Environment Canada: Atlantic Region News Releases

TWO HALIFAX HARBOUR ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECTS AWARDED GOVERNMENT OF CANADA FUNDING

HALIFAX, March 19, 2003 - Geoff Regan, Member of Parliament for Halifax West, on behalf of the Honourable David Anderson, Minister of the Environment, today announced $114,000 to support two projects that will help restore the Halifax harbour ecosystem. Funding for this initiative is provided by the Government of Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund (EDF).

The "Halifax Harbour Action Plan” was awarded $84,000. The project focuses on non sewage issues and complements the Harbour Solutions initiative of the Halifax Regional Municipality. The project was proposed by the Ecology Action Centre in partnership with Clean Nova Scotia, the MacIntosh Run Watershed Association, the Sackville Rivers Association, Dalhousie University’s School for Resource and Environmental Studies, the Eco-efficiency Centre and the Friends of McNabs Island Society.

“Community groups throughout the Halifax harbour watershed are working on various projects, but they share the common vision of creating a more healthy harbour. This funding will help them work together on a plan and agree on the most important community projects to tackle first,“ says Geoff Regan, MP for Halifax West

The project includes a planning phase, and a community project phase. During the community project phase, the EDF award will serve as “seed money” and community partners will provide matching funds.

A project called “Towards an Integrated Management Plan for the Halifax Harbour Ecosystem” was awarded $30,000. The funding will assist the Halifax Regional Municipality to develop a management plan for the Halifax harbour ecosystem. One of the tools used to develop the plan will include a detailed analysis of the actual uses of the harbour ecosystem, which will be compiled on a computer mapping system. This project was proposed by the Marine Affairs Program at Dalhousie University. Other project partners include the Halifax Regional Municipality, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and the Halifax Port Authority.

The funding for both projects comes from the EDF, which helps ensure polluters take responsibility for their actions. The Fund gives courts a way to guarantee that the money from pollution fines and settlements is directly invested to repair the actual harm done by the pollution. Thus the funds are used in the same watershed where the original pollution occurred.

The funds for the two Halifax harbour projects came into the EDF as the result of several prosecutions by Environment Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada. For example, Dartmouth Marine Slips, a division of Irving Shipbuilding Inc., pleaded guilty in September 2001 to a violation of section 36(3) of the federal Fisheries Act. Dartmouth Marine Slips deposited sandblasting grit, a deleterious substance, into Dartmouth Cove in November 1999. Irving Shipbuilding Inc. was sentenced to pay a $95,000 penalty that consisted of a $5,000 court fine and a $90,000 contribution to the EDF.

Although Environment Canada administers the EDF, a technical review team with representatives from many partners reviews applications for funds and makes project approval recommendations. The technical review team for the Halifax harbour projects included members from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Environment Canada and Transport Canada.

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For more information, please contact:

Peter Hennigar
Environment Canada
(902) 426-6191