Join the Shout Out for Global Justice!
Thousands set to rally across Canada against the G8 and G20
As the Harper government recklessly spends more than $1 billion on the three-day G8 and G20 summits in Huntsville and Toronto, Ontario, momentum is building for thousands of people to come together and say “no” to the summits’ undemocratic and illegitimate agendas.
The Council of Canadians has helped plan and organize “The People’s Summit,” where community organizers, activists, non-governmental organizations, independent media, workers, impacted communities, and artists will converge to work together to educate, empower and ignite positive change. On Friday, June 18, Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians, will be speaking at the People’s Summit opening event at The Carlu, 444 Yonge Street in Toronto, Ontario. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and it’s a “pay as you can” event. On June 19 and 20 Council of Canadians’ campaigners will be leading workshops on climate justice, the G20 trade agenda and other topics. For all the latest updates and workshop descriptions, go here.
The Council of Canadians will be putting the issues of global trade and economic justice in the spotlight Friday, June 25 at a major public forum called Shout Out for Global Justice! The event, which takes place at Massey Hall in Toronto, Ontario, focuses on how we can create a better global future. It features world-renowned speakers including Council of Canadians Chairperson Maude Barlow, Bolivian Ambassador Pablo Solon, writer Naomi Klein, union leader Leo Gerard, physicist Vandana Shiva, Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman, War on Want Executive Director John Hilary, Indigenous activist Clayton Thomas-Muller, who will speak about the impacts of the G8 and G20 and the urgent need for trade, water and climate justice. Tickets are going fast, so get yours today by contacting the Box Office at 416-872-4255 or visiting the Massey Hall website at www.masseyhall.com. The evening starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 for non-Council of Canadians members (and includes a one-year membership) and $14 for Council of Canadians members.
The event will also be video streamed live on the internet with the support of rabble.ca. Many Council chapters across the country are organizing community events with local speakers and panels as part a cross-Canada “Shout Out.” There will also be a “Shout Out” at the U.S. Social Forum, which is taking place at the same time in Detroit, Michigan. For more information about regional events, call us at 1-800-387-7177 ext. 239 or visit our website for all the latest updates.
The following day, on Saturday, June 26, the Council of Canadians will join thousands people in the streets for “People First,” a peaceful rally starting at Queen’s Park in Toronto and marching towards the summit’s security perimeter. The purpose of the march is to tell G20 leaders they do not legitimately represent and speak for the billions of people they affect with their decisions. We are calling on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to scrap these boondoggle summits and place decision-making in a more democratic forum, such as the United Nations, also referred to as the G192.
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| PHOTO: A ‘Thirst for Justice’, a public meeting and rally organized by the Council of Canadians and others took place April 25, the eve of the G8 Development Ministers meeting. |
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Costs for both the G8 and the G20 summits have soared to more than $1 billion. Over the three days of planned meetings, this means about $75 million will be spent every hour leaders meet on security and logistics – money that is desperately needed for the high priority agenda items that will be talked about at the summits including maternal health, access to clean water and sanitation and urgent action on climate change.
TAKE ACTION!
Your voice is needed now to tell Prime Minister Stephen Harper that spending $1 billion for a handful of political leaders to meet behind fences and barricades is unacceptable. Go here to send your letter to Prime Minister Harper today and tell him to scrap the summits!
Here’s more about what’s new at the Council of Canadians:
Council applies to name Harper’s fake lake
When news leaked that the Harper government was spending close to $2 million to build a fake lake – complete with docks, canoes, Muskoka chairs and widescreen tvs with views of cottage country – for visiting journalists covering the G8 and G20 summits, the Council of Canadians suggested it needed a name.
We applied to the Geographical Names Board of Canada to have the new lake named in honour of our current Prime Minister, and asking that it be officially known as “Harper’s Folly,” explained Mark Calzavara, the Council’s Ontario-Quebec Regional Organizer. "We believe that all Canadians-regardless of their political views – will agree that the only thing more outrageous than spending $1.1 billion on a three day meeting is thinking that an indoor lake next to a big television could possibly compare to the spectacular beauty of cottage country.”
The name change request garnered media attention internationally and started a national debate about the merits of the Harper government spending more than $1 billion on the G8 and G20 summits.
To read our media release on this go here.
