Make a donation and join us in acting for social justice »
We do our work without a penny of corporate or government funding, relying instead on the support of generous individuals like you to run our campaigns. Please donate today!
On April 22, Mother Earth Day, The Council of Canadians alongside endorsing organizations and communities, organized rallies as a public display of growing opposition to three major pipeline projects in British Columbia. These pipelines include: Enbridge's Northern Gateway Pipeline proposal, the expansion of Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain Pipeline, and the construction of Pacific Trails Pipeline by Apache, Encana and EOG Resources. Find out more here.
The Canadian Government, along with industry allies and the Alberta Government, have launched a coordinated lobby attack on the European Union Fuel Quality Directive. This attack, run as part of a tar sands advocacy strategy, led by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, is dangerous and irresponsible in the face of global climate change. To counteract these lobbying efforts, the Council of Canadians, Climate Action Network Canada and the Indigenous Environmental Network recently held a series of successful meetings with Ottawa-based European Union Embassies.
In the lead up to a June vote on the Directive, the lobby-busting tour headed to the European Union! A delegation from the three organizations travelled to France, the Netherlands, UK and Germany to share a different Canadian perspective in meetings with elected officials, political staff, media and at public events. In addition to their discussions, the delegation presented a kit of information that included an open letter endorsed by Canadian civil society organizations representing over a million Canadians, information responding to Canadian lobbying myths and about Canada’s lobbying efforts, the tar sands, Indigenous rights and the proposed Canada-European trade agreement (CETA). All four countries abstained from a recent vote on the EU FQD and are considered critical for the progress of this policy, despite Canada’s tarred lobbying efforts.
Check out our an exciting new multimedia education project, System Change not Climate Change! SystemChange.ca is a multi-media tool for climate justice organized by the Council of Canadians’ Climate Justice for People and the Planet campaign.
The controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing, otherwise known as fracking, is facing mounting opposition across the country. A new Environics Research poll commissioned by the Council of Canadians has found that 62% of Canadians support “a moratorium on all fracking for natural gas until all the federal environmental reviews are complete”.
Fracking is expanding at a phenomenal rate across Canada. From the advanced projects in the Horn River Basin to industry land grabs in Ontario and Newfoundland, a full picture of fracking in Canada is only beginning to emerge. The fracker tracker is an interactive tool that maps where fracking is happening in Canada. The information provided by governments and industry sometimes provides an incomplete picture on what’s happening. The fracker tracker is intended to be used by people tracking the industry to help give a sense of the status of fracking in Canada. It is an interactive map where you can provide information about a project in your community or province. To see the Fracker Tracker, click here.
It is a sweet victory. President Barack Obama has listened to his people and his better nature and rejected the Keystone Pipeline. In spite of a massive campaign south of the border by the federal and Alberta governments and the energy industry, which included expensive wall-to-wall television ads, common sense has won the day. Read more »
Contrary to mainstream media, the Durban talks did not lead to a breakthrough deal. The Harper government is pleased with the outcome, but in today’s political context, this should raise red flags. Certainly, one could argue that the continuation of the talks (ie., preventing a full blown breakdown of talks) towards a legally binding agreement can be construed as a ‘win’ but this is far fetched faced with what is actually needed. Read more here.
Canadian Civil Society Groups Decry Government Inaction on Climate Change
The Council of Canadians joined with other civil society groups to release a joint statement on the first day of the UN climate negotiations in Durban, South Africa denouncing the Harper government’s inaction on climate change. The statement highlights key examples of how the Canadian government has lost its moral compass on climate change. Signed by organizations and unions representing more than one million Canadians, the statement reads, “The world needs an ambitious, equitable and binding international agreement on climate change. If Canada refuses to lead or follow in this pursuit, we should at least get out of the way.”
Read more about the Durban climate talks in our blog.
Monday, September 26 Ottawa sit-in
Canadian and U.S. environmental and civil society leaders endorsed a call from the Indigenous Environmental Network, the Council of Canadians and Greenpeace Canada for people in Canada to join a mass protest featuring a civil disobedience sit-in against the tar sands in Ottawa on September 26th.
Read about the Ottawa Action, see photos and watch videos here.
