300 scientists call on feds to reject Northern Gateway

Two Raincoast scientists were among 300 that sent a letter to Stephen Harper and the federal cabinet last week, calling on them to reject the Northern Gateway proposal because the JRP report was flawed.

Download the scientist’s letter

 

The scientists believe the Joint Review Panel report was flawed for the following five broad reasons.

1. The JRP  failed  to  adequately  articulate  the  rationale  for  its  findings,

2.  The JRP considered  only  a  narrow  set  of  risks  but  a  broad  array  of  benefits,  thereby  omitting  adequate  consideration  of  key  issues,

3. The JRP relied  on  information  from  the  proponent,  without  external  evaluation,

4. The report contradicted  scientific  evidence contained  in  official  government  documents, and

5.  The Panel treated  uncertain  risks  as  unimportant  risks,  and  assumed  these  would  be  negated  by  the  proponent’s  yet-­‐to be-­‐developed mitigation  measures.

You can help

Raincoast’s in-house scientists, collaborating graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and professors make us unique among conservation groups. We work with First Nations, academic institutions, government, and other NGOs to build support and inform decisions that protect aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and the wildlife that depend on them. We conduct ethically applied, process-oriented, and hypothesis-driven research that has immediate and relevant utility for conservation deliberations and the collective body of scientific knowledge.

We investigate to understand coastal species and processes. We inform by bringing science to decision-makers and communities. We inspire action to protect wildlife and wildlife habitats.

Coastal wolf with a salmon in its month.
Photo by Dene Rossouw.