CBC reports, "The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has given NB Power clearance to refuel and restart the Point Lepreau nuclear generating station later this year. The commission has also granted Lepreau a five-year operating licence, but attached two conditions in its decision, released Friday. NB Power must improve Lepreau’s firefighting capability, which the commission called substandard, and conduct updated earthquake risk assessment testing around the plant using modern techniques." Read more here »

Tonight around 6:30 p.m. Toronto’s executive committee passed the following motion on the Canada-EU trade deal. It was a an alternate motion tabled by Pam McConnell through Michael Thompson (McConnell is not a sitting member of the executive, Thompson is). The original motion from Kristyn Wong-Tam and Glenn de Baeremaeker proposed to request a complete exemption for the City from the CETA. The alternate, which was passed almost unanimously (one councillor opposed). Read more here »

The Canadian Press reports, “Newfoundland and Labrador has refused to allow one of its largest seafood firms to ship unprocessed groundfish to Asia, saying it wants more jobs and benefits to remain in the province. Ocean Choice International has said it wants to ship the majority of its groundfish catch straight to the overseas buyers, saying the Far Eastern markets want less processed product. But Fisheries Minister Darin King said Thursday he wasn’t able to reach a fair deal with the company.” Read more here »

The North Shore Outlook reports, “In November, North Vancouver city council unanimously endorsed ‘in principle’ becoming a blue community. On Monday night, they made that transition official…”

“Public water will now be promoted at city events. The installation of more water fountains or the purchase of a water wagon — a mobile tank of tap water — may also be approved to ensure easy access to tap water.”

“The City of North Vancouver is now the sixth Canadian municipality to become a blue community and the third in B.C., joining Burnaby and Victoria.” Read more here »

The one-year license issued by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to Bruce Power to ship radioactive waste on the Great Lakes expires tomorrow, Friday February 3. This is a major campaign win and means those shipments cannot take place anytime soon. For an overview of our campaign, please see the key dates here »

The Coalition of Mexican Organizations for the Right to Water (COMDA) celebrates the approval of the project that reforms and adds to the article 4 of the constitution to include the right to water. - Calls on the Executive to publish the reform in the Official Journal of the Federation without delay. Read more here »

Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow writes, “It is a sweet victory. President Obama has listened to his people and his better nature and rejected the Keystone Pipeline. …The tar sands of Northern Alberta have become a symbol of the destructive side of globalization and a flashpoint in the debate about alternative futures. With their heavy carbon footprint and their destruction of watersheds, the tar sands have become an international symbol of excessive development and the clear reason behind Canada’s abandonment of its Kyoto commitment. …The fight against the Keystone and other pipelines is that they represent unparalleled growth in the dirty oil industry, essentially shutting out the search for alternatives. When untold billions are spent in building the delivery system for this industry, the imperative is set to exponentially increase production.” Read more here »

The Comox Valley Record reported in December that the Village of Cumberland has passed a resolution requesting that the province negotiate a clear, permanent exemption for local governments from the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. The resolution was brought forward by the Comox Valley chapter of the Council of Canadians after a process of public and municipal outreach in the region. Read more here »

Last night at about 10:15 p.m., Hamilton city council became the 35th municipality or municipal body to pass a resolution challenging the inclusion of local governments in the Canada-EU free trade agreement. The resolution, brought forward by Councillor Brian McHattie, was cheered by a dozen Hamilton Council of Canadians members who were there for the vote. Only three councillors voted against the motion, which also asks the provincial government to make its services, procurement and investment offers public, and to give municipalities the freedom to choose whether they want to be bound by the CETA or not. (See page 18 of this document.) Read more here »

CBC reports, “Bruce Power announced Monday it will no longer go ahead with a controversial nuclear power plant proposed for Peace River, Alta. …The company wanted to build Alberta’s first nuclear power plant on a site outside Peace River, about 480 kilometres northwest of Edmonton. The first site, located on Lac Cardinal, 30 kilometres west of the town, alarmed some residents who worried about its proximity to a freshwater aquifer that provides drinking water for the area. …A second location, about 30 kilometres north of Peace River, was chosen two months later, but residents also worried about the site’s impact on water and wildlife in the area. The company will now focus its attention on its Ontario operations, Hawthorne said.” Read more here »

The Council of Canadians is pleased to learn that the Town of Ajax has passed a resolution banning bottled water, recognizing water as a human right and promoting publicly owned and operated water and wastewater systems. Ajax is the fourth community in Canada and second in Ontario to adopt the project launched by the Council of Canadians and Canadian Union of Public Employees. Read more here »

The Globe and Mail reports this hour, “A federal court judge has dealt a blow to the federal government’s plan to end the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly over the sale of wheat grown in Western Canada. In a ruling today, Federal Court Judge Douglas Campbell said the government violated the Canadian Wheat Board Act by not holding a vote among farmers before introducing legislation eliminating the Wheat Board’s monopoly position.” Read more here »

The Canadian Press reports, “An aboriginal band has been granted an injunction preventing Taseko Mines from conducting exploration work around its proposed gold and copper mine in B.C.’s central Interior. In the same court hearing, Taseko failed in its bid for an injunction forcing the Tsilhqot’in First Nation to stop blocking the company’s access to the site outside Williams Lake, B.C. B.C. Supreme Court Justice Christopher Grauer ruled Friday the band wasn’t properly consulted on two permits granted to Taseko by the provincial government. Grauer said the First Nation will suffer greater harm than Taseko if the exploration and trail building work for the proposed New Prosperity mine continues. The injunction will be in force until the First Nation can launch a judicial review over the provincial government permits.” Read more here »

The Vancouver Province reports, "Abbotsford residents were so frustrated with their city’s handling of the Stave Lake water plan, they ousted the mayor (George Peary) in charge and killed the project. ...Residents voting on the Stave Lake P3 water plan referendum nixed the idea by an overwhelming majority: almost 75 per cent voted no on the question." Congratulations to Abbotsford-Mission Water Watch, local activists. CUPE and everyone who worked so hard to secure this important win. Read more here »

North Shore Outlook reports, “Already fancying itself a green community, the City of North Vancouver took steps at Monday night’s council meeting to becoming a blue community as well. In a unanimous vote, council endorsed the Blue Communities Project ‘in principle’. …Since 2009, the city has worked to phase out bottled water at its facilities. Both city hall and the city works yard no longer offer bottled water. The city has also been working to add water fountains to public parks.” Read more here »

CBC reports this hour, “A lawyer representing Occupy protesters in Toronto has won an injunction against a city eviction notice that was issued earlier Tuesday. Late Tuesday afternoon, Judge David Brown granted a temporary stay of the city’s eviction notice to protesters occupying St. James Park. Brown said he needs more information before he can rule on the city’s plan to remove protesters from the park. The judge will hold a hearing on Friday to further discuss the matter and deliver his verdict by 6 p.m. ET on Saturday. …Before the injunction, protesters had been given until early Wednesday morning to leave with their belongings, but some members of the group said they would stand their ground.”

CTV also reports at this hour, “The court order was granted with a condition that no one else is permitted to show up at St. James Park. The judge also warned the protesters that if more activists show up it may violate the order.”

Toronto-based Council of Canadians organizer Mark Calzavara was in contact with the Movement Defence Committee this afternoon offering our support in their efforts to seek the injunction order against the City of Toronto’s eviction of Occupy Toronto, which was to begin at 12:01 am. The Council of Canadians is now preparing its argument as an intervener at Friday’s hearing. We will have more details on this later tonight or tomorrow morning. Our argument may be that the rights to freedom of expression and assembly must overrule a bylaw as minor as no camping in a public park. We have also made the offer to help cover some of the costs related to this afternoon’s legal intervention and Friday’s hearing. Read more here »

CBC reports, “The US State Department will order another environmental assessment for the Keystone XL pipeline route, allowing US President Barack Obama to shelve the controversial issue until after the (November) 2012 elections… (The State Department) will consider a proposal to reroute the 3,000-kilometre pipeline away from an environmentally sensitive area of Nebraska (over the Ogallala aquifer). …The new route will require another environmental assessment of the impact on new affected areas (that) could take as long as 18 months… (That) would delay the ultimate decision until sometime in early 2013 (perhaps April 2013 or later).”

This afternoon, Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow stated, “Today’s decision by the Obama administration is a step in the right direction. A powerful movement has succeeded in demonstrating widespread opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline and the expansion of the tar sands. The Council of Canadians and many others are committed to ongoing vigilance to make sure this project does not proceed in any form at any time. We want to see a just transition to a sustainable energy future for North America and we hope that this decision brings us one big step closer to that future. The Council is proud to have been part of the massive ‘Surround the White House’ action this past weekend in Washington, DC.” Read more here »

Last week, the Council of Canadians issued an action alert asking for your support on a motion to be heard at Niagara-on-the-Lake town council this evening. The motion called for a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing and the treatment of fracking wastewater within the Great Lakes Basin. It was sparked by concern about the Niagara Falls (New York) Water Board’s move to explore treating fracking wastewater in Niagara Falls’ wastewater treatment system. Late this evening we received word from Councillor Jamie King - who introduced the motion - that the motion was just passed unanimously by council! Read more here »

Al Jazeera English reports, “Evo Morales, the president of Bolivia, has announced that he is scrapping plans to build a highway through a nature reserve in Bolivia’s jungle lowlands, bowing to public pressure after a two-month protest march by Amazon Indians.”

In early-September, the Council of Canadians and the Blue Planet Project signed an open letter expressing concern to the Bolivian government given their stated plan to build the Villa Tunari-San Ignacio de Moxos highway through the Isiboro Sécure National Park and Indigenous Territory without consulting local indigenous communities. Read more here »

The Windsor Star reports, "Windsor has added its voice to a growing number of municipalities demanding more details on secret negotiations between Ottawa and the European Union aimed at securing a free trade agreement by year's end."

"Before councillors voted on the matter Monday night, they heard from a chorus of labour and social activist critics claiming Canada's proposed deal with (Europe) is broader and more far reaching than even the North American FTA. ...The deal would give foreign corporations new powers to bid on municipal public procurements, including infrastructure and goods and services such as water and hydro, as well as the right to appeal decisions they feel were made for social rather than strictly economic objectives, said Randy Emerson of the Council of Canadians." Read more here »

Last week, the town council of Sackville, New Brunswick unanimously passed a resolution regarding the Canada-European Union free trade negotiations. Town Councillor Merrill Fullerton tells us he drew extensively from Council of Canadians materials available on-line, including the sample motion and talking points posted here. Read more here »

The Trentonian reports, "A free trade deal currently being negotiated between Canada and the European Union could have far reaching implications for local municipalities. ...Organizations like the Northumberland chapter of the Council of Canadians, say the trade agreement opens up municipal, provincial and federal procurement contracts, including hospital and utilities to European corporations."

"The Federation of Canadian Municipalities and most recently the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) have passed resolutions demanding exemptions for local government under the potential CETA deal. Quinte West city council unanimously backed the resolution Monday." Read more here »

On September 21, the municipal council of French River passed the resolution which requests: a briefing from the Ontario Government on the scope and content of trade negotiations with the European Union (EU); the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) to provide a sector-by-sector analysis of the potential impacts on municipal functions and powers of the procurement regime that the EU is seeking; the FCM to urge the government of Canada not to provide the EU with access to subnational government procurement; municipal staff to review the available information on the impact CETA will have on municipal governments, with special emphasis on procurement and the delivery of social services; the Government of Ontario to negotiate a clear, permanent exemption for local governments from CETA; and that this resolution be sent to the provincial municipal association for consideration and circulation. Read more here »

British Columbia’s municipal leaders voted, overwhelmingly, in favour of a ‘Blue Communities’ resolution at the Union of British Columbia Municipalities conference. Initiated by the Burnaby City Council, this resolution shows dedication from municipalities all over the province to support the idea of developing more Blue Communities. Read more here »

London chapter activist George Crowell reports, “London City Council unanimously passed on the evening of October 3 a resolution regarding CETA. It comes as a result of the submission I made to the Finance and Administration Committee last Wednesday morning, with discussion continued this afternoon when the Committee supported it and passed it on to the entire Council. The approved resolution expresses concern regarding potential disadvantages for municipalities from the impact of CETA, and recognizes the role of the Council of Canadians in bringing the issue before them. But it does not ask for the clear, permanent exemption for local governments from CETA that we requested. Once the CETA text is made public, we could have another chance to approach City Council with this.” Read more here »

The Mexican Senate has voted to add the right to water to the Constitution just moments ago. This initiative also adds the right to a healthy environment! The initiative now needs to be voted in the majority of the state legislations, which might still take a few months, but it is most likely to be passed and finally published officially! Read more here »

On September 21, Council of Canadians Windsor Chapter activists Doug Hayes and Randy Emerson presented to Essex County Council on the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). The County comprises seven municipalities in southwestern Ontario which straddle the Windsor-Detroit border region. As a result of their presentation, Essex County Council voted unanimously to adopt a resolution demanding a total municipal exemption from any procurement commitments in CETA. Read more here »

The Council of Canadians congratulates the municipality of Kingston for voting to recognize water and sanitation as a human right.

The city of Kingston was approached by 12-year-old Robyn Hamlyn who was so moved by the movie Blue Gold, based on Maude Barlow’s book by the same name, that she was inspired to take action. Read more here »

On September 13, the Constitutional Points Commission at the Senate voted to pass an initiative that started in the Deputies Chamber. The initiative not only recognizes the right to water, but also states the right to a healthy environment. The proposal should now be discussed in the plenary and, if passed, should be voted in more than half of the states’ legislatures. Read more here »

Yesterday evening the Brockville chapter of the Council of Canadians were successful in convincing Brockville city council to pass a resolution of concern about the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).

Brockville now joins ten other communities in Ontario (Brantford, Alnwick/Haldimand, Trent Hills, Asphodel-Norwood, Tecumseh), Nova Scotia (Lunenberg), and British Columbia (Logan Lake, Burnaby, North Vancouver, Trail) that have passed resolutions of concern about CETA. Read more here »

Numerous Mexican organizations - notably the Coalition of Mexican Organizations for the Right to Water (COMDA) - have made the demand that the right to water should be included in the Mexican Constitution.

Today, Campero reports the news that the right to water resolution passed the Senate’s Constitutional Points Commission and its next step is now to go to the full plenary of the Senate. This is very exciting news and an important step forward toward the recognition of the right to water in the Mexican Constitution. Read more here »

The Township of Tiny in Simcoe County in south-central Ontario has a population of just over 10,000 people and is made up of communities including Bluewater Beach, East Tay Point, Georgina Beach, Nottawaga Beach, Wyebridge and Wyevale. Council of Canadians activists may remember the campaign against the Site 41 landfill, which was to be located in the Township of Tiny on top of the Alliston aquifer. The township had long expressed its opposition to the garbage dump. The dump was finally defeated in September 2009.

We have just received word from the township’s mayor, Ray Millar, that the blue community resolution he brought to council passed this evening.

The Blue Communities Project is an initiative of the Council of Canadians and the Canadian Union of Public Employees, and in Quebec with Eau Secours. It calls on municipalities to recognize water as a human right, to ban the sale of bottled water in civic spaces, and to support the public ownership of water utilities. Read more here »

The Alberni Valley Times reports, “Port Alberni is on its way to being a blue community. In the regular council meeting on Monday night (August 22), Marusha Taylor, on behalf of the Alberni Chapter of the Council of Canadians, challenged mayor and council to become the third community in Canada to go blue.”

