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Petitcodiac River
Visits Fredericton
Educational
Kits and a list of "Top 10 Good Reasons" to Commit is
provided by the Riverkeeper to all New Brunswick MLAs
(Moncton, February
7, 2003) - The environmental organisation dedicated to protecting
the Petitcodiac River finds that comments often made in the New
Brunswick Legislature to justify the reluctance of the government
to commit to a project to restore the endangered Petitcodiac River
sound strangely familiar to the alarmist arguments often used
by those oppose to the restoration of the river: fear surrounding
the Moncton dump and the "new ecosystem" theory.
During a discussion
on the Petitcodiac River in the Legislature last week, New Brunswick's
Environment and Local Government Minister, Kim Jardine, had then
stated that "nobody can guarantee me what is going to happen
to the dump if we remove the gates altogether or remove the causeway
all together" and that it was important not to forget that
a "new ecosystem had been created since the causeway was
built".
"In using such
arguments to justify the reluctance of the government to commit
to undertaking a genuine project to assist the Petitcodiac River,
the Minister needs to be aware of the potential bias and the public
perception being given by such comments" says Riverkeeper
Director Daniel LeBlanc. "What we have a difficulty in accepting
is that these resemble in many ways the alarmist arguments often
used by those who oppose the restoration of the river. Everyone
knows that there is a dump next to the causeway, that solutions
already identified to address this issue need to be finalised
and that it is now the responsibility of the consultants hired
by the province to take care of this task" says LeBlanc.
Despite growing support
in favour of restoring the river, and despite the fact that the
Petitcodiac was designated Canada's Second Most Endangered River
in 2002, the Riverkeeper stated last week that he believed that
many decision-makers, especially in Fredericton, still did not
understand how critical the state of the Petitcodiac had become.
To attempt to change
the situation and to help the Petitcodiac River, Mr. LeBlanc made
his way to the New Brunswick Legislature this morning in order
to deliver an educational kit to every New Brunswick MLA. A list
of "Top 10 Good Reasons" to commit now to a project
to restore the Petitcodiac River as well as a list of the "Top
10 Most Common Excuses" given against taking action to restore
the Petitcodiac River was also given to the MLA's by the Riverkeeper.
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INFORMATION:
Daniel LeBlanc, Petitcodiac Riverkeeper
Office (506) 388-5337 |
