Green Party demands explanation on navy's Arctic garbage dumping

OTTAWA – Green Party leader Elizabeth May says National Defence Minister Peter MacKay must explain why he allowed the navy to relax pollution regulations so that warships can dump food waste, raw sewage and garbage into the Arctic Ocean.

According to an internal memo obtained by the Canadian Press, military officials are concerned that Arctic temperatures are no longer cold enough to ensure that waste is kept frozen and that this will cause a health and safety issue on board naval vessels during lengthy patrols.

But Ms. May said that giving the navy a license to pollute the north sends an appalling message to the rest of the world. "Minister MacKay dispatches more ships to the Arctic to enforce Canadian sovereignty and, apparently, those ships will demonstrate how we intend to exercise that sovereignty by dumping garbage and human waste into the ocean," she said.

"Using global warming as an excuse to add more pollution to Arctic waters is unconscionable. The Arctic ecosystem is already under stress from warmer temperatures and rapid loss of sea ice cover. Mr. MacKay should simply direct vessels to return to port to offload trash.

"Navy vessels are legally bound by the Federal Fisheries Act to comply with ecosystems protection measures," said Ms. May. "This new watered-down approach threatens the Arctic ocean and all its inhabitants."