We Canadians love the wilderness. Whether we’re talking to visitors here or people we meet in our travels, our conversations almost always end up about our great outdoors and pristine natural spaces. Caring about the environment is one of the ways we define ourselves.

But how good are we at protecting what’s at the core of our identity? 

Despite national parks that act as natural wildlife reserves, and bold policies adopted by some of our most progressive provinces to combat climate change, the fact remains that our environmental regulatory system is being downgraded by a federal government that gives some industrial interests priority over the environment and the overall long-term economy that depends on it. 

An internal government memo leaked to fisheries biologist Otto Langer suggests that the Federal government plans on removing a crucial provision of the Fisheries Act – one of Canada’s most important environmental laws.

The Harper government’s selective application of the Fisheries Act is astounding.