MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 30, 2008

Council of Canadians displays mittens on Parliament Hill to demand energy strategy

Ottawa – In the lead-up to a countrywide day of action on energy taking place on February 2, the Council of Canadians is displaying mittens on Parliament Hill at 10:30 am today to tell the federal government that Canada’s lack of an energy policy is like sending someone out in the cold with only one mitten.

“For the past few decades, Canada has been extracting energy at unsustainable rates in order to satisfy an ever-hungry U.S. market despite the environmental and societal costs to Canada,” says Jean-Yves LeFort, energy campaigner for the Council of Canadians.  “The government is letting big oil and gas companies dictate energy policy in our country.”

On February 2, activists in more than 30 communities across Canada will be holding public events and political actions aimed at raising awareness on the unsustainable nature of Canada’s approach to energy production.

With huge transnational corporations now stripping Canada of its energy resources while draining and contaminating water resources, poisoning air, and accelerating climate change, the organization hopes the national day of action will send a strong message to the federal government.

The organization is concerned that our reliance on the market to determine has led to privatized hydro projects and coal-bed methane explorations in British Columbia; the environmentally dangerous tar sands and massive transmission line projects in Alberta; destructive uranium mining projects in Saskatchewan and Ontario; expanding liquefied natural gas projects in the Maritimes and Quebec; and a strong push for more nuclear power plants right across the country.

“Without a Canadian energy strategy – a strategy that will give Canadians secure energy supplies, guaranteed access to energy reserves in times of need, and strong policies that protect our environment and focus on finding alternative, less harmful energy solutions – our country will continue to be a victim of an energy gold rush,” says LeFort.

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For more information, contact:
Meera Karunananthan, Media Officer: Tel.: (613) 233-4487, ext. 234; Cell: (613) 795-8685; .

Read more:

• Fact sheets and ideas on how you can get involved.
• Send a mitten to Stephen Harper - All Canadians need to stay warm!
• Click here to see a video of Maude Barlow talking about the importance of a National Energy Day of Action.