Canada Waives Right to GM Fish Toxicity Info But Cant Say WhyHeather Callaghan The Ecology Action Centre (EAC) and Living Oceans Society (LOS) spoke out today against the cloud of secrecy obscuring federal government approvals of genetically modified (GM) organisms in Canada including what may be the worlds first GM food animal to hit supermarket shelves: AquAdvantage salmon. In December of 2013,EAC and LOS brought a legal action against the Ministers of Environment Canada andHealth Canada, as well as AquaBounty Canada Inc., asking the Federal Court to decide if the Canadian government violated its own law when it permitted the manufacture of genetically modified salmon to proceed. By granting approval for this genetically modified species without obtaining all the legally required information, the government has failed to meet their legal obligation, they said. i.e. assessment of safety, invasiveness etc. Since the suit,Environment Canada published an after-the-fact notice of a government information waiver granted to U.S. parent company AquaBounty Technologies Inc. Under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (1999), the Minister of Environment has the power to exempt applicants from providing all the information the law normally requires. Conveniently, waivers can be granted to bypass important safety information if: Environment Canada refuses to provide a copy of the full waiver or reasons for the decision although the governments lawyer recently confirmed that the waiver notice does relate to AquAdvantage salmon. Karen Wristen, the executive director of LOS said: Frustrated by the obfuscation, Joanne Cook, EAC co-ordinator said: After being denied information from the governments lawyer, LOS filed requests through Canadas Access to Information Act. Wristen also noted that EAC and LOS are crowdfunding part of the legal costs through Indiegogo to give everyone whos concerned about the manufacture of GM salmon and the lack of procedural transparency the chance to contribute. Canada and the U.S have been neck-and-neck in an eager race to approve GM salmon. For either country that does, the other is sure to follow. Environment Canada found a way to do so behind closed doors; and they dont want to talk about it. Original release: Heather Callaghan is a natural health blogger and food freedom activist. You can see her work atNaturalBlaze.com and selfnewsPost.com. Like at Facebook. Recent posts byHeather Callaghan: 