The Globe and Mail reports, “The Ontario government is proposing regulations that would allow scientists to legally conduct experiments at a world-renowned outdoor freshwater laboratory where no new research has been done since the federal government pulled out of an operating agreement five months ago.”
“The ELA was slated to close after the federal Department of Fisheries, which operated the station on land and lakes owned by Ontario, announced in 2012 that the work conducted there was no longer within the scope of its mandate. …The experiments, which often involve injecting pollutants into the lakes to observe the effects, were halted last September when the federal government ended an agreement with the province that sanctioned the manipulations.”
“The IISD (International Institute for Sustainable Development, which will take over the management of the ELA) insisted new rules were needed to allow the work to continue without breaking environmental law. So scientists expressed cautious optimism late last week when Ontario’s Environment Ministry posted a set of proposed regulations to authorize experimentation.”
The deadline for public comment on the proposed regulations is February 15.
The Council of Canadians worked with ‘Save ELA‘ over a 10-month period to stop the closure of this freshwater research facility. In May 2012, the Harper government announced that it would close the ELA as a cost-cutting measure. The following month the Council of Canadians committed publicly to stopping this. On April 24, 2013, the Canadian Press reported, “Ontario has found common ground with the federal government and Manitoba to keep a world-famous experimental research area open in the northwestern part of the province.”
Further reading
WIN! Ontario and Manitoba to help fund the Experimental Lakes Area
Groups urge Ontario and Manitoba governments to fund the Experimental Lakes Area
60% of Conservative voters oppose the funding cuts to the Experimental Lakes Area
