Our oceans are in danger, and part of the problem is dumping waste into the sea. The laws surrounding this vary by country, but it is a cause for concern in Canada. Canadian laws state that sewage waste cannot be dumped 3-12 nautical miles from land, (depending on if it's been treated or not), or in marine protected areas (MPAs). Nevertheless, vessels still dump their waste into the sea with alarming figures. A report from National Vessel Dumping Assessment, from WWF Canada has shown that the ships in Canada generate 147 billion litres of operational waste water each year, 10% of which is generated and possibly dumped into MPAS. Cruise ships generate the most waste, and 97% of that waste is scrubber water, which can be up to 100,000 times more acidic than salt water.

This mass amount of waste dumping hurts the sea in a variety of ways. It creates dead zones, and increases ocean acidification, killing off vital marine ecosystems. We cannot allow ships to just dump waste into Canadian waters, there need to be strict laws against this that fully protect the Canadian ocean, especially MPAs.

This petition calls for tighter rules on Canada’s waste dumping laws, and to ensure that no waste is discharged into MPAS. With this, we will help protect our seas from further damage

Sources used for the petition:

Vandermeer, Emily, ‘BILLIONS OF LITRES OF HARMFUL WASTE ARE DUMPED BY SHIPS IN CANADA’S PROTECTED WATERS ANNUALLY: WWF-CANADA REPORT’ WFF,March 1, 2022https://wwf.ca/media-releases/billions-of-litres-of-harmful-waste-are-dumped-by-ships-in-canadas-protected-waters-annually-wwf-canada-report/ 

Jiang Kevin, ‘They treat us like a toilet bowl’: Cruise ships dump billions of litres of toxic waste in Canada, report finds’, Torontostar, published Tue., July 19, 2022, updated Aug. 04, 2022, https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2022/07/18/they-treat-us-like-a-toilet-bowl-cruise-ships-dump-billions-of-litres-of-toxic-waste-in-canada-report-finds.html 

Sourced from WWF Canada, ‘Billions of litres of harmful waste are dumped by ships in Canada’s protected waters annually: WWF-Canada Report,’ globenewswire, published March 01, 2022 08:30 https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2022/03/01/2394336/0/en/Billions-of-litres-of-harmful-waste-are-dumped-by-ships-in-Canada-s-protected-waters-annually-WWF-Canada-Report.html 

Baker, Rochelle, ‘Transport Canada says most cruise ships reported compliance with new wastewater guidelines’, nationalobserver, published August 19th 2022,
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2022/08/19/news/transport-canada-cruise-ships-compliance-wastewater-guidelines 

Sourced from WWF Canada, ‘Report: Billions of litres of waste dumped in Canada’s protected waters annually’, waterCanada, published March 1, 2022,
https://www.watercanada.net/report-billions-of-litres-of-waste-dumped-in-canadas-protected-waters-annually/ 

Syal Richa ‘US cruise ships using Canada as a ‘toilet bowl’ for polluted waste’, The Gaurdian, published Sat 9 Jul 2022 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/09/us-cruise-ships-using-canada-as-toilet-bowl-for-polluted-waste-alaska-british-columbia