Canadian Perspectives Autumn 2005

Council chapters take their message to the streets - and to city hall

The Council of Canadians relies on a network of over 70 volunteer chapters from across Canada to promote our national campaigns, act as local watchdogs, and promote social and economic justice on a day-to-day basis. Here are a few profiles of the amazing work that Council chapters are doing in their communities.

SOUTH SHORE: FOSTERING DISCUSSION
Margery Dahn keeps a record of everything ever published about the Council of Canadians’ Nova Scotia South Shore chapter in her scrapbook. But if the 80-year-old veteran of the civil rights movement had kept track of all of her activist accomplishments, her house would be overflowing with press clippings and accolades.

Originally from the United States, Dahn began her activism with the civil rights and peace movements in the 1960s. A high point for her was attending Martin Luther King Junior’s “I had a dream” speech in Washington, D.C.

Dahn and her family moved to Nova Scotia in 1970, where she became involved with local groups, including Project Ploughshares and the Nova Scotia Voice of Women. She was drawn to the Council of Canadians after learning about trade issues, and soon joined the fight to stop the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI), co-founding the South Shore chapter in 2000.

According to Dahn, the chapter’s most successful venture is “Café Canada,” a public education forum that brings 30 to 60 people together to discuss both national and local issues, on a regular basis.

“The most memorable Café Canada was probably the first one we ever had. The topic was food and genetic engineering, the room was overflowing, and the discussion continued on until nearly midnight,” she says. The meeting led to the development of a coalition that supports family farms and small businesses byencouraging South Shore residents to “buy local.”

The chapter was also deeply involved in the Council’s campaign against the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), making presentations before six area councils. Dahn and her fellow South Shore chapter activists also protested the war on Iraq, and held an all-candidates forum on democracy and proportional representation during the most recent federal election campaign. They are frequently seen holding silent peace vigils, or handing out information on genetically engineered foods outside grocery stores and restaurants.

Dahn was presented with the Ken Wardroper Founder’s Award at the Council’s annual general meeting in 2002, and hopes to add more items to her scrapbook by continuing her involvement with the South Shore chapter for years to come.
– Angela Giles

PETERBOROUGH-KAWARTHAS: ALL ABOUT NETWORKING
Legend has it that the Peterborough-Kawarthas chapter of the Council of Canadians was formed “in the streets of Quebec City” during the protests against the Summit of the Americas in 2001. When asked if this is true, Roy Brady laughs.

“That might be a bit of an urban myth,” he says. “But we had been planning to start a new Council chapter, and were excited to meet like-minded activists in Quebec City. And when we came back, wewereoutraged because four people from Peterborough had been arrested, including the son of one of our new chapter members. We convened an emergency community meeting, and did media interviews for the 10 days that followed.”

Since then Brady, a retired elementary school teacher, and his fellow chapter members have succeeded in getting four municipal resolutions passed by city council, formed dozens of working group and coalitions, and led several local fights – on issues ranging from the privatization of Hydro One, to cuts to their local hospital, to mandatory labelling of genetically engineered foods, to bulk water exports.

In November 2004, the Peterborough chapter hosted over 200 people at a neighbourhood coffee shop, where they wrote letters to the federal government protesting the possibility of Canada’s participation in the U.S. Ballistic Missile Defence system.

When asked for the secret of the Peterborough chapter’s success, Brady says, “it’s all about networking.” Chapter members make connections with community organizations, union locals and campus groups, making sure to keep people informed about the chapter’s campaigns and activities, forming a “network of personal relationships.”

“We have to keep educating people about how bad free trade really is,” says Brady. “We can’t stop all privatization, but we can continue to fight the privatization of essential services like health care and water.”
– Ariel Troster

HAMILTON: KEEPING CITY HALL ON ITS TOES John Shymko and the other members of the Council of Canadians’ Hamilton chapter keep close tabs on city hall. While their municipal councillors might not always enjoy the extra attention, they’re getting used to it. Shymko and his fellow activists carefully monitor the city government’s actions – working with a coalition of community organizations to stop the privatization of public services, and bring to light the repression of political activ-ism in Hamilton. Chapter members celebrated a major victory in September 2004, when city council voted to take back the operation and maintenance of Hamilton’s water and waste-water treatment plant from American Water Services. In 1994, the city was the first in Canada to contract its water system to a private corporation. After 10 years of secrecy, spilled sewage and malfunctioning equipment, citizens mobilized to demand that the city cancel the contract, bringing Hamilton’s water back under public management. “We were involved in 10 months of hard lobbying. We met with our councillors two or three times a month, and did the research, so we really became experts on water privatization,” says Shymko. “I firmly believe that all of the outreach and education work that we did led to the cancelling of the private water contract.” Hamilton chapter members celebrated again this summer, after the city dropped a $200,000 lawsuit against a group of young activists who had spent weeks occupying old-growth trees, to protest against the planned construction of an expressway. Shymko says that the chapter’s support for the “tree-sitters” brought a new group of activists, aged 18 to 25, into the Hamilton chapter. For Shymko, the best way to promote the Council’s national campaigns is by acting as a watchdog against corporate corruption and government repression – furthering the Council’s reputation as “Canada’s unofficial opposition.” – Ariel Troster

RED DEER: BUILDING A SOCIAL MOVEMENT
According to Donald Hepburn, the roots of the Red Deer chapter go back to the federal election campaign of 1993, when the short-lived National Party of Canada ran candidates across the country. When the party disbanded a few years later, Red Deer members decided that it was important to help build a broad social movement dedicated to similar principles, so they started up a local chapter of the Council of Canadians.

