ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN CANADA

1. Canada's Oilsands. One of the most controversial projects in Canada is the extremely carbon,
water, and land-intensive process of extracting oilsands deposits found in northern Alberta.
Canada found that oil and gas accounts for a quarter of all of Canada's greenhouse gas
emissions. Much of the oil extracted is shipped by pipelines in its raw form, bitumen. As oil
companies look to expand their extraction operations in the oilsands, they need to expand
their capacity to ship the oil to global markets by on the cities an villages.

2. Mining. Canada is home to 75 per cent of the world’s mining companies. Contamination of
water bodies from tailings ponds leakage or tailings dam failures has become commonplace,
tailings dam failure captured worldwide attention for the scale of the disaster. Acid rock
drainage which can then leach heavy metals from the rock and contaminate water.

3. Coal Exports. Canada is responsible for shipping large amounts of coal overseas. Burning coal
is a major climate change concern because it is the largest source of greenhouse gas
emissions in the world. When burned, coal also produces toxic pollutants like mercury and
particulate matter.

4. Dams. Hydroelectricity is the number one source of energy in Canada and most of that is
provided by traditional generating stations. In producing the reservoir, land is flooded behind
the dam. That can destroy farmland, archaeological sites, and even force the relocation of
towns and villages. It also produces methane and carbon dioxide as the flooded vegetation
and upstream nutrients decompose.

5. Salmon Farming. In British Columbia, wild salmon have formed the backbone of many
Indigenous food systems for thousands of years. Much more recently, fish farms have begun
popping up on the coast, concentrating hundreds of thousands of fish in floating farms using
open net pens. The farms to breed pests and diseases and can pass those on to wild
populations. Indigenous-led activists and wild salmon advocates have attacked the industry
for its effects on wild fish.