Liberals and Conservatives pass Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement
 Strong and unified public opposition stalled the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement for over a year. But on June 14, Liberal and Conservative MPs voted in favour of the deal (Bill C-2) on third and final reading. The free trade agreement – and an accompanying human rights side agreement – are now with the Senate for final consideration.
Immediately after the vote, civil society leaders, including the Council of Canadians, issued a strong statement saying the government has lowered the bar on its commitment to human rights by agreeing to this legislation.
“The Liberal and Conservative endorsement of the free trade agreement (FTA) between Colombia and Canada was linked to a controversial side agreement with the Government of Colombia,” read the statement. “The final version of this side deal – which is significantly different from what independent human rights groups were calling for – allows both the Canadian and Colombian governments to write their own human rights reports on the impacts of the FTA. The FTA had been held up in parliament since it was signed in November of 2008 because of widespread public concerns in Canada about implementing a trade deal with [Colombia], one of the worst human rights violators in the hemisphere.”
Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians, expressed her disappointment in the statement: "This should have been a no-brainer. The tragic testimony from witnesses in Colombia and Canada and the thousands of e-mails and calls MPs have received all reinforced the need to seriously consider the human rights impact free trade would have on Colombian people and communities," she said. "I'm angry the Harper government has rushed into ransacking the democratic process to push through a free trade deal that will exacerbate the human rights crisis in Colombia." Photo: Activists from Amnesty International, Canadian Labour Congress, the Council of Canadians, and the Canadian Council for International Co-operation held a mock burial for the “deaths of human rights and integrity” before the passage of Bill C-2.
Community groups in Powell River, B.C. work together in new Water Watch Coalition
Members of the Powell River, B.C. Council of Canadians chapter, CUPE local 798, local ratepayers associations and the local chapter of the Sierra Club have banded together to form a Water Watch Coalition after finding out the city has hired a private company to treat their town’s wastewater. Many said they were shocked to learn that the city had reached an agreement in principle with Catalyst Paper for, among other things, co-treatment of municipal sewage in the Catalyst Powell River mill. The 20-year agreement would pay Catalyst $750,000 annually to treat the region’s wastewater.
Water Watch committees are the first line of defence against the privatization of water. Made up of Council of Canadians chapters, CUPE members and other activists, Water Watch committees fight to keep water safe, clean, publicly-owned and controlled.
Local Council of Canadians chapter member Murray Dobbin says public consultation about the wastewater agreement has been severely lacking. “We want [city] Council to make good on its election promises and have real public consultations where everyone in the public will have the opportunity to learn about the details of the [agreement] and to have their questions answered. The councillors should not be afraid of taking this issue to the public. They will learn important information about the pitfalls of this attempted privatization.”
To visit the Powell River Water Watch website go to http://prwaterwatch.wordpress.com/.
To find out more about the Council’s Blue Planet Project, which urges communities to create Water Watch Coalitions, go here.
Arctic drilling moratorium needed now
The devastating BP spill off the Gulf of Mexico has awakened our collective consciousness to the serious risks of offshore drilling. Images of oil soaked wetlands, dying birds and animals and firsthand accounts of jobs and livelihoods lost are just the start of what will be long-lasting impacts of this environmental catastrophe.
With the discovery of 90 billion barrels of oil and 1,670 trillion cubic feet of natural gas under melting ice, the Arctic is increasingly being viewed as a final frontier for fossil fuel development. More than 80 per cent of the oil and gas is found offshore. Big oil companies, including BP, are now seeking licences for exploration and drilling in eco-sensitive Arctic waters.
Many commentators report that Canada could face a devastating oil spill like the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico as our country’s regulations are even more relaxed then American rules, which failed to prevent a devastating spill. Bill C-9, the Budget Implementation Act (passed the House of Commons on June 8, 2010), contains several provisions that will gut environmental assessment rules, including giving the Environment Minister power to decide whether or not an environmental assessment is necessary for oil and gas developments and power to shift responsibility for environmental assessments solely to the big oil-friendly National Energy Board (NEB).
Take action!
Send a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Opposition Leaders and Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Natural Resources, Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Fisheries and Oceans, and relevant Opposition critics voicing your concerns with Arctic offshore drilling.
Go here to send your letter now.
Join the Council of Canadians
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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