COUNCIL OF CANADIANS--
Help defend the Browns Creek watershed: the Okanagan Indian Band
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

The Okanagan Indian Band has set up a road blockade near Bouleau Lake to stop Tolko Industries from logging in the Browns Creek watershed area near Vernon, British Columbia.

The Okanagan Indian Band is concerned that the logging will threaten their water supply and archeological sites. They insist that the logging should not take place while land claims remain unresolved.

Chief Fabian Alexis says, “The federal government has done nothing to protect the 1,800 people who live on the Okanagan Indian Band reserve. The provincial government has made it clear that the financial interests of Tolko are of greater concern to them than the health and safety of the people who derive their drinking and irrigation water from the Browns Creek watershed. When it comes to protecting watersheds that supply Vernon with its water, government agencies would not hesitate to act, but suddenly when it involves our community, our concerns are discounted. This systemic racism will not stand.”

National Chief Shawn Atleo of the Assembly of First Nations says, “I would like to offer my support to Chief Fabian Alexis and the members of the Okanagan Indian Band in their efforts to protect their community’s water supply.”

Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs Grand Chief Stewart Phillip says, “The UBCIC fully supports the Okanagan Indian Band’s decision to protect their community’s water supply… I received a letter from Minister Pat Bell that makes it clear that the safety of the drinking water that supplies most of the 1800 people who live on the Okanagan Indian Band reserve is not as important to him as facilitating short term profits for Tolko.”

The BC Supreme Court gave permission for the logging to proceed provided the archeological sites were protected in a February 1 ruling. Tolko is now going to court to seek an enforcement order on the logging permits that have been issued to them.

Chief Alexis is asking that members of the general public help by calling their MLAs and MPs to express their support. Supporters have also been invited to attend the blockade.

To find the contact information for your federal representative (and for those in BC your provincial representative), go to the Council of Canadians website at http://www.canadians.org/action/contact_reps.html.

Protect Mother Earth GEORGE BEAVER As a young boy growing up at Six Nations, I was exposed to the Haudenosaunee concept of conservation of our natural environment for the sake of our future generations. I remember reading the community newsletter called The Pine Tree Chief. It was a forerunner of the present weekly newspaper, the Tekawennake. In it, Andrew Jamieson, a teacher, writing about an old native hunter, said, "He never took more than he needed." The operative word here is "need" not "want." When hunting we may want to kill more than we can eat but if we remember our future generations, they, too, will need a share of nature's bounty. And that bounty extends further than just to animals, fish and birds. Clean water, pure air and rich soil for growing food is also a part of our environment that needs our protection. Our ancestors believed that it was their responsibility to protect Mother Earth. When their generation passed on, this responsibility was passed down to the next generation. This idea of stewardship of the Earth is also found in most First Nations of North America, not just among the Six Nations. This may be the reason history tells us the indigenous people had such a horror of selling land. In their philosophy, land, water and air were all regarded as necessities of life. As such they are priceless and not to be bought or sold. All of the present generation of all races should be taught that when we conserve our natural resources we are helping our children and grandchildren to survive. Furthermore, the unpolluted land, air and water we pass on to them will provide a healthy and happy environment in which they can live and thrive. What a shame on our present generation if we pass on polluted water, land and air to our future generations. It would be especially shameful for this to happen here in Canada, one of the richest countries on Earth. Surely polluting factories and businesses could set aside some of their great wealth and clean up the messes they create before it gets into our water and air. It is especially crucial that the earth itself is not polluted. To many people, the planet Earth is not just our home, it is Our Mother. After we are born we live on milk which indirectly comes from food grown on the earth. As we grow and develop teeth, we learn to eat the meat of animals that ate plants that grow on the earth. We also eat plants that grow on the earth. In a real sense the earth sustains us and keeps us alive. Many native people, both here and in the U. S. take very seriously their responsibility to protect and conserve the natural environment and Mother Earth.

BRANT COUNTY: Committee overrides provincial policy, rezones farmland.

