Major Environmental Groups Applaud New Law to Protect Canadian Waters

“This bill paves the way for establishing a network of Marine Conservation Areas (MCAs)” said Joshua Laughren, WWF-Canada’s Director of Marine Conservation. “Now the real job is for Parks Canada to put this legislation to work by creating MCAs, starting in Western Lake Superior and Gwaii Haanas, on Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands).”

Canada has the longest coastline in the world. Canadian waters are showing clear signs of stress: fish stocks in parts of Atlantic and Pacific Canada have collapsed; some wildlife in the Arctic and Great Lakes show high levels of toxicity and have birth defects; habitat is being destroyed through activities like dredging and industrial development.

“Bill C-10 has a number of strengths, which led CPAWS to recommend passage by Parliament,” said Stephen Hazell, CPAWS’ Executive Director. “These strengths include the prohibitions on hydrocarbon and mineral development in marine conservation areas and the requirement that they include zones that fully protect special features or sensitive elements of ecosystems.”

An important aspect of the Bill is its focus on protecting healthy marine ecosystems by working cooperatively with communities. The Bill was introduced by the Minister of Canadian Heritage, the Honourable Sheila Copps.

CPAWS is Canada’s grassroots voice for wilderness with eleven chapters and 30,000 members and supporters across Canada. CPAWS’ marine protected areas work is spearheaded by the Nova Scotia and British Columbia chapters. CPAWS Nova Scotia focuses on reducing marine noise pollution, and establishing protected areas for deep sea coral aggregations and in near-shore ecosystems. CPAWS BC leads the Baja California to Bering Sea Marine Conservation Initiative, and works on the Southern Gulf Islands and Gwaii Haanas as high priority sites for marine conservation areas.

World Wildlife Fund Canada is a pre-eminent conservation organization whose mission is to stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature. Working with government, business and communities across Canada since 1967, WWF-Canada today counts more than 60,000 supporters. Headquartered in Toronto, WWF-Canada also has offices in Montreal, Whitehorse and Yellowknife, as well as on all three coasts: Halifax in the East, Prince Rupert in the West, and Iqaluit in the North. It also leads global conservation efforts in Cuba. WWF-Canada recently concluded its decade-long Endangered Spaces campaign which protected over 1,000 new areas across the country. WWF-Canada is part of WWF International, one of the world’s largest and most experienced independent conservation groups.