Peter Kent - Minister of The Environment

Minister of The Environment

Kent in his position of Minister of the Environment has been a vocal supporter of the development of the oil sands, inline with the conservative government’s stated economic priorities. He went so far as to make accusations of treason against opposition party members. "One of the opposition parties has taken the treacherous course of leaving the domestic debate and heading abroad to attack a legitimate Canadian resource which is being responsibly developed and regulated," Kent told reporters. This was in response to two NDP members of Parliament going to Washington to argue the Keystone pipeline should not go ahead until Canada has come up with a better plan to combat climate change.

In a CBC interview, Kent stated there is no evidence that the oil sands developments are polluting the Athabasca River. His statement is contrasted by a recently published "Secret" Environment Canada presentation released under FOI. The presentation highlights contamination of the Athabasca River as a high profile concern. Citing elevated levels of pollutants near mining sites including hydrocarbons and heavy metals, possible effects on health of wildlife and downstream communities, and questioning current government data which is unable to generate a "big picture" view of impacts on the ecosystem.

Kent is an advocate of improving the Species At Risk Act, in particular making it apply to whole ecosystems rather than just individual species.