IFAW demande au Sénat de faire passer la C-15

[Animal 0]

IFAW calls on Senate to Pass Bill C-15


1200 Eiders Ducks Oiled Due to Illegal Bilge Oil Dumping




(Ottawa - March 2, 2005) IFAW today expressed outrage that eider ducks were
victims of deliberate and illegal bilge oil dumping off the coast of
Newfoundland over the weekend. Officials at the Canadian Wildlife Service in St.
John's confirmed today that 1200 eider ducks have been affected by the oil spill
so far. IFAW is calling upon the senate to save Canada's beloved seabirds by
swiftly passing Bill C-15.



Bill C-15, which passed third reading in the House of Commons in December and is
now being reviewed by Senate. The Bill seeks tougher penalties for the owners
and crew of ships who illegally dispose of their oil at sea instead of in port
and includes a minimum fine of $500,000. The highest fine ever dealt for this
offence in Canada was $ 125,000. In the U.S. a Japanese Transport Company was
fined $ 2 million USD in February 2005 after dumping oily waste into the Pacific
Ocean.



"Canada's oceans are turning in to an oily dumping ground and Atlantic Canada's
cherished seabirds are paying the price," IFAW's Emergency Relief representative
Kim Elmslie said. "Every year 300,000 seabirds die off the coast of Newfoundland
due to deliberate bilge oil dumping from unscrupulous ships. This is the same
number of birds that died in the Exxon Valdez spill."



Deliberate dumping is the illegal disposal of bilge oil at sea instead of at
port to save time and money. Ship crews know the Canadian coastline is long,
surveillance sporadic, and even if caught, the fines low. "This silent killer
will continue unless there are significant economic deterrents," Elmslie said,
"Passing Bill C-15 is an important first step."



This is not the first such incident in Newfoundland this winter. At the end of
November 2004 oiled birds started washing ashore after the Terra Nova platform
spill. Chemical analysis of the feather samples determined that ships passing
through the area illegally dumped their bilge and oiled the birds.

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Contact: Kim Elmslie

Office: (613) 241-8996 ext. 223