“The Blue Communities Project challenges communities to adopt three principles when it comes to water: recognize that water is a human right, promoting publicly financed, owned and operated water and waste-water services and banning the sale of bottled water in public facilities and at municipal events. Taylor said there are so many reasons to take the lead on this initiative, which is a joint venture between the Council of Canadians and the Canadian Union of Public Employees. …’Canadians are not supporting water on the world stage,’ she explained. ‘We are in the position to set an example.’” Read more here »

The Council of Canadians Golden chapter has been opposing Selkirk Power's proposal for its Beaver River 'independent power project' on the Ventego and Cupola Creeks in British Columbia.

That work has included:

- On February 24, the Golden Star reported, “Columbia River-Revelstoke MLA Norm Macdonald presented to the Legislature last week a petition signed by more than 500 Golden and area residents indicating their opposition to the development of private river-diversion projects on Ventego and Cupola Creeks. The petition was created by the Golden Chapter of Council of Canadians. Trevor Hamre, vice-president of the local Council of Canadians chapter, said his message is: We oppose the privatization of rivers in our community.”

- On March 24, the Golden Star also reported, “Selkirk Power chairman Douglas Hurst was welcomed to last Tuesday’s Town council meeting by a rally of around 100 locals who are opposed to the company’s proposed Beaver River Hydro Project. …Local organizations Wildsight, the Council of Canadians and concerned Golden residents saw it as an opportunity to show why they opposed this run-of-river hydroelectric project.” In a 3-minute BCLocalNews video of the protest, Golden chapter activist Trevor Hamre says, “We see the sale of our rivers as theft from the commons.” To watch the video, please go here.

- On April 7, a letter in the Arrow Lake News noted, “The Arrow Lakes Environment Stewardship Society in collaboration with West Kootenay Ecosociety Nelson, Golden’s Wildsight, and the Council of Canadians have formed a Regional IPP Committee in a united stand with Regional Directors and MLAs (to) say yes to a moratorium on all independent power projects in British Columbia until they are regionally planned, environmentally appropriate, acceptable to First Nations without attachment, and publicly owned. …(This) goes for (run of the river projects on) the pristine Cupola, Ventego and Alder Creeks near Golden…” Read more here »

The Toronto Star reports, “The owners of the Toronto Stock Exchange have agreed with the London Stock Exchange Group plc. to terminate their $3.7 billion merger agreement. Based on proxies filed by TMX Group Inc. shareholders as of Tuesday’s deadline, the merger was unlikely to receive the two-thirds majority required to proceed, the TMX and LSEG said in separate statements Wednesday. …The announcement comes a day before TMX shareholders were scheduled to vote on the merger at the company’s annual general meeting in Toronto.”

The Council of Canadians has been opposing the takeover bid for months. Read more here »

The news came in the form of a Tweet early this morning from Victoria chapter activist Bharat Chandramouli — “Victoria is now officially a Blue Community! Affirms human right to water, public stewardship and a municipal bottled water ban!”

While Nestle Waters Canada launched a last-minute bid to stop this blue community motion - specifically a prohibition on the sale of bottled water at city hall, the city works yard, the parks yard, and Crystal Pool - Victoria city councillors voted to have their city become a blue community, thus expressing their recognition of water as a human right, that water and wastewater services should be publicly financed, owned and operated, and that bottled water should not be sold in public facilities and at municipal events. Read more here »

On Wednesday, May 18 the Township of Alnwick/Haldimand, Ontario passed a resolution asking the Government of Ontario, “along with the other provincial and territorial governments to negotiate a clear, permanent exemption for local governments from CETA.” The resolution followed a presentation to council from a Northumberland delegation of Trade Justice Network partners, including the Council of Canadians, CUPE, First Nations, United Steelworkers, National Farmers Union and health workers.

The group explained in their presentation how CETA posed enough of a risk to municipal governments that they needn’t be part of the deal.  Alnwick/Haldimand joined the Ontario Town of New Tecumseth in passing the CETA resolution, which has been sent by both councils to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario for consideration and approval during the AMO annual conference this August 21 in London.

The Northumberland chapter of the Council of Canadians has been integral to the formation of the local Trade Justice Network group, which has been presenting on CETA to area municipalities on an almost weekly basis. “We are concerned about the lack of information sharing on this issue, since it will have implications for municipalities and local municipal governance,” says Council of Canadians chapter activist Elma Parker. “What we want is a discussion of this CETA Trade Agreement."
Read more here »

The North Dufferin Agricultural and Community Taskforce, the Citizens Alliance for a Sustainable Environment, the Council of Canadians and many others have been raising their objections to a 2316-acre open pit mega quarry proposed for Melancthon Township. One key demand has been for a 120-day extension — to the short 45-day comment period, which ended yesterday — to allow all parties to study the 3,000-plus page application from The Highland Companies, the company seeking this quarry.

A Council of Canadians action alert with this demand generated more than 1700 messages to Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty. We now have reports that the Ontario government has granted a 75-day extension to the comment period on this quarry. Read more here »

Over the past year, the Council of Canadians has been calling for the City of Winnipeg’s contract with the transnational corporation Veolia to be made public. Last week, the contract was finally made public. Read more here »

Last night, the Town of New Tecumseth passed a resolution stating, “That a briefing be scheduled from the Province of Ontario on the scope and content of trade negotiations with the European Union; That the Federation of Canadian Municipalities provide sector-by-sector analysis of the potential impacts on municipal functions and powers of the procurement regime that the European Union is seeking; That the Federation of Canadian Municipalities urge the Government of Canada not to provide the European Union with access to sub national government procurement; That the provincial government negotiate a clear, permanent exemption for local governments from CETA; And that this resolution be circulated to FCM, AMO, the local MP and MPP, and that it be placed on the agenda at the AMO Conference for consideration and approval.”

The New Tecumseth resolution was brought forward by Councillor Jim Stone. It was assisted by a CUPE toolkit and proposed resolution, a personal letter from Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow to Councillor Stone, research by Council of Canadians Board member Steven Shrybman, and local community activists. Read more here »

The Halifax Chronicle-Herald reports, “On Monday, the (NDP Nova Scotia) government said it would review hydraulic fracturing, which involves the pumping of fluids into shale rock formations to free up natural gas. The government says it wants to make sure groundwater is protected and the process does not lead to soil contamination. …The review is expected to be finished by early (2012).” Read more here »

The Council of Canadians has been arguing that Canada-European Union free trade talks - scheduled for April 11-15 in Ottawa - should be put on hold during this federal election. We have also called on provincial and territorial governments to use this pause in the negotiations to consult publicly on what, if anything, should be put on the table.
Embassy magazine reports this morning, “The federal election may not have stopped Canadian and European negotiators from meeting for another round of trade talks this week—but it did postpone a landmark moment for the negotiations: the presentation of formal offers. …Negotiators were planning to present their parties’ formal offers during this week’s seventh round of free trade talks… ‘During elections there will be no major policy decision that will be taken, and I would say that includes not making the offers during the elections,’ (Quebec chief negotiator Pierre-Marc) Johnson told Embassy during an interview on April 4.” Read more here »

AbbyNews.com reports, “The Abbotsford-Mission Water and Sewer Commission will not be proceeding with a private-public partnership option to develop a new water supply source for the two communities. In a close four-part vote, Mission council rejected a plan to apply for a grant from Public Private Partnerships Canada which could have provided up to 25 per cent of the cost for the $300-million Stave Lake water source project. …Close to 100 concerned residents, mostly members of Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and Citizens Against Urban Sprawl Society (CAUSS), filled council chambers and the lobby of municipal hall as elected officials in Mission listened to speakers for more than four hours.” Read more here »

Last night (March 21), the Council of Canadians and the Canadian Union of Public Employees presented a certificate to the City of Burnaby, the third largest city in British Columbia, for becoming the first Blue Community in Canada.

A municipality can become a Blue Community by: 1) recognizing water as a human right; 2) promoting publicly financed, owned and operated water and wastewater services; and 3) banning the sale of bottled water in public facilities and at municipal events. Burnaby, located just east of Vancouver, has now adopted resolutions affirming these three criteria. Read more here »

The Burlington Free Press reports that, “In the first cases involving Vermont’s 2008 groundwater protection law, an state Environmental Court judge has ruled that regulators must take additional steps to consider the impact on groundwater when reviewing projects with a potential to pollute.” Read more here »

The London Free Press reports that, “London’s ban on selling bottled water at city-owned sites went unchallenged Monday night… The bottled-water ban, passed by council to much fanfare in 2008, blocks the sale of single-use bottled water as city-owned sites including arenas, buildings and two golf courses. The possibility it could be overturned, with beverage giant Nestle asking it be tossed, drew widespread reaction. Dozens, including many schoolkids, were at City Hall Monday to support the ban.” Read more here »

The London Free Press reports this morning that, “A spirited water fight broke out at city hall Tuesday, but a three-year-old ban (on bottled water) that’s facing renewed criticism survived the battle, for now. …Sparked by beverage giant Nestle Waters’ request, councillors sparred at length over whether to recommend ending the ban.” Our London chapter was instrumental in this ban and in the subsequent Federation of Canadian Municipalities decision against bottled water. Read more here »

The Cape Breton Post reports that, “Inverness County council is supporting a province-wide ban on the industrial use of…hydraulic fracturing to extract oil and gas from underground rock formations.”"The resolution was made at the request of the Inverness County Chapter of the Council of Canadians, which presented its concerns over a proposed oil and gas exploration in the Lake Ainslie area during a regular meeting on Monday (February 14), which was attended by about 45 concerned citizens. According to the group, any drilling in areas as sensitive as the Lake Ainslie, Margaree and Mull River watersheds will set a dangerous precedent.” Lake Ainslie is the largest freshwater lake in Nova Scotia. Read more here »

The Inter Press Service has reported that the Zapotillo dam in Mexico “would divert the course of the Verde river and carry water to the cities of León and Guadalajara. The project, to be completed by late 2012, also involves the construction of a 140-km aqueduct from the dam, pumping plants, a disinfection plant, a storage tank and a macro-circuit for drinking water distribution.” But, “The people of three towns (Temacapulín, Acasico and Palmarejo) that would be flooded by the El Zapotillo dam to be built in the western Mexican state of Jalisco have refused to be reolcated and are fighting to save their homes.”

Mexico City-based Blue Planet Project organizer Claudia Campero Arena notes that Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow expressed support for a public consultation that took place last month. The non-binding community vote in early-January overwhelmingly rejected the project. Read more here »

CTV.ca reports that, “Calgary’s drinking water could soon be fluoride-free. City aldermen voted by a margin of 10 to 3 on Tuesday to eliminate the mineral from its water supply. …After the city’s Utilities and Environment committee voted 5-1 to exclude fluoride from Calgary’s water supply, some aldermen called for the matter to be put to a plebiscite. But after spending much of the afternoon Tuesday in heated debate about the issue, council decided not to have a public vote on the matter. …The issue now goes to Alberta Environment, which will have to amend the city’s water licence, which could take several months.”

The Calgary chapter campaigned against the fluoridation of their drinking water by organizing a public forum on it on January 18, by posting a video of that forum, see here, by making a deputation to the city’s Utilities and Environment committee on January 27 (which then voted against fluoridation), see here, and other actions.

The Council of Canadians has taken the position that there are environmental and health concerns associated with the fluoridation of drinking water and that this is an issue best decided through public consultation and debate at the local level. And so we congratulate the Calgary chapter on their successful campaign. The Council is also working with Eau Secours in Quebec which is opposing the Charest government’s plans to increase the fluoridation of drinking water there from about 3 per cent to 50 per cent. Our concerns are more fully outlined here. The CTV report is here.

Survival International reports this morning that, "In a momentous decision, Botswana’s Court of Appeal today quashed a ruling that denied the Kalahari Bushmen access to water on their ancestral lands. ...Celebrating after the decision, a Bushman spokesman said, ‘We are very happy that our rights have finally been recognized. Like any human beings, we need water to live.'"

Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow says, "This is a major win, it's the first test case of our right to water resolution at the United Nations."

In an August 2010 Survival International media release, Barlow condemned the Botswana government’s failure to allow Bushmen to access water. She stated, "Last week, the UN General Assembly declared that everyone, everywhere, has the right to water. But now the world witnesses one of Africa’s most prosperous countries denying its first inhabitants the right to sink a well, while promoting mining and safari camps just a few miles away. It’s hard to imagine a more cruel and inhuman way to treat people. One can only conclude Botswana’s authorities view Bushmen as less important than wildlife. Many people around the world will be horrified at what they’re seeing." Read more here »

Red Deer chapter activist Ken Collier tells us that, “On January 20, the Red Deer County appeal board denied operators a permit to mine gravel in a shallow aquifer feeding Medicine and Red Deer Rivers.”

Another correspondence notes that, “The Red Deer County Municipal Planning Council (first) turned down the permit application for the gravel quarry in September 2010. The company (6M Holdings) appealed (that decision).” The appeal took place in November and was then adjourned to January.

To read additional background, please go to WIN! Red Deer County rejects gravel quarry on alluvial aquifer.

Congratulations to the Red Deer and area chapter for their participation in this important campaign.

CBC.ca reports this evening that, “A P.E.I. coalition against genetically modified salmon says Premier Robert Ghiz has agreed to pursue more transparency around export plans by AquaBounty.”

“The U.S.-based biotechnology company has an egg-hatching facility in Bay Fortune where it’s developing advanced-hybrid salmon designed to grow faster than traditional fish. The company touts its AquAdvantage Salmon as reaching market size twice as fast as traditional salmon. AquaBounty is currently awaiting a decision from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on whether its fish can be sold in the American market. If approved, the fast-growing salmon would be the first genetically modified food animal for sale in the world.”

“The coalition of opponents to the company’s plans met with Ghiz and provincial Environment Minister Richard Brown Thursday. The group, which includes the Council of Canadians, P.E.I. Health Coalition, the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network and Earth Action PEI, has been asking Ghiz to address what it says is growing opposition to AquaBounty’s development of GMO salmon in P.E.I. Leo Broderick, vice-chair of the Council of Canadians, said the group wants public consultations on the AquaBounty export plan.” Read more here »

Council of Canadians chapter activist Eric Doherty writes, "Freeway opponents have won the first round against a proposed freeway through New Westminster in British Columbia’s lower mainland. While community groups mainly focused on the negative local impacts, Council of Canadians chapters focused on the climate justice implications (read more) of spending public money to expand freeways while neglecting transit. After hundreds of people spoke out against this proposal, New Westminster City Council voted to reject the province's plan to spend up to $175 million on just the first stage of the North Fraser Perimeter Road freeway in New Westminster. It is not known if the provicially-controlled TransLink will again attempt to force freeway expansion on New Westminster communities in 2011."

This morning, the Peterborough Examiner reports that, “The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission announced Wednesday it has approved renewal of the nuclear fuel facility operating licence for the General Electric-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Canada Inc. plant in Peterborough… (But) the licence does not allow the plant to use or possess low-enriched uranium, which has been a subject of concern for some neighbours and activists in the community. The decision follows public hearings held Sept. 30 and Dec. 9 in Ottawa. Several opponents from Peterborough spoke out during those hearings.”

