The Manitoba Eco-Network often sends out press releases on environmental issues. We work to engage, organize, and bring forth the voice of the environmental community. Below is a list of some of our recent press releases.
2023
Manitoba’s misguided Critical Minerals Strategy sparks open letter and demand for answers
Seven environmental advocacy organizations sent a letter to the Province of Manitoba, calling for the delay in implementation of the Critical Minerals Strategy which was announced on July 25, 2023. The groups are challenging the fundamentally flawed document with a list of questions government must answer on transparency, local communities, and the environment.
Manitoba Eco-Network, Our Line in the Sand, and Public Interest Law Centre have been steadily advocating against the Vivian Sands Extraction project (sometimes known as the Sio Silica project) due to the risks posed to the local drinking water supply. The CEC has now stated a lack of confidence in the project’s environmental impacts and will pursue more consultation and review.
Manitoba Eco-Network mentioned in the Winnipeg Free Press about work on CEPA Bill S-5
Manitoba Eco-Network and colleagues at the Canadian Environmental Law Association were named as an important critic of the recently-passed amendments to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. The federal government now recognizes the right to a healthy environment and the obligation to protect it, but the approach to enforcement will not be known for another two years.
MbEN joins with the Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) and Nature Canada to express disappointment that Bill S-5, recently approved by Parliament in June 2023, does not protect the public against toxic substances and instead has weakened existing protections and pathways for eliminating harmful substances. MbEN also highlights that Bill S-5 does not adequately protect vulnerable people or definitively enable access to environmental justice.
The Manitoba Eco-Network and other groups including Camp Morning Star, Our Line in the Sand and Manitoba Energy Justice Coalition are calling on the Minister of Climate and Environment, Kevin Klein for suspension of the Environment Act License issued to Canadian Premium Sands (CPS) for their Solar Glass Plant in Selkirk until certain conditions are met.
MbEN’s policy director Heather Fast provided insight for a Hill Times article about Bill S-5, which updates the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. MbEN and other colleagues in the environmental nonprofit sector feel that the changes proposed in Bill S-5 are insufficient for creating meaningful change to protect Canadians from harmful substances, and we offer solutions to address these needs more effectively.
MbEN is proud to publish the findings of our Healthy Environment, Healthy Neighbourhood (HEHN) project. We talked to Winnipeggers who are impacted by industrial sites in their neighbourhoods and researched legal courses of action. You can read the report here.
MbEN Policy Advocacy Director quoted in The Narwhal about Manitoba mining boom
MbEN Policy Advocacy Director Heather Fast raises the alarm about a lack of attention to environmental policy as Manitoba’s mining industry is on the upswing.
MbEN and Our Line in the Sand (OLS) continue to advocate against the Vivian Silica Sands Extraction project, which endangers the watershed source of drinking water for the local community. On Wed March 15, 2023, we submitted our closing arguments to demand answers to concerns about damage to the groundwater.
2022
The Manitoba Eco-Network (MbEN), along with Our Line in the Sand Manitoba (OLS), Manitoba Energy Justice Coalition (MEJC) and What the Frack Manitoba (WTFMB) launches the “Save Our Water” campaign to raise awareness about Sio Silica’s sand mining activities in southeastern Manitoba.
2021
Manitoba Eco-Network launches the Interactive Map of “Canoeing the Manigotagan”
MbEN restored and updated the interactive Manigotagan River canoe map, a one-of-a kind river map that goes into detail on its points of interest along the Manigotagan River. It has since been a popular map for many paddlers in the province, and this update includes a brand new story board that highlights the history and ecological significance of the Manigotagan.
2020
The Staff at Brooklands School Wins the 2020 Anne Lindsay Protecting our Earth Award
MbEN recognizes individuals and organizations every year through the Anne Lindsay Protecting our Earth Award. In 2020, Brooklands School was recognized for their students’ fostering of nature by having class outdoors six weeks a year. The school also partnered with MbEN on a community garden project along an underused asphalt space and launched a cycling program in partnership with the WRENCH.
As part of Phase 1’s Building Community Climate Resiliency project, MbEN released the final report, titled The Will is the Way: Building Climate Resiliency. It highlights gaps in community climate resiliency work in Winnipeg. The project revealed that the day-to-day work of climate resiliency is constrained by two significant barriers: A lack of municipal funding and inadequate municipal political support.
Public Statement: CanWhite Sands Corp. Public Meeting
MbEN and others were a signatory to a public statement regarding CanWhite Sands Corp’s proposed silica sand development project. The statement calls for a joint federal/provincial panel review process to be undertaken that assesses and reviews CanWhite Sands Corp. processing facility, its mine, and mining method as one project.
Manitoba Seniors for Sustainability, a volunteer-led coalition of local seniors, launched a fundraising campaign in May 2020 for environmental organizations including MbEN that lost core funding . It was hoped that a few thousand seniors receiving money from the province would donate their cheques to support environmental organizations such as MbEN.
MbEN was part of a group of presenters to the Public Utilities Board, urging higher energy savings targets and broadening the scope of Efficiency Manitoba to tackle the climate crisis. Recommendations put forward include investing in technologies such as heat pumps, solar installations, electrification of vehicles, net zero and passive house construction, and building retrofits.
2019
Joan Kuyek, a founding member of Mining Watch Canada, visited Winnipeg to launch her newest book, “Unearthing Justice: How to Protect Your Community from the Mining Industry”, which highlights mining effects in communities, Indigenous Peoples, workers, and governments.
Debate on Manitoba Climate and the Environment
Environmental organizations including the Manitoba Eco-Network organized a leaders debate on Manitoba’s climate and the environment ahead of the September 10th, 2019 provincial election. Questions were asked to the leaders on how they plan to support Manitobans in the global climate emergency.
