Today the National Energy Board released its review of the safety and environmental requirements for offshore drilling in Canada's Arctic. You can read the report here.

The report is part of the NEB's Arctic Offshore Drilling Review that was prompted after the public outcry to the BP offshore disaster in the Gulf.

Last week, I was in Yellowknife, where I released results of new research on affordable housing in the Northwest Territories (NWT). The research project was sponsored by the Social Economy Research Network of Northern Canada, and was a collaboration with the Centre for Northern Families.

Research findings include the following:

There was much back and forth Wednesday in Question Period on the Canadian Environment Department's plans to cut ozone monitoring. Peter Kent, the Minister of the Environment, argued that the monitoring will continue, but will merely be carried out more efficiently. He did not say how that would be done.

The fact is that Canadian, British, Swiss and German scientists had earlier been told, "informally", that a network of 17 direct observation stations, throughout Canada, will be closed. There will be no more so-called "in situ" measurements -- that is measurements from ground stations. In the future, all measurements will be conducted by satellite.

The Council of Canadians along with Friends of the Earth, Norway, Greenpeace-Canada, IndigenousEnvironmental Network, REDOIL Network and others are sponsoring an international statement against Arctic offshore drilling.

Add your voice to the demand to stop Arctic offshore drilling by signing the statement here:

Leave it in the ground: Statement against Arctic offshore drilling.

The statement demonstrates international unity and solidarity in opposing Arctic offshore drilling.

The statement reads:

We, the undersigned, oppose offshore drilling in the Arctic.