Saskatchewan gets D– on environmental report card

An environmental report card gave Saskatchewan a D– for 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 the provinces, territories and countries that were surveyed. 

Louis Thériault, the Conference Board's vice-president of public policy, said the resource boom made Saskatchewan an economic 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.

"Saskatchewan ranks last among all 26 comparator jurisdictions. Like Alberta, Saskatchewan relies heavily on fossil fuels for generating electricity, and so earns a D on 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 Estevan that 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.