The committee was willing to override its own planning department and provincial policy, and proceed with the rezoning of about 400 acres of farmland.

http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1415057 Cainsville a developer's paradise? Posted By MICHAEL-ALLANMARION Updated 14 hours ago Some major plots of farmland just north of Cainsville are yielding an unusual harvest of social conflict. Three outside development companies -- Alberta-based Hopewell Development Inc. and two Toronto area companies, First Urban of Concord and the Sorbara Group of Vaughan -- have raised the ire of some local residents and the political temperature of Brant council with their plans to build homes and a business park on farmland they've acquired on the east side of Garden Avenue, north of Highway 403. First Urban, Hopewell and Sorbara propose three separate development areas, including two residential neighbourhoods and a business park that would dramatically transform the cash crop fields that surround Cainsville. Overall, the plan includes about 1,700 housing units, surrounded by parks, a trail system and businesses. The largest parcel proposed for development, is a 218-acre site owned by First Urban that could accommodate up to 1,116 housing units. North of that, Hopewell developments wants to create a 135-acre business park that would include more than 2 million square feet of space for businesses. Sorbara wants to build between 590 and 704 homes on a 184-acre site, located north of Lynden Road. The land is zoned for agricultural uses and is still designated that way in the county's official plan update. When some of those plans came up for scrutiny in two meetings of the county's planning advisory committee during the past two weeks, a lot was heard about a bright future for Cainsville. A lot more was revealed, however, about the suddenly professed peril of the county's fiscal soul and the ebbing political will of councillors. According to the discussion being carried on by agents for the developers, several councillors and some of the residents, it would appear that the land whose fate they were pondering is marginal from an agricultural standpoint. Its best crop would be houses and business buildings, and its true value is to be found in the development charges and tax revenues.

And of course, that's all that matters ... money for developers and the council. Quality of life? Greenspace? Phhht ! ... Green...money!money!money! BRANTFORD CITY

Calnan quits committee http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1416374 City Coun. James Calnan says he has no choice but to resign from a committee that deals with First Nations issues to avoid rules that continually would muzzle him. Read Tuesday's Expositor for the full story.

Questioning capitalism ... A series of links

Capitalism's growth imperative and societal engineering

By Richard K. Moore, Chapter 1, section f, of A Guidebook: How the world works and how we can change it (2000)

People of the same trade seldom meet together… but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the publick, or in some contrivance to raise prices.

Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations, 1776

Globalization is above all about capitalism, and about removing all constraints to the efficient operation of capitalist economics. The constraints which are being rapidly removed include not only tariff barriers and import quotas, but also environmental protections, anti-trust laws, health and safety regulations, and indeed the power of nations to plan or control their own economic destinies.

The reasoning behind all this, we are told, is about the creation of ‘free markets' that will enable the ‘most efficient’ operators to succeed—and thereby benefit everyone in the long run. The experience of the Robber Baron era, not to mention the condition of the world today, shows us that this reasoning is faulty. Let's look at the reasoning in a bit more detail to understand where it goes astray. ... http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/25/098.html

ECONOMICS AND ETHICS

The defense of value-neutrality still stands, but the pillars seem to be weakening. http://www.nd.edu/~cwilber/pub/recent/ethichbk.html

Economist jokes ...

http://netec.wustl.edu/JokEc.html Although ethics teaches that virtue is its own reward, in economics we get taught that reward is its own virtue. .....

True story: The scene is a conference of professors of marketing. The keynote speaker is an eminent economist. The chairman, who sees himself as a bit of a wag, says,

"I would like to introduce my eminent colleague and friend. He's an economist, one of those people who turn random numbers into mathematical laws." The economist, not to be outdone, replies, "My friend, here, is a marketer. They reverse the process." .....

When an economist says the evidence is "mixed," he or she means that theory says one thing and data says the opposite.

Well, I started this out seriously, and will continue ... but these jokes are illuminating too. That last one could also read ... When an politician says the evidence is "mixed," he or she means that party policy says one thing and evidence says the opposite. This is my fave from above link:

Heard at the Wharton School.

Man walking along a road in the countryside comes across a shepherd and a huge flock of sheep. Tells the shepherd, "I will bet you $100 against one of your sheep that I can tell you the exact number in this flock." The shepherd thinks it over; it's a big flock so he takes the bet. "973," says the man. The shepherd is astonished, because that is exactly right. Says "OK, I'm a man of my word, take an animal." Man picks one up and begins to walk away.

