OTTAWA. Ont. — Federal environment minister Steven Guilbeault has written to his Saskatchewan counterpart to clarify what Environment and Climate Change Canada employees were doing near a Pense, Sask., dugout in mid-August.
After a social media post from a farmer, the Saskatchewan government demanded to know, in a tweet containing a letter to Guilbeault, why federal employees were trespassing and checking the water in dugouts.
Guilbeault chastised Jeremy Cockrill for spreading misinformation by publicly posting the letter accusing the employees of testing for nitrates.
“You brought this matter to my attention in your very public and very frank letter of Aug. 21,” Guilbeault wrote. “I also took note of your comments openly speculating about the work of these scientists. Please allow me to be equally frank and public in my response: departmental officials are not testing water for nitrates or nutrients related to farm runoff, and their study is not related to the non-regulated, voluntary goals of the Government of Canada in an effort to reduce emissions from agricultural fertilizers.”
The minister said claims made in the media about this incident come on top of other recent misinformation that misrepresents “work that is voluntary, unregulated and being done in partnership with Canadian farmers to reduce emissions, not fertilizer use.”
Many prairie farmers are concerned about the goal to reduce emissions from fertilizer by 30 percent by 2030.
Guilbeault said if a federal scientist is inadvertently on private land without permission, that can be handled in a mature and informed manner.
“As a measure of good faith, Environment and Climate Change Canada is reviewing its sampling protocols to ensure they are consistent with area laws before doing any further sampling,” he said.
The Saskatchewan cabinet recently met to change its trespass legislation to include federal officials, and Guilbeault also said officials would work with Saskatchewan to understand how scientific water analysis can continue under the change.
The federal government has routinely tested and monitored water across Canada for more than 50 years.
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