The Council of Canadians is calling on federal Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan to protect the Shawnigan Lake watershed.
A federal government media release from March 2013 says, “The Esquimalt Graving Dock has been used for the repair and maintenance of military and civilian vessels since 1927. Decades of work at the dock have contributed to sediment contamination in the seabed around the facility.”
It’s that contaminated soil that is being dumped in the Shawnigan Lake watershed area.
CHEK News has reported, “In March, the B.C. Supreme Court ruled the controversial Stebbings Road site can’t be used as a landfill. But six contracts — responsible for 106,000 tonnes of waste — can be fulfilled and the vast majority of the tainted soil is coming from Department of National Defence.”
On April 29, the Council of Canadians Victoria chapter was at a protest at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt to call on defence minister to protect the watershed.
The Council of Canadians Mid-Island chapter has also been actively opposing the dump site.
Now the Shawnigan Residents Association asks, “Please help us send a loud message to the Minister of Defence, the Honourable Harjit Sajjan, that this contaminated soil has no place in our community watershed. At the very least, the Minister should respectfully halt all dumping until the courts have ruled.”
To support this call – via Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr – go to the Thunderclap page here.
On May 31, 9:30 am EDT, your message of support for the Shawnigan Lake watershed will be shared on social media.