"Wait," cries the shepherd, "Let me have a chance to get even. Double or nothing that I can guess your exact occupation." Man says sure. "You are an economist for a government think tank," says the shepherd. "Amazing!" responds the man, "You are exactly right! But tell me, how did you deduce that?" "Well," says the shepherd, "put down my dog and I will tell you."

But I digress ...

Canadian mines, Canadian UN diplomats disappear in Niger

Groups fighting for the rights of ethnic Tuaregs understood that Mr. Fowler was trying to help them, Dr. Ahmed said, and he hinted that it might be Niger's government who had abducted him.

“Who has an interest in Mr. Fowler not doing his work?” he asked.

...

Tuareg rebel groups have accused uranium mining companies, including French firm Areva and Canadian company Global Uranium Corp., of being complicit in the Niger government's abuses in the country's north.

Conflicting claims deepen diplomat mystery

Rebel group's hasty about-face has UN officials wondering whether two missing Canadians were mixed up in factional infighting in Niger

• Article

CAMPBELL CLARK and BOUREIMA HAMA

From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

December 16, 2008 at 10:42 PM EST

OTTAWA/NIAMEY — The disappearance of two Canadians on a high-level UN mission to Niger grew even murkier yesterday, when a rebel group claimed responsibility for abducting them but later denied any involvement.

The bizarre claims and counterclaims by the group of Tuareg rebels, who eventually sought to cast the blame on Niger's government, left United Nations officials trying to evaluate whether their envoys are embroiled in infighting between rebel factions, but seemed to provide no solid information on where they are.

The car carrying retired Canadian diplomat Robert Fowler, the UN special envoy to Niger, his colleague Louis Guay, and

a locally hired driver was found Sunday night 45 kilometres outside the capital, Niamey, with three cellphones, a camera and a jacket still inside.

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Niger's Communications Minister, Mohamed Ben Omar, said efforts to locate the three men had so far yielded nothing. And a UN spokesman in New York, Farhan Haq, said there has been no direct contacts from the diplomats or anyone claiming to hold them.

Canadian officials, meanwhile, said little about the case.

“Right now our focus is to work with the UN and Niger authorities to determine Ambassador Fowler's whereabouts as well as Mr. Guay's whereabouts and to ascertain their welfare,” said a Foreign Affairs spokeswoman, Lisa Monette.

The three disappeared in the country's relatively secure southwest, hundreds of kilometres from the northern regions where Tuareg rebels in the Niger Movement for Justice, or MNJ, have mounted an armed insurrection since 2007.

The rebels accuse Niger's government of “ethnocide,” saying they have been displaced from pastoral lands and excluded from a fair share of revenues from the uranium mines operated by French and Canadian firms.

Mr. Haq said that exploring ways to resolve the conflict with the rebels was part of Mr. Fowler's mandate. And Mr. Ben Omar revealed Mr. Fowler had twice sought permission – which had been denied – to travel to Niger's north to visit a planned uranium mine site.

Yesterday morning, a rebel splinter group formed in May, the Front des Forces de Redressement, or FFR, released a statement on its website saying it had abducted Mr. Fowler and three others in a “commando” operation.

That statement, attributed to its high-ranking “war commissioner,” Rhissa Ag Boula, said Canada is arming Niger's government, an assertion Ms. Monette denied.

But the FFR's president, Mohamed Awtchiki Kriska, quickly denied any involvement.

“We have no information. The person who put that information on our website was misled. This type of action is contrary to the vision and the approach of the FFR,” Mr. Kriska said. Mr. Ag Boula later told Radio France Internationale the group was not involved.

A second communiqué appeared on the group's website yesterday afternoon, saying the FFR was not involved, and if another group that shares the same goals had abducted the diplomats, the FFR is not responsible.

“We hope that Mr. Fowler will be rapidly returned to Canadian consular authorities, or representatives of the United Nations, because the Niger army could endanger his security to impede the mission he leads, and at the same time accuse rebel movements.”

Tuareg rebel groups have accused uranium mining companies, including French firm Areva and Canadian company Global Uranium Corp., of being complicit in the Niger government's abuses in the country's north.

