This is a free event.
Visit www.canadians.org/bluesummit for further details and to register now!
Organized by the Canadian Union of Public Employees and the Council of Canadians.
December 7-18 marks a significant moment in time for global action on the climate crisis. Representatives from 200 countries will be meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark with the aim of getting agreement on common action to address the climate crisis.
The Council of Canadians will be on the ground in Copenhagen, providing updates on negotiations inside the conference and taking part in numerous events and climate justice movement activities happening outside. Read more »
Today marks the one-month countdown to the tenth anniversary of what many will remember as N30.
To help celebrate this anniversary of the 'Battle in Seattle', please see this special resource section on our website here.
10 Years Later: The Battle in Seattle and beyond
By Maude Barlow
Read about the social, environmental and democratic impacts of the 2010 Olympic Games in our new factsheets here.
Olympics blog postings by Brent Patterson, Director of Campaigns and Communications at the Council of Canadians.
Why we’re more concerned with Harper’s solution than we are the alleged problem of spending public money locally. Read more »
NEWS: Barlow criticizes proposed procurement deal with the US »
MEDIA: Show us the "Buy American" deal before signing it, demands Council of Canadians »
In May 2009, negotiations were launched for a Canada-European Union trade agreement.
Canadian corporations are looking for better access to the European market without having to meet stricter EU rules. European negotiators want Canadian services contracts, with the aim of transferring the $22-billion our local governments spend annually on public priorities into corporate profits.
An agreement with the European Union would put pressure on provincial governments to privatize public services, including in areas such as water, transportation, child care and public health care.
We need to stop this proposed deal before negotiations can conclude in 2011. Read more »
Learn more about how your community can become a Blue Community by resisting public-private partnerships, promoting water as human right at the local level, and banning bottled water in public spaces.
Council of Canadians asks Saint John to be a ‘blue community’, Brent Patterson, October 21, 2009
Take the Tap Water Pledge »
Meera Karunananthan and Angela Giles of the Council of Canadians drink the water in Sandy Pond, NL
Meera and Mike Manning (CoC St. John's chapter contact) hike back from Sandy Pond, followed closely by a Vale Inco ATV.
Q: When is a lake not a lake?
A: When the Canadian Government says it should be a dump for mine waste.
Lakes that would normally be protected as fish habitat by the Fisheries Act are now being redefined as “tailing impoundment areas” according to a 2002 “schedule” added to the Metal Mining Effluent Regulations of the Act. Once added to Schedule 2, healthy freshwater lakes lose all protection and become dump sites for mining waste. In 2006, two lakes in Newfoundland were added to Schedule 2 and more recently two lakes in Nunavut were approved for destruction.
Take Action! Sandy Pond, near Long Harbour, N.L., is next on the hit list. The mine tailings that Vale Inco plans to dump into the lake will destroy the lake, causing irreversible damage. Save Newfoundland's Sandy Pond and tell our government that lakes should not be used as dump sites.
Click here for Environment Canada’s list of 11 lakes proposed for destruction.
The Nova Scotia government has just announced its intention to formalize a provincial ban on uranium mining and exploration in law. The decision is welcome news to Council of Canadians' members and activists who, along with other Nova Scotia residents and organizations, have been pushing the government for a legislated ban to replace a cabinet policy statement that has been in place since 1981. Read more »
Photo: Council of Canadians board member and chapter activist Marion Moore points to a “Uranium: Leave it in the ground!” bumper sticker, which were used in the push for a legislated uranium mining ban in Nova Scotia.
On Tuesday, September 22 councillors heard the echoes of opposition and protest that have resonated across the country and voted 93-13 to cease construction and all further development for the controversial landfill known as Dump Site 41, which threatened to pollute the Alliston Aquifer. This is a tremendous win to stop Site 41 and has been acknowledged as a huge victory in our ongoing battle to protect water. Congratulations everyone!
Read updates from the sessions on our campaign blog.
View photos and read more on Site 41 »
PHOTO: Maude Barlow and and Meera Karunananthan wave goodbye to the equipment leaving Site 41.
The North American leaders summit – where Canada, the United States and Mexico met to discuss progress on the Security and Prosperity Partnership – took place August 9 and 10 in Guadalajara, Mexico and Canadians knew almost nothing about it.
The SPP is dead, Stuart Trew, Rabble.ca, August 19, 2009
The SPP has been defeated! Campaign blog post by Brent Patterson, August 14, 2009
Watch videos of the protest and updated factsheets at www.IntegrateThis.ca.
Take Action for Fair Trade! Here are some sample letters and motions that you can use to get better – and fairer – trade policies in your community. More »
Say bye to buy local - A primer on trade deals impacting Ontario, CUPE Ontario and the Council of Canadians, October 2009
WATCH: The Council of Canadians: 2009 In Review video
WATCH: The re-broadcast of the Council of Canadians AGM
On Oct. 23, rabbletv broadcast live the opening session of the Council of Canadians' Annual General Meeting. Watch speeches from Maude Barlow, John Cavanagh, and Garry Leech.
Celebrating Seattle and ten years of working for democracy
WIN! Nova Scotia government announces plans for legislated ban on uranium mining and exploration
WIN! The SPP has been defeated!
