Stop the Hogs!

More than 700 people register to hear Maude Barlow speak in British Columbia

[ http://canadians.org/blog/more-700-peop ... h-columbia ]

April 4, 2017 - 8:01 pm

Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow will be on a speaking tour in British Columbia starting this Thursday.

Barlow will be in Comox (April 6), Nanaimo (April 7), Victoria (April 8 ), Williams Lake (April 10), and Kamloops (April 11).

She will be speaking about her most recent book Boiling Point: Government Neglect, Corporate Abuse, and Canada’s Water Crisis at these public meetings.

She says, "My book is a cry from the heart. It is time to abandon our erroneous beliefs that Canada has unlimited supplies of water, that Canadians have taken care of this water heritage or that we still have lots of time to do so. We need a strong, national plan of action based on a new water ethic that puts water protection and water justice at the heart of all our policies and laws. The path forward is clear, if not simple."

Barlow's speaking tour is happening in the lead-up to the pivotal and close May 9 provincial election in British Columbia.

For all the details on these public forums -- and to RSVP for the free tickets to them -- please click here:
[ http://canadians.org/boiling-point-bc ]


Brent Patterson's blog
Political Director of the Council of Canadians
[ http://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]

Barlow speaks on water protection to 300 people at a public forum in Courtenay

[ http://canadians.org/blog/barlow-speaks ... -courtenay ]

April 7, 2017 - 6:52am

(Photo by Vancouver-based Council of Canadians water campaigner Emma Lui.)

Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow spoke to a full-house of 300 people in Courtenay, British Columbia last night.

Barlow drew from her latest book Boiling Point: Government Neglect, Corporate Abuse, and Canada’s Water Crisis to talk about key water protection issues in the lead-up to the May 9 provincial election.

Those issues include: the Site C dam (that is being built on the Peace River in Treaty 8 territory without the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous peoples), the Trans Mountain tar sands pipeline (that would cross 1,063 waterways in the province and poses a risk spill to the Pacific Ocean), Premier Christy Clark's agenda of fracking and liquefied natural gas projects (it takes about 77 million litres of water to frack just one well in the Horn River basin), and Nestle bottled water takings (Nestle extracts about 265 million litres of water each year from the Kawkawa aquifer in Hope in Sto:lo territory).

Barlow highlighted:

- "We must make water an election issue. It's a cross-cutting issue. Water must be central to all policy."
- "Site C would displace many First Nations, flood burial grounds and cultural and historical sites, prime farmland."
- "83 per cent of Canada's bottled water exports come from British Columbia. Please join the Nestle and bottled water boycott."
- "Future generations have the same rights as we do - to breath clean air and drink clean water. Much rests on what we do now."

Barlow was introduced by Council of Canadians Comox Valley chapter activist and national Board of Directors member Alice de Wolff.

The other speakers last night were David Stapley from the Comox Valley Conservation Strategy (a regional conservation planning framework) and Coree Tull from the Freshwater Alliance (which works to strengthen individual and collective actions to protect waterways).

The evening also featured the K'umugwe Dancers (who share the songs and dances of the K’omoks and Kwakwaka’wakw peoples) and Tina Filippino from Letz Sing (a community choir in Comox Valley).

The event was co-sponsored by the Comox Valley Global Awareness Network, the Comox Valley Conservation Partnership, and the Freshwater Alliance.

The tour now continues to Nanaimo (tonight), Victoria (April 8 ), Williams Lake (April 10), and Kamloops (April 11).

Brent Patterson's blog
Political Director of the Council of Canadians
[ http://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]

Comox Valley chapter holds public forum on water protection with Maude Barlow

[ http://canadians.org/blog/comox-valley- ... ude-barlow ]

April 7, 2017 - 1:48 pm

(PHOTO: Comox Valley chapter activist Alice de Wolff introduces keynote speaker Maude Barlow at the public forum last night.)

The Council of Canadians Comox Valley chapter hosted Maude Barlow at a public forum on water in Courtenay, British Columbia last night. The public forum attracted a full-house of 360 people at the Filberg Conference Hall.

Barlow drew from her latest book Boiling Point: Government Neglect, Corporate Abuse, and Canada’s Water Crisis to talk about key water protection issues in the lead-up to the May 9 provincial election.

