Council of Canadians in Halifax as Premiers meet on 2014 Health Care Accord
Council of Canadians National Chairperson Maude Barlow joined Health Care Campaigner Adrienne Silnicki and representatives of pro-public health care groups in Halifax to tell government leaders that Canadians strongly support a strengthened and expanded public health care system.
Provincial and territorial health ministers gathered in Halifax this past weekend to begin laying the groundwork for a 2014 health care accord. A new deal will address what per cent of federal funding is transferred to pay for medicare services in each province and territory. Public health care advocates, including the Council of Canadians, are calling for stable funding and for commitments to much-needed national programs such as a national pharmacare program, homecare and long term care.
The Council of Canadians joined with the Canadian Healthcare Coalition, Canadian Doctors for Medicare, nurses’ unions, the Nova Scotia Citizen’s Health Care Network and others to call on governments to recognize the value and importance of public health care and to commit to strengthening and expanding it for Canadians.
But the Harper government has indicated only a limited commitment to extend current health care funding standards. “At the moment, the Harper government is only committed to [funding until] 2016, so we are very concerned that they have no intention of carrying it beyond that,” said Council of Canadians National Chairperson Maude Barlow at a press conference in advance of the government meetings.
She linked possible cuts to health care with the growing gap between rich and poor around the world.
“What we’re saying here is that we’ve watched this erosion [of equality] but we’re not going to put up with it with health care,” she said in a recent media report. “I think it’s going to be a galvanizing fight across the country. And you just watch how excited Canadians are going to get about defending their health care system.”
Public health care advocates took their message to a rally across the street from where Premiers were meeting. A packed public forum also gave people the opportunity to share comments and ideas about what they would like to see in a new health care deal.
To read more about the events go here.
Here’s more about what’s new at the Council of Canadians:
|
Give the gift of social justice
Are you still searching to find that special gift for a loved one? Consider giving a gift to friends and family that will really make a difference – a Council of Canadians gift membership. Social and environmental justice are always in style! Order your gift membership by December 15 to make sure it arrives in time for the holidays.
You will be helping the Council’s work to promote clean water, fair trade, climate justice and public health care for everyone. You will also be providing your loved one with an opportunity to learn more about these issues, and information on how to get involved in the fight for a better Canada and a more just world.
Click here to purchase a gift membership today.
|
Sign up!
Want to stay up to date on Council of Canadians’ news, activities and hard-hitting analysis? Enter your e-mail address »
Click the 'Forward' link to send to a friend »
Share with your friends on facebook » |
|
Harper government admits it has power to stop fracking in Canada
 Peter Kent, Canada’s Environment Minister, was quoted in a recent CBC report confirming the federal government does have power under the Environmental Protection Act to stop fracking projects should they threaten to pollute and contaminate local waterways.
“Fracking,” also known as hydraulic fracturing, is a controversial drilling process used to extract natural gas from shale, coal beds and “tight sands” with vertical and horizontal drilling. Sand, water and chemicals are blasted at high pressure to fracture rock where natural gas is trapped. This method of natural gas extraction uses vast amounts of water and dangerous chemicals, which can leach into nearby water sources.
The Council of Canadians is involved in fracking fights across Canada in an effort to protect our water, air and land. Over the past few weeks we joined others along the TransCanada highway in Cape Breton to protest Petroworth Inc’s drilling plans next to Lake Ainslie, the largest freshwater source in Nova Scotia. In Fredricton, New Brunswick we marched with a crowd of 600 people calling for a provincial ban. And in Niagara Falls, New York, we spoke against a proposal for the local wastewater facility to take in water contaminated with fracking fluids. The proposal threatens the Niagara River, which flows north to Lake Ontario, putting the Great Lakes – a drinking source for millions – at risk.
To read more about the Council’s campaign against fracking go here.
PHOTO: Mary Goodwin of the Council’s Inverness County chapter protests against Petroworth Inc’s plans to start fracking near Lake Ainslie.
Civil society groups tell Harper to “stay out of the way” during UN climate talks
 On the first day of UN climate change negotiations in Durban, South Africa, the Council of Canadians joined other civil society groups to tell Prime Minister Stephen Harper to “get out of the way” of positive progress.
Citing Canada’s growing list of examples of inaction on climate issues, and lack of support for a binding international deal to address the growing physical threats of climate change, civil society representatives said in a press conference this morning that Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his government have lost its moral compass when it comes to addressing climate change.
