Dear activists,

September 28, 2006

Please find below a front-page article from October 25, 2006 Globe and Mail titled, "Great Lakes machine guns raise ire in Canada: U.S. Coast Guard conducting live-ammunition training drills."

The article reports that, "The United States Coast Guard has started to patrol the Great Lakes with machine guns mounted on their vessels and is conducting live-ammunition training drills on the U.S. side to prepare officers to combat terrorists flooding across the border from Canada by boat."

"The high-powered drills have...stunned environmentalists, boaters and mayors in cities dotting the lakes in both countries who are outraged that the U.S. government would jeopardize the safety of pleasure boaters and commercial fishermen who could stray into the line of fire. Just as infuriating, they say, is the risk of lead exposure to fish and the more than 40 million people who draw drinking water from the Great Lakes."

Furthermore it states that, "Toronto Mayor David Miller has said the move violates a 90-year-old treaty that forbids weapons on the lakes, but the U.S. Coast Guard, however, says that is not an issue since Canadian and U.S. officials agreed 18 months ago that arming small craft wouldn't violate the treaty."

In a letter to the prime minister, Miller writes, "At a time ... when there is interest in restoring the integrity of the lakes it is most disturbing that the U.S. is contemplating exercises that will militarize the lakes, cause pollution and environmental degradation, restrict shipping and recreation, and change the peaceful border between Canada and the U.S."

Here are four actions you can take:

1. LETTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER - Write Prime Minister Stephen Harper and express your concern that, as the Globe reports, "Canada and the United States signed a written agreement three years ago articulating that moves to arm U.S. law-enforcement vessels with light machine guns in U.S. jurisdiction do not violate the spirit of the treaty." The prime minister can be e-mailed at pm@pm.gc.ca.

2. LETTER TO THE COAST GUARD - Write U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen. The Globe reports that he, "said his country is within its rights to arm vessels on the Great Lakes." The admiral's e-mail address isn't published, but his press secretary can be reached at Brendan.C.McPherson@uscg.mil.

3. LETTER OF SUPPORT - Write to Mayor David Miller of Toronto who opposes this development. As the Globe article states, he "...chairs a coalition of U.S. and Canadian mayors working to restore and protect the lakes." Mayor David Miller's e-mail address is mayor_miller@toronto.ca.

4. LETTER TO THE EDITOR - Write to the editor of the Globe and Mail or your local newspaper that may have covered this story. The Globe's website states, "Submissions to Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. To submit a letter, include name, address and daytime phone number. Keep letters under 200 words." Their e-mail address is letters@globeandmail.com.