Those issues include: the Site C dam (that is being built on the Peace River in Treaty 8 territory without the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous peoples), the Trans Mountain tar sands pipeline (that would cross 1,063 waterways in the province and poses a risk spill to the Pacific Ocean), Premier Christy Clark's agenda of fracking and liquefied natural gas projects (it takes about 77 million litres of water to frack just one well in the Horn River basin), and Nestle bottled water takings (Nestle extracts about 265 million litres of water each year from the Kawkawa aquifer in Hope in Sto:lo territory).

Barlow highlighted:
• "We must make water an election issue. It's a cross-cutting issue. Water must be central to all policy."
• "Site C would displace many First Nations, flood burial grounds and cultural and historical sites, prime farmland."
• "83 per cent of Canada's bottled water exports come from British Columbia. Please join the Nestle and bottled water boycott."
• "Future generations have the same rights as we do - to breath clean air and drink clean water. Much rests on what we do now."

The other speakers last night were David Stapley from the Comox Valley Conservation Strategy (a regional conservation planning framework) and Coree Tull from the Freshwater Alliance (which works to strengthen individual and collective actions to protect waterways).

The evening also featured the K'umugwe Dancers (who share the songs and dances of the K’omoks and Kwakwaka’wakw peoples) and Tina Filippino from Letz Sing (a community choir in Comox Valley).

The event was co-sponsored by the Comox Valley Global Awareness Network, the Comox Valley Conservation Partnership, and the Freshwater Alliance.

The tour now continues to Nanaimo (tonight), Victoria (April 8 ), Williams Lake (April 10), and Kamloops (April 11). Those events are all being organized by local Council of Canadians chapters. For all the details on this tour, please click here:
[ https://canadians.org/boiling-point-bc ]

Brent Patterson's blog
Political Director of the Council of Canadians
[ http://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]

Mid Island chapter hosts Maude Barlow for water protection talk in Nanaimo

[ http://canadians.org/blog/mid-island-ch ... lk-nanaimo ]

April 8, 2017 - 7:46 am

The Council of Canadians Mid Island chapter and the Vancouver Island Water Watch Coalition hosted Maude Barlow at a public forum in Nanaimo last night. The public forum attracted a full-house of 300 people at the Bowen Park Recreation Complex.

Vancouver-based Council of Canadians water campaigner Emma Lui says, "Maude Barlow speaks to another full house in Nanaimo tonight! Great discussion on making water an election issue. It's key we press election candidates on issues like Kinder Morgan, Site C, fracking and LNG, Nestle and bottled water, logging, federal water legislation, the Water Sustainability Act and more!"

In further detail:

• the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain tar sands pipeline would cross 1,063 waterways in the province and poses a risk spill to the Pacific Ocean
• the Site C dam is being built on the Peace River in Treaty 8 territory without the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous peoples
• Premier Christy Clark's agenda of liquefied natural gas projects would mean a massive use of freshwater for fracking (more than seven billion litres of water was used for fracking in BC in 2012)
• Nestle extracts about 265 million litres of water each year from the Kawkawa aquifer in Hope in Sto:lo territory
• 2,430 square kilometres of rain forest was logged on Vancouver Island between 2004 and 2015 which also means damage to wetlands
• the federal Transport committee just failed to recommend the full reinstatement and enhancement of the Navigable Waters Protection Act
• the BC Water Sustainability Act still includes the antiquated 'first in time first in right' provision in which an older water-taking permit held by a mining company would take priority over a new permit for drinking water

Barlow drew from her latest book "Boiling Point: Government Neglect, Corporate Abuse, and Canada’s Water Crisis" to talk about these issues in the lead-up to the provincial election that will be held on May 9.

A Mainstreet/Postmedia poll released yesterday showed that the NDP have 36 per cent support, the Liberals 33 per cent, the Greens 19 per cent, and the undecided vote is at about 25 per cent. There are suggestions now that this could result in a minority government, the first in 65 years.

