Blue planet, green ideas | Destroying an ecosystem, soon a crime against humanity?

(Blainville) Without much echo in Canada, the European Parliament took an unprecedented step this spring by adopting an “ecocide” proposal. The ultimate environmental condemnation. If the concept reaches the International Criminal Court, environmental crimes will be on the same level as crimes against humanity, crimes of genocide and war or aggression crimes.

Once adopted, ecocide would have the potential to send to prison those responsible for large-scale destruction of forests or wetlands, illegal fishing of bluefin tuna, oil spills, contamination of waters with chlordecone, export illegal waste to African countries, agro-industrial pollution or carbon market fraud.

The talks of European countries surrounding ecocide are not new. They began more than 50 years ago, when the US military used a powerful herbicide, Agent Orange, to destroy the jungle canopy used as cover by the Vietnamese military. Today, an international alliance of parliamentarians against ecocide is campaigning so that people or countries are now tried before the highest court.

Ecocide is defined as an “act causing serious and widespread or lasting or irreversible damage to the environment”.

In Canada, the notion of ecocide is not at the table of federal elected officials. Not for now, at least. Major environmental offenses are punishable by different fines, prohibitions, strict rules. There is also the famous carbon tax. And laws for each province.

River Protection

In the spring of 2022, MNA Alexandre Boulerice, of the New Democratic Party (NDP), tabled a bill in the House of Commons to protect the St. Lawrence River as an entity in its own right.

In interview with The Press, the MP recalls that he defended the legal status of our river waters before the United Nations last year, along with the International Observatory for the Rights of Nature. He believes that it is essential to strengthen the laws in order to eliminate the “holes and loopholes”.

“The idea is to find new angles to protect our ecosystems. Because at the present time, nothing exists if we destroy ecosystems, entire regions of animals, or if we annihilate living spaces,” underlines Mr. Boulerice.

Wetlands at Risk

In Quebec, a report made public at the end of April by the commissioner for sustainable development, Janique Lambert, warns that wetlands and bodies of water are in danger. That there are “significant shortcomings” in their management by the Ministry of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks (MELCCFP).

Citizens fear that one of these wetlands is threatened by a project to expand a hazardous waste landfill site. It is located just north of Montreal. This is the great Blainville peat bog.

Sundew intermedia, Sundew rotundifolia And Sarracenia purpurea : these are the names of the rare carnivorous plants that can be observed there. An oasis with an area of ​​3.6 km² where moose live. Green snakes.

During a walk in the heart of the peat bog, the founding ecologist of the organization Carnivorex, Mathieu Brien, explains that peat bogs are the “kidneys of the planet. They make up 14% of Canada’s territory, according to the Canadian Wildlife Federation. But here it’s surrounded by discarded tires, rusting barrels, we even spotted a toilet bowl.

“To sum up, a peat bog is an old lake that has stored carbon, it acts as a filter. At first glance, it is not majestic, but peatlands are connected, they are essential to the balance of our ecosystems. Here, we miss the chance to make it an ecotourism place. »

Member of the Quebec Center for Environmental Law (CQDE), Mr.^e Anne-Julie Asselin believes that scientifically, discussions are ripe for expanding “accountability” in environmental matters.

“In the case of ecocide, the Rome Statute will have to be revised to add serious damage to the environment. If we take the example of the Vietman, the question to ask was whether there was a real intention to destroy the vegetation. There are still many questions to be clarified. But what has become clear is that human survival depends on the sustainability of ecosystems. »

President of the Quebec Association of Physicians for the Environment, the D^D Claudel Pétrin-Desrosiers adds that ecocide would act as a lever to recognize the impact of water, air and soil pollution on health. “We often react to chronic exposure. It’s unfortunate, but the Canadian Environmental Protection Act has not been reopened for twenty years. »