SYDNEY - The Cape Breton branch of the Sierra Club of Canada gave mayoral candidate Dan Fraser a D+ for his answers in a survey on Cape Breton environmental issues.

Mr. Fraser was the last chairman of the now-defunct Joint Action Group, which was a community and government partnership that studied and made recommendations for cleanup of the Sydney tar ponds and coke ovens site. The sites are contaminated with toxic waste generated over a century of steelmaking.

The Sierra Club was a member of JAG but quit because of frustration with the government partners.

Mr. Fraser was one of several candidates in Cape Breton Regional Municipality who filled out the survey.

Mr. Fraser's opponent, incumbent John Morgan, scored a B-- on the survey.

The survey included questions on the proposed Coxheath quarry, strip-mining, water supply, the tar ponds cleanup, the smoking bylaw, pesticides and waste management.

The Sierra Club was pleased with both candidates' responses to questions about protecting people living near the tar ponds and the use of proven technologies to clean up the tar ponds and coke ovens sites. But the group was disappointed that neither seemed to support a full-panel environmental assessment beforehand.