Canadian Wildlife Group up in Arms Over De Beers Project

A Canadian conservation group says a De Beers mining project in Ontario will have a major impact on wildlife in the region and is calling on the province's government to carry out an in-depth review.

"The mine will impact an area more than four times the size of Toronto," says Janet Sumner, Executive Director of conservation group CPAWS Wildlands League. "It threatens to punch a big hole in Ontario's commitment to conservation and biodiversity."

The group is calling on Premier Dalton McGuinty to keep his promise to conduct meaningful broad scale land-use planning before giving the go-ahead to major new developments.

The CPAWS Wildlands League says approval for a massive open-pit mine in northern Ontario could irreparably harm more than 260,000 hectares of wilderness. A hectare is equal to 10,000 square meters or 2.47 acres.

The project would destroy woodland caribou habitat, a species already classified as threatened, damage a nationally significant karst (an area of irregular limestone), impact migratory bird and fisheries habitat, divert a river and pump out 100,000 cubic meters of salty water into the Attawapiskat River every day.

"It is the people of Ontario and local First Nations that will bear the long-term environmental impact of the mine long after De Beers has moved onto its next project," Sumner said. "It is not too late to remedy this situation, if the Premier is willing. It is time for Ontario to put nature and communities first."