Congratulations to Roy Brady, the Peterborough-Kawarthas chapter, and everyone who worked on this. Read more here »

The City of Moncton has been selling its drinking water for $1.58 a cubic metre to Apache Canada, a US-owned mining company, for their hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) testing in the Frederick Brook formation in the Elgin area in southern New Brunswick. As many as six to eight trucks a day were being filled with water and then driven 50 kilometres down Route 905 to a ‘lake’ that had been created to store the water for these operations.

Today we received word that Moncton has stopped these sales! Read more about our intervention here »

The Wilderness Committee reports that, “Late last week we got word that the Glacier Howser project has lost its energy purchase agreement with BC Hydro. … The citizens of Kaslo and Nelson, and all of those who wrote letters (to British Columbia Environmental Assessment office) to keep Glacier and Howser creeks (in the Kootenays) wild know the power of the pen.”

BC-Yukon organizer Harjap Grewal highlights that the Golden and Nelson chapters of the Council of Canadians were heavily involved in this campaign, and that this work also in part led to the formation of our new Columbia Valley chapter. Read more »

The Council of Canadians has been demanding that Moncton stop selling its drinking water to Apache Canada, a US-owned mining company, for hydraulic fracturing testing in the Frederick Brook formation in the Elgin area in southern New Brunswick. We sent an open letter to the mayor and all members of city council calling on them to stop selling water for fracking and asking for fuller public debate on these issues.

Today, the Canadian Press reports that, “City council in Moncton wants the New Brunswick government to protect the city’s drinking water by not allowing a controversial method of extracting natural gas. The city is worried about the potential impact on its regional water source. Council has passed a resolution requesting that no exemptions for oil and gas exploration or drilling in or around the Turtle Creek watershed be granted by the province.” Read more about our intervention »

The Vancouver Examiner reports that opponents of freeway expansion are declaring a partial victory “with the announcement that the British Columbia Agricultural Land Commission turned down a Langley section of the road and overpass proposal.” The new freeway connector road and overpass was intended to feed traffic to an expanded Hwy 1 freeway - part of the Gateway freeway expansion scheme in Metro Vancouver.

“The commission felt the proposal ‘would negatively impact the agricultural capability and suitability of lands within the ALR… The responses to the criteria that the ALC asked for didn’t satisfy the Commission to the extent that the impacts to agriculture would be mitigated or offset sufficiently.’”

The Vancouver Environmental News Reporter reported last April that, “’Historic homes are being demolished, and ancient indigenous sites are under threat from the South Fraser Perimeter Road project here on the Fraser River bank,’ according to a media statement from the Council of Canadians and the GatewaySucks organizations.” The groups add that the highway would “greatly increase greenhouse gas emissions in BC.” Read more »

An Environment Canada media release issued just now states, "the Prosperity mine project as proposed, near Williams Lake, cannot be granted federal authorizations to proceed due to concerns about the significant adverse environmental effects of the project. ...In making its decision, the Government of Canada took into consideration the conclusions of the report of the Federal Review Panel, and agreed with the Panel's conclusions about the environmental impacts of the project. “

The Canadian Press reports that, "The federal government has given the thumbs down to the proposed Prosperity Gold and Copper Mine in British Columbia's central Interior. Environment Minister Jim Prentice says the cabinet has rejected the Taseko Mines Ltd., project because of its adverse environmental impact and the damage it would cause Fish Lake and dozens of connecting streams." Read more »

The CBC reports this afternoon that, “Canada has dropped its bid for a seat on the United Nations Security Council after coming behind Portugal in second ballot voting Tuesday in New York. Canada dropped out of the race because it did not have the numbers on the second ballot - 78 to Portugal’s 113. A two-thirds majority is needed to win a seat. …Germany won one of two seats up for grabs in the first round of voting earlier Tuesday. …It is the first time that Canada has failed in its bid for a Security Council seat. Canada has been on the Security Council six times, roughly once a decade, since the 1940s.”

For the past 18 months the Council of Council of Canadians has argued that the Harper government does not deserve this seat because of its refusal to recognize the human right to water, the fact that almost every country in the world has signed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and its dismal climate policy. Toronto Star columnist Olivia Ward recently wrote, “Small island states at risk of disappearing as the climate changes are unimpressed with the Harper government’s stance on global warming. And Ottawa’s failure to back overwhelmingly endorsed UN measures on water as a human right and aboriginal rights has also raised eyebrows.” Read more »

The Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) have voted at their annual convention in Whistler to support a resolution from the District of Logan Lake and City of Burnaby asking that the provincial government negotiate a clear, permanent exemption for local governments from the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).
We had called on people to contact their councillors to support this resolution through our 'ACTION ALERT: Demand permanent exemption for municipalities from CETA'.

Several months ago we told you about a resolution from Burnaby requesting a permanent exemption, which was adopted by other municpalities, including Trail and North Vancouver. The Council of Canadians supported this resolution and encouraged other municipalities to adopt the same position with respect to CETA.

Last month the Federation of Canadian Municipalities passed a similar resolution at its board of directors meeting, calling on the federal government to respect municipal autonomy in its free trade negotiations with the European Union. But a permanent exemption for cities is the best and possibly only way to truly achieve this.

The UBCM vote sends a strong message to both the provincial and federal government that Canadian municipalities do not want to be pawns in the CETA negotiations. A copy of the CETA resolution just passed by the UBCM will be sent to the FCM for consideration.

For more information on our campaign on the Canada-EU CETA, please go to www.canadians.org/CETA.

The Red Deer County Municipal Planning Commission voted overwhelmingly September 21, 2010, against a “discretionary use” application for a gravel quarrying operation in an alluvial aquifer West of Innisfail, Alberta.

Before the vote, Ken Collier, chair of the Red Deer and Area chapter of the Council of Canadians, wrote that, “At least two alarming aspects are in that application - digging gravel pits into the aquifer water (largely to get cheap washed gravel) and allowing an asphalt plant. Asphalt leaches benzene, which will then enter the Red Deer water supply, not to mention water for farmers and ranchers locally and everyone else downstream, all the way through the Saskatchewan River system to Hudson’s Bay.”

Collier adds that, “Because this pit application is in such an environmentally sensitive area, prone to flooding and overland stream migration, its use as a precedent endangers not only the waters in the rivers, but also undermines the very process of decision-making about projects that may affect water.”

The Red Deer Advocate newspaper had reported in April that, “An alluvial aquifer is formed when water fills deposits of sand, silt and gravel left from former river channels that have changed course over time. …(There is concern that) three new gravel mines, now being proposed by private contractors on neighbouring farmland, (may) contaminate or cut off the water supply. Right now, (there is) an abundance of clean water (that)… flows through underground veins of gravel connecting the (Medicine and Red Deer) rivers. …The type of pit being proposed acts like putting a thumb on a vein to stop the flow of blood. The pit is dug below the high water line and then sealed with clay to keep it dry, blocking the water flow through the aquifer…”

The Red Deer and Area Council chapter acted in concert with the Medicine Flats Aquifer Commiittee and the Butte Action Committee, who work on rural issues, together with concerned landowners adjacent to the proposed gravel quarry. Environmental, fish and game and air quality issues spurred local people to criticize this project and other similar plans in the region. The Medicine Flats Committee wanted to “fill the Red Deer County chambers” for the vote. The call said, “We need to make a statement about the priority of safe source water, healthy air and safety for our children and theirs.” They also asked people to telephone their councillors before the vote.

Congratulations to the Council of Canadians' Red Deer chapter and the local rural residents!

The Millbrook, Ontario township council voted against using its water source and wastewater system to supply a megadevelopment located 12 kilometers away in the area known as Fraserville.

Congratulations to all those, including the Peterborough-Kawarthas chapter of the Council of Canadians, who defeated the Millbrook water diversion.

Read more here.

A network of individuals and organizations (including the Comox Valley and Campbell River, BC chapters) acted quickly to prevent the layoff of five microbiology technicians and closure of the microbiology lab at Campbell River Hospital – the reversal of the decision by Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) was announced in late July. The Citizens for Quality Health Care have successfully for the last four years to retain our hospitals in Campbell River and the Comox Valley and defeated a VIHA proposal of replacing them with one privatized regional hospital located miles from both communities. Rich Hagensen, Campbell River chapter activist, writes that the strategies that worked for the short campaign were:

1. Doing lots of research about hospital policy and networking with personnel in other hospitals.
2. A barrage of letters to VIHA and the newspapers opposing the cutbacks written by coalition citizens, doctors and politicians.
3. A doctor and our MLA spoke out on CBC radio about the issue. Meetings were being organized by our politicians and doctors with VIHA to further express opposition.
4. Other provincial advocacy organizations such as the B.C. Health Coalition, B. C. Government Retirees Association and the Hospital Union group were contacted and had begun to express their opposition to these cutbacks.

On July 28, 2010, the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly agreed to a resolution declaring the human right to “safe and clean drinking water and sanitation.” The resolution, presented by the Bolivian government, had 122 countries vote in its favour, while 41 countries – including Canada – abstained.

For more than a decade the water justice movement, including the Council of Canadians' Blue Planet Project, has been calling for UN leadership on this critical issue. Right now nearly 2billion people live in water-stressed areas of the world and 3 billion have no running water within a kilometre of their homes. Every eight seconds, a child dies of water-borne disease – deaths that would be easily preventable with access to clean, safe water.

“This is truly an historic day,” said Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians who was at the UN meeting for the vote. ”When the 1948 Universal Declaration on Human Rights was written, no one could foresee a day when water would be a contested area. But in 2010, it is not an exaggeration to say that the lack of access to clean water is the greatest human rights violation in the world.” Barlow was joined for the important vote by the Council of Canadians’ National Water Campaigner Meera Karunananthan and Blue Planet Project Organizer Anil Naidoo.

To read more about the urgent need for the human right to water and the Canadian government’s shameful position against it go here.

“The community has shown that they will protect the water”

Midhurst, Ontario - Simcoe County Council voted today to rezone Site 41 as agricultural land and to put covenants into place that will prevent any garbage being dumped, sorted or treated at the controversial site. A capacity audience cheered loudly as the votes were announced on a motion to ask the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) to revoke the Certificate of Approval and on the amendment put forward by Tiny Township Deputy Mayor George Lawrence that would change the zoning and put in place the covenants.  Many of those present had been arrested last summer during a month-long blockade of construction of at the site.

The Lawrence amendment is particularly important because the McGuinty government introduced the “Ontario Open for Business” Act last week, which greatly reduces the ability of communities to influence developments that threaten their land and water.

“If the Open for Business Act passes the MOE will be able to approve projects like Site 41 without a Certificate of Approval, without even telling local communities that something is going to be built, and that approval will be irrevocable,” said Mark Calzavara, Council of Canadians Ontario/Quebec Regional Organizer.

“The Certificate of Approval will become meaningless under the Open for Business Act,” warns Calzavara. “It won’t be required, but the zoning change and the covenants will stand in the way of any dumpsites in the future. I think the new Act was created partly in response to the success of the fight to stop Site 41 and if it passes, we will see many, many more people stopping bad developments with their bodies because they will have no other option.”  

“It’s a great day for the people of Simcoe County, for democracy and for the water,” said Council of Canadians National Chairperson Maude Barlow. “I have seen communities from Bolivia to India and beyond fight to protect their water and I will be telling them all about how the people worked together in Simcoe - the First Nations, the agricultural community, the cottagers and everyone else - and were able to end a 26 year battle.”

Read more here.

On Wednesday May 5, the House of Commons voted 149 to 136 and passed Bill C-311, the Climate Change Accountability Act. C-311 now goes to the Senate for final approval.

The Canadian Press reports that, “The bill — the Climate Change Accountability Act — has spent the last year or so bouncing between the full House of Commons and the Commons environment committee. The legislation calls for greenhouse gases to be cut 25 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020.”

By contrast, the Harper government to date has only called for - with no supporting plans or legislation - a cut of 17 per cent below 2005 levels by 2020. When this is translated to the standard baseline year of 1990, the Harper target actually equates to a 2.5 percent increase over 1990 levels by 2020.

Commenting on the passage of C-311, federal NDP leader Jack Layton stated, “We would not be here without the thousands of Canadians who called and wrote to their Members of Parliament, pushing them to finally adopt meaningful climate-change legislation.”

The Council of Canadians has been speaking out in support of C-311 and urging its supporters and the broader public to contact their MP on this bill for the past eight months. Our ‘ACTION ALERT: Support the Climate Change Accountability Act, Bill C-311, becoming law’ is here. Council of Canadians chapters have also been consistently raising support for C-311 in climate actions taken in their communities. Read more here.

The Winnipeg Free Press reports that, “The City of Winnipeg has trashed the most controversial aspect of its plan to create a new water, sewer and garbage utility - the possibility a private engineering firm could own part of a subsidiary of the new arm’s-length corporation.”

“Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz now says there will be no such partner and a private engineering firm will not own any aspect of the new utility.”

Veolia, Black & Veatch and CH2M Hill had been  shortlisted by the city to be a ’strategic partner’ and own up to 49 per cent of the new corporation.

Instead, it appears now that the plan is for a private company to be only involved in the design and build aspects of the upgrade. That said, the company will reportedly share an office with city staff to facilitate communication and avoid cost overruns.

“The city and province are still trying to work out the legislation required to create the utility, spokeswomen for both levels of government say. The legislation is expected soon…”

The Council of Canadians has argued against Winnipeg city council’s decision to dissolve its water and waste department and create a new agency (with significant corporate ownership) that would assume responsibility for water treatment, sewage treatment and garbage and recycling pickup. Read more here.

The Peterborough Examiner reports that, “Peterborough will phase in a ban on the sale of bottled water at municipal facilities over the next several years, city council decided Monday night.”

“The city will stop the sale of bottled water as current contracts with food service providers expire and as the city installs alternative drinking water systems in city facilities. It would be a long-term transition. Pepsi Bottling Group, for example, has contracts that expire in 2013 and 2016 for supplying products at locations such as the Memorial Centre and Kinsmen Civic Centre.”

Council of Canadians Board member and chapter activist Roy Brady adds that, “Immediately the ban applies to City facilities where there is potable water available and no binding supplier contract including bottled water.”

Brady notes that there were nine speakers at the city council meeting, “including two from Sustainable Trent (a university environmental group which has worked with the Peterborough-Kawarthas chapter for two years), two speakers from Jamaican Self-Help Youth Action Group (secondary students who linked with us three weeks ago), a Trent student who has been working on a bottled water project managed by the Trent Centre for Community-Based Education, and with our chapter as the host organizer.”

John Challinor of Nestle Canada argued against the move, but failed in his attempt to “urge council to work with the company on recycling initiatives rather than banning the sale of bottled water in municipal facilities.”

The full article is here.

Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter made a surprise announcement at the CUPE-NS convention earlier this week, saying he would ban the purchase of bottled water in all provincial buildings. The details of the ban have not yet been released, but once implemented this will be the first provincial bottled water ban – and one that we hope will be repeated across the country.

“It’s really great to work in a province that is willing to take leadership on this issue,” said Angela Giles, Atlantic Regional Organizer for the Council of Canadians. “This is a first step towards committing to access to potable water, through fountains and investment in public municipal services, for all communities in Nova Scotia. We hope other provinces will see this as the way to go.”

