This edition of EcoNews lets you know about our just released proposal for climate action in New Brunswick, and our response to the federal government’s study of the proposed Sisson mine. Also shared here is this week’s news that Mi’kmaq Chiefs are suing the New Brunswick government over the Crown Lands Forestry Strategy. Finally, because it’s spring, we have some exciting news to share about our bee garden at Conserver House.
Climate action = job creation
Imagine a New Brunswick bustling from a thriving economy and growing employment for our young people that’s fuelled by clean, renewable energy and sustainable approaches to agriculture and forestry. It can happen here just like it is happening in provinces across Canada and in locations around the world. Read the Conservation Council’s Climate Action Plan Proposal here.
Attention Fredericton residents! Fredericton MP Matt DeCourcey will be hosting a town hall meeting on job creation and climate change on Tuesday, May 24 at Centre Communautaire Sainte-Anne. Have a say on what you think Canada should be doing on climate change. Read more here.
Conservation Council to advise federal government on climate action, green jobs, nature and health
The Conservation Council of New Brunswick’s Executive Director, Lois Corbett, has been appointed by the Federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Honourable Catherine McKenna, to the Canada’s Sustainable Development Advisory Council. “I look forward to working with Minister McKenna and Advisory Committee colleagues to help produce smart public policy around national government actions and environmental protection,” says Corbett. Read more here.
Conservation Council comments on Sisson Mine project environmental assessment report
The Sisson Mine should not be approved based on our expert review of the federal government’s Comprehensive Study Report of the project. The Sisson Mine project, if built, would be an open-pit tungsten and molybdenum mine and one of the world’s largest tailings dams in the heart of the upper Nashwaak River Valley. The mine has failed to gain the consent of New Brunswick First Nations, and important questions about the mine’s impact on the natural environment remain unanswered. Read our submissions here.
Conservation Council supports Mi’kmaq First Nations’ Lawsuit
Mi’kmaq First Nation Chiefs launched a lawsuit against the New Brunswick government over its Crown Lands and Forest Strategy on May 12. The statement of claim argues that the forestry strategy is an infringement of Aboriginal rights and treaties. “We agree with them when they say the forestry strategy will significantly, permanently and negatively impact wildlife and the overall health of New Brunswick’s forest while also harming Mi’kmaq rights to hunt, fish and gather in the forest,” said Lois Corbett, Conservation Council’s Executive Director, to CBC. Read the statement of claim and the Conservation Council’s endorsement here.
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We are the Lorax, we speak for the… bees!
Dr. Seuss’s the Lorax may have spoken on behalf of the Truffula trees, but at the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, one thing we like to speak for are the bees, and all pollinators. Thanks to more funding from the Fredericton Community Foundation, we can continue to do that. Our tiny but mighty pollinator garden is just one of the ways we educate New Brunswick children on the importance of pollinators and what they can do to help restore pollinator habitats. Bees, butterflies and other pollinator species are crucial to New Brunswick’s food supply and ecosystems. We have them to thank for the apple orchards, berry crops and wildflowers that make New Brunswick so special. By continuing our work educating and engaging the public we can gain a better understanding of our natural world through a focus on urban pollinator gardens and family backyards as ways to restore and protect pollinator habitat.