Barlow demands Doer stop lobbying for Keystone XL
The Council of Canadians, the Indigenous Environmental Network and Greenpeace Canada presented a letter addressed to Ambassador Gary Doer at the Canadian embassy in Washington, D.C. on August 31, 2011 demanding an end to lobbying in favour of the Keystone XL pipeline.
Read more about Keystone XL, see photos and watch videos here.
The True Cost of Chevron: An Alternative Annual Report
The Council of Canadians is one of several sponsors of a newly released alternative report on Chevron. This BigOil player continues its long history of ravaging natural environments, violating human rights, ignoring the longstanding decisions of Indigenous communities, destroying traditional livelihoods, and converting its dollars into unjust political influence in the United States and around the world. Chevron has begun to explore for oil and gas off the coast of Yukon. As highlighted in the Council of Canadians contribution to the report, offshore drilling in the Arctic stands to have devastating impacts on the environment and coastal communities, and in the face of a climate crisis, is a signal of the wrong direction – we need to leave it in the ground.
The Council of Canadians piece on Chevron in the Beaufort Sea is on page 31.
Arctic Coastal States told to Leave it in the Ground
May 11, The Council of Canadians and the Indigenous Environmental Network gathered outside the Department of Foreign Affairs in Ottawa with a dramatic visual challenge to offshore drilling in the Arctic.
Council of Canadians and Friends send Message to Shareholders: New Gold is Risky Business
Using images, testimonials and an open letter, the Council of Canadians joined others in alerting New Gold shareholders at the company's annual meeting held in Toronto, May 4th about the ongoing opposition to the company’s mine in Cerro San Pedro Mexico.
In December 2010, the Council of Canadians joined a Canadian delegation on a caravan for social and environmental justice that ended at the UN climate talks in Cancun, Mexico. We met and heard from local populations in Cerro San Pedro, deeply effected by an open pit gold and silver mine owned by a subsidiary of New Gold, based in Vancouver.
You can read our op-ed in the Georgia Straight about Cerro San Pedro here and our blog and press release.
Watch a video featuring testimonials from community members in Cerro San Pedro here:
Cochabamba +1: Climate Justice and Ecological Alternatives: An international conference focusing on: Mobilizing against the effects of shale gas exploration and the tar sands; Transition towards a carbon-free economy and industrial conversions; Ecological crises and people's alternatives. The Council of Canadians partnered on this important conference organized by Alternatives and Canadian Dimension and held in held in Montreal from
April 15-17, 2011.
Andrea Harden-Donahue speaks of global North South Solidarity and building the Canadian climate justice movement
Maude Barlow speaking at Cochabamba +1
Dear Environment Minister and Critics,
The Council of Canadians sent letters to Environment Minister Peter Kent, NDP Environment Critic Linda Duncan and Liberal Environment Critic Gerrard Kennedy in the lead up to the 2011 Budget release and potential federal election. The letters highlight the results from an Environics poll indicating that the vast majority of Canadians understand that the climate crisis requires a significant change in economic, social, and environmental priorities as well as recommend clear areas for government action. The poll was commissioned by the Council of Canadians alongside KAIROS, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, the Indigenous Environmental Network, Common Frontiers, the Public Service Alliance of Canada in the lead up to the international climate negotiations in Cancun, December 2010.
Results of an Environics Research poll just prior to the November 29 to December 10, 2010 UN climate negotiations suggest that the Canadian public has far different priorities than the government when it comes to climate change.
Over 80 percent of Canadians agree that too much focus on economic growth and consumerism is a root cause of climate change. They also affirm that industrialized countries – which have historically produced the most greenhouse gas emissions – bear the most responsibility for reducing emissions.
Read the media release here and read the poll backgrounder here.
Council of Canadians taking action in Cancun and Canada
The climate crisis demands urgent action, but Canada is going in the wrong direction. The Canadian government remains committed to being an energy superpower focused on export-oriented energy trade, allowing this to trump much needed action on climate change and energy security. As the climate change crisis continues to grow, Canadians must demand urgent action from their government.
The Council of Canadians was in Cancun, Mexico for the UN climate negotiations which took place from November 29 to December 10, 2010. The Council of Canadians, along with working with allies, social justice organizations, environmental groups and thousands of concerned people as part of a burgeoning grassroots climate justice movement is demand “system change, not climate change.”
Click here to read more about our actions in Cancun, watch videos, read blogs, and view photos.