The Council of Canadians is part of the “Turn on the Tap, Ditch the Bottle Coalition,” which works in Nova Scotia to promote restrictions on bottled water sales in cities and throughout the province. Council chapters have also been actively involved in lobbying municipalities, school boards and provincial governments through our Blue Communities Project to promote public water services, demand that water be recognized as a human right, and restrict the sale and purchase of bottled water in public facilities. The Blue Communities Project is a joint project with CUPE and several other organizations. Giles and Meera Karunananthan, the Council's national water campaigner, toured the Atlantic region with CUPE last year to encourage communities and local governments to become "Blue" by supporting public water goals.

To read our media release applauding the Nova Scotia bottled water ban go here. http://www.canadians.org/media/water/2010/27-Apr-10.html

To find out more about the Blue Communities Project and how you can get involved go here. http://www.canadians.org/water/issues/Blue_Communities/index.html

The Council of Canadians is pleased to report that a municipal resolution it has advocated for against the Canadian European Union comprehensive economic and trade agreement has now been passed by three municipal councils in British Columbia - North Vancouver, Trail, and Burnaby.

The resolution calls for:

1. A briefing from the province on the scope and content of the Canada-European Union free trade negotiations, specifically areas that touch municipal responsibilities, and a draft of the current agreement,
2. A sector-by-sector analysis of the agreement from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities,
3. That the FCM urge the federal government not to include subnational procurement in the final agreement.

To see the complete resolution – and additional analysis - please go to Stuart Trew's trade blog from April 27 at http://www.canadians.org/tradeblog/?p=799.

An ‘Organize This’ post on April 19 asks Council of Canadians chapters "to create letters, make calls and submissions to your city/municipal councils! More information including great fact sheets can be found at www.tradejustice.ca."

Council of Canadians organizing staff are tracking similar resolutions across the country at this moment and it is hoped that more resolutions will be passed.

Chapter activist Nancy Clegg reports that Duncan city council has agreed to take a climate justice resolution promoting green jobs/green communities put forward by the chapter to the Union of British Columbia Municipalities for their annual meeting in Whistler on September 27-October 1.

Read more here.

A CUPE BC media release states, “On March 31, Capital Regional District (CRD) directors gave final approval to a business case that will see public operation in at least five, and possibly all seven communities mandated to develop sewage treatment.”

“Mauricio Navarette, president of CUPE 1978, said that the work of CUPE’s ‘Keep it Public’ campaign, coordinated by Kim Manton, along with the Greater Victoria Water Watch Coalition and the Council of Canadians has gone a long way to ensuring public and environmentally sound sewage treatment.”

Read more here.

The Globe and Mail reports this morning that, "New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham has succumbed to overwhelming political pressure and cancelled a controversial $3.2-billion sale of New Brunswick Power generating stations to Hydro-Québec."

Graham said, "I am announcing this morning that we are no longer proceeding with discussions to finalize the energy agreement with Hydro-Québec."

CTV adds, "He delivered the unexpected announcement in the legislature today. ...The changes came after public outcry in New Brunswick and dissent from within Graham's Liberal caucus."

The Council of Canadians has opposed the sale of NB Power from the moment the proposed sale was announced in October.

The Kamloops chapter has been actively opposing a proposed incinerator in their community that would have burned creosote-soaked railway ties.

While Kamloops city council had originally turned down the plan for the gasification plant, the BC Ministry of Environment then issued a permit for it without public consultation or an environmental assessment.

The Kamloops News reports that, "Kim Sigurdson, president of the Aboriginal Cogeneration Corp., said Thursday (March 18) night the company has decided to pull the plug on plans for installing two gasification units at its leased site, and will start looking around for other possible locations."

Chapter activist Anita Strong says, "The absolute big thing is health. People don't want to live here and breathe these toxins."

Among various actions, the Kamloops chapter participated in a 800-person strong 'rally to stop creosote burning' on March 11 just prior to a key Chamber of Commerce information session that evening on this incineration project.

Despite this important win, the concern remains that the ACC plans to relocate elsewhere in the province and that it hasn't yet formally withdrawn its permit to operate in Kamloops.

For more information on this campaign, go to www.SaveKamloops.ca.

The Toronto Star reports that, “Fern Ave. elementary won’t be getting a water vending machine after all, and now parents — with the help of the Council of Canadians — say they’ll fight to stop the Toronto board from putting any more in its schools.”

“At a school council meeting Thursday night, parents voted down the move (to install a water refill vending machine).”

“’The bottled water industry and the water privatization industry have been looking at other ways to sell water’ now that plastic water bottles have been targetted by scores of school boards and municipalities looking to be environmentally responsible, said Mark Calzavara, the Council of Canadians’ organizer for Ontario, who attended the meeting. ‘We’ve been working for quite a long time against the commercialization of water, and despite what it seems like on the surface, this is about the commercialization of water.’”

“Right now, the only water refill vending machine - which charges 50 cents for water and $1 for watered-down juice - is at Parkdale Collegiate. It was installed last week as part of a pilot project that was to include Fern Ave…”

“Catherine Parsonage of the Toronto District School Board said only the two schools were considered for the pilot right now, although up to six could possibly be included in a trial. ‘There was good discussion (Thursday night) at Fern and the parent input was very valuable,’ she said in an email. ‘As previously stated, the (board) would not go forward without the support of the school community and therefore Fern will not be participating in the trial.’”

The full article is here.

It’s also in the Metro News here.

Trade campaigner Stuart Trew writes that, “It’s not the apologetic policy reversal you might have been expecting (or not) from Trade Minister Peter Van Loan, but it is a victory nonetheless. And it is proof that public pressure on the government for parliamentary hearings into the Harper government’s embarrassingly one-sided ‘Buy American deal (the Canada-US Agreement on Government Procurement) has worked.”

“Starting next week, the Commons Committee on International Trade (CIIT) will hold hearings into the deal… thanks to a motion from NDP trade critic Peter Julian, one of a dozen MPs on the federal trade committee who received a copy of your letters to Van Loan based on our February 22 Action Alert, ‘We need parliamentary and provincial hearings on Buy American deal’.”

Trew concludes, “Congratulations to everyone who wrote the government demanding them. And congratulations to the NDP for securing them.”

His trade blog can be read here.

Plutonic Power and GE will delay construction of their controversial private power hydro electric project for a year. Opponents of the so called “run of river” projects have targeted the development of Bute Inlet, pointing to the massive environmental damage the construction would cause and back door privatization of BC’s energy services. [See Globe and Mail article here.]

In May 2009, Maude Barlow wrote of the Plutonic’s plans to develop the Bute in an opinion editorial in the Georgia Straight: “The scale of Plutonic’s proposed development are staggering—17 dammed creeks, 265 kilometres of roads, 428 kilometres of power lines, 100 bridges, and 45,000 hectares of Crown land granted. But with an annual output of 2,980 gigawatt hours, it has been estimated Plutonic may reap as much as $350 million per year. With a 40-year contract, they stand to make $15 billion. In this same area the Integrated Land Management Bureau is considering at least seven applications to bottle water from the Bute watershed.”

The work will continue to terminate the project, and activists have planned events in Victoria and Vancouver titled “Saving Bute Inlet from General Electric” on March 30 and April 6 with speakers from the Sierra Club and the Western Canada Wilderness Committee. The Council of Canadians is co-sponsoring these events.

Maude’s piece in the Georgia Straight closes, “Don’t be fooled or confused; the run-of-river projects should more aptly be called ‘ruin-of-river’. They are not green, not public, and not for us.”

To read the full op-ed, go here. And for more information about how “run of river” projects are privatization, see ‘Taking Back the Power: Opposition to Run of River Projects in BC Runs Deep’. And, finally, for more info on the Bute project from Friends of Bute Inlet, see www.buteinlet.net.

Since the sale of NB Power to Hydro-Québec was first announced last October, the Council of Canadians has been raising concerns and calling for public hearings on the deal.

Today the CBC reports that, “The New Brunswick government is delaying the $3.2-billion sale of NB Power assets to Hydro-Québec for nearly two months in order to hold a full public debate on the controversial deal.”

“A committee of MLAs will hold at least 50 hours of public hearings in April, the Liberals announced Friday morning.”

While it is unacceptable that “House leader Greg Byrne said the public consultations won’t lead to any changes to the agreement itself,” this is still a win for public pressure and Mr. Byrne should not be so confident about the outcome of these hearings.

“The full text of the agreement with Quebec, and legislation to enact it, will be introduced in the legislature by the end of March. The March 31 deadline to sign the agreement has been pushed back until May 21.”

“On Feb. 18, the Graham Liberals voted down an Opposition demand for a referendum. Conservative Leader David Alward contends the government doesn’t have a mandate to sell the majority of NB Power’s assets to Hydro-Québec and the public deserves to have a voice on the issue, which will affect the province’s future. There should be a referendum or the deal should be delayed until after the Sept. 27 provincial election, he has said.”

The CBC report is here.

CUPE National notes today that, “Nine years after community pressure blocked water privatization, Vancouver’s new drinking water treatment plant has opened, and is delivering ‘the very best water in the world’.”

“The June 2001 decision to keep the new Seymour Capilano filtration plant public was a major victory… CUPE organized on the ground with community allies, including the Council of Canadians, to raise awareness about the problems of privatization – including the trade dangers.”

“It was the trade implications that proved to be the tipping point for the Greater Vancouver Regional District - and sparked broader trade concerns with other municipalities.”

The CUPE article is here.

To read Steven Shrybman’s A Legal Opinion Concerning the Potential Impact of International Trade Disciplines on Proposals to Establish a Public-Private Partnership to Design and Operate a Water Filtration Plant in the Seymour Reservoir, go here.

The Canadian Press reports that, "A Mexican mine run by a Canadian company embroiled in a controversy around the death of a local activist (Abarca Roblero) has been shut down over environmental concerns."

"Abarca Roblero was known as a passionate critic of Blackfire, which he blamed for contaminating local rivers and for killing local crops and livestock. ...Three men have been arrested in Abarca Roblero's death. All are linked in some way to Calgary-based Blackfire..."

"Carolina Ochoa of the Ministry of Environment for the state of Chiapas cited several alleged infractions by the Blackfire Exploration mine (as the reasons for closing the mine), including building roads without authorization, polluting and causing toxic emissions."

The Council of Canadians has been speaking out against the environmental damage caused by this mine.

"Mining companies use open pit mines and toxic chemicals to extract their ore from the land, badly polluting the region's water in the process, said Maude Barlow of the Council of Canadians."

"The Blackfire mine is situated in a lush swath of land at the southern tip of Mexico. Opposition to development in the area is widespread as the land was largely untouched and protected by a system of communal ownership before NAFTA, says the citizen's group, Council of Canadians."

"'The story of this one person is the story, actually, of a community that is absolutely resisting this kind of behaviour,' she said. 'The resistance is quite fierce. The people are very, very proud. They feel very strongly their rights have been trampled and they're not going to take it.'"

"Barlow said the Canadian government needs to step in to enforce the way Canadian companies act abroad. Practices that are deemed unsafe for the environment at home shouldn't be allowed anywhere else in the world, she said."

To respond to the 'ACTION ALERT: Support Bill C-300 to hold Canadian mining companies accountable', please go here.

The Canadian Press article can be read at here and here.

The Council of Canadians wishes to recognize and honour the work and personal sacrifice of Abarca Roblero in the shutting down of this environmentally-destructive mine.

On December 7, the first day of the climate negotiations in Copenhagen, the Inverness County council in Nova Scotia passed an emergency resolution urging the federal government to take action on climate change.

The Inverness County council will also be sending a copy of their resolution to all municipalities in Nova Scotia in the hope that these communities will pass similar resolutions.

The new Council of Canadians Inverness County chapter was critical in moving this resolution forward.

The Council of Canadians is urging people across the country to approach their municipal leaders to pass emergency resolutions calling on the federal government to make every effort to achieve a strong international agreement on climate change at the Copenhagen negotiations.

Municipal councils across Canada stating their commitment to climate justice serves as a further incentive to the Harper government to reach an agreement in Copenhagen by December 19.

To encourage your municipal council to take action, please see our 'Action alert: Demand municipal action for climate justice'.

You can also read about the recent Federation of Canadian Municipalities climate change resolution in 'WIN! FCM adopts climate change resolution' here.

A Canadians for Action on Climate Change media release states that, “On November 10, 2009 the Municipal Council of London, Ontario signed an emergency resolution urging the federal government of Canada to take action on climate change. Canadians for Action on Climate Change in solidarity with Council of Canadians and the David Suzuki Foundation have since been advocating that citizens, other NGOS and other civil society groups urge other towns and cities to do the same.”

We are very pleased to share their news with you that on November 20 the Federation of Canadian Municipalities approved an emergency resolution on municipal leadership in climate change action.

The efforts of London chapter activists with the Canadians for Action on Climate Change were critical in moving this resolution forward.

The Council of Canadians also contributed to this effort through the widely circulated ‘ACTION ALERT: Demand municipal action for climate justice’. That alert can be read here.

And you can read the letter sent by Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow and energy campaigner Andrea Harden-Donahue urging the FCM to approve the emergency resolution here.

Click here to read more.

The Council of Canadians has been calling on MPPs in Ontario to support Bill 32, an Act to prevent the disposal of waste at Site 41 in the Township of Tiny.

This evening, we heard that Bill 32 passed second reading in the Ontario Legislature in a 40 to 11 vote.

Bill 32 is critical because it proposes revocation of the Certificate of Approval needed for a landfill on the site to proceed.

To assist in the broad-based effort to pass Bill 32, Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow wrote an open letter to MPPs, we issued a media release, and we put out an action alert directing people to a petition site that has generated thousands of signatures.

The Orillia Packet and Times reports that, “In a move that surprised many observers, a number of Liberals voted for the bill, along with (MPP Garfield) Dunlop’s Conservative colleagues and the NDP.”

“Dunlop (who has championed the bill) said he was approached by a number of Liberal MPPs who said their constituents wanted them to support the bill.”

Dunlop said, “I felt positive about things this past week because other members — including Liberals — kept coming up to me saying they couldn’t believe the number of emails and phone calls they were getting. I told them we’re never going to stop.”

“Dunlop said afterward that the next step is for people to put pressure on the government to move the bill to committee.”

“Asked how soon the bill might go to committee, he replied it is not an easy task, ‘but I will be working on that. It’s a private member’s bill, but it’s a very good private member’s bill.’”

Congratulations to Garfield Dunlop and to everyone who worked so hard to get the bill passed.

We will keep you posted on efforts to move the bill to committee and the date for the third and final reading of Bill 32.

The Orillia Packet and Times article is available here.

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.

According to a Canadian Press report, Nova Scotia Natural Resources Minister John MacDonnell says a legislated moratorium will make it more difficult for future governments to rescind or change the law. The legislation, he said in other media reports, comes as a result of strong public pressure.

The Council of Canadians has called for a legislated moratorium on uranium exploration and mining through grassroots chapter work, public meetings, statements, action alerts, media work, a tour, and other activities.

Council of Canadians board member and chapter activist Marion Moore described in the Autumn 2008 issue of Canadian Perspectives how people came together to fight for this legislation. "Since the initial (public) meeting, other groups around the province began to organize. We have formed both local and provincial coalitions, started a letter-writing campaign, contacted our local papers, met with our provincial MLAs, and held other public meetings and film screenings. We have produced postcards, petitions, fact sheets, brochures and blogs, and have arranged for three municipalities to pass resolutions calling on the Nova Scotia government to bring in a legislated ban on uranium mining.

We have also participated in the provincial government's Voluntary Planning Process on Natural Resources, with strong submissions opposing uranium mining."

