To read an article entitled, "Revised northern land plan under fire", written by Provincial Affairs Writer Keith Gerein of the Edmonton Journal, please click on the following link:http://www.edmontonjournal.com/technology/Revised+northern+land+plan+under+fire/5326418/story.html
From the article: "The Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta, "lacks strategies to reduce tailings ponds (thus putting all kinds of wildlife at risk for death), limit land use (so that land exists for the wildlife and the plants of this province), and manage biodiversity, including the province's threatened population of woodland caribou..."
The people of this province want to know Mr. Ed Stelmach when your government is going to focus on other things besides "Big Oil" and issues relating to your own retirement as leader of this Province? Mr. Stelmach in an article entitled,"Stelmach Government Fails to Plan for a Sustainable Future" (from the year 2007) which you can read by clicking on the following link: http://www.toxwatch.ca/node/49 it is stated, "The Stelmach Government’s first budget does little to acknowledge the accelerating environmental impacts of an overheating energy sector, let alone begin to address them, three leading environmental organisations said today.
“The environment was a complete no-show in this budget,” said Amy Taylor, Senior Economist at the Pembina Institute. “Premier Stelmach’s government doesn’t seem to understand that the environment is a priority for Albertans, and that Albertans’ priorities need to be reflected in the budget."
In 2009, "To add to the long list of international publications that have focused on the environmental costs of the oilsands, National Geographic chose its March edition to splash images of the development - with at least four pictures depicting unsightly tailings ponds - across its pages alongside an article." At that time, Simon Dyer, oilsands program director for the Pembina Institute, an environmental think-tank, said, `industry and government need to take responsibility for the environmental performance of the oilsands.'' In this same year, the government (of Alberta) released a long-awaited, 20-year blueprint for Alberta's oilsands that aims ``to reduce the environmental footprint, optimize economic growth and increase the quality of life in Alberta's oilsands regions.'' However, according to experts, "the report was immediately criticized for being light on details." Mr. Stelmach, the people of this province want to know when you and your ministers are going to star to take responsibility for the environmental performance of the Oilsands? Premier, you have been quoted in public as stating, "“the environment trumps the economy” (source:http://ken-chapman.blogspot.com/2008/03/stelmach-is-right-environment-does.html) , however you have failed to back up these words with concrete policy and plans to protect the physical environment and the plants and animals of this Province! The people of this province want to know why we should trust you or any Progressive Conservative leader of the province in the future, regarding anything you say or anything this future PC leader of the province says, when you have failed to show the people of this Province and the World through your actions and policy , that the "environment trumps the economy"!
Mr. Stelmach what do experts think of you? This is what they think:
Pembina reacts to revised draft of Lower Athabasca Regional Plan
CALGARY — "Jennifer Grant, director of the Pembina Institute's oilsands program,made the following statement in response to the release today of arevised draft of the Government of Alberta's Lower Athabasca Regional Plan:
"The government's effortsto accommodate industry interests are apparent in this version of the LowerAthabasca Regional Plan, with the adjustment of some protected areas, and newloopholes introduced last week that allow further exemptions to environmentalstandards.
"With the federalgovernment signaling last week that writing off 95 per cent of caribou habitatis an acceptable approach as long as thousands of wolves are killed to limitpredation, we are not confident that Alberta's delayed caribou and biodiversitystrategies will protect the province's ecosystems.
"In this latest draft ofthe plan, the Alberta government has missed the opportunity to improve on theweaknesses we identified in the previous version, including adequate protectionfor caribou habitat, allowing logging in some conservation areas, and the lackof limits on water withdrawals from the Athabasca during low-flow periods.
"The Pembina Institute hasrecommended that the draft regional plan should be reviewed by an independentgroup of scientists and overhauled to ensure the protection of the regionalenvironment. It now appears these recommendations have been ignored." (source:http://www.pembina.org/media-release/2258 )
"The government's effortsto accommodate industry interests are apparent in this version of the LowerAthabasca Regional Plan, with the adjustment of some protected areas, and newloopholes introduced last week that allow further exemptions to environmentalstandards.
"With the federalgovernment signaling last week that writing off 95 per cent of caribou habitatis an acceptable approach as long as thousands of wolves are killed to limitpredation, we are not confident that Alberta's delayed caribou and biodiversitystrategies will protect the province's ecosystems.
"In this latest draft ofthe plan, the Alberta government has missed the opportunity to improve on theweaknesses we identified in the previous version, including adequate protectionfor caribou habitat, allowing logging in some conservation areas, and the lackof limits on water withdrawals from the Athabasca during low-flow periods.
"The Pembina Institute hasrecommended that the draft regional plan should be reviewed by an independentgroup of scientists and overhauled to ensure the protection of the regionalenvironment. It now appears these recommendations have been ignored." (source:http://www.pembina.org/media-release/2258 )
Mr. Stelmach at a time when the school children of this province are returning to school to learn and achieve in the classroom, the people of the Province of Alberta have to give you a big-fat "F" in your performance for your failure to protect the environment of this province, and a second big-fat "F" for failing to act and create policy to prove that you really meant that the "environment trumps the economy". These failures have began occurring when the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta took power 40 years ago and have been repeated over and over again by the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta, in its 40 years of ruling this Province!! Consequently the Progressive Conservative Party deserves a big fat "F" for its performance relating to the environment and the plants and animals of this province over this 40 year span! And is is the people and the other life in this Province which have been suffering because of this failure to protect the environment, as our health is being threatened by your failures!! Even though you and your so-called experts do not agree with this contention!
Source of image: http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/blogimages/01_tarsands_emissions.jpg