When asked to describe the chapter’s greatest success, Hepburn finds it hard to choose just one.

“We have played an active role on several fronts, taking part in the various national campaigns of the Council and playing a leading role in provincial causes, such as the campaign in support of medicare and against the further privatization of our public health care system,” he says.

A significant victory for the chapter was in 1998, when Red Deer City Council passed a resolution opposing the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI). Buoyed by their success, Hepburn and his fellow chapter members launched a campaign to convince their municipal government to take responsibility for local watersheds.

“When we first approached the city’s environmental advisory committee, their response was that their responsibility ended at the city limits and they couldn’t get involved in what was happening [to watersheds] outside of that,” he says.

After years of campaigning and information sharing by the chapter, the city reversed its position, and launched a legal challenge against Capstone Energy’s application to divert water from the Red Deer River for the purpose of oilfield flooding.

“That was quite the change,” says Hepburn.

The Red Deer chapter hosted the Council’s annual general meeting in 2001, where Hepburn was presented with the Ken Wardroper Founder’s Award, recognizing the chapter’s outstanding contribution to the Council of Canadians.

“We have the good fortune of having a group of very committed, intelligent people who share a common vision to help make life better for all,” asserts Pauline Dusyk, the chapter’s current chairperson.

“Judging by the amount of coverage wehave received in the local press, we are confident that we are succeeding in presenting an alternative point of view to the public,” says Hepburn.
– Ariel Troster

KAMLOOPS:GETTING THE WORD OUT
Encouraging public discussion and local action is what keeps the Council of Canadians’ Kamloops chapter thriving.

The group formed in 1997 in response to the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI). “I found out from the website that the Council was working on the issue,” remembers Anita Strong, the chapter’s chairperson. “We put an ad in the paper and had lots of people come to the meeting. We have been going strong since then.”

Over the years, the Kamloops chapter has led successful campaigns against privatization of their water treatment plant and a local highway. By circulating petitions and lobbying politicians, the group convinced their municipal government not to turn these public facilities over to private interests. And when Starbucks set up shop in a university library, chapter members spent a day handing out free fair trade coffee in front of the building, talking to people and getting signatures on petitions.

“We were able to get the message out that privatizing public space is wrong,” says Michael Crawford, a chapter member. “Starbucks was gone shortly after that.”

Every year, the chapter hosts a popular fair-trade craft sale and Canada Day activities, and organizes an annual walk for peace, social justice and the environment. Each of these events includes an element of public education and information sharing.

“Our approach is really to be out there encouraging public debate,” explains Crawford. He adds that the best way to encourage social justice is to be active and creative.

This creativity has come in the form of events like “Philosopher Cafés,” where participants meet for coffee and tackle questions like “what is social justice, and is it possible?” The cafés have been popular, often drawing crowds of more than 40 people.

Strong says that the chapter has been successful because of its diverse membership, partnerships with other organizations, and the commitment and regular involvement of chapter members.

“If we didn’t have the Council of Canadians in Kamloops there would be a lot of things not made known to the public,” says Strong. “The Council’s name has a lot of respect here in Kamloops.”
- Jan Malek

POWELL RIVER: TURNING CONSUMERS INTO CITIZENS Council of Canadians’ Powell River chapter members scored a major victory when they convinced their municipality to put a moratorium on genetically engineered (GE) crops – the first community to do so in Canada. “That was a really big one for us,” recalls Ron MacDougall, one of the chapter’s founding members. He adds that the campaign gained momentum with help from an active organic farming community, and a visit from Percy Schmeiser, a farmer who was sued by Monsanto when his crops were infiltrated by GE seeds. Interest in the chapter – which formed in 1998 – has been bolstered over the years by visits from various speakers, including former British Columbia MLA Gordon Wilson, social and environmental activist David Cadman, and political writer Murray Dobbin. The Powell River chapter has also been particularly active in election campaigns. “We always speak on Council issues and you can really see where it has an effect,” explains MacDougall. Most recently, the chapter organized debates, and encouraged people to vote in British Columbia’s referendum on proportional representation. Regardless of the issues they work on, MacDougall says, there is always a wide variety of people from the community who get involved. “We do have a lot of good people involved,” he says. “And as one woman put it, working for social justice isn’t something you do just once in your life.” Public education also continues to be key. “I learned more attend-ing a chapter meeting than anywhere else – it was like coming home,” says MacDougall.He hopes new chapter members will continue to have the same experience. “One of our messages is to encourage people to stop being consumers and start being citizens – it’s a lot more fun.” – Jan Malek

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