“Canada’s willingness to allow hazardous wastes to flow to some of the more economically depressed regions perpetuates injustice and allows Canada’s poorer regions to be disproportionately burdened with the planet’s worst poisons,” wrote Puckett.

Puckett accuses Canada of violating both the Stockholm and the Basel Conventions by allowing Bennett Environmental to import toxic waste from the U.S. and Mexico to be burned in Northern Ontario. The BASEL Convention was implemented to stop rich countries from targeting poor Third World areas with toxic waste shipments.

“Canada’s failure to live up to its international obligations, coupled with a gutting of provincial environmental protection is creating a situation where Canada’s own poor regions are becoming the new targets for international toxic waste operators much as developing countries have been historically. Can it be that Canada is willing (albeit illegally) to be treated by countries like the United States as a Third World waste colony.”

Bennett Environmental is looking to build the largest toxic waste operation of its kind in the country. The incinerator will burn waste contaminated with dioxins, PCBs and other POPs (persistent organic pollutants). Much of the waste will be from the U.S.

In his letter to Minister Anderson, Puckett clearly outlines Canada’s international treaty obligations for toxic waste traffic. He is calling on Minister Anderson to reject Bennett’s attempt to set itself up as an international destination for toxic wastes.

“BAN strongly urges your office to reject the Bennett proposal. The violation of existing Canadian international obligations and the needless human and environmental risk makes this proposal clearly unacceptable from a legal, moral, environmental and economic point of view.”

For more information contact:

James Puckett, Basel Action Network (206) 652-5555

The letter can be downloaded at: http://www.ban.org/Library/bennetletter2.PDF

Public Concern Temiskaming (705) 647-1533