But Dangana Ahmed, a spokesman for the main rebel group, the MNJ, said in a telephone interview that the group welcomed Mr. Fowler's efforts to find solutions to Niger's problems.

“His efforts went in the direction of more justice, more respect for human rights, more development for local populations, so more good governance,” Dr. Ahmed said. “We think people like him are needed.”

He said Mr. Fowler was expected to meet MNJ officials outside Niger at a later date.

Groups fighting for the rights of ethnic Tuaregs understood that Mr. Fowler was trying to help them, Dr. Ahmed said, and he hinted that it might be Niger's government who had abducted him.

“Who has an interest in Mr. Fowler not doing his work?” he asked.

Despite the international attention focused on the disappearance of the two diplomats, it remains unclear precisely why Mr. Fowler and Mr. Guay travelled outside the capital.

Mr. Ben Omar said Monday they had visited the Canadian-operated Samira Hill gold mine before their car was found. But Mr. Haq said the UN has yet to confirm a precise account of Mr. Fowler's travels that day.

Mr. Fowler, appointed special envoy in July by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, had visited Niger once earlier this year. He arrived for a second visit Thursday and was to meet government officials and others as part of “exploratory discussions” to help address “challenges to the country's stability,” Mr. Haq said.

Boureima Hama is a freelance reporter.

Fight for Public Involvement in Environmental Assessment Heads To Supreme Court

Thursday December 18, 2008 10:32 AM

First Time Environmental Group Granted Leave to Appeal to Supreme Court of Canada

(Ottawa/Vancouver) A long battle over the public’s right to be consulted on large mines and other industrial projects is now heading to the Supreme Court of Canada. The Supreme Court decided today to allow MiningWatch Canada to appeal a decision of the Federal Court of Appeal. The decision is being heralded as a significant milestone for environmentalists, as this is the first time an environmental group has been given leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.

“The Supreme Court has recognized the importance of environmental protection, and specifically the importance of public participation in the environmental assessment process, in deciding to hear this case,” said Jamie Kneen, Communications Coordinator for MiningWatch Canada. “Huge projects like this, with significant environmental impacts, are not supposed to proceed without public involvement.”

The case revolves around the contentious Red Chris mine, a proposed open-pit copper and gold mine that poses a serious threat to the headwaters of the Stikine, Nass, and Skeena rivers in northern British Columbia – known to First Nations as the “Sacred Headwaters” region. The project’s proponent, Imperial Metals, proposes to destroy fish-bearing streams by damming them and using these natural waters to dump toxic mine waste.

Under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and its regulations, metal mines processing more than 3,000 tonnes of ore per day must undergo comprehensive assessments, including public participation. The proposed Red Chris mine would process 30,000 tonnes of ore every day. However, the federal departments of Fisheries and Oceans and Natural Resources Canada conducted a simple screening-level assessment – excluding public participation – before approving the project in May 2006.

Ecojustice (formerly Sierra Legal Defence Fund) launched a lawsuit on behalf of MiningWatch in June 2006. The groups asked the Federal Court to overturn the federal government’s screening assessment. In September 2007, the Federal Court sided with the environmentalists, ruling that the federal government had unlawfully evaded a comprehensive review of the Red Chris mine project. But in 2008, Imperial Metals and the federal government successfully appealed that decision to the Federal Court of Appeal.

“The Supreme Court’s willingness to hear our appeal indicates that public consultation on major mines and other industrial projects is a significant issue nationwide,” said Lara Tessaro, staff lawyer with Ecojustice. “I look forward to fighting for the public’s right to participate in environmental assessments.”

For more information, please contact:

• Lara Tessaro, Staff Lawyer, Ecojustice, phone (604) 685-5618 x245, cell (604) 313-3132
• Jamie Kneen, Communications Coordinator, MiningWatch Canada, phone (613) 569-3439, cell (613) 761-2273

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• Federal government denies need to consult public on major mining projects: Ruling will test strength of revised environmental assessment law
• Federal Court Halts Red Chris Mine: MiningWatch Canada Wins Precedent Setting Decision
• Federal Court Hears Case Against BC Open-Pit Copper and Gold Mine - Federal Government Allowed Mining Company to Avoid Full Environmental Assessment
• NDP Condemns Conservatives for Granting Big Mining Companies Green Light to Kill Lakes
• MiningWatch Canada Files Complaint About Misrepresentation to Investors by bcMetals

MINING WATCH CANADA

Mining takes place in many parts of Canada, mostly on Aboriginal lands, and causing a range of impacts - environmental, economic, social, and health-related.