The tour was also Courtenay (April 6) and now proceeds to Victoria (tonight), Williams Lake (April 10), and Kamloops (April 11). These events are all being organized by local Council of Canadians chapters. For details on this tour, please click here: [ https://canadians.org/boiling-point-bc ]

Tags: chapters
[ http://canadians.org/tags/chapters ]

Brent Patterson's blog
Political Director of the Council of Canadians
[ http://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]

Victoria chapter hosts Maude Barlow for pre-election talk on water justice

[ http://canadians.org/blog/victoria-chap ... er-justice ]

April 8, 2017 - 7:33 pm

The Council of Canadians Victoria chapter hosted Maude Barlow at a public forum that attracted a full-house of 150 people at the University of Victoria this afternoon.

The forum was presented by The Council of Canadians, The University of Victoria UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme, and The Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA).

Vancouver-based Council of Canadians water campaigner Emma Lui tweeted, "@MaudeBarlow @uvic today! Talking about water issues like dangers of #KinderMorgan, how it will harm public health when (not if) it spills." The 890,000 barrel Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline would cross 1,063 waterways in the province. Tree clearing and site preparation for the pipeline is expected to begin this September with construction on the pipeline itself to begin in January 2018.

And the Victoria chapter tweeted, "Protecting natural wetlands is an important part of #ClimateAction @MaudeBarlow at #UVIC #CanClimateAction"

Lui has also commented, "It's key we press election candidates on issues like Kinder Morgan, Site C, fracking and LNG, Nestle and bottled water, logging, federal water legislation, the Water Sustainability Act and more!"

A Mainstreet/Postmedia poll released yesterday showed that the NDP have 36 per cent support, the Liberals 33 per cent, the Greens 19 per cent, and the undecided vote is at about 25 per cent. There are suggestions now that this could result in a minority government, the first in 65 years.

Voting day for the election is May 9.

The tour was also Courtenay (April 6) and Nanaimo (April 7) and now proceeds to Williams Lake (April 10), and Kamloops (April 11). These events are all being organized by local Council of Canadians chapters. For details on this tour, please click here: [ https://canadians.org/boiling-point-bc ]

Tags: chapters
[ http://canadians.org/tags/chapters ]

Brent Patterson's blog
Political Director of the Council of Canadians
[ http://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]

Williams Lake chapter hosts Barlow for talk on water, ongoing struggle against proposed Taseko mine

[ http://canadians.org/blog/williams-lake ... aseko-mine ]

April 10, 2017 - 11:08 pm

( PHOTOS: The audience in Williams Lake. Maude Barlow and Marilyn Baptiste )

The Council of Canadians Williams Lake chapter is hosting Maude Barlow at a public forum at the Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex this evening.

Williams Lake is located about 350 kilometres directly north of Vancouver.

Vancouver-based Council of Canadians organizer Harjap Grewal tells us about 130 people have gathered for this evening's public forum.

Barlow is there to talk about water protection, the ongoing struggle against a proposed Taseko mine, and to mark the 10th anniversary of the chapter.

Among the many activities and accomplishments of the chapter over the years, it was an intervenor in the the precedent setting 8-0 unanimous decision by the Supreme Court of Canada acknowledging Indigenous title to more than 1,700 square kilometres of land to the Tsilhqot'in Nation in British Columbia.

Tonight's public forum will include presentations by Marilyn Baptiste, Councillor with the Xeni Gwet'in First Nations (one of the six Tsilhqot'in communities that form the Tsilhqot'in Nation) and Jenny Howell, Coordinator of the Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society's Water Wise program (which facilitates classroom education modules and field trips students in Kindergarten through Grade 8 ).

The Council of Canadians presented an activist of the year award to Baptiste at our annual conference in Nanaimo in 2012 for her role in organizing against the proposed Taseko open-pit gold and copper mine at Teztan Biny (Fish Lake), which is located about 180 kilometres south-west of Williams Lake.

The Council of Canadians has stood in solidarity with this struggle since 2008 and continues to support the Tsilhqot'in National Government's efforts to stop the mine.

iPolitics has reported, "Taseko’s first application for the New Prosperity Mine - said to be the last major deposit of gold and copper in North America - included turning the pristine lake into a toxic dump site for the proposed mine’s tailings. Even without that outrageous component, the company’s proposal was turned down a second time in 2014 because the feds thought the mine would cause severe environmental damage, harm Tsilhqot’in culture and violate aboriginal rights. [BC Premier] Christy Clark and her ministers have been enthusiastic supporters of the New Prosperity Mine since they approved it in 2010. It remains to be seen if Clark’s government will [now] grant permits to Taseko to get their project into motion - and past the point of no return."

