“Allowing a lake to be turned into a dump site for a private company is nothing short of privatizing a public resource that is essential to life. Contaminating a water body will have devastating consequences on entire watersheds at a time when the world is dealing with a fresh water crisis,”
— Maude Barlow, of the Council of Canadians.
Newfoundland’s Sandy Pond is slated to become a toxic dump site for Vale Inco. The processing plant being built near Long Harbour, at Placentia Bay, will process nickel from Voisey’s Bay and dump approximately 400,000 ton of tailings annually in nearby Sandy Pond, a 38-hectare freshwater lake. 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 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.
Make your voice heard!
All Canadians have a stake in the future of our fresh water sources. We encourage you to defend Newfoundland's Sandy Pond and tell our government that lakes should not be used as dump sites.
What you can do:
ACTION ALERT: Save Newfoundland's Sandy Pond
Resources:
BLOG: Read blog posts on Sandy Pond by Brent Patterson, Director of Campaigns and Communications
FACT SHEET: Why is the Canadian Government Letting Mining Companies Turn Lakes into Toxic Dumps? March 2011
HANDBILL: Sandy Pond, March 2010
MEDIA: Vale setback: Sandy Pond Alliance lawsuit ruling places severe restrictions on intervener status, February 24, 2011
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: Coalition takes federal government to court to protect lakes, June 4, 2010
PRESS: Remarks from press conference held by the Sandy Pond Alliance to Protect Canadian Waters, March 22, 2010
BACKGROUNDER: Sandy Pond Alliance to Protect Canadian Waters, March 2010
FACT SHEET: Letter sent to residents of Long Harbour, March 2010
MEDIA: Canada abandons freshwater legacy, Maude Barlow and David Schindler, The Star Phoenix,
July 3, 2009
ARTICLE: Mining Companies Turning Lakes into Toxic Dumps, Canadian Perspectives, Spring 2009
|
