The Sandy Pond Alliance
The Sandy Pond Alliance to Protect Canadian Waters – which includes the Council of Canadians – launched a Federal Court challenge on June 4, 2010. The Council has contributed $10,000 to this legal challenge, and the Alliance’s chairperson is St. John’s chapter activist Ken Kavanagh.
The Alliance – represented by lawyer Owen Myers – maintains that Schedule 2 is contrary to the intent of the Fisheries Act because it permits the destruction of freshwater fish habitat and unique biodiversity. On February 18, 2011, Vale Ltd., the Mining Association of Canada and the Mining Association of British Columbia were granted limited intervener status in the court proceedings. By March, Vale was pushing to have the case heard in Ontario. In November, the Sandy Pond Alliance attempted to introduce a second affidavit in this case, but that was rejected by Federal Court prothonotary Roza Aronovitch.
While it had been expected that a 2-3 day Federal Court hearing would take place in November-December, it is now expected in early-2012.
What’s next?
- In late-January, there will be an in-camera cross-examination, we expect by Vale and/or the federal government, of John Gibson, a former Department of Fisheries and Oceans scientist.
- Likely in February, a final date for the application (the actual court hearing) will be set.
- While it had been expected that a 2-3 day Federal Court hearing would take place in November-December, it is now expected in mid-2012.
- And lastly, a decision is expected sometime after that.
The Vale plant that would dump approximately 400,000 tonnes of tailings annually into Sandy Pond is to be completed in 2013.