During the UN climate negotiations held in Cancun from November 29 to December 10, 2010, the Council of Canadians joined by the Indigenous Environmental Network, KAIROS and the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition, hosted People's Assemblies on Climate Justice across Canada.
Why wait for governments to take action? It is the collective voice of people that can help make climate justice a reality.
Learn more about the assemblies and see highlights here »
Council of Canadians submits Report on Fracking to the Ontario Energy Board
Hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, is a method of extracting unconventional natural gas from ‘tight’ impermeable rock formations, found under our soil. Fracking poses serious environmental and social risks. The Council of Canadians is bringing this message to the Ontario Energy Board (OEB).
In a report prepared for the OEB the boom in unconventional natural gas resources, particularly shale gas, is being predicted as a significant source for the North American market – over 30 per cent of total supply by 2020. Lisa Sumi, Science and Research Advisor for EARTHWORKS and expert on the impacts of fracking and natural gas drilling, has prepared a report on behalf of the Council of Canadians for the OEB Stakeholder Conference, October 7th-8th. The report argues that the extraction of natural gas from shales has not only been a game changer with respect to the North American natural gas supply outlook, it’s raised public awareness with respect to serious environmental concerns which is spurring regulations that may ultimately slow the growth of shale gas development and predicted supply in Ontario. Read the report here.
The devastating BP spill off the Gulf of Mexico has awakened our collective consciousness to the serious risks of offshore drilling. Images of oil soaked wetlands, dying birds and animals and firsthand accounts of jobs and livelihoods lost are just the start of what will be long-lasting impacts of this environmental catastrophe.
With the discovery of 90 billion barrels of oil and 1,670 trillion cubic feet of natural gas under melting ice, the Arctic is increasingly being viewed as a final frontier for fossil fuel development. More than 80 per cent of the oil and gas is found offshore.
On May 12, 2010, the Council of Canadians hand-delivered an open letter to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa outlining concerns with Prime Minister Stephen Harper's bid for Canada to have a seat on the UN Security Council during the 2011-2012 term. The letter points to the Harper government's refusal to recognize water as a human right, its opposition to the UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights, and its failure to commit to deep emission cuts to address climate change as reasons to deny Canada the seat.
To read the open letter, go here. To read our media release, go here.
A media release issued by the Bolivian government on May 6 states that, “On the morning of Friday, May 7th, President Evo Morales of Bolivia will personally present UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon with the conclusions of the World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of the Mother Earth, which was held in Cochabamba, Bolivia from April 20th to 22nd, 2010.” Read more »
Photos: 1) United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon accepting open letter from Brent Patterson, Director of Campaigns and Communications 2) Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at the UN in New York.
Briefing: Keep Europe Out of the Tar Sands! Published by The Council of Canadians, Friends of the Earth Europe, Indigenous Environmental Network, UK Tar Sands Network, January 2011
Green, Decent and Public – The Council of Canadians, working with the Canadian Labour Congress, have produced Green Decent and Public, a report focused on the distinct opportunities of the public sector to play a prominent role in generating decent green jobs. Green Decent Public focuses in particular on the opportunities in improving energy efficiency and rapidly expanding electricity produced from renewable resources. Public and community ownership of renewable power is offered as an alternative path to further market liberalization in the electricity sector that has distinct advantages. These advantages include retaining economic revenues, maximizing social benefits, prioritizing conservation and ensuring energy security. Download the Executive summary, full report and factsheets (NEW!) here.
Canadian Perspectives, our in-depth membership magazine, reports on the work of the Council and explores the important political developments affecting Canadians and the world around us. Articles written by a wide range of leading thinkers make Canadian Perspectives a valuable activist resource.
The Council of Canadians has presented a written submission to the Ontario Government as part of the public consultation process to modernize the Ontario Mining Act.
The Council joins numerous First Nations, environmental and social justice organizations in describing the Ontario Mining Act as not suitable for ensuring the fair and sustainable extraction of natural resources in this province. We demand a more open and democratic Mining Act that balances environmental concerns and the needs of communities with the desires of mining companies. Uranium mining is an issue of special interest to our organization given significant public health and water contamination risks and other social and environmental consequences associated with all stages of development. Council of Canadians chapters across the country have actively opposed uranium mining by organizing public events, collecting signatures and supporting legislative moratoriums and bans. Read the Council of Canadians submission »
Check out our an exciting new multimedia education project, System Change not Climate Change! SystemChange.ca is a multi-media tool for climate justice organized by the Council of Canadians’ Climate Justice for People and the Planet campaign.
