Media Releases

STATEMENT: Federal Court dismisses NAFTA tribunal case, environmental groups react

Posted on May 2, 2018


May 2, 2018

OTTAWA – East Coast Environmental Law, Sierra Club Canada Foundation and Ecojustice issued the following statement in response to the Federal Court’s dismissal of Canada’s case challenging a landmark arbitral award brought under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Chapter 11 provision by an American corporation:

Lisa Mitchell, East Coast Environmental Law’s Executive Director said:

Bees plan protest. Sierra Club is not amused.

Posted on April 1, 2018
Bees plan protest on Parliament Hill

For immediate release

April 1, 2018

Bees plan protest on Parliament Hill. Sierra Club says they are overworked and undervalued by the protesters.

Ottawa - In an unprecedented move, Canada’s endangered and threatened bee colonies have decided to go political, with a planned demonstration on Parliament Hill tomorrow afternoon and a press conference scheduled in advance to list their demands and provide time for Q&A.

Sierra Club Pleased With Investment of $1.3B in Nature in 2018-2019 Federal Budget

Posted on February 28, 2018

Ottawa - Sierra Club Canada Foundation is pleased to see a substantial commitment to protecting nature in the 2018-2019 Budget. As part of the Green Budget Coalition, Sierra Club Canada Foundation and 18 other leading environmental groups have been pushing for Canada to make a significant commitment to protecting wild spaces. Today's budget makes a ground-breaking commitment of $1.3 Billion over 5 years for protecting land and endangered species.

Environmental assessment legislation contradicts Liberal election promise

Posted on February 8, 2018

Media release

For immediate release: February 8, 2018

K’JIPUKTUK (HALIFAX) – While there are improvements in overall environmental assessment processes in Liberal legislation tabled today in Ottawa, the draft Bill is a  step backwards with respect to offshore oil and gas in Atlantic Canada, appears to give oil and gas boards more authority, and points to federal concessions in response to lobbying from the provinces and oil industry.

BP Offshore Drill Project Approval Points to Need for Reform, According to Sierra Club Canada Foundation

Posted on February 3, 2018

OTTAWA - Sierra Club Canada Foundation is disappointed, but not surprised, that Federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna approved up to seven exploratory drill wells for BP off Nova Scotia yesterday. The leases where BP will be drilling are located 48 km from Sable Island National Park and 71 km from the Gully Marine Protected Area, home to the Northern bottlenose whale and deep-sea corals. 

Environmental groups in court to intervene in NAFTA tribunal overstep

Posted on January 29, 2018
-- NAFTA tribunal exceeded its jurisdiction when it made determination on what a Canadian environmental assessment panel can decide, groups say --

We are in federal court this week in Ottawa to ensure that original environmental assessments hold related to a US company wanting to set up quarry operations on the pristine shores of Digby Neck, Nova Scotia, in the the Bay of Fundy - home to critcally endangered right whales, important marine species, and upon which thousands of people make their lives and their livelihoods.

The Big Heist: Ottawa Hands Offshore Regulation to Oil Industry

Posted on January 24, 2018

For immediate release

K’JIPUKTUK (HALIFAX)  --  An alliance of twenty Atlantic Canadian and Quebec environmental, Indigenous, and fishery organizations gathered today to express alarm that offshore petroleum boards would be given more power over oceans off Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence under the Liberal government’s plan to modify the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.