http://www.canadians.org Founded in 1985, the Council of Canadians is Canada's largest citizens' organization, with members and chapters across the country. We work to protect Canadian independence by promoting progressive policies on fair trade, clean water, energy security, public health care, and other issues of social and economic concern to Canadians. en-ca http://www.canadians.org/media/water/2008/21-Aug-08.html Ottawa / August 21, 2008 - The Council of Canadians is blasting the Federal government for suppressing an Environment Canada report that warns of increased water shortages across the country. The Council of Canadians is calling on the Government of Canada to implement a comprehensive National Water Policy, as there is currently no national strategy to address urgent water issues and no federal leadership to conserve and protect our water. The Federal Water Policy is over 20 years old and badly outdated. http://www.canadians.org/media/water/2008/21-Aug-08.html http://www.canadians.org/media/water/2008/19-Aug-08.html London, ON - The Council of Canadians is applauding the decision last night by the City of London to enact a comprehensive ban on sale of bottled water on city premises. Going further than other bans in Canadian cities so far, the precedent-setting London bottle ban extends beyond city hall to all city facilities. The Council of Canadians calls on all cities across the country to enact similar bans. http://www.canadians.org/media/water/2008/19-Aug-08.html http://www.canadians.org/media/healthcare/2008/18-Aug-08.html MONTREAL, Aug. 18 /CNW Telbec/ - At their annual general meeting in Montreal from August 17-20, members of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) will examine "patient-focused funding," a hospital funding model presently used in the United Kingdom. The Coalition Solidarite Sante and the Council of Canadians are concerned with the trend in certain medical circles towards greater private financing of our health system. http://www.canadians.org/media/healthcare/2008/18-Aug-08.html http://www.canadians.org/media/energy/2008/13-Aug-08.html Regina - In response to the government sale of new exploration permits for Tar Sands in Saskatchewan, the Regina chapter of the Council of Canadians held a public meeting outside of the Legislature yesterday, inviting people to learn more about the controversy that stands to affect the province economically, environmentally and socially. http://www.canadians.org/media/energy/2008/13-Aug-08.html http://www.canadians.org/media/trade/2008/30-Jul-08.html Ottawa - The collapse of the Doha Round of WTO (World Trade Organization) talks in Geneva yesterday is being celebrated as a victory for democracy around the world, says Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians. Barlow says the collapse of the Doha Round should be a wake up call for the federal and provincial governments to reverse course on undemocratic bilateral and inter-provincial deals such as TILMA (Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreements) and the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement. http://www.canadians.org/media/trade/2008/30-Jul-08.html http://www.canadians.org/media/trade/2008/29-Jul-08.html Edmonton - Using the acronym MASH to represent numerous sectors in a simple word, the Alberta government announced last Friday that under the controversial Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA) with British Columbia, restrictions will be made on how municipalities, academic institutions, school boards and the health sector engage in contracts for their organizational requirements. The provincial government stated that when TILMA comes into full effect on April 1, 2009, any MASH contracts beginning at $75,000 for goods and services tenders and $200,000 for construction projects must be opened up for outside contract bids. http://www.canadians.org/media/trade/2008/29-Jul-08.html http://www.canadians.org/media/peace/2008/25-Jul-08.html This week rallies are taking place in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver calling on Stephen Harper to bring Khadr to Canada. The rallies are being sponsored by a wide range of peace, social justice and faith groups, including the Canadian Peace Alliance, the Council of Canadians, Canadian Arab Federation, Canadian Muslim Civil Liberties Association and Toronto Conference, United Church of Canada. The protest in Ottawa will take place at 12pm, Saturday, July 26. http://www.canadians.org/media/peace/2008/25-Jul-08.html http://www.canadians.org/media/trade/2008/23-Jul-08.html A new dispute resolution process, which Canada's premiers agreed to include into the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) at last week's Council of the Federation meeting, is unnecessary, anti-democratic, and represents a capitulation to corporate interests, says the Council of Canadians. http://www.canadians.org/media/trade/2008/23-Jul-08.html http://www.canadians.org/media/water/2008/08-Jul-08.html OTTAWA - An emerging coalition of conservation, Aboriginal, and social justice organizations is calling on the federal government to immediately stop the practice of allowing mining companies to use Canada's lakes as dumping grounds for toxic mine wastes. http://www.canadians.org/media/water/2008/08-Jul-08.html http://www.canadians.org/media/peace/2008/03-Jul-08.html Ottawa - The Council of Canadians is calling on the Harper government to respect the will of Parliament