Placentia Bay issues prove once again the Minister of Environment not doing her job

The failure of Environment Minister Charlene Johnson to be proactive and advocate for improvements to oil spill response and infrastructure in Placentia Bay is another example of a minister who is not doing her job effectively on behalf of the people of the province, says Opposition Leader Yvonne Jones. The issue was raised earlier today in the House of Assembly.

Placentia Bay has been identified as the most likely place in Canada for an oil spill to take place due to the high traffic of oil tankers and industrial activity. An oil spill risk assessment completed by Transport Canada estimates that a spill in the range of 10,000 barrels will likely occur within the next 30 years in this region of our province. While the impacts of any such spill would be devastating to the local environment and economy, Environment Minister Charlene Johnson continues to state that it doesn’t fall within her jurisdiction. Meanwhile, the 2003 PC Bluebook stated that the “Williams Government will develop a comprehensive environmental protection strategy for Placentia Bay”, yet nothing has been presented.

“There continues to be no concrete emergency action plan developed for Placentia Bay in the event of a spill and our provincial minister of the environment seems to have very little interest in working closely with the federal government to make this issue a priority,” said Ms. Jones. “If this minister was doing her job, she would be monitoring every aspect related to a potential spill in Placentia Bay. Under questioning today, she stated that it would only become her responsibility once oil hits land. I would tell the minister that she should be addressing the gaps that exist today, not after a spill takes place.

“Fishermen have stated that a spill in Placentia Bay could destroy their livelihoods, environmentalists have stated that a spill of any magnitude could wipe out the seabird population at Cape St. Mary’s, and we all know the impact oil has on land once it reaches shore. Concerns have also been raised about the lack of safeguards and early response measures for potential oil spills and whether there are sufficient human resources and capital infrastructure to detect and immediately clean-up a large scale spill. If the minister doesn’t feel these issues fall within the mandate of her department, she should re-evaluate the role and function of her office.

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