Canada’s environmental protections lagging resource development, audit finds
Posted Feb 5, 2013 10:11:04 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – A new federal audit says Canada’s system of environmental protections is struggling to keep up with the fast pace of development in the energy industry.
The audit is the last word coming from Scott Vaughan, the commissioner of the environment and sustainable development, before he leaves for a job outside government.
Vaughan says major resource projects in the North are advancing without proper inspections for environmental damage and risk.
The report also cites confusion in federal-provincial offshore petroleum boards about how to handle oil spills in the Atlantic.
It warns marine protection areas are being expanded only very slowly, despite intense interest in resource development in the oceans.
And liability limits to cover off the costs of accidents in nuclear plants or offshore oil and gas developments are decades out of date and far too low.