and the Canadian people. Despite strong public support for war resisters who want to stay in Canada, the Harper government has remained silent, apparently content to let deportation proceedings continue, the organization says. http://www.canadians.org/media/peace/2008/03-Jul-08.html http://www.canadians.org/media/trade/2008/20-Jun-08.html Ottawa - On Friday, June 20 the Council of Canadians held a mock press conference and protest outside Ottawa's Chateau Laurier, where Republican Senator John McCain spoke to an elite audience of Canadian corporate executives. The action featured the "NAFTA-saurus", a representation of unjust trade policies that are facing extinction. http://www.canadians.org/media/trade/2008/20-Jun-08.html http://www.canadians.org/media/water/2008/20-Jun-08.html The Council of Canadians is congratulating the Ontario cities of London and Kitchener for approving plans this week to ban the sale of bottled water on city property. The Council of Canadians welcomes these local victories as important steps toward a national water policy that would improve the public system and ensure clean drinking water standards for all communities across the country. http://www.canadians.org/media/water/2008/20-Jun-08.html http://www.canadians.org/media/trade/2008/03-Jun-08.html Negotiations toward an Ontario-Quebec Economic Partnership Agreement, announced by Premiers Jean Charest and Dalton McGuinty at this week's joint cabinet meeting in Quebec City, must include a full public hearing of the issue and an opportunity for public comment in both provinces, says the Council of Canadians. http://www.canadians.org/media/trade/2008/03-Jun-08.html http://www.canadians.org/media/water/2008/02-Jun-08.html Toronto - Recipient of the Canadian Environment Award's Citation of Lifetime Acheivement award, Maude Barlow will use a portion of her keynote address to highlight the impacts of the petrochemical industry on the environment and health, particularly of First Nations communities, in Canada. http://www.canadians.org/media/water/2008/02-Jun-08.html http://www.canadians.org/media/trade/2008/30-May-08.html Despite significant public outcry, Bill 32 went into effect without any vote in the Legislature today. The enabling legislation sets the private courts system Trade Investment and Labour Mobility (TILMA) into motion, ceding the right to corporations to sue local governments and other entities for regulations deemed to impede profits. http://www.canadians.org/media/trade/2008/30-May-08.html http://www.canadians.org/media/water/2008/28-May-08.html Ottawa - Maude Barlow and the Council of Canadians congratulate the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board on seeking to eliminate bottled water in its 150 schools. The Board passed a motion last night requiring staff to report on a plan to eliminate the regular sale and purchase of bottled water in all facilities of the school board. http://www.canadians.org/media/water/2008/28-May-08.html http://www.canadians.org/media/trade/2008/21-May-08.html Following a new legal opinion on the constitutionality of inter-provincial trade pacts like the Alberta-B.C. Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement, the Council of Canadians is warning Ontario and Quebec to steer clear of a similar alliance when the premiers meet for a joint cabinet meeting in Quebec City on June 2. http://www.canadians.org/media/trade/2008/21-May-08.html http://www.canadians.org/media/DI/2008/18-Apr-08.html While the Canadian, Mexican and American heads of state continue to discuss corporate priorities for North America behind closed doors at the fourth annual SPP summit in New Orleans next week, civil society from all three NAFTA countries will lay the groundwork for international cooperation of a more human kind that places the needs of communities, the environment and workers first. http://www.canadians.org/media/DI/2008/18-Apr-08.html http://www.canadians.org/media/DI/2008/15-Apr-08.html As Stephen Harper prepares to attend the North American leaders' summit on the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) in New Orleans next week, a new Environics Research poll shows that Canadians disagree with key elements of North American integration. http://www.canadians.org/media/DI/2008/15-Apr-08.html http://www.canadians.org/media/water/2008/08-Apr-08.html The Council of Canadians and the Geneva-based Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) sent the federal Liberal Party a letter today to correct the Party on statements made to the media last week about the consequences of Canada endorsing the right to water. http://www.canadians.org/media/water/2008/08-Apr-08.html http://www.canadians.org/media/other/2008/27-Mar-08.html The Campaign for Democratic Media! is outraged at Bell Canada's recent announcement that it will begin throttling Internet service providers (ISPs) starting April 7 - a policy uncovered and made official after Canadian ISPs realized they were being shortchanged by the telecommunications giant which had begun selectively limiting the ISPs' bandwidth. http://www.canadians.org/media/other/2008/27-Mar-08.html http://www.canadians.org/media/energy/2008/20-Mar-08.html Edmonton - A group of British Columbian activists who have just completed a three-day "learning tour" of the Alberta tar sands are calling for an end to new approvals for tar sands expansion at a press conference today. http://www.canadians.org/media/energy/2008/20-Mar-08.html