Part of the Council of Canadians' work involves educating people about the risks of uranium mining. In our fact sheet "Five Reasons to Oppose Uranium Mining," we expose the serious health and environmental risks that come with the mining process. With no safe storage methods for mining waste, uranium mining operations leave toxic tailings, threaten water sources with contamination, and release cancer-causing radon gases. In October 2008, the Council of Canadians issued a formal statement opposing uranium mining because of these risks. In the statement we called for a ban on all uranium exploration and mining; strengthened legislation to ensure that any exploration or mining of other materials do not disturb or uncover uranium deposits; and a fair, just transition programs for all communities and workers involved in the uranium mining industry.

Congratulations to everyone who worked so hard for this win.

For more information on our work to push for legislated uranium mining bans please see the following links:

www.canadians.org/energy/documents/uranium-5reasons.pdf
www.canadians.org/publications/CP/2008/autumn/CP_autumn_08_8.html
www.canadians.org/action/2008/07-Apr-08.html
www.canadians.org/action/2008/23-May-08.html
www.canadians.org/energy/documents/NuclearStatement-Oct08.pdf

Simcoe County councillors voted 93-13 to cease construction and all further development of Site 41, the proposed landfill in Tiny Township that would be built on top of 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!

Metro News Halifax is reporting this morning that, “City Hall is turning on its taps and putting a cap on bottled water thanks to a move made yesterday by Halifax Regional Municipality’s elected officials. Fifteen city councillors voted for banning ‘purchase and distribution of bottled water’ in the Grand Parade building, while only five were opposed to the motion brought forward by Coun. Jennifer Watts, who represents the Connaught-Quinpool district.”

The CBC report adds that, “A report to council stated that bottled water could be banned at Halifax City Hall because the tap water in the historic building has been tested and meets Canadian drinking water guidelines. But staff recommended that regional council wait for further testing before implementing the idea at the municipality’s 250 other facilities.”

National water campaigner Meera Karunananthan and Atlantic organizer Angela Giles met with Councillor Jennifer Watts in Halifax during the ‘Paint the Town Blue! Atlantic speaking tour on water issues’ on April 29.

In a media release, Angela says, “This indicates that HRM Council as a whole is starting to understand that everyone should have access to the wonderful clean drinking water that Halifax Water provides, and should not have to pay for a drink of water. This initial step brings us closer to all the other communities that have committed to phasing out bottled water in support of the tap.”

She also notes, “The Council of Canadians and a great coalition of groups worked to make this happen, and will continue to work to make it broader in scope.”

Today’s newspaper report is at http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/local/article/311894–city-hall-gives-the-boot-to-the-bottle#commentbox. The CBC report is at http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2009/09/16/ns-bottle-ban.html.

On Tuesday, August 25 Simcoe County councillors heard the echoes of opposition and protest that have resonated across the country and voted 22-10 in favour of a one-year moratorium for the controversial landfill known as Dump Site 41, which threatened to pollute the Alliston Aquifer. The decision will be followed by a future vote to scrap the project entirely and has been acknowledged as a huge victory in our ongoing battle to protect water. Congratulations everyone!

Read updates from the August 25 sessions on our campaign blog.

On August 14, the Council of Canadians issued a media release noting the announcement on the official U.S. government SPP website that, "The Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP) is no longer an active initiative and as such this website will act as an archive for SPP documents. There will not be any updates to this site."

This statement from the U.S. government can be read at http://www.spp.gov/. Our media release is at http://www.canadians.org/media/DI/2009/14-Aug-09.html.

This week, Council of Canadians trade campaigner Stuart Trew writes in rabble.ca that the Security and Prosperity Partnership, "the NAFTA-plus agenda died in Guadalajara, Mexico last week. We killed it."

His article can be read at http://rabble.ca/news/2009/08/spp-dead-so-wheres-champagne.

THE NORTH AMERICAN COMPETITIVENESS COUNCIL
Stuart notes, "perhaps our most significant victory (is) the end of the North American Competitiveness Council. ...Perhaps still waiting for an invite to Guadalajara, and clinging desperately to a powerful but now useless moniker, the NACC meekly offered North American leaders one last five-page report about the evils of protectionism. ...(As such) we have successfully robbed these CEOs of their privileged spot inside North American summits."

PUBLIC CONSULTATION
Another victory can be found in the leaders’ promise to hold public consultations on the North American agenda in all three countries.

The leaders statement from Guadalajara says, “We recognize and embrace citizen participation as an integral part of our work together in North America. We welcome the contributions of businesses, both large and small, and those of civil society groups, non-governmental organizations, academics, experts, and others. We have asked our Ministers to engage in such consultations as they work to realize the goals we have set for ourselves here in Guadalajara."

This development appears to have its roots in Barack Obama’s statement in the Dallas Morning News back on February 20, 2008. At that time he stated, “Starting my first year in office, I will convene annual meetings with Mr. Calderon and the prime minister of Canada. Unlike similar summits under President Bush, these will be conducted with a level of transparency that represents the close ties among our three countries. We will seek the active and open involvement of citizens, labor, the private sector and non-governmental organizations in setting the agenda and making progress.”

The leaders statement is at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Joint-statement-by-North-American-leaders/. Barack Obama’s comments in the Dallas Morning News are at http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/viewpoints/stories/DN-obama_20edi.ART.State.Edition1.464da8e.html.

MORE ON THE WIN
On June 3 we wrote, “In the coming weeks we will comment more fully on our view that the Security and Prosperity Partnership initiative has been defeated, while noting that the deep integration agenda continues to pose a serious threat.” At that time we believed that the Security and Prosperity Partnership had been defeated on the basis of the following pieces of information:

1. Former trade minister David Emerson has said "the (private sector working) group, which has not been active since Obama was elected, should not be revitalized."
   May 7, 2009 http://www.vancouversun.com/Business/Emerson+goes+against+tide+push+border+reforms/1571809/story.html
2. Former deputy prime minister John Manley has written "The Security and Prosperity Partnership is a trilateral framework established in 2006. Few would cite this as a formula for progress."
   May 5, 2009 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090504.wconafta05/BNStory/specialComment/home
3. The president of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives Thomas d'Aquino told a House of Commons committee that the SPP "is probably dead".
   March 4, 2009 http://www.embassymag.ca/page/view/committees-3-4-2009
4. Sun Media columnist Barbara Yaffe has written that "The Security and Prosperity Partnership, launched in 2005, is so misunderstood by the public and so discredited by opposition groups it should be relaunched and rebranded. That's the view of Simon Fraser University political scientist Alexander Moens who has just completed a study of the SPP for the Fraser Institute..." April 1, 2008
5. American Robert Pastor, vice-chair of the Independent Task Force on the Future of North America, has written, "The April (2008) summit meeting (in New Orleans) was probably the last hurrah for the SPP. The strategy of acting on technical issues in an incremental, bureaucratic way, and of keeping the issues away from public view, has generated more suspicion than accomplishments. The new president will probably discard the SPP." August 26, 2008

Congratulations to everyone who worked to defeat the SPP. This is a tremendous win!

Given that the corporations on the North American Competitiveness Council that sought the Security and Prosperity Partnership have not abandoned their agenda, it is important to keep the pressure on Prime Minister Harper to ensure that there is genuine and wide citizen participation in the discussions on the future of North America. To do so, please see our action alert at http://www.canadians.org/action/2009/14-Aug-09.html.

As Stuart concludes in his rabble.ca piece, “Let’s recognize what we have achieved and then get back to work.”

On July 14, Kingston City Council voted in favour of a resolution that states, “In accordance with this policy the sale and distribution of Bottled Water will be eliminated within City Facilities where Easy Access to Municipal Tap Water exists…”

The resolution also states, “All reasonable efforts will be made in a timely fashion to provide Easy Access to Municipal Tap Water within City Facilities.”

BACKGROUND
On January 20, Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow and CUPE Ontario president Sid Ryan spoke in Kingston during their ‘Unbottle It!’ tour.

On May 13, then Ontario-Quebec organizer Stuart Trew wrote, “Last night, Michelle Dorey of the Kingston chapter presented to a Kingston city committee, which has voted unanimously to approve a bottled water phase-out as recommended in a city report commissioned in January.”

The Kingston Whig-Standard reported that, “A representative from the Kingston chapter of the Council of Canadians told the committee the organization saw water as a human right and ‘strongly opposed the bottled water industry’s commodification of this resource.’”

The article noted, “The city needs to promote its water system, said Michelle Dory, and improve public access to fountains… ‘Bottled water undermines our efforts to achieve our goals,’ Dory said.”

In order to win the subsequent vote at Kingston City Council, the Council of Canadians-Kingston chapter, the Polaris Institute and CUPE issued ‘Action Letter: Tell Kingston City Council to Support Public Water’.

To read more about the Council of Canadians ‘Unbottle It!’ campaign, go to www.unbottleit.ca.

Congratulations to everyone who worked to secure this win.

CUPE reports this evening that, "A resolution on (the impact of trade deals on municipal governments), submitted by three B.C. municipalities and the Union of BC Municipalities, passed easily in the morning plenary at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ annual convention."

"Resolution B56 calls for 'open public consultation before negotiating any internal or international trade and security agreement,' including municipal input through FCM. The resolution also commits the federation to further researching and monitoring of the effects of trade deals on municipalities."

"CUPE and its allies (including the Council of Canadians) helped support the resolution, which highlights the threat trade deals pose to public services.."

Additionally, the CBC reports that, "In response to the 'Buy American' provisions of the U.S. stimulus package, Canada's mayors narrowly passed a resolution (by a vote of 189-175) Saturday that could potentially block U.S. companies from bidding on city contracts. ...The resolution says the federation should support cities that adopt policies that allow them to buy only from companies whose home countries do not impose trade restrictions against Canadian goods. ...The resolution was initiated by the Ontario community of Halton Hills, where two local companies have lost contracts they previously had in the U.S."

To read the 'ACTION ALERT: Contact your councillor about trade at the FCM meeting', please go to http://cupe.ca/municipalities/Local-governments-wa.

The full CUPE report is at cupe.ca/municipalities/Local-governments-wa.

The CBC report is at www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/06/06/mayors-resolution.html.

Council of Canadians energy campaigner Andrea Harden-Donahue wrote in an op-ed published in the Georgia Straight on February 10 that, “Both the federal and Albertan governments have touted carbon capture and storage as a means to green the tar sands and justify ongoing expansion. …There is no silver bullet ‘tech.’ solution to the tar sands. CCS is expensive requiring massive subsidies and the proposed regulatory timeline for implementation is long. There is even evidence that CCS will have limited capacity to reduce emissions in the tar sands. An Alberta-Canada EcoEnergy Task Force released a report in January 2008 that says only a small percentage of CO2 emitted from the tar sands is currently amenable to the technology because of the size and concentrations of emissions streams.”

It was also a key message in our statements at the time of President Barack Obama’s visit to Canada on February 19. Andrea stated then, “There is no silver bullet ‘tech.’ solution to the tar sands. Instead of looking backwards, we must move forward and embrace the opportunities to create a sustainable energy strategy accountable to the public interest that meets energy security needs, minimizes impacts to the environment and transitions to greater conservation, improved energy efficiency and renewable energy development.”

It was also a message repeated in our media releases and in fact sheets that were distributed across the country by chapter activists on our February 4 energy day of action.

The Globe and Mail reported this morning, "Environment Minister Jim Prentice ...yesterday acknowledged what critics have said all along: The technology has limited application at the energy-intensive mines and in situ projects that extract the bitumen from the ground."

Minister Prentice seems to have finally conceded this point, at least partly. He now says, "CCS is not the silver bullet in the oil sands. It's important, but it is really in the upgrading of bitumen that CCS has more promise, rather than in the mining or in situ production."

Congratulations to Andrea, Council activists and allies alike in this win. The environment minister still has a long way to go on this issue, but an important argument has been won.

Today's Globe and Mail report is at theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/.

A media release issued by our ally CENSAT Agua Viva states that, "The committee of Promoters of the Water Referendum welcomes and thanks the Chamber of Representatives for its acceptation of the appeal brought forward by the committee by means of their spokesperson, Rafael Colmenares, which opens the road for reconsideration for return to the original text signed by more than 2 million Colombians."

It continues that on May 26, "the appeal was voted with 66 in favor, and 26 against. The vote was supported by members of all parties, including those that are in favor of the government, unexpectedly. This fact constitutes an unusual manifestation of autonomy and independence of the Congress..."

It concludes, "we are thankful for the international solidarity received through ‘Red Vida’ and other networks and organizations that fight for the Human Right to Potable Water throughout the world and oppose the privatization of water and life."

The Blue Planet Project/ Council of Canadians is a member of the Red Vida network.

To read Anil Naidoo's 'ACTION ALERT: Support the right to water in Colombia', please go to http://www.canadians.org/action/2009/19-May-09.html. His letter in this action alert was signed by 212 international organizations from 61 countries.

The original media release in Spanish is available at http://censat.org/noticias/2009/5/27/Aceptada-la-Apelacion-del-Comite-Promotor/

The English translation is at http://censat.org/noticias/2009/5/28/Appeal-by-Committee-of-Promoters-of-Water-Referendum-Accepted-in-Colombian-Congress/

Your action on the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement is working! Thanks to your letters, telephone calls, e-mails and meetings with MPs, Bill C-23, the implementation legislation for the FTA, has been pulled from the government order paper until the fall!

On Monday, the Liberals indicated they were reconsidering their support for the deal. This was the significant shift. Last month, Liberal trade critic Scott Brison said his party would not oppose the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement because “it’s easier to engage a country on human rights issues when you’re engaged on economic issues.” But this week, Brison called on the Harper government to conduct a formal independent Human Rights Impact Assessment before allowing the enabling legislation to proceed.

On April 30, more than 50 prominent individuals and organizations sent Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff a letter urging him to help stop the ratification of the proposed Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement until a full and independent human rights impact assessment could be carried out.

“We the undersigned are deeply concerned that Canada would abandon its values and its support of internationally recognized human rights in order to gain economic advantage for its companies at the expense of millions of displaced, impoverished Colombians,” said the letter, which was signed by Maude Barlow, Stephen Lewis, Ed Broadbent, Claudette Carbonneau, Alex Neve, Paul Moist, Rev. Bill Phipps, Farley Mowat, Sarah Polley, Naomi Klein, and others, as well as organizations like the Council of Canadians, Greenpeace, the Canadian Council for International Cooperation, Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec, the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario, the B.C. Teachers’ Federation, Lawyers Rights Watch Canada, the National Union of Public and General Employees and many more.

Our Members of Parliament should be applauded for recognizing the problems with the Colombian free trade deal, but Bill C-23 could never have been stalled without the support of unions, non-governmental organizations, and Council of Canadians activists.

The struggle is far from over. We have won four more months (the House resumes sitting on September 21) to mobilize opposition against this trade agreement, but it’s crucial that we keep the pressure on our MPs.

You’ll find the tools to do that, including draft letters and fact sheets on the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, at http://www.canadians.org/trade/issues/CCFTA/index.html.  

The April 30 letter to the Liberals can be read at http://www.canadians.org/trade/documents/Letter-Ignatieff-CCFTA.pdf. The media release accompanying that letter is at http://www.canadians.org/media/trade/2009/30-Apr-09.html. Our action alerts - which generated hundreds of e-mails to MPs - are at http://www.canadians.org/action/2009/25-May-09.html, http://www.canadians.org/action/2009/24-Apr-09.html, http://www.canadians.org/action/2009/9-Apr-09.html.  

