MEMBERSHIP MATTERS!
Your Council membership helps communities throughout Canada
After being alarmed by the algae blooms
in the lakes in her area, and outraged
by the rampant misuse of water, Ann
Hains-Clark went looking for a way to let
the people in her community know about
the need to protect our water resources.
Ann became a Council of Canadians member
in August of last year. She has since
distributed the Council’s research material
to more than 36 groups in her community
of Sherbrooke, Quebec, and has collected
more than 100 signatures for the Council’s
“Save Our Water” petition.
In addition to petition work, Ann leads
community workshops on water issues
to encourage people to be better water
stewards. “This is the only way to restore
our focus that water is life – take five
minutes, learn about it, then talk about
it,” she explains.
Ann says she values her Council
membership because it helps her stay
informed about important issues. She
also knows that her membership donation
helps the Council carry out its vital
work.
“I know I’m part of an organization that
makes a difference,” she says.
- Hélène Bertrand
As a Council of Canadians
member you are a part of
extensive efforts to stop
North American corporations
and politicians from pursuing
the new Security and
Prosperity Partnership, the fight on the
international stage to secure the Right
to Water, and the growing demand for a
Canadian Energy Strategy.
But did you know that in addition to
helping our broad national campaigns,
your Council membership also works
locally? As a Council member you
helped people in Whistler B.C., stop
the privatization of their municipal
water system and the price increases
and loss of local control that would
have followed. You helped citizens in
Digby Neck, Nova Scotia, stop a U.S.
corporation from establishing a massive,
environmentally devastating quarry that
would have ruined their local quality of
life. And you helped prevent the bulk
export of water from Lake Gisborne in
Newfoundland. Right now, you are also
helping people in communities across
the country protect our public health
care from privatization.
It’s amazing how your membership
donation, combined with those from
tens of thousands of like-minded
Canadians, helps the Council of
Canadians work alongside our chapter
members, allies and local citizens to
secure important local victories like these.
In short, your membership matters
to people across the country who
believe, as you do, that our health care
system, our rivers and lakes, our energy
supply and our environment are vital
to Canada’s future, and that social
justice and the public interest trump
corporate profits.
Your membership is even more important
when you consider how the work of
the Council of Canadians is funded. We
are sustained by the generous financial
support of everyday Canadians. We do
not accept any money from governments
or corporations in order to preserve our
complete independence in speaking out
for the values you believe in.
If your membership matters, imagine
what would happen if every one of our
members went out and signed up one
more member. Have you ever thought
of giving a gift membership on a special
occasion to someone important in
your life who shares your commitment
and passion for environmental and
social justice? Or encouraging a friend,
neighbour or colleague to join? Perhaps
you’ve even thought of increasing your
own donation, or joining our monthly
Canada Plan so that your membership
is automatically renewed each year.
Every new or renewed membership or
increased contribution leads to more
local victories, stronger communities
and a better Canada.
Just ask the people we worked with in
Coquitlam, B.C., who stopped a private
energy project in the Pinecone Burke
Provincial Park that would have caused
significant environmental destruction by
altering the Upper Pitt River and cutting
a huge swath out of the park to run
hydro-electric lines!
For more information on giving a
gift membership, to request membership
brochures to sign up friends or
neighbours, or to increase your own
donation, please call us toll-free at
1-800-387-7177 or email us at
inquiries@canadians.org.
Brant Thompson is the Development Officer
at the Council of Canadians.
Printer-friendly version: Membership Matters! in PDF Format (90kB)
Photo: Ann Hains-Clark shows the information
she uses in community workshops on
water issues.
