware of this particular issue and I just want to give a brief history lesson to the honourable member. This government has been in power for 22 months and this is a very complex issue, we‟re taking this very seriously and we appreciate the importance of this water, whether it‟s fresh water or salt water. We‟re going to do the right things for the people in Nova Scotia.

MR. CHURCHILL: Mr. Speaker, according to John Werring of the David Suzuki Foundation, nutrient levels like those found in these water systems are, “ . . . unheard of under normal circumstances . . . When we see those kinds of levels we take proactive measures to protect the environment and public health by building treatment facilities. Why that is not being done here is beyond comprehension.”

My question to the minister is, why isn‟t this government treating these polluted water systems and working to reverse the damage that has been done to them by nutrient pollution?

MR. BELLIVEAU: Mr. Speaker, we have met a number of times with the stakeholders, with the communities and we are moving forward. The report that you‟re talking about, we support that as a most probable cause of the nutrient loading into that particular river system. I can assure you again, in 22 months, this particular government has done more than the previous ones have done in decades.

MR. CHURCHILL: Mr. Speaker, this is a crisis that needs immediate attention. There have been three major studies conducted by the Nova Scotia Department of Environment on this issue. The province has a water quality strategy and yet we still see no tangible action from the NDP; we still wait. Our waterways are our most precious and valuable resource. Our very existence is contingent on access to clean water. However, as 2008 federal report on water quality indicates, we may be faced with increasing scarcity and diminishing quality of our fresh water. This is an increasing concern for many of my constituents who use and live along our waterways. My question to the minister is, will this government act immediately to treat the Wentworth-Carleton, Meteghan and Sissiboo River systems and protect them from future contamination?

MR. BELLIVEAU: Again, through you, Mr. Speaker, I want to be very clear of the timeframe, we‟ve been in office, 22 months. We‟ve dealt more with this very complex issue. We have introduced a new regulation to deal with this particular sector and we‟re moving forward with those regulations. I want to point out that this particular minister takes this very seriously, whether it‟s fresh water or salt water. We have put protection in to protect Georges Bank and we‟ll do the same thing for the Carleton watershed.

MR. SPEAKER: The honourable member for Digby-Annapolis. (Applause)

John Werring
Aquatic Habitat Specialist
Marine and Freshwater Conservation Program

David Suzuki Foundation Ste. 219 - 2211 West 4th Avenue Vancouver, BC, V6K 4S2
 www.davidsuzuki.org

Celebrating 20 Years David Suzuki turns 75 this year. How will you celebrate?”