Sub-topics:

• Alberta
• British Columbia
• Labrador
• Manitoba
• Newfoundland & Labrador
• Northwest Territories
• Nova Scotia
• Nunavut
• Ontario Ontario has the largest metal mining sector of all the provinces in Canada, and accounts for one-third of Canada's mineral production.
• Québec
• Saskatchewan
• Yukon

Unreleased Report Forecasts Water Troubles

News Release: The Council of Canadians and MiningWatch Canada have made public a report drafted by Environment Canada in December 2007 revealing that the agency had documented crucial information regarding the looming freshwater crisis in Canada. [October 20, 2008 08:54 AM]

Federal government denies need to consult public on major mining projects: Ruling will test strength of revised environmental assessment law

Joint news release with Ecojustice, with background: Do citizens have a right to be consulted about proposed large industrial developments? This question is at the heart of a major appeal to be heard by the Federal Court, May 15th – the ruling will profoundly influence efforts to protect Canada’s environment. [May 13, 2008 11:37 PM]

Lawsuit exposes Canada’s toxic tailings secret: Groups say feds flouting law, hiding mining pollution from public

(Joint news release with Ecojustice and Great Lakes United, with background) Ecojustice filed a lawsuit on behalf of MiningWatch Canada and Great Lakes United against Canada’s Minister of Environment to ensure that the hundreds of millions of kilograms of toxic mining waste being kept secret from the Canadian public are reported. It alleges that the Minister broke the law when he directed mining companies to ignore their legal responsibility to report millions of kilograms of pollution from their operations under the National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI). [November 7, 2007 09:32 AM]

Government to Sacrifice More Canadian Lakes to the Mining Industry

MiningWatch has learned from Environment Canada that together with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans they now maintain a list of some twenty lakes that are slated for destruction by mine waste over the next few years. This amounts to a massive public subsidy to the global mining industry in the form of healthy Canadian lakes. [June 25, 2007 03:33 PM]

There Are No Clean Diamonds: What You Need to Know About Canadian Diamonds

There are no clean diamonds. Exploring for them, digging them out of the ground and selling them requires sacrifices from the natural environment, from the wildlife and fish that live on it, and from the Aboriginal people who depend on it. We want to ensure that the public understands that Canada’s Aboriginal communities are engaged in a daily power struggle to ensure that the mines benefit their people, and to ensure that these mines do not irreversibly damage the intricate web of life on which we all depend. [December 6, 2006 11:35 PM]

Green Budget Coalition Recommends Strategic Spending Cuts

News Release: The Green Budget Coalition urges the Government of Canada to seize the unique opportunities available to cut spending while improving Canada's long-term environmental, economic, and health status. [March 29, 2006 02:10 PM]

More Precious Than Gold: Mineral Development and the Protection of Biological Diversity in Canada

This discussion paper lays out some of the primary issues and concerns related to mining in protected areas from a biodiversity-protection perspective. It provides an overview for those concerned about mining and environment conflicts, and raises questions about future directions. Prepared by the Environmental Mining Council of British Columbia for the World Wildlife Federation. (PDF, 1.9 MB) [May 23, 1998 12:20 PM]

Annual Day for Industry to Mine Canadians’ Pockets: Mining Association of Canada Takes to the Hill Amidst Growing Criticism

Joint news release with Friends of the Earth Canada. “It is no longer enough for the industry to simply show up with its hands out and plead for more taxpayers’ dollars,” says Graham Saul, Friends of the Earth Canada’s International Program Director. “Canadian mining companies have to be willing to subject themselves to standards of behaviour of which Canadians can be proud.” [November 22, 2005 07:34 AM]

North American Indigenous Peoples Mining Summit, July 27-30, 2005

The North American Indigenous Peoples' Mining Summit brought Indigenous Peoples together from throughout North America to share their stories about how the mining industry has affected their communities and to discuss strategies and solutions. The concluding resolution they passed is included. [September 7, 2005 12:36 PM]