VIDEO: Fuel Discrimination, Andrea Harden-Donahue, Energy and Climate Justice Campaigner for the Council of Canadians debates Murray Smith, Former Alberta Energy Minister, Alberta Primetime, February 23, 2012 [begins at approx. 1/3 mark]
May 11, 2011, The Council of Canadians and the Indigenous Environmental Network gathered outside the Department of Foreign Affairs in Ottawa with a dramatic visual challenge to offshore drilling in the Arctic.
Maude Barlow speaking at Cochabamba +1 Cochabamba +1: Climate Justice and Ecological Alternatives: An international conference focusing on: Mobilizing against the effects of shale gas exploration and the tar sands; Transition towards a carbon-free economy and industrial conversions; Ecological crises and people's alternatives. The Council of Canadians partnered on this important conference organized by Alternatives and Canadian Dimension and held in held in Montreal from
April 15-17, 2011.
Learn why Nafta Saurus loves NAFTA so much; and why 61% of Canadians agree that NAFTA should be renegotiated to include enforceable labour and environmental standards
It's vital that we pressure the federal government to act now by implementing appropriate groundwater protection laws to ensure that our water, people’s health and the environment are protected from unnecessary and dangerous contamination.
TAKE ACTION: Send a photo message – I’m Canadian and I support the EU FQD
We need to let European decision makers and the public know that our government is not speaking for us. We know we must reduce emissions in the face of a serious climate crisis, and the tar sands are a high carbon fuel. We denounce our government’s lobbying efforts – in fact, we’re sorry that this is how our government is spending it’s time when attention could be placed on addressing the impacts of the tar sands instead – and we support the EU Fuel Quality Directive.
The Council of Canadians will creatively deliver these pictures and share your messages.
Canadian and U.S. environmental and civil society leaders today endorsed a call from the Indigenous Environmental Network, the Council of Canadians and Greenpeace Canada for people in Canada to join a mass protest featuring a civil disobedience sit-in against the tar sands in Ottawa on September 26th. Sign-up and read more about the sit-in here.
International statement against Arctic offshore drilling
The Council of Canadians along with Friends of the Earth, Norway, Greenpeace-Canada, Indigenous Environmental Network, REDOIL Network and others are sponsoring an international statement against Arctic offshore drilling. Read more »
Add your voice to the demand to stop Arctic offshore drilling by signing the statement here.
In addition to re-sending the updated email action alert, consider submitting a letter to the editor. We need to increase pressure on the Harper government in the lead up to the budget (March 22nd) and an increasingly likely Spring election, to stop cutting funding to essential programmes advancing energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy in Canada.
EU Tar Sands Lobby-Busting Tour: Countering Canada’s Confuse and Bully Campaign
Don’t frack with our water, say majority of Canadians in new poll
The Council of Canadians is one of several sponsors of a newly released alternative report on Chevron. This BigOil player continues its long history of ravaging natural environments, violating human rights, ignoring the longstanding decisions of Indigenous communities, destroying traditional livelihoods, and converting its dollars into unjust political influence in the United States and around the world. Chevron has begun to explore for oil and gas off the coast of Yukon. As highlighted in the Council of Canadians contribution to the report, offshore drilling in the Arctic stands to have devastating impacts on the environment and coastal communities, and in the face of a climate crisis, is a signal of the wrong direction – we need to leave it in the ground.
Results of an Environics Research poll just prior to the November 29 to December 10, 2010 UN climate negotiations suggest that the Canadian public has far different priorities than the government when it comes to climate change.
Arctic Summit told to leave it in the ground
On May 12, 2010, the Council of Canadians hand-delivered an open letter to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa outlining concerns with Prime Minister Stephen Harper's bid for Canada to have a seat on the UN Security Council during the 2011-2012 term. The letter points to the Harper government's refusal to recognize water as a human right, its opposition to the UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights, and its failure to commit to deep emission cuts to address climate change as reasons to deny Canada the seat.
Green, Decent and Public
Movie: 
Canadians to Europeans: Our government doesn’t speak for us on the tar sands
@pmHarper climate action requires more spending not less! #cdnpoli
