Saskatchewan gets D on environmental report card

An environmental report card gaveSaskatchewan a Dfor heavy reliance on fossil fuels and a resource-driven economy.

It's the same letter grade four other provinces received.

But according to the Conference Board of Canada's report,Saskatchewan ranks last of theprovinces, territories and countriesthat were surveyed.

Louis Thriault, the Conference Board's vice-president of public policy, saidthe resource boom made Saskatchewan aneconomic growth leader until recently, but that growth came with a hefty environmental price tag.

The report looks at climate change impact, air pollution, waste generation and other environmental measures.
Saskatchewan received a D or D on eight out of the 10 categories.

"Saskatchewanranks last among all 26comparator jurisdictions. Like Alberta, Saskatchewan relies heavily on fossil fuels for generating electricity, and so earns a Don low-emitting electricity production," the report said.

The report, however, didn't mention the carbon capture and sequestration project at the Boundary Dam power station near Estevanthat has been the centrepiece of Saskatchewan's anti-climate change program.

One area where the province did relatively well was wastewater treatment and fresh water management, scoring Bs.

The Conference Board notes that Saskatchewan emits nearly 70 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per capita, over three times the national average.

Canada as a whole gets a D grade on the environment report card and ranks third-to-last among the 16 countries.