Win! We helped save the “purest groundwater in the world”
Years of sustained pressure from community members, farmers, First Nations and concerned social justice organizations such as the Council of Canadians led municipal councillors in Simcoe County, Ontario to scrap plans for a landfill known as Dump Site 41 last week.
“It is a significant victory after a 26-year struggle," said Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow, shortly after council made its decision. “But the Council of Canadians and others will continue to monitor the situation to prevent any potential sale of the land to a private developer."
The Council of Canadians joined the fight to protect water and stop Dump Site 41 earlier this year. We helped organize rallies and information meetings, spoke to local media, encouraged public action through local newspaper and radio ads, and our members wrote thousands of letters to Ontario Environment Minister John Gerretsen asking for provincial intervention. We joined the call to stop the landfill, which sits on top of the Alliston aquifer and holds what some scientists have referred to as “the purest water in the world.”
We could not have achieved this important victory to protect water without the support of our members, activists and concerned citizens. Thank you to everyone who took action and joined the fight to stop Dump Site 41.
For all the latest updates go here. |
PHOTO: Maude Barlow, National Chairperson fills her water bottle at Site 41, during a march this summer protesting Simcoe County plans for the landfill.
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Here’s more about what’s new at the Council of Canadians:
The Council of Canadians will be calling for a different vision of economic recovery October 23-25 at our 24th Annual General Meeting, which is taking place in Saint John, New Brunswick. Titled “Turning the Tide: A just economy for people and the planet” our AGM will shine a spotlight on alternative visions for our economic future – ideas that focus not on market projections, cyclical recoveries and corporate profits, but on people, the environment and democracy.
Keynote speakers will highlight how the current failed economic model, based on market priorities, has led to the economic downturn, with the resulting uncertainty for families suffering job losses, rising costs and an economic recovery pinned on promoting the fossil fuel industry and its devastating effects on the environment. Speakers for our AGM include: Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians; John Cavanagh, Director of the Institute for Policy Studies, Washington, DC, U.S.; Garry Leech, independent journalist, author and lecturer at Cape Breton University, Nova Scotia; Janice Harvey, columnist, broadcaster and university lecturer; Marc Lee, Researcher and Writer, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives; Peggy Nash, Assistant to the National President, Canadian Auto Workers.; Andrea Peart, Researcher and Writer, Canadian Labour Congress; and Scott Sinclair, Senior Research Fellow, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
In addition to panels, workshops and activities for our chapters, we will host a rally calling for urgent climate change action. The “Climate (of) Change: Rally for people and the planet”will take place on Saturday, October 24, and will coincide with a worldwide day of a protest aimed at pushing political leaders to meaningfully deal with the world’s growing climate crisis when they meet six weeks later at the UN climate change conference in Denmark from December 7-18. For more information on the October 24 International Day of Climate Action visit www.350.org
For more information about our upcoming AGM and to register go here.
Saying "Bye" to Buy Local?
 We are currently suffering multiple crises – an economic crisis that threatens our jobs and livelihoods, an environmental crisis that threatens our habitat, and an energy crisis that demands we move away from fossil fuels and a reliance on long-distance trade.
In times like this we need our local, provincial and federal governments to be innovative and responsive to the communities they represent, as well as the international community we are all part of. We need them to recognize that many of the solutions to all these crises are going to be local solutions.
Ontario, like many other provinces, is signing and endorsing interprovincial and international agreements that will restrict what provinces and municipalities can do to protect the environment, save existing jobs and create new ones, strengthen public services and support local economies. These agreements say that local solutions are “barriers” to trade and investment and must therefore be eliminated – meaning democratic solutions lose out to business-friendly priorities.
We are teaming up with CUPE Ontario to visit eight Ontario communities to talk about interprovincial trade deals, the Canada-European Union pact and a new NAFTA accord, and the impact they will have on jobs, local economies and the environment. We invite Ontario residents to join us for the “Say Bye to Buy Local” trade tour October 13 – November 19. Go here for a full list of tour stops.
 
The climate crisis demands urgent action to transition to a low carbon future. Canada is going in the wrong direction – we are stuck in the tar sands. The federal and Albertan governments are allowing huge extractions to continue in the tar sands, Canada’s fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions. Our commitment to being an “energy super power” that focuses on export-oriented energy trade is being allowed to trump needed action on climate change and energy security.
Climate justice demands that we address the root causes contributing to the climate crisis including unsustainable production, consumption and trade that are driven by corporate-led globalization. Real solutions must be based on democratic accountability, ecological sustainability and social justice. The Council of Canadians is joining an international day of action on October 24 as people around the world to push political leaders for real action on the issue of climate change. The day comes six weeks before COP15, the United Nations Framework on Climate Change meeting to be held in Copenhagen, from December 7-18. For more information and ideas about what you can do to get involved, go here.
Click here for our new fact sheet and here for the handbill.
Come to the Blue Summit and Learn, Organize and Act for Public Water!
The Council of Canadians is teaming up with CUPE to celebrate 10 years of action protecting and promoting the benefits of public water.
From November 27-29, water activists from across Canada will come together in Ottawa to talk about ways to increase awareness about the importance of public water for everyone. Water is life and must be a right for all. Communities across Canada are fighting to protect their public water services and supplies from pollution, underfunding, destructive dams and diversions and privatization. The Blue Summit will celebrate, strengthen and expand the network of Water Watch activists working to protect public water for everyone.
If you would like to become a part of the local and global movement to promote water as a human right and a public resource, we invite you to join us for this free event. You will be able to hear about important water issues, learn from successful water campaigns, connect with others in workshops and large group sessions, and plan for action in your community.
Thirsty for more information?
Go here to find out more and to register for the Blue Summit, or call us toll free at 1-800-387-7177, ext 229.
Join the Council of Canadians today!
Founded in 1985 by a handful of citizens including Farley Mowat, Pierre Berton and Margaret Atwood, the Council of Canadians is Canada’s pre-eminent public watchdog organization. By becoming a member of the Council of Canadians your generous support helps give our organization a voice on social, economic and political issues and build a strong, independent and diverse Canada. Join the Council today, and help us prove that a better Canada is possible. Already a member? Share this newsletter with a friend and encourage them to join or donate and become a part of Canada’s largest citizens’ advocacy organization. |
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