Canada kills entire ocean pollution monitoring program [View all]

[n2doc]

BY CINDY E. HARNETT,
VICTORIA TIMES COLONIST MAY 22, 2012

Canada's only marine mammal toxicologist at the Institute of Ocean Sciences on Vancouver Island is losing his job as the federal government cuts almost all employees who monitor ocean pollution across Canada.

Peter Ross, an expert on killer whales and other marine mammals, was the lead author of a report 10 years ago that demonstrated Canada's killer whales are the most contaminated marine mammals on the planet. He has more than 100 published reports.

Now, he's a casualty of federal budget cuts, one of 75 people across Canada told Thurs-day his services will no longer be needed because the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is closing the nation's contaminants program.

In total, 1,075 people working for the Department of Fisheries received letters Thursday telling them that their jobs will be redundant or affected - including 215 in the Pacific Region.



Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Ottawa+axes+ocean+pollution+monitoring+program/6657341/story.html