Those permits would allow 122 drill set holes, 76 kilometres of roads, 367 test pits, 20 kilometres of seismic lines, and a 50-person work camp.

In January, the Council of Canadians co-hosted a fundraising event with the Tsilhqot'in National Government, the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, the Wilderness Committee, Amnesty International Vancouver and Friends of the Nemaiah Valley that raised $12,000 for the legal fight against the mine (as Taseko is now seeking a judicial review of the Harper government's decision to reject the mine).

Barlow spoke in Courtenay on April 6, Nanaimo on April 7, Victoria on April 8 and following Williams Lake tonight, will speak in Kamloops on April 11.

Barlow's speaking tour is happening in the lead-up to the pivotal and close May 9 provincial election in British Columbia.

Tags: chapters
[ http://canadians.org/tags/chapters ]

Brent Patterson's blog
Political Director of the Council of Canadians
[ http://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]

Kamloops chapter hosts Barlow talk on water, the Ajax mine & the Kinder Morgan pipeline

[ http://canadians.org/blog/kamloops-chap ... n-pipeline ]

April 12, 2017 - 7:37 am

The Council of Canadians Kamloops chapter hosted Maude Barlow for a public forum that took place at Thompson River's University last night.

More than 200 people were in attendance.

The other speakers included Council of Canadians Board member Garry John, Sunny LeBourdais of the Stk’emlupsemc te Secwepemc Nation, and Thompson River's University student Shawna-Rae McLean.

There are two major water justice issues at the forefront in Kamloops at this time.

Ajax mine

Polish-owned KGHM Ajax wants to build an open-pit gold and copper mine - partially located with the south east city limits of Kamloops - that would see a massive pit dug beside Jacko Lake, a smaller second pit by Aberdeen, reroute Peterson Creek and create a large tailings pond that could destroy Inks Lake.

The Tk’emlups and Skeetchestn bands, collectively known as the Stk’emlupsemc te Secwepemc Nation (SSN), rejects the mine. The SSN notes, "The Ajax Mine Project in its proposed location at Pípsell is in opposition to the SSN land use objective for this profoundly sacred, culturally important, and historically significant keystone site, which significance is fundamental and undiminished. If approved, the mine would destroy part of Jacko Lake and irreversibly affect Pípsell."

The mine was first proposed in late 2011 and the Kamloops chapter has been campaigning against it since early 2012. The provincial government's assessment of the mine was suspended in May 2016. The SSN conducted its own independent assessment in accordance with its laws, traditions, customs and governance system. That assessment led to their decision to reject the mine.

On April 1, The Council of Canadians and the Kamloops chapter signed a solidarity statement with the SSN in opposition to the mine.

Kinder Morgan pipeline

The proposed 890,000 barrel per day Trans Mountain tar sands pipeline threatens the South Thompson River.

The South Thompson River is the southern branch of the Thompson River, the largest tributary of the Fraser River. It originates at the outlet of Little Shuswap Lake and flows approximately 60 kilometres southwest to Kamloops where it joins the North Thompson River to form the main stem of the Thompson River.

In May 2014, Kamloops This Week reported, "Western Canadian Spill Services and Kinder Morgan crews staged a mock spill scenario on the South Thompson River at Pioneer Park. A containment boom was deployed in the river from the park boat launch, as it would in the event of a real pipeline leak into the South Thompson."

While the South Thompson River is one of the 64 rivers listed in the Navigation Protection Act, the tributaries that feed into (such as Peterson Creek) are not. We believe that more stringent protections must be enacted that would put water sustainability, water justice, water as a public trust and a human right above the interests of Big Oil.

Last night's public forum was co-sponsored by the chapter and the Thompson River University Faculty Association Human Rights Committee.

It concludes a highly-successful tour organized by local chapters and our staff that took Barlow to Courtenay on April 6 (where 360 people came to hear her speak), Nanaimo on April 7 (where 300 people heard her talk), Victoria on April 8 (with 150 people), Williams Lake (with 130 people), and last night in Kamloops (with 200 people).

Tags: chapters
[ http://canadians.org/tags/chapters ]

Brent Patterson's blog
Political Director of the Council of Canadians
[ http://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]