Papermaker faces charges
Catalyst Paper Corpor-ation was in federal court in Powell River Wednesday, September 9 facing pollution charges stemming from two separate incidents in 2012 where untreated waste water was allegedly discharged into Malaspina Strait.
Environment Canada filed the charges of deposit of deleterious substance, failure to comply with a permit, and failure to collect grab samples against the papermaker in March 2015.
According to Fred Chinn, vice-president and general manager of Catalyst’s Powell River division, the incidents occurred in September 2012 after unforeseen power failures at the Powell River mill led to releases of cooling water and effluent, consisting of pulverized wood fibre and wastewater.
Chinn said that as a result of the incidents the company took immediate action to address its systems and make sure a similar situation would not be repeated. He added that the company cooperated with the environment department during its ongoing investigation.
Wednesday was the second court date for the company as it answers the charges. Catalyst has yet to enter a plea.
Setting it straight
Our September 2 story, “Fair Elections Act changes voting rules,” mistakenly stated that a Canadian passport could be use as standalone voter identification. Acceptable forms of standalone ID are a driver’s license or territorial ID card, otherwise voters are required to have two pieces of ID. The full list of accepted identification can be found on the Elections Canada website at elections.ca.
.jpg;w=120;h=80;mode=crop)