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one.

The urban environment

ith 78 percent of
B.C.’s population living in urban
areas, and with more than 50
Percent of the overall total in
Greater Vancouver, this has resulted
in a number of serious pollution and
Waste problems. Other urban
centres suffer from the same
problems, different only in scale.
Greater Victoria, for example, has
255,000 people. Many smaller
Municipalities, where the economy

is dominated by one or a few large
industrial plants, are major centres
of air and water-borne pollution.
The declining quality of water,
sewage and road systems in urban
centres requires massive
expenditures for renewal and
upgrading, to meet current and
future requirements. Such projects
cannot be financed from the limited,
municipal tax base. As proposed by
the Canadian Federation of
Municipalities, federal and
provincial governments share the
burden of such renewal. The

Federation's proposal would cost the
federal government $5 billion, less
than half the cost of the proposed
and unnecessary fleet of nuclear
submarines. Much of this
expenditure would be regained
through the generation of new taxes
and savings in unemployment
insurance benefits.

Vegetables from urban market
gardens along the Fraser River in
Greater Vancouver have been
contaminated by heavy metal
cadium. Most cadium produced is
electroplated onto steel, iron, copper,
brass and other alloys to prevent
corrosion. Cadium is also used for
soldering and brazing and in
rechargeable batteries. In addition to
cadium, lead and mercury are
finding their way into the food chain

An environmental Bill of Rights

he Federal Government
should enact an Environmental Bill
of Rights and place crimes against
the environment in the Criminal
Code. Similar, complementary
legislation should be enacted at the
Provincial level.

The Environmental Bill of Rights
should be based on the premise that
every Canadian is entitled to a
healthy environment. It should
ensure the right to challenge
polluters in court and allow
S0vernments.to be sued for failing
to protect the environment and for
Personal damages. Legislation

The guiding principle
must be development
today without
harmful effects to
future generations.

‘should provide enforceable

standards for air and water quality
and strict reviews of all public and
private sector developments to
ensure adequate protection of the

Measures to protect
the environment in B.C.

upport for a

Comprehensive program of nuclear

1Sarmament as a crucial step in the
Protection of the environment,
‘cluding: establishment of a
nuclear-weapons-free British
Columbia in a nuclear weapons free
Canada; conversion of the Nanoose
Bay Experimental Test Range to
Peaceful purposes; a ban on nuclear
Powered or nuclear capable
Warships in Canadian waters; an
€nd to cruise testing over Canadian
territory;

O Reinstatement of the
Moratorium on uranium production
In B.C.

QO Enactment of a Canadian
Envirénmental Bill of Rights.
Legislative action to make industrial
Pollution an offense under the
Criminal Code, with appropriate
Penalties, including jail terms for

Corporation executives.
Complementary and appropriate
legislation to be enacted at the
Provincial and local levels, with full
Input by concerned citizens’ groups.

Legislative requirements should
make corporations that cause
Pollution liable for the damage they
do to communities and other
industrial activity. A case in point is
the loss suffered by fishermen

through the closure of areas
contaminated by pulp and paper
mills. ,

O A more balanced use of our
forests. An end to the granting of
tree farm licences, coupled with the
phaseout of all current licences and
their replacement by a more
equitable form of tenure.

Holders’of existing tree farm
licences guilty of pollution or waste
should be heavily fined on

conviction. If the offense is repeated,

the licence should be cancelled.
Workers who lose employment as a
result of such policies should receive
compensation from companies guilty
of such practices. .

0 An end to the, export of raw
logs, coupled with the further
development of environmentally-
sound processing and
manufacturing in British Columbia.
More funding for reforestation and
silviculture.

O The elimination of pollution of
coastal and interior waters by pulp
and paper mills, lumber operations,
mines, industrial plants, oil spills
and waste and sewage disposal. .
Changes to pulp processing to ensure
that paper products are dioxin free.

O The destruction of existing PCB
stocks coupled with a ban on further
use of PCBs.

O Adequate financial assistance
to municipalities to provide for
upgrading and renewal of water and

environment. The guiding principle
must be development today without
harmful effects to future
generations.

Government at both senior levels
must encourage public participation
in environmental reviews, and
provide more timely information
and financial support to public
interest intervenors. Local
governments should, within their
sphere of authority, adopt more
stringent and enforceable standards
to protect the public against
pollution in every form. Local
governments can play a key role in
providing factual information and
promoting public. discussion and
representation by concerned citizens’
groups.

sewage systems and environmental
protection.

QO The development by federal,
provincial and municipal
governments of environmentally
safe methods of disposing of waste
disposal, including recycling in
every community.

O Promotion of “closed cycle
production” in industry, together
with provincial and municipal
government leadership to implement
comprehensive waste recycling. The
introduction of publicly owned and
operated, comprehensive, curbside
solid waste recycling programs in
Greater Vancouver and Victoria and
other major urban centres.

O More help by senior
governments in developing and
extending pollution free public
transit in urban areas, as an
important measure to reduce
automobile air pollution.

O The institution of a federal and
provincial program to clean up the
Fraser River, False Creek, Burrard
Inlet and Howe Sound in
consultation with local government
and public interest groups.

OA ban on further fossil fuel
power development as one measure
to reduce acid rain and ozone
depletion.

Q Restriction on the
transportation of crude or refined oil
by sea to those B.C. ports where
there is no other alternate means of
delivery. The enactment of new
regulations to ensure that all tanks
are doubled hulled, and deliveries by
barge prohibited.

Marine regulations should be set
requiring oil tanker traffic to

in this area. Evidence points to a
combination of fertilizer, urban
pollution and groundwater
contamination as contributing
factors. The authors of a Greater
Vancouver Regional District study
of the problem have called on the
provincial government to conduct a
region-wide study to assess urban
pollutions impact on soil and
vegetables in the Lower Mainland.
Similar studies should be
undertaken to assess the pollution
threat to the Fraser River, False
Creek, Burrard Inlet and Howe
Sound, followed by necessary
remedial action. At every step, the
right of the public to be fully
informed and to make
representation to the appropriate
authorities should be respected.

American ports to stay outside of
Canada’s 200 mile limit, coupled
with strong pressure by the
Canadian government on the U.S.
not to locate oil refineries in the
Puget Sound area of the U.S.
because of the danger to Canadian
coastal waters. There should be an
immediate halt to negotiations with
the U.S. for drilling, exploration and
development of offshore oil ©
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