Auditor General’s Report confirms major problems with BC Environmental Assessment Office: 'Toothless and broken' system is little more than a rubber stamp, says Wilderness Committee
VANCOUVER - John Doyle, the Auditor General of British Columbia,
today released a damning report regarding the provincial Environmental
Assessment Office (EAO).
The report, entitled ‘An Audit of the Environmental Assessment
Office’s Oversight of Certified Products’, found that the EAO was not
adequately monitoring industrial projects nor ensuring that
environmental commitments were being met by development proponents. The
EAO is responsible for assessing major industrial projects, including
mines, power projects and tourist destination resorts, for their
potential environmental impacts.
“The Wilderness Committee has said for the past decade that the
Environmental Assessment process in BC is broken and toothless – little
more than a rubber stamp for mining and other industrial developments, “
said Gwen Barlee, Policy Director for the Wilderness Committee. “The
auditor general’s report confirms many of our criticisms.”
In 2002, the BC government weakened the Environmental Assessment Act
which was first introduced in 1994. Since 1995 the Office has assessed
219 industrial projects refusing certification for just one - the
Garibaldi at Squamish project, a proposed resort community near
Whistler.
“The issue here is that the public interest is not being protected,”
said Barlee. “In addition to the environmental implications, we are
concerned that the citizens or BC are losing confidence in this and
other government processes – it’s a dangerous thing when people lose
trust in their public institutions,” said Barlee. "The Environmental
Assessment Office needs a complete overhaul to restore the public's
trust and to adequately protect our environment."
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Contact:
Gwen Barlee, Policy Director,
Wilderness Committee: 604-683-8220
The Wilderness Committee is Canada's largest membership-based,
citizen-funded wilderness preservation organization. We work for the
preservation of Canadian and international wilderness through research
and grassroots education. The Wilderness Committee works on the ground
to achieve ecologically sustainable communities.
