Taking action for people and the planet

We brought national and international attention to Canadian government efforts to dump the Kyoto Protocol. We were the first to expose the Canadian government’s efforts to kill the Kyoto Protocol. As reported in Le Devoir, “Maude Barlow of the Council of Canadians – the group that made this news public yesterday – immediately demanded explanations from the Minister of the Environment, John Baird, who will be in Cancun on Wednesday. ‘We want to know why Canada is the knife that will kill Kyoto. We have the right to know’, she said. This is even more important, continued Maude Barlow, given a considerable number of developing countries are calling for a second phase of Western mandatory reductions under the Kyoto as a condition of their own commitment.”

We brought people together here in Canada to talk locally about how we can all make a difference in our communities for climate justice. With People’s Assemblies on Climate Justice, Council of Canadians members and chapter activists helped build support for climate justice here in Canada. Organized in communities across the country, People’s Assemblies were movement building, action-oriented events featuring speakers, videos and discussion. From exploring the root causes of climate change in PEI, to talking about climate change person-to-person in Regina, to building a new “people’s movement for climate justice” in Vancouver, people took action in communities across the country.

We lit candles for Kyoto. Hundreds joined our action to send a message to the Canadian government by lighting a candle for Kyoto. These photos were forwarded to Environment Minister John Baird with a strong message that Canadians support Kyoto and binding emission reductions. You can see our web gallery here.

We joined thousands of people calling for “system change, not climate change.” Despite a heavy police presence, we joined thousands of people from around the world including First Nations, environmental, social justice and labour groups, farmers, activists and others to march for urgent action on climate change and a better future for us all. We carried a banner that read, “Climate Justice: Take action for people and the planet” that had been signed by hundreds of members and supporters at our recent Annual General Meeting in Ottawa, Ontario.

A special thank you

We thank all of our members, supporters and chapter activists who helped make all of these actions possible. Together we brought the real voice – the people’s voice – to global climate change negotiations. While there is still much work ahead, there is now a growing climate justice movement that continues to push governments for leadership and actions to properly address climate change. The Council of Canadians is a part of that movement, and will continue to fight for climate justice here in Canada and abroad. As Maude Barlow remarked in a recent interview, we are now at a critical time to make a difference on the growing impacts of climate change. “This has deeply split the world community between the countries in the Global South who are the victims of climate change and the Global North countries who are the perpetrators,” she said, adding that market-based activities such as cap and trade schemes and emission credits overseen by The World Bank are nothing more than false solutions. “It’s a recipe for disaster – an ecological and human disaster. We must be vigilant.”

To read more about our actions in Cancun, see photos, watch videos and find out more about how you can become involved in our campaign for climate justice go here.