“Canada has a track record of acting more in the interests of big oil companies than Canadians at UN climate negotiations,” said Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians. “We are the only country to have come out of the Copenhagen UN climate negotiations to return home and weaken our emission reduction targets, allowing more climate change pollution.”
The statement, which has been endorsed by more than 25 environmental, labour and social justice groups across Canada representing more than 1 million Canadians, calls on the Canadian government to act responsibly. “The world needs an ambitious, equitable and binding international agreement on climate change. If Canada refuses to lead or follow in this pursuit, we should at least get out of the way,” the statement reads.
To read the full statement and the latest updates, go here.
PHOTO: The Council of Canadians Executive Director Garry Neil speaks at a press conference on Parliament Hill this morning.
Win! Council helps pull the plug on Abbotsford P3 deal
In the end it wasn’t even close as people in Abbotsford, B.C. pulled the plug on a water privatization plan, voting decisively to keep their water in public hands. Council of Canadians members and supporters rallied with local groups including Abbotsford-Mission Water Watch, CUPE and others to block this deal.
Abbotsford residents were polled in a recent referendum on a plan that would have turned their local water system over to corporate interests in a public-private partnership (P3) deal. Under this P3, a private company would design, build and operate a proposed water source and treatment centre at nearby Stave Lake for up to 30 years. The project was given a $293 million price tag, but as other P3 projects have shown, these costs would have gone even higher.
Over the past several months and in the days leading up to the referendum, the Council of Canadians took part in a strong public education campaign informing people about the dangers of P3s. We promoted the message that water is a public trust and should remain under public control. Close to 75 per cent of people agreed and voted “no” to the Stave Lake P3.
A sincere thank you to all of our members and supporters who helped stop this water privatization deal!
To read more about this issue go here.
Council’s trade campaigner calls for transparency and debate of CETA negotiations at parliamentary committee
 On November 22, Stuart Trew, the Council of Canadians’ trade campaigner, presented to Parliament's Standing Committee on International Trade on the negative impacts a proposed trade deal with the European Union would have on the public interest.
“Since negotiations on the proposed Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) began in 2009, we have come to understand CETA not as a simple trade deal, but more broadly as an agreement on economic governance,” Trew told committee members. “CETA will set new legal limits on social and environmental policy in ways that compromise our democracy.”
Calling on the Harper government to end the trade talks until public consultation takes place, Trew encouraged MPs to take a more critical look at CETA’s investor protections, the effect the deal might have on public service regulation, and the procurement commitments Canadian municipalities are being asked to take. He also said they should have the same access to the negotiating text and the Canadian and EU offers as EU trade committee members have.
“The Council of Canadians will continue to campaign for transparency and an end to the EU trade talks until the public has had a chance make an informed decision about whether they are in Canada’s best interests. Experience with past trade deals shows there is little to no room in Canada to make amendments once a deal is signed,” he stated.
To read the full text of Trew’s comments to trade committee members go
here.
Take action in support of European Union climate policy
The Harper government’s foreign policy is increasingly about protecting corporate interests in the Canadian tar sands, even if this means challenging policy that will help address climate change.
The European Union Fuel Quality Directive (EU FQD) is a case in point. The EU FQD will help reduce emissions from transport fuels by encouraging fuel suppliers to reduce their own emissions, and by promoting the use of cleaner fuels over dirty fuels. The Canadian government has been lobbying fiercely against the EU FQD, which, if implemented, will label bitumen from Canada’s tar sands as “dirty” fuel.
On December 2 an EU member states technical experts committee will review the EU FQD. If adopted, it will move on to a vote by the European Parliament.
Take Action! Send a photo message – I’m Canadian and I support the EU FQD
We need to let European decision makers and the public know that our government is not speaking for us. We know we must reduce emissions in the face of a serious climate crisis, and the tar sands are a high carbon fuel. We denounce our government’s lobbying efforts – in fact, we’re sorry that this is how our government is spending it’s time lobbying for the oil industry when attention could be placed on addressing the impacts of the tar sands instead – and we support the EU Fuel Quality Directive.
Go here to find out how a photograph can help show EU decision makers that the Harper government does not speak for all Canadians.
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.
Stay informed
The Council of Canadians has many ways to keep you informed about issues that matter.
- Subscribe to our ACTIVlist and get regular updates about emerging news stories and actions you can take.
- Follow @CouncilofCDNS on Twitter.
- Join our Facebook group.
- Connect with your local chapter.
 
Together, we can all act for social justice. |
|