Updates on the status of C-23, plus the text of the legislation and major speeches in Parliament on it, can be found at http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Sites/LOP/LEGISINFO/index.asp?Language=E&Session=22&query=5769&List=toc.

Trade campaigner Stuart Trew writes, "Last night, Michelle Dorey of the Kingston chapter presented to a Kingston city committee, which has voted unanimously to approve a bottled water phase-out as recommended in a city report commissioned in January."

The Kingston Whig-Standard reports that, “A representative from the Kingston chapter of the Council of Canadians told the committee the organization saw water as a human right and ‘strongly opposed the bottled water industry's commodification of this resource.’"

The article notes, “The city needs to promote its water system, said Michelle Dory, and improve public access to fountains... ‘Bottled water undermines our efforts to achieve our goals,’ Dory said.”

We join Stuart in offering our congratulations to Michelle and the other community activists who made this possible. Next step is full City Council approval, which is expected on Tuesday May 19.

The Kingston-Whig Standard article can be read at www.thewhig.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx.

This morning at the Liberal Party of Canada convention in Vancouver, Liberal delegates voted in favour of a resolution that states, "Canada establish a National Water Policy that would protect water from commoditization, and from international agreements that would undermine the authority of the Canadian government and citizens by introducing binding legislation to ban bulk water exports; and committing the federal government to enter talks with the U.S. and Mexico to exclude water from NAFTA and all future trade agreements; (and) enshrine water as a human right to ensure that all people living in Canada are legally entitled to safe, clean, drinking water and water for sanitation in sufficient quantities..."

The Council of Canadians (particularly national water campaigner Meera Karunananthan) worked hard to have this important resolution passed and this past Wednesday sent an open letter to the Liberals calling on them to support this effort.

That open letter was signed by Council of Canadians chair Maude Barlow, David Brooks of Friends of the Earth Canada, water-expert David Schindler of the University of Alberta, Clayton Thomas-Mueller of the Indigenous Environmental Network, Tony Clarke of the Polaris Institute and others.

The letter stated, "We congratulate the Liberal Party of Canada (Ontario) for putting forward a resolution calling for a national water policy that bans bulk water exports, establishes enforceable clean water standards, calls for a conservation strategy, demands the exclusion of water from NAFTA and recognizes water as a human right."

More than 1,500 delegates are at the Liberal Party of Canada ‘2009 Biennial Convention’ in Vancouver.

In the most recent Ipsos Reid poll, the Liberals stand at 36 percent support, while the Harper Conservatives are at 33 percent.

Our media release 'Liberals encouraged to support right to water at Vancouver convention', can be read at http://www.canadians.org/media/water/2009/29-Apr-09.html.

We have received word from Council of Canadians BC-Yukon organizer Harjap Grewal that Vancouver has just passed its resolution against bottled water. We will have more details soon on this important vote in Canada's third-largest city.

The Vancouver Courier had reported yesterday that, "the city's standing committee on city services and budgets will consider (on April 23) a plan to phase out sales of bottled water at city-owned facilities such as recreation centres, park concession stands and theatres, and to increase the number of drinking fountains...The city's plan calls for the immediate elimination of single-serving bottled water at council meetings as a symbolic first step. The plan also calls for encouraging the cafeteria at city hall to voluntarily reduce sales of bottled water and for improved maintenance of outdoor drinking fountains to make them more appealing."

To help secure this win the Council of Canadians issued a joint action alert with the Polaris Institute, which can be read at http://www.canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=354.

The Council of Canadians also called more than 1,000 of our members in Vancouver asking them to contact their city councilor to encourage them to support the bottled water ban.

The Ottawa Citizen reports this morning that, "The Ottawa Folk Festival will not sell bottled water at its annual summer festival this year."

Julia Adam, outreach manager for the festival, says, "Working closely with Ottawa Riverkeepers, Council of Canadians, Life Without Plastics, and CUPE 503, we have just learned too much about supporting public water and doing away with plastic water bottles. Hopefully this effort will inspire audience members, volunteers, artists, and other events to consider making similar changes."

Council of Canadians chairwoman and UN senior adviser on water Maude Barlow adds, "By going 'unbottled', the Ottawa Folk Festival is playing a leading role in protecting our water services from the growing threat of underfunding and privatization."

Our media release on this can be read at http://www.canadians.org/media/water/2009/17-Apr-09.html.

You can read more about the Ottawa Folk Festival, which takes place this August 21 to 23, by going to their website at http://ottawafolk.org/2007/generalinfo.html.

Maude Barlow has accepted their invitation to speak at this year's festival. More details on that to follow in the coming months.

More than twenty countries have officially challenged the Ministerial declaration released today at the World Water Forum in Turkey, which defines water as a human need rather than a human right, through a counter-declaration.

"This is a victory for all our groups who have been working for over 15 years for water to be recognized as a human right," says Maude Barlow, Council of Canadians chairperson and senior advisor to the President of the UN General Assembly.

Latin American states have played a key role in gathering signatures onto a declaration that recognizes access to water and sanitation as a human right and commits to all necessary action for the progressive implementation of this right.

The growing list currently includes (in alphabetical order): Bangladesh; Benin; Bolivia; Chad; Chile; Cuba; Ecuador; Ethiopia; Guatemala; Honduras; Morocco; Namibia; Niger; Panama; Paraguay; South Africa; Spain; Sri Lanka; Uruguay; and Venezuela. Switzerland has declared its support although a formal signature will take months to finalize.

In addition, nine countries have also signed onto a statement that calls on States to develop a global water forum within the framework of the United Nations based on the principles of democracy, full participation, equity, transparency and social inclusion. This list currently includes: Benin; Bolivia; Chile; Cuba; Ecuador; Honduras; Panama; Paraguay; and Venezuela.

Discussions are ongoing and more countries are expected to sign on to the counter-declaration.

The People's Water Forum, a civil society and labour coalition representing nearly 70 countries (including the Council of Canadians and the Blue Planet Project in Canada), has called for water to be recognized as a human right and for an end to the World Water Forum.

We have just received word from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities that, "After a healthy debate, the following resolution (sponsored by Toronto and London) has just been overwhelmingly adopted (only 3 people opposed) by the FCM Board of Directors:"

The resolution says:
"That FCM urge all municipalities to phase out the sale and purchase of bottled water at their own facilities where appropriate and where potable water is available; and That municipalities be urged to develop awareness campaigns about the positive benefits and quality of municipal water supplies."

We have just issued a media release that says, "The Council of Canadians is claiming a decisive win today against the bottled water industry with the adoption by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) of a resolution that calls on Canadian municipalities to phase out the sale and purchase of bottled water in municipal buildings."

Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow says, “The FCM’s new policy opposing bottled water is a decisive victory for public water. This resolution sends an important message to the rest of the world about the leadership of Canadian municipalities in reclaiming water as a public resource.”

Council of Canadians water campaigner Meera Karunananthan says, “The bottled water industry has worked hard to undermine our faith in public water, despite Canada having one of the best public drinking water systems in the world. In an era when the world is dealing with the impacts of climate change, the bottled water industry requires massive amounts of fossil fuels to manufacture and transport its goods.”

Our media release also notes, "In June 2008 the US Conference of Mayors passed a similar resolution encouraging mayors to phase out city spending on bottled water and to promote the importance of municipal water. So far, 27 municipalities across Canada have phased out the sale of bottled water in their facilities. With the adoption of the FCM resolution, even more municipalities are expected to take similar actions in the coming months."

Congratulations everyone!

The Portland Press Herald reports that, "Shapleigh residents have banned companies from drawing or selling its water."

SHAPLEIGH
Shapleigh is a town in Maine with a population of approximately 2,326 people. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area.

RESIDENTS VOTE AGAINST NESTLE BOTTLING ITS WATER "During a special town meeting Saturday morning, residents voted 114 to 66 to adopt the ban drafted by Protecting Our Water and Wildlife Resources, which had opposed (the Nestle company) Poland Spring's efforts to test, draw, bottle and market the town's water."

POLAND SPRINGS HAD PLANNED TO START DRAWING WATER IN 2011 OR 2012 "Mark Dubois, natural resource manager for Poland Spring, said he was disappointed by the vote at the special town meeting...He said the company would have been looking to draw water from Shapleigh in 2011 or 2012, but noted that it takes a long time to gain the state and local permits that are needed."

NESTLE IN MAINE
A Food and Water Watch media release from September 2008 notes, "Nestle Poland Springs already draws water from eight sites across the state of Maine, reporting that it drained 700 million gallons of groundwater last year. Nestle operates the largest spring water-bottling plant in North America in the rural town of Hollis, 25 miles east northeast of Shapleigh."

MAUDE BARLOW
To see a video of Maude Barlow speaking on 'who owns Maine's water?' at the Maine Water Symposium in March 2008, please go to http://defendingwaterinmaine.org

WEB-LINKS
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=242206&ac=PHnws

http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/press/releases/shapleigh-stops-poland-springs-spigot20080924

Thank you to Council activist Ted Woynillowicz for sharing this news with us.

The Niagara Falls Review reported last night that, "Members of the Council of Canadians and Brock University's chapter of the Ontario Public Interest Research Group waved placards in front of city hall before the start of Monday's council meeting."

The article continues, "Niagara Falls council is scheduled to consider a recommendation from its Park in the City committee calling on the city to cease the sale of bottled water at arenas, parks and city-run events."

This morning, a Niagara Falls Review headlne reads, "Niagara Falls scraps bottled water."

Council of Canadians Ontario-Quebec organizer Stuart Trew who was there last night reports, "It was a unanimous vote in favour of a bottled water phase out. Frank Fohr's presentation convinced them all." Fohr (a member of the Park in the City committee and Council chapter activist) was quoted by Niagara This Week in September 2008 saying, "We want to implement a ban on providing bottled water on municipal facilities. We have a perfectly good water source that the city provides us with through our taps and we should be encouraging the use of that, rather than the false impression that bottled water is better, when it is not."

Congratulations to everyone who worked so hard for this win.

Last night London city council passed a resolution which states, "Therefore be it resolved that the Federation of Canadian Municipalities urge all municipalities to phase out the sale and purchase of bottled water where appropriate."

The motion was moved by Controller Gina Barber and seconded by Ward 5 Councillor Joni Baechler.

Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow wrote the councillors last week to say, "Thank you so much for sponsoring that wonderful resolution to the FCM. You and the whole London Council have already shown incredible leadership and we deeply appreciate it. With your help, we will replicate London's ban across the country. On behalf of the members of the Council of Canadians right across Canada, I thank you for your leadership and commitment to the future."

After the vote last night, Ontario-Quebec organizer Stuart Trew wrote to Ontario-Quebec chapters, "Wow! Incredible work (London chapter activists) Cory Morningstar and Kevin Lomack. It's quite a resolution. Having the FCM vote in favour...that's something we can all work on leading up to the June annual meeting. Congratulations to (water campaigner) Meera Karunananthan too for developing the resolution and working with the London chapter to get it passed!"

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities will hold their annual conference in Whistler, British Columbia this coming June 5-8. An FCM resolution opposing bottled water would be a significant step forward in banning bottled water in municipalities across Canada.

Prior to the vote last night, the London Free Press had reported, "Five months after London became one of the first Canadian cities to phase out the sale of bottled water at municipal facilities, politicians here want to lobby other cities to follow suit. Controller Gina Barber and Coun. Joni Baechler will ask council tonight to press the association that represents Canadian cities and towns to encourage all to adopt a ban."

That story is at http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Local/2009/01/19/pf-8068881.html

You may remember that in June 2008, "the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which represents more than 1,100 mayors nationwide, a resolution was passed to encourage all mayors to phase out their cities' spending on bottled water and to promote tap water."

That story is at http://www.alternet.org/water/89148/

The Globe and Mail reported that, "Maude Barlow, one of Canada's most outspoken activists against the privatization of water systems and head of the Council of Canadians, has been named senior adviser on water issues to the UN. The appointment, announced Monday, is an indication that the world body wants to take a more active role in the thorny issue of whether access to water should be considered a basic human right, along side other rights, such as freedom of assembly and speech. Ms. Barlow becomes the first person to hold the position of water policy expert, which was made by UN general assembly president Miguel d'Escoto."

The full article is at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081021.wwater1021/BNStory/Science/home.

The Globe and Mail reported that, "Mr. Chrétien, who faced considerable Bay Street backlash for his stance on the banks, now credits his government's policy with helping to ward off the financial meltdown currently gripping much of the G8." Mr. Chretien says, "While everybody's in turmoil, Canada is not in turmoil. And the two big reasons are that we balanced the books in '95, and we said no to the merger of the banks." The article continues, "Of course, it's impossible to say with any certainty whether the decision to quash two mergers...shielded the Canadian industry from the mortgage-fuelled fallout that has ravaged Wall Street. One school of thought is that if the Canadian banks gained scale through mergers in 1998, they would have made bolder moves south of the border, and perhaps become entangled in the same toxic lending activities that have prompted the collapse of several major U.S. banks."

What Mr. Chretien apparently does not mention is that in 1998 the Council of Canadians launched a well-publicized cross-country campaign to convince federal Finance Minister Paul Martin to reject the proposed mergers and bring greater accountability to the banking industry. The Finance Minister ruled against the mergers on December 14, 1998. As Maude wrote in the Winter 1999 issue of Canadian Perspectives, "In concert with other groups, we waged a tireless campaign to stop the bank mergers and won! Paul Martin, clearly influenced by public opinion polls, decided that the mega-mergers were not in the best interests of the country and turned them down. We like to think that our billboard, sitting just outside the Finance Minister's office window, helped nudge him to make the right decision."

To read more about the Council of Canadians campaign against bank mergers, go to http://www.canadians.org/archive/documents/bank_mergers.pdf.

To read the full Globe and Mail article, you can go to http://www.globeinvestor.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081008.wrbankschretien08/GIStory/

As reported in the Guelph Mercury, "In what at least one councillor called this governing term’s defining moment, city council decided Guelph Hydro Inc. will not merge with Horizon Utilities. Councillors voted eight to five against the merger, despite the recommendation from the hydro board and the Chamber of Commerce, during a special meeting Monday night...Public opinion against the merger was well represented at the meeting with delegations from private citizens and organizations such as the Council of Canadians and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers." This report can be read at http://news.guelphmercury.com/News/BreakingNews/article/386181.  

Norah Chaloner, co-chair of the Guelph chapter, wrote a letter to the editor in the Guelph Mercury on July 12, which stated, "The residents of Guelph own our well run utility. The board of directors don't own it. City councillors are its stewards. They must weigh their decision carefully because once our utility is gone, we can never get it back. Our minority voice in Horizon Utilities will mean that corporate headquarters in Hamilton will decide the service that Guelph receives. Horizon's plan to greatly increase the number of customers it serves will diminish any influence Guelph will have." Norah’s full letter to the editor can be read on our website at http://www.canadians.org/media/council/2008/12-Jul-08.html.

Congratulations to the Guelph chapter for all their hard work on this!

