Money reports that, “The oilsands may be set to throw a wrench in the works of a major trade accord between Canada and the European Union (CETA). According to reports the federal government is threatening to take a European Union directive on fuel quality (EFQD) to the World Trade Organization as it would penalize Canadian oil.”
“The Council of Canadians on Friday slammed the government’s attempts to force the EU to water down its environmental protection laws.”
The letter – initiated by Council of Canadians climate campaigner Andrea Harden-Donahue – was signed by the Climate Action Network Canada, Common Frontiers, the Indigenous Environmental Network, CUPE National, Greenpeace Canada, the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions, the Canadian Union of Public Employees – Ontario, the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition, Équiterre, the Yukon Federation of Labour, the Polaris Institute, and numerous other groups.
To read the letter, click here.
For a timeline of the Harper government’s lobbying of the European Union on the tar sands, please go to http://canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=7057.
The news article also highlights, “Approval for new oilsands projects and water licenses should be suspended until the federal and Alberta governments put in place new monitoring procedures, a study by a panel of experts (David Schindler, Andrew Miall and Adèle Hurley) found.”
The full article can be read at http://money.canoe.ca/money/business/canada/archives/2011/04/20110408-101018.html.
