It No Longer Pays to Pollute in Canada
The chances are slim of Canadian authorities catching a ship in the act of illegally dumping bilge oil in the vast waters of Atlantic Canada.
When ship owners and operators have been convicted up until now, fines against them were quite low and did not act as a deterrent. The highest fine to date was $170,000. With minimal chances of being caught, convictions few and fines low, it pays to pollute in Canada. Canada had unwittingly created a system in which unscrupulous captains were encouraged to dump bilge oil in our waters.
Now that Bill C-15 has passed we will hopefully begin to see changes in
deliberate oil dumping. “The Senate has stood up for wildlife, Canada’s coastal
communities and those in the shipping community – the majority – who responsibly
dispose of their wastes,” said Rob Rainer, speaking on behalf of BirdLife
International and its Canadian co-partners, Nature Canada and Bird Studies
Canada. “By passing Bill C-15, the Senate has played a crucial role in helping
protect Canada’s marine ecosystems now and into the future and we congratulate
them in this effort.”
Deliberate oil pollution is not a new problem
in Canada. Biologist Leslie Tuck documented oiled birds washing up on beaches in
Newfoundland in the 1950s. Environment Canada's Canadian Wildlife Service has
been conducting systematic beached bird surveys since 1984. Chemical analyses of
oil samples from birds recovered on beaches along the southern coast of
Newfoundland show the oil is from ship bilges, not other
sources.
IFAW will continue working with government officials
and key decision makers after this crucial victory to monitor, help
improve and continue to save the lives of thousands of birds every year.
The Tecam Sea was spotted off the coast of Newfoundland trailing an oil
slick 116 km long! Charges against the Tecam Sea were dropped and it was
never fined for the toxic oil it dumped in Canadian waters.
Photo © Environment Canada
In the cold waters of the Northwest Atlantic a spot of oil the size of a quarter is enough to kill a sea bird. Photo © Environment Canada
