Schedule 2 is an inconspicuous name for legislation that is responsible for the destruction of freshwater bodies in Canada. Schedule 2 is a loophole in the Metal Mining Effluent Regulation (MMER) of the federal Fisheries Act that allows metal mining corporations to use lakes and rivers as toxic dump sites. Once added to Schedule 2, healthy freshwater lakes lose all environmental protections.

Schedule 2 was first introduced by the Liberal government in 2002. At the time, environmental groups were told it was merely an administrative detail aimed at accounting for the lakes and rivers that had historically been used for mining waste. The Liberal government gave assurances that Schedule 2 would not be used for healthy bodies of water.

Then in 2006, under the Harper government, two lakes in Newfoundland and Labrador were approved for destruction using the MMER loophole and a precedent was set that would put the future of all lakes and rivers throughout the country in jeopardy. Since then, Environment Canada has released a list of 13 natural water bodies that mining corporations have applied to use as toxic dump sites – or what the companies refer to as “tailings impoundment areas.” Five bodies of water have already been approved for destruction.

Make your voice heard! Write to Environment MinisterPeter Kent and tell him the Schedule 2 loophole must be closed!

Lakes proposed for destruction under Schedule 2:

Teztan Biny (Fish Lake)

The Council of Canadians stands with the Tsilhqot'in National Government in rejecting the federal government’s reopening of a rejected proposal for the Prosperity Mine in British Columbia. The the move violates the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the UN-recognized right to water. Even Taseko, the company that is proposing the mine, is on record as having stated that this ‘new’ option to dispose of the mine’s toxic tailings is worse than the plan that was rejected by the federal review panel. A new panel would therefore also be a waste of public funds. Read more about Fish Lake here.

Sandy Pond

Sandy Pond, near Long Harbour, N.L., is on the hit list. The mine tailings that Vale Inco plans to dump into the lake will destroy the lake, causing irreversible damage. The Sandy Pond Alliance to Protect Canadian Water launched a legal challenge in March 2010 to declare Schedule 2 in violation of the Fisheries Act. The Sandy Pond Alliance to Protect Canadian Water launched a legal challenge in March 2010 to declare Schedule 2 in violation of the Fisheries Act. The Federal Court is deciding on applications from Vale, the Mining Association of Canada and the Mining Association of British Columbia to intervene in the case. Read more about Sandy Pond here.

Marathon-area waterway

Marathon-area waterways are facing destruction by Marathon PGM Corporation, who wants to mine a base metal-copper deposit and build a $385 million mine and mill. On October 7, 2010, the Environment Minister referred the matter to a review panel. Panel members have not been appointed yet. Read more here.

Environment Canada’s list of 12 lakes under threat »

Article: Council Joins Community Struggles to Protect Canadian Lakes and Rivers from Becoming Mining Companies’ Private Dumps, Canadian Perspectives, Autumn 2010

Headline news: Vale targets pristine lake for tailings, Linda Diebel, Toronto Star, September 10, 2010

Media: Federal Court asked to deny Vale intervenor request in legal challenge, September 9, 2010

Media: Coalition takes federal government to court to protect lakes, June 4, 2010

Fact sheet: Why is the Canadian Government Letting Mining Companies Turn Lakes into Toxic Dumps? March 2011

	Schedule 2 protest The Council of Canadians joined with Mining Watch Canada to question former Environment Minister John Baird’s commitment to turn Canadian lakes into toxic dump sites for mining companies. We attended an all-candidates forum in Minister Baird’s riding and put him on the hot seat. October 9, 2008
	Maude Barlow was in Vancouver on May 27, 2010 to speak about Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) and to protect it against the Schedule 2 exemption in the Fisheries Act that would destroy it. To see the 9-minute video, please go here.

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