As reported by CTV, "A high-profile American deserter has won a last-minute stay of deportation. A Federal Court judge says Jeremy Hinzman can stay in Canada for now. Hinzman was due to get the boot to the U.S. Tuesday morning, where he would face prosecution for fleeing to Canada rather than deploying to Iraq. Ottawa has refused his family's application to remain in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. The 29-year-old Hinzman, his wife and two young children asked for the stay while the courts decide if they will review that decision. His lawyer argued today that deserters who have been publicly critical of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq have received harsher punishment." This can be read at, http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080922/hinzman_deportation_080922/20080922?hub=TopStories.

Many of you will remember that at our November 2005 annual general meeting, Jeremy accepted an award from the Council of Canadians on behalf of all war resisters residing in Canada. The video of his speech can be seen at http://www.canadians.org/publications/audio/AGM05/index.html.

Professor Robert A. Pastor, a leading proponent of North American integration, wrote in the July/ August 2008 issue of 'Foreign Affairs' that, "The April summit meeting (in New Orleans) was probably the last hurrah for the SPP. The strategy of acting on technical issues in an incremental, bureaucratic way, and of keeping the issues away from public view, has generated more suspicion than accomplishments. The new president will probably discard the SPP." According to Pastor, "It is clear that the Bush administration’s incremental, quiet, business-based approach has not succeeded in promoting economic integration or closer collaboration with the United States’ neighbors. Instead, it has raised some legitimate concerns and provoked a nativist backlash. It was a mistake to allow CEOs to be the only outside advisers on deregulation and the harmonization of remaining regulations. Civil society and legislatures must be heard on these issues, which are less about business than about how to pursue environmental, labor, and health goals."  

On April 1, the Vancouver Sun’s national political columnist Barbara Yaffe wrote that, "The Security and Prosperity Partnership, launched in 2005, is so misunderstood by the public and so discredited by opposition groups it should be relaunched and rebranded. Yaffe continues, "The reason for declining interest (in pursuing the SPP) lies with effective lobbying by key groups, like the left-leaning Council of Canadians which has pointed to the closed-door nature of the SPP negotiations as a basis for suspicion. The 'deep integration,' the council asserts in its campaign titled 'Integrate This!', will redirect domestic interests to U.S. priorities. The group also worries that the Americans would try to gain further access to Canada's natural resources."

As reported on the front-page of the London Free Press, "London will become one of the first Canadian cities to ban the sale of bottled water at its municipal facilities. City council voted overwhelmingly in favour of the move last night. The phased-in ban will take effect Sept. 1 at city hall, Market Tower and the A.J. Taylor building and be extended by the end of next year to other city-owned buildings and facilities, including parks and golf courses, once an adequate supply of water fountains is provided." The full article can be read at http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Local/2008/08/19/6496571-sun.html.

A front-page Globe and Mail article reports that, "The water fountain is about to make a comeback. Plastic water bottles are the focus of a growing national backlash that's turning them from a fashion accessory into the latest environmental taboo. The issue reached a head in London, Ont., Monday night after city council voted to eliminate sales of bottled water at all city-run facilities, including arenas and community centres, and possibly even golf courses. The issue, which engulfed London in debate, makes the city one of the first in Canada to adopt restrictions on bottled-water sales. Despite vocal protests from the beverage industry, London's Council easily approved the proposal, 15-3. Similar measures are already in the works or are being considered elsewhere across Canada, including Vancouver, Ottawa and Kitchener, Ont. School boards in Ottawa, Toronto and Waterloo have also adopted restrictions against the sale of bottled water." This report can be read at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080819.wwater19/BNStory/National/home.

Congratulations to the London chapter and to all the other individuals and organizations that helped secure this win.

As reported in the London Free Press today, "London may be slamming the brakes on a plan critics say would have effectively banned new drive-throughs in the city…Originally, city staff had proposed to prohibit new development of drive-throughs in several designated areas of the city in a way that would see the prohibitions written into London's official plan, its blueprint for growth. To get an exemption from those prohibitions, businesses would have to go through the difficult process of getting an amendment to the plan. But after a massive campaign by the fast-food industry and citing new legal advice, city staff this week put together a revised proposal that would require a business wanting a drive-through to apply for a zoning bylaw change. That would mean passing certain zoning tests, such as keeping intercoms at least 30 metres from homes." The full article can be read at http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Local/2008/07/16/6170906-sun.html.

London chapter activist Cory Morningstar notes that “what was missing in this news report is that we asked that the planning committee refer to Council a recommendation that the City of London, in conjunction with other stakeholders, produces an urgently needed ‘CO2 Emissions Strategy Report’ – a strategy that gives direction and targets to curb emissions within the city of London. To emphasize the sense of urgency required to put a system such as proposed in place as well as show commitment to the process, a moratorium on expansion of the quantity of drive-thrus that exist in the city should be invoked until the report is functional and in use. The planning committee supported this and it has been included in the recommendations to staff.  All idling issues including those on drive-thrus will now be moved to ETC (which we asked for) and we will be working hard to achieve our moratorium on drive-thrus and expand our scope on idling issues. Last night was actually a tremendous victory for us.”

Peterborough-Kawarthas chapter activist Roy Brady reported that Peterborough City Council has passed a resolution that, paraphrased says, the City of Peterborough express its opposition to the adoption of a TILMA agreement by the province of Ontario; that the City lobby the Association of Municipalities of Ontario both before and at the AMO annual conference on August 24-27 in Ottawa; and that the City lobby their MPP (Liberal Jeff Leal) to report to the City regarding any negotiations for TILMA or any other internal trade agreement. The Agenda for this Monday July 7 City Council meeting states, "Roy Brady will make a delegation regarding item 14 of Committee of the Whole Report 16 (Report OCS08-005, Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA))."

The resolution came about due to a ‘delegation’ with three recommendations by Roy in response to a report presented by the City Solicitor. A Peterborough city councilor made a motion to accept Roy’s recommendations; it was seconded, and then passed. The report from the City Solicitor, Report OCS080-5, can be read at http://www.peterborough.ca/Assets/Reports+to+Council/Committee+of+the+Whole+Reports/2008/2008-06-30+-+June+30$!2c+2008/OCS08-005+TILMA.pdf. Appendix B of the City Solicitor’s report on TILMA includes our fact sheet, ‘What’s the deal? Ontario, TILMA and the threat to local democracy’, that had been sent to the City by Roy. That fact sheet can also be read on our website at http://www.canadians.org/DI/documents/TILMA_Ontario.pdf.

Congratulations Roy!

As reported just now by the Canadian Press, "Canada's refugee board has been ordered to take another look at an American deserter's failed bid for asylum in an unprecedented court ruling that could affect scores of other U.S. soldiers who've refused to fight in Iraq. In a decision released Friday, the Federal Court found the Immigration and Refugee Board had erred in turning down Joshua Key's claim for asylum...In its decision, the board decided that while Key may have had to violate the Geneva Conventions in Iraq, he could not claim refugee status because he was not required to systematically commit war crimes. Federal Court Justice Robert Barnes disagreed with that analysis. A soldier who refuses to take part in military action which 'systematically degrades, abuses or humiliates' either combatants or non-combatants might qualify as a refugee, Barnes wrote. 'Officially condoned military misconduct falling well short of a war crime may support a claim to refugee protection.'" The full Canadian Press article is at http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/454497.

Congratulations to the War Resisters Support Campaign and to all (notably chapter activists) who have been working on this issue. Further updates will be available on the War Resisters Support Campaign website at http://www.resisters.ca/index_en.html.

The Agenda for the Golden Town Council meeting for Tuesday June 24 states, "A representative of the Council of Canadians, with support from concerned citizens and tourism operators from the Blaeberry Valley, will be asking Council for a resolution regarding the Thompson Falls and IPP's in general." Carleen Pickard and Sage Aaron of COPE 378 told us that, "On Tuesday evening, Golden town council passed a resolution calling for a 2 year moratorium on private power projects. Council will now bring forward that resolution to the Union of BC Municipalities in the fall. Golden council took this step because they were asked to do so by local residents and by members of the Golden chapter of the Council of Canadians."

The Invermere Valley Echo reported on June 17 that a ‘war’ over water was underway, “because that's what it is going to take to beat back the threat of independent power producers (IPPs) and the run-of-river bonanza currently taking place in the province, warned speakers at the June 11 Run-of-River Rally held at the Invermere Community Hall. More than 125 people heard a series of speakers, including renowned former radio talk show host and Socred government cabinet minister Rafe Mair, present a variety of warnings as to why IPP run-of-river proposals are terrible ideas.

The evening, masterfully emceed by Bill Cropper, was kicked off by Columbia River-Revelstoke MLA Norm Macdonald, who is leading a charge against run-of-river proposals, spurred on by a flurry of opposition activity in the Golden area. ‘In just one month, more than 1,000 people in the Golden area signed a petition stating their opposition to planned river-diversion projects on Blaeberry River, Cedar Creek and Kicking Horse River. The petition also calls for a two-year moratorium on all independent power developments across British Columbia until a more thorough environmental review can be completed on the cumulative impacts of these projects,’ Macdonald stated prior to the rally.”

Great work Golden chapter!

As reported by the CBC, "A motion to ban bottled water at St. John's city hall flowed easily through a council meeting Tuesday evening. Councillors backed a motion by Deputy Mayor Ron Ellsworth to set a good environmental example by supplying only water from the city's taps inside the building, as well as at functions that the city sponsors." St. John's chapter activist Ken Kavanagh told us this good news and indicated that Bill Hynd of Oxfam, who is also on the executive of our St. John's chapter, wrote the letter to the city recommending this ban on behalf of a number of organizations, including the St. John's chapter. Well done everyone!

The full CBC report can be read at, http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2008/06/25/city-water.html?ref=rss.

As reported by the Peterborough Examiner, "City council called Monday night for the province to suspend uranium exploration - the same day the government announced it would build two new nuclear reactors at its Darlington station...Council unanimously approved the resolution to ask the province for a moratorium until environmental and health issues related to uranium mining are resolved...The gallery erupted with applause after the vote." The resolution also calls on city council to, "petition the Province of Ontario to undertake an immediate, comprehensive, public review of the Mining Act, 1990, with a view to curtailing the present system whereby the sub-surface rights of mineral claims dominate the surface rights of private landowners, and whereby Provincial land-use policies for Crown land gives overriding priority to mining and mineral resource development."

Congratulations to Roy Brady, John Etches and all the Peterborough activists who worked hard to secure this win.

As reported in the Sackville Times and Transcript, "Under the guidance of Mayor Pat Estabrooks, Sackville council took a strong stance this week against uranium exploration and mining. The motion noted how the procedures cause permanent harm to quality of life, can release radiation and radioactive chemical toxins to contaminate both air and water and create numerous other health hazards. It received unanimous approval and will be delivered quickly to all appropriate officials in government."

On May 14, the CBC reported that, “Environmental groups in New Brunswick are calling for an immediate ban on uranium exploration and mining as companies continue staking large swaths of the province. Representatives of several conservation groups say about 30 organizations have signed a statement calling for a no-uranium mining policy, similar to moratoriums already in place in Nova Scotia and British Columbia. However, the New Brunswick government is insisting the economic benefits of uranium mining and exploration outweigh potential dangers to the public, and it has turned aside requests for even a temporary halt to the prospecting currently under way. Four companies are exploring for uranium in New Brunswick, including Toronto-based Vale Inco.” That report is at http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2008/05/14/nb-uranium.html.

Congratulations to our London chapter for their hard work on this issue.

As reported by CBC.ca yesterday, "City council in London, Ont., has voted in principle to stop selling bottled water in city offices, cafeterias and parks in a bid to reduce waste. 'What council last night endorsed in principle ... is that we will no longer sell or make available bottled water at a number of city facilities and a number of city-owned concessions and vending machines in a phased-in timetable,' said Jay Stanford, director of environmental programs and solid waste." This CBC report can be read at http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/06/10/london-bottledwater.html.

The London Free Press is reporting this morning that, "London's proposal to end bottled water sales is being challenged by an industry association on the grounds it's an infringement on individual rights. The plan to no longer sell single-use plastic bottles at all city-owned sites, which council has backed pending a public meeting, has been praised as progressive by many but is also stirring up a wave of controversy. In addition to the concerns of golfers and some city councillors, a national consortium of bottled-water companies yesterday ratcheted up the push against the potential ban. 'It would take away individual choice and I think it would be very harmful to everybody,' said Elizabeth Griswold, executive director of the Canadian Bottled Water Association. 'We live in a country where people are able to make a choice and it really is about personal preference.' But the city's environment director, who's pushing the move as a green initiative, dismissed that argument. ‘We don't have beer available at city hall. We don't have 42 flavours of coffee,’ Jay Stanford said. ‘There's a lot of things we don't provide. Municipal council has the right to decide what they wish to sell or make available. It's . . . about the environment.’"  This London Free Press article is at http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Local/2008/06/11/5837011-sun.html.

As reported to us by BC-Yukon organizer Carleen Pickard, the Yukon government will not join the BC-Alberta Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement. One of the reasons they cite is, "large costs associated with dispute resolution." The Yukon government's media release can be read at, http://www.gov.yk.ca/news/2008/08-135.html. Congratulations to everyone who worked to secure this win.

As reported in this morning’s Ottawa Citizen, "The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board moved one step closer to banning the sale of water bottles in its 150 schools last night. The trustees voted to study the feasibility of the ban at last night's board meeting... Staff must consider availability of water fountains, accessibility to tap water in portables, and rural schools that run on wells...The study will be presented by the board's business services committee in December 2008. The board would then vote on the ban, which would come into effect in September 2009."

Today's article reports, "Maude Barlow, national chairwoman for the Council of Canadians, addressed trustees (last night), calling bottled water companies 'one of the most polluting industries on earth.'"

Yesterday's Ottawa Citizen article (which also ran in the Victoria Times Colonist), reported, "Ms. Barlow said she is concerned about the impact of water bottles on the environment, noting landfills cannot support the amount of garbage they generate. She stressed the importance of safe, accessible public water."

The banning of the sale of bottled water in schools is gaining momentum across Canada. As you know, on April 24 the Toronto Star reported that, "The Waterloo Region board has banned the sale of plastic bottles of water in its schools starting next year, a move that is expected to spur others across the province into action. The decision covers cafeterias, vending machines, and school and board functions." On May 13, the National Post reported that, “Toronto’s public school board is looking at banning the sale of water in plastic bottles in its 560 schools, citing the environmental concerns that led to a ban in Waterloo schools…In a motion to be debated at a committee meeting next week, (school board trustee Josh) Matlow proposes the board stop selling bottled water by September, 2009, once it has had a chance to review its contract with Pepsi.”

Congratulations to Maude and national water campaigner Meera Karunananthan for their work on this.

As reported just 15 minutes ago by Reuters, "Canada confirmed on Friday it would block the proposed $1.33 billion sale of sensitive Canadian satellite technology to U.S. rocket-maker Alliant Techsystems Inc. Canada initially halted the deal a month ago -- in part because it feared it might lose control over top-secret images -- but gave Alliant Tech a month to appeal. Industry Minister Jim Prentice said in a statement he still felt the proposed sale by MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd would not be of any net benefit to Canada...It was the first time Ottawa had prevented the sale of a domestic company to a foreign buyer."

Congratulations to all the individuals and organizations who expressed their opposition to this proposed sale.

The full news report can be read at http://www.globeinvestor.com/servlet/story/ROC.20080509.2008-05-09T140633Z_01_N09414895_RTRIDST_0_BUSINESS-ALLIANTTECH-COL/GIStory/.

