Who We Are
The Sandy Pond Alliance is a coalition including the Council of Canadians, Mining Watch, Nature Canada, the Newfoundland and Labrador Natural History Society, Sierra Club Atlantic, and scientists and activists in Newfoundland who are concerned with the imminent destruction of Sandy Pond.
How It All Began
In May of 2009, the local Chapter of the Council of Canadians organized the Sandy Pond Picnic to bring attention to the issue of the intended destruction of Sandy Pond by the Brazilian mining company Vale Inco as part of their Long Harbour Nickel Processing Plant development. On Friday, May 8, 2009, nearly 20 people visited Long Harbour and trekked into Sandy Pond. After that event several people including activists, academics and community members decided to meet regularly to discuss possible ways to prevent the destruction of Sandy Pond.
Our Mission
1. To protect and conserve Canadian waters and their ecosystems; and
2. To take appropriate actions to assist the Alliance in fulfilling its purpose, including promoting and recommending laws and policies, and informing and engaging the public; and
3. To join and/or co-operate with other organizations or institutions with similar purposes.
Sandy Pond Alliance for the Protection of Canadian Waters
Oral Presentation to the Newfoundland and Labrador Minerals Strategy Consultations, St. John’s – 2 March 2011
The Sandy Pond Alliance for the Protection of Canadian Waters is a non-profit, volunteer organization of individuals and organizations committed to the protection of our natural freshwater ecosystems.
For much of the last century, mining and minerals development in this province, as in the rest of Canada, proceeded with little regard for the environmental and ecological consequences.
Now, we seem to be entering a more enlightened era, where governments and industry have taken up the mantra of “sustainable development” and are working to reduce the harm associated with mining activities, while maximizing the economic benefits.
This follows from growing demands from citizens, consumers, and investors for more environmentally and socially responsible practices in natural resource development, and more effective legislation to those ends.
Thus, we have seen the appearance of NR Canada’s “Green Mining Initiative”, aimed at developing ways to reduce the environmental footprint of the industry, and the Mining Association of Canada’s “Towards Sustainable Mining Framework” of guidelines and protocols for protecting biodiversity.
Now, it is the turn of government, industry and the wider community-of-interest in Newfoundland and Labrador to take a fresh approach to its mineral resources.
In the discussion document we have before us, environmental concerns seem intentionally subordinated to economic opportunities – this is to stimulate discussion no doubt. And some of the statements on environmental matters are clearly out-of-date.
It is disappointing to find it still apparently normal to assume the destruction of pristine lakes and watersheds as an option for mine and mill waste disposal. As we will demonstrate in our written submission, these ideas run counter to common sense, federal legislation, and our obligations under the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity.
And, we would argue, such assumptions do a disservice to a truly innovative and competitive industry. We know industry can be better environmental stewards, if encouraged to do so.
We look forward to contributing to these consultations and hope they will result in real progress toward environmental protection and biodiversity conservation in our province.
John D. Jacobs
Sandy Pond Alliance for the Protection of Canadian Waters
By: John Jacobs on March 11, 2011
at 1:10 pm
[...] case of the Sandy Pond Alliance in Newfoundland and Labrador provides an example of the challenges faced by environmental groups [...]
By: From Ecuador to Labrador | TheIndependent.ca on May 12, 2011
at 6:28 am
I heard about this on the CBC today, keep up the great work.
By: Lynda Peever on April 23, 2012
at 7:00 pm