So, 2guys if Canadian environmental reviews protect the environment why does the Canada Assoc. of Coal lobby the feds so vigorously and evidently successfully to amend acts like the Fisheries Act that protects fish from mining affluents? or the Clean Air act that limits coal dust particles? This lobbying is part of the public record that can be easily obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
Also, if the Canadian environmental assessments are sacrosanct, why does the coal industry "donate" up to a million to political parties that endorse and subsidize a self regulating industry? These "donations" are also part of the public record.
Or why has the BC Auditor General accused the BC Environmental Assessment Office of being a "rubber stamp" for big business?
Or why can Quinsam Coal mine owners (Hillsborough) avoid taking responsibility for contaminating Long Lake with sulphates and arsenic since 2003 UNTIL an independent UBC scientific study recently verified contamination was continuous from mining activities?
Or why doesn't the coal industry pay for the billions needed to "rehabilitate" contaminated water sources that are a byproduct of mining?
Or why, given this evidence of contamination, the EAO approved, without an environmental review process, or without social licence, Quinsam expansion to open pit mining?
Or why a BC Government that has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, would consider permitting 9 mines that would each produce milllions of methane and Co2 emissions yearly?
these are rhetorical questions that expose a corrupted environmental review process that puts corporate profit ahead of people or clean air and water.