The Canadian Press reported this afternoon that, "Canada should not be 'giving away' its water to be bottled and sold abroad, activists said as they celebrated a partial victory Thursday against Nestle Canada Inc., over its plan to tap a southwestern Ontario community for 3.6 million litres of water a day, every day, for five years. While Ontario's Environment Ministry did renew Nestle's permit to take water from a well near Guelph, Ont., it reduced the term of the deal from five years to two. The ministry said it considered 3.6 million litres a 'sustainable' amount for Nestle to take daily. Activists questioned the logic of letting an international conglomerate take 1.3 billion litres of water a year for only the cost of a $3,000 application fee. As of Jan. 1, 2009, Ontario law will also require that companies pay $3.71 per million litres as a conservation fee but activists said that amount is still paltry. But they were encouraged that the province ordered increased monitoring and testing to ensure that the public water supply isn't threatened by Nestle's business, and the company will be on the hook for the costs."

Ontario's environment commissioner Gord Miller critically comments in the article, "It is illegal to export a tanker truck of water and sell it, say, in the U.S., but if you put that same amount of water in 20-litre containers and put it in a tractor trailer it's completely legal to export that as bottled water."

The Guelph Mercury reports that, "The renewed permit contains extensive monitoring conditions for both surface water and groundwater. It requires a prolonged pumping test during summer to confirm that previous surface water impacts are not seasonal and to refine and define the zone of groundwater influence from the pumping. Additional monitoring is required for an area to the north east of the source well to assist in defining the zone of influence.  Additional surface water monitoring is also required.  The permit also requires the company to report on biological inventory in the Mill Creek and to prepare and implement a stream habitat mapping plan. The water taking is located in the Paris Galt moraine.  The ministry is undertaking a review to determine if there is a need for new policies for the protection of the Paris Galt moraine and the Waterloo moraine."

A Wellington Water Watchers media release issued today states, "The Wellington Water Watchers have just been informed that the Ontario Ministry of the Environment has decided to grant Nestle Waters Canada a two-year Permit to Take Water for their Aberfoyle plant, with no reduction in their daily maximum limit. While we would like to stress that, in our view, any permit granted to a commercial bottler to take public water essentially for free is squandering a precious public resource; we are nonetheless pleased that the MOE has reduced the requested timeframe from 5 years to 2 years. However we remain concerned by that fact that the Province of Ontario is giving away 3.6 million liters per day to a private water bottler and that the volume of Nestle’s permit has not been decreased.  The MOE has indicated that under the new permit, Nestle will be required to conduct extensive monitoring on the impact of their water taking. The permit’s requirements in terms of the degree, frequency and number of locations to be monitored make it one of the most comprehensive permits to take water issued by the MOE, and sends an important message to the water bottling industry. It would appear that our province will be more diligent stewards of our public water resource. They will be monitoring levels closely, and making sure that commercial use does not threaten the sustainability of our watershed."

Congratulations to the Wellington Water Watchers and to our Guelph chapter activists who are so involved in this critical fight back!

South Shore chapter activist and Board member Marion Moore noted yesterday, "This morning Chester Municipal Council unanimously passed a resolution asking the Nova Scotia government for a permanent legislated moratorium on uranium exploration and mining following an outstanding presentation by three people from the South Shore uranium action group (CoC and other concerned citizens). The current exploration is actually happening in West Hants County, but it's very close to land in Chester municipality and much of the work done in the 80's to bring about the moratorium was from Chester residents." Today’s Halifax Chronicle-Herald newspaper (with 107,553 readers) reports that, "Chester municipal councillors want the province to permanently ban uranium mining...the seven-member council voted unanimously to ask the provincial government to enshrine a ban in legislation." The article explains, "Nova Scotia is the only province or territory to have such a moratorium. It has been in effect since 1982. Premier Rodney MacDonald has asked for a review of the ban, given the growing demand for nuclear energy...The issue is of particular concern in the Chester area because Tripple Uranium Resources Inc. has found uranium in its search for gold and base minerals in Wentworth and in Millet Brook, near New Ross."

National political columnist Barbara Yaffe writes in today’s Vancouver Sun (with 165,144 readers) that, "The Security and Prosperity Partnership, launched in 2005, is so misunderstood by the public and so discredited by opposition groups it should be relaunched and rebranded. That's the view of Simon Fraser University political scientist Alexander Moens who has just completed a study of the SPP for the Fraser Institute...Moens argues the SPP was a logical next step to NAFTA, signed in 1994."

Yaffe continues, "The reason for declining interest (in pursuing the SPP) lies with effective lobbying by key groups, like the left-leaning Council of Canadians which has pointed to the closed-door nature of the SPP negotiations as a basis for suspicion. The 'deep integration,' the council asserts in its campaign titled 'Integrate This!', will redirect domestic interests to U.S. priorities. The group also worries that the Americans would try to gain further access to Canada's natural resources."

To read our researcher Stuart Trew's critique of the Fraser Institute's report, please go to http://www.canadians.org/integratethis/corporate/2008/Mar-18.html.

Barbara Yaffe's article is at, http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/columnists/story.html?id=6953a666-a6f7-42ad-b607-7aa2d558f5c7.

Today's Vancouver Sun (online) reports, "The British Columbia government has rejected a controversial proposal by an independent electricity project developer to run a power line through Pinecone Burke Provincial Park, Environment Minister Barry Penner said today. The announcement comes a day after more than 1,000 people jammed Pitt Meadows secondary school to express their opposition to a proposal by Run of River Power to connect its proposed series of run of river hydro projects in the Upper Pitt River Valley to BC Hydro's provincial electricity grid."

In BC, we are all pretty ecstatic today as this has been a tremendous organizing effort by environmental (notably the Western Canada Wilderness Committee), social justice (check out BC Citizens for Public Power) and labour groups (namely Energy Day of Action partners COPE 378) working together - as well as the individuals through out the province who wrote letters, contacted their elected reps, hosted meetings and showed movies relating to the issue. And while we will continue to focus on this issue and work on a provincial strategy at the BC/Yukon Regional Meeting, the tide has risen to bring the opposition to private power to the front pages of the paper and top news stories. There are still hundreds of applications in for consideration to further run of river projects, this change of tune by the government has to be seen for what it is  - a huge victory and a show of people power.

The Council of Canadians’ Charlottetown chapter has been successful in their push for more public consultation regarding a proposed ethanol plant on Prince Edward Island.

As reported in The Charlottetown Guardian earlier this month, "After a meeting with the Council of Canadians on Thursday, Premier Robert Ghiz said he will be putting the matter to public consultation before any decisions are made on the issue of biofuel production on PEI... Leo Broderick of the Council of Canadians, which has been holding public meetings against the concept of a new ethanol plant, was happy to hear the province taking a cautionary tone."

Premier Ghiz went on to say that the government will be looking at a report on biofuels and renewable energy before any decision is made on the proposed ethanol plant.

In 2006, Council chapter activist Richard Hagensen wrote, "Our Citizens for Quality Health Care group was created by the Campbell River and Comox Valley chapters of the Council of Canadians and other concerned people from the North Island united to publicly oppose the ill thought out regional hospital decision by the unelected Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) board. We are convinced that the majority of North Islanders instead support upgrading and expanding the Campbell River General and St. Joseph's hospitals."

The VIHA plan was for a $300 million North Island Regional Hospital to replace the Campbell River and District General Hospital and St. Joseph's General Hospital.

Richard argued, "This unacceptable plan will: cost millions of dollars more than upgrading the two hospitals; decrease response time to medical emergencies; create only a small increase in acute care beds inadequate to meet current and future hospital overcrowding, increased chronic health care needs and population growth; decrease patient access to their family doctor; create financial and other hardships for families and volunteers (due to increased personal/ambulance transportation times on a highway which is often hazardous to travel on in extreme weather conditions); ignore 'smart growth' and sustainable community planning principles and pose environmental problems (issues such as water supply availability, loss of agricultural land, sewage disposal problems, increased air pollution due to increased auto travel, lack of public transportation) and create health care personnel job losses, cutbacks and difficulties recruiting/retaining nurses and doctors!"

As reported in today's Victoria Times-Colonist, "...the Comox Strathcona Regional Hospital District board withdrew its support yesterday for the proposed full-service 230-bed North Island Regional Hospital... Instead, the 20-member Comox Strathcona hospital board decided yesterday it wants VIHA to scrap the new hospital and invest in upgrades and expansions of the existing hospitals 'as soon as possible,' said chairman Fred Bates."

As reported by BC Local News, "The board, which represents communities south of the Comox Valley to north of Campbell River, reversed its 2006 decision to support construction of a new regional hospital for North Vancouver Island and a decision last year to support construction of a new regional hospital in the Comox Valley. Instead, the board decided in a 14-5 vote to pursue major upgrades for the existing hospitals and ask the provincial government to fund 60 per cent of the necessary costs."

Chapter activist Gwyn Frayne wrote to us today, "After a two-year intensive struggle, after 19,000 signed a petition which was deposited in the provincial Legislature, after we got ALL of the doctors on side from Campbell River north, after we went to every Regional District meeting...We convinced the Comox Strathcona Regional District Hospital Board to rescind a motion in favour of having one P3 hospital and, instead to up-grade our two non-profit hospitals in Campbell River and the Comox Valley."

Congratulations to the Campbell River and Comox Valley chapters for their tenacity, commitment and hard work in achieving this tremendous win!

Council activists in British Columbia celebrated last month, after the B.C. government was forced to drop a piece of legislation that would have allowed the government to pay out public money to investors in a private court set up under the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA).

TILMA is a top-down trade agreement between B.C. and Alberta that will dramatically impact the ability of municipalities and school boards to maintain any regulations that could be deemed by businesses as ‘impairing or restricting’ their investment. TILMA allows investors to sue governments for upwards of $5 million.

"The Minister of Economic Development has been unable to justify the need for TILMA to British Columbians. It’s an agreement which will result in the imposition of massive deregulation and policy harmonization for local government," said Carleen Pickard, B.C./Yukon Regional Organizer for the Council of Canadians.

Legislators were denied any debate on TILMA, when the agreement was signed with little fanfare in April 2007. Citizens across B.C. have been collecting petition signatures demanding a debate on the controversial agreement. They also urged legislators not to pass Bill 17, which would have enshrined TILMA’s corporate dispute-settlement mechanism into law.

Our media release "Public Pressure Forces Liberals to Drop Vote on TILMA Enforcement Bill" can be found at http://www.canadians.org/media/DI/2007/30-Nov-07.html.

For more information on TILMA, visit the Council of Canadians’ website at www.canadians.org/TILMA.

The Council of Canadians is thrilled to hear that the Alberta government has taken steps to preserve the water in the Bow River – at least for the immediate future.

In last month's e-news, we told you about an application that the Eastern Irrigation District (EID) made to Alberta Environment to amend their current water licence to allow them to extract water from the Bow River for commercial purposes.

The EID already holds the largest water licence in the region, and the amendment would have given them power to re-allocate and sell water for other uses, including municipal, non-irrigational and non-agricultural activities. The Council of Canadians was concerned that the amendment would set a dangerous precedent – triggering a string of similar applications from other agri-business consortiums and effectively putting most of Alberta's water up for sale.

Within moments of hearing about the EID's request, the Council of Canadians took action. Council members from the area surrounding the Bow River (and therefore deemed "directly affected" by the Alberta government) sent in letters of protest. The Council demanded that private industry not be given that much power over a public resource. We stressed the need for the monitoring and regulation of water to be kept in public hands.

It seems that our message got through to the Alberta government. Last month, Alberta Environment announced that they were deferring a decision on the EID application.

"Although this isn't the first irrigation district to request an amendment to its licence, the state of Alberta's water resources has shifted significantly," said Environment Minister Rob Renner. "With most of the South Saskatchewan River Basin closed to new licence applications, concerns have been raised about the Alberta government maintaining its authority to oversee water resources. We need to ensure water is allocated in a fair manner with opportunity for all users to have access to water resources."

According to Susan Howatt, the Council's national water campaigner, "we have won this small battle, but the larger war is ahead of us and we need all the help we can get to make Alberta choose their environment over short term economic gain."

For more information on what you can do to help protect water in Alberta and across Canada, visit www.canadians.org/water.

As noted in a media release we issued yesterday, TILMA will be put to the test this Wednesday, when representatives vote on a landmark resolution calling for the Union of British Columbia Municipalities "to enter into discussions with the provincial government and local governments with the intent of either making changes to the agreement to more specifically address local government concerns, exempt local governments from the agreement, or request that the province withdraw from the agreement altogether."

As noted in our media release today, "The Council of Canadians applauds the Union of British Columbia Municipalities for taking a strong stand against the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement in a landmark vote this morning."

This vote represents a significant rejection of TILMA by municipalities in British Columbia, and is a blow against the potential expansion of TILMA particularly after it was rejected by the provincial governments of Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

The governments of Ontario and Quebec remain vocal supporters of TILMA, but no doubt the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and l'Union des municipalités du Québec will take note of this vote in British Columbia.

We are also keeping our eye on a Vancouver Sun report which notes that the BC Legislature will start sitting again on Monday October 15, and that it may "take up the first bill implementing provisions of last year's trade, investment and labour mobility agreement (TILMA) with the province of Alberta. (This was) left on the order paper when the legislature adjourned in the spring."

This is a tremendous win and reflects the amazing work done by chapter activists and numerous concerned citizens and groups over this past year.

Congratulations everyone!

The Guardian reports that, "In a letter to the local branch of the Council of Canadians, Charlottetown Mayor Clifford Lee said city council recently met to discuss a letter from the group requesting the city switch from using bottled water to tap water...(As a result) bottled water will no longer be permitted in all city premises and workplaces and all city council and committee meetings."

There are a number of good quotes from Charlottetown chapter activist and Council of Canadians vice-chair Leo Broderick including, "I think we need to continue putting the pressure on other municipalities and the provincial government if it’s purchasing bottled water to cease that practice and to use tap water. Municipal water systems are safer than bottled water. The standards are higher."

The article also states, "Broderick said Charlottetown might be the first city in Canada to ban bottled water and that Vancouver is also considering a ban."

Congratulations!

As reported in today's Chicago Tribune, "Surrendering to a barrage of complaints, the U.S. Coast Guard on Monday dropped plans to conduct routine target practice with boat-mounted machine guns in 34 areas throughout the lakes..."

When the news broke on September 28 that the U.S. Coast Guard was planning to establish these permanent live-fire training zones on the Great Lakes, the Council of Canadians mounted a campaign with action alerts, updates and a web-link to the U.S. Coast Guard website to facilitate critical opposition to this plan.

In fact, more than 950 individuals submitted their comments through the Docket Management System on the Coast Guard's website, with most of those submissions critical of the plan.

Over a three month period the opposition to the U.S. Coast Guard's plan continued to grow. It eventually included the Government of Canada (no small victory!), 80 mayors from Great Lake cities, key U.S. environmental groups, and many local grassroots groups in the U.S.

We told Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the U.S. Coast Guard that, "The United States must remember that Canada is a part of the Great Lakes eco-system which is the planet's largest source of freshwater. If these zones were to be established, U.S. Coast Guard personnel would fire up to 430,000 bullets each year into the Great Lakes. This would mean that the Coast Guard would become one of the largest sources of the toxic metal lead entering the Great Lakes."

Congratulations to everyone who took part in this 12-week campaign. This is indeed an important victory for the Great Lakes!