Understanding Mining Taxation in Canada

The astonishing cost of the minerals we take for granted must be respected and accounted for in government policy and industry practice. [August 24, 2004 02:55 PM]

No Rock Unturned: Revitalizing the Economies of Mining Dependent Communities

This document, which includes a literature review and bibliography, provides an overview of current research and information on problems faced by mining-dependent communities and the ways and means by which Canadian communities that are dependent on mining have been able to revitalize their economies in the face of industry down-sizing and closure. [May 31, 2004 11:18 AM]

"Looking Beneath the Surface" — Report Released on Real Costs of Mining

On October 29, MiningWatch Canada and the Pembina Institute for Appropriate Development launched our long-awaited report on public subsidies to the mining industry in Canada. The full report, a summary, and a summary and an abridged version in French (covering Québec) are available for download as PDF files. [November 30, 2002 10:34 AM]

Auditor-General Exposes Abandoned Mines/Contaminated Sites Crisis

On October 22, 2002, Sheila Fraser, the Auditor-General of Canada, released her report on Abandoned Mines in the North. The report lends enormous credibility to everything we have been saying about these toxic time-bombs. [November 30, 2002 10:33 AM]

Canada's mining industry strikes gold - in the taxpayers' wallet: Federal taxpayers spend $13,000 for each mining job

"Looking Beneath the Surface: An Assessment of the Value of Public Support for the Metal Mining Industry in Canada" shows that the cost to federal taxpayers for the care and feeding of the metal mining industry has increased to $383 million a year, while the industry is delivering in return fewer jobs and reduced economic activity. [October 29, 2002 11:07 AM]

The Boreal Below: Mining Issues and Activities in Canada’s Boreal Forest Region

This report provides an overview and general analysis of mining activities and impacts in the Boreal Forest Region of Canada. The report provides a solid and reliable overview and refers the reader to additional resources and information sources. [September 25, 2002 02:39 PM]

Mining Operations Under Residential Areas

In response to TVX Gold's assertion to the Greek group Hellenic Mining Watch that no subsidence problems have arisen from mining under residential areas in Canada, we retained WOM Geological Associates Inc. to conduct a review of Canadian policies and practices with respect to mining under residential areas. [April 25, 2002 12:06 PM]

Canada's Auditor-General Takes On Northern Abandoned Mines

The Auditor-General of Canada's office is looking into abandoned mines in Canada's north, as a follow-up on their contaminated sites recommendations in 1996. [March 15, 2002 11:50 AM]

Report to Mines Ministers from MiningWatch Canada, Quebec, September 10, 2001

This report focuses on three major issues: accounting for the full costs and benefits of mining; regulatory compliance concerns; and mine closure and abandoned mines [September 10, 2001 12:12 PM]

Mining in Remote Areas: Issues and Impacts -- A Community Primer

To respond effectively to the challenges of mineral development, communities need the context and information necessary to understand and weigh the issues. This booklet profiles major impacts associated with mines developed in remote areas. (PDF, 1.2 MB) [May 11, 2001 03:25 PM]

On the Ground Research: A Workshop to Identify the Research Needs of Communities Affected by Large-Scale Mining

Workshop report prepared by MiningWatch Canada and the Canadian Consortium for International Social Development (CCISD). Also in Spanish. [September 1, 2000 11:29 AM]

MiningWatch hosts workshop for communities affected by large scale mining

On April 14-16, MiningWatch Canada hosted thirty participants from eleven different countries at a participatory workshop to look at the research needs of communities affected by mining. We had local community representatives and on-the-ground NGOs from Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Colombia, Suriname, Guyana, Mexico, Peru, Ghana, the United States and Canada. [May 23, 2000 03:36 PM]

Acid Mine Drainage Sites in Canada

Test drive these maps of Acid Mine Drainage sites in Canada. [July 23, 2005 09:05 AM]

Balancing the Books: The Hidden Costs of Mining

In response to the annual Mining Industry Lobby Day, MiningWatch Canada explores the real social, environmental, and human costs of mining. [November 30, 1999 02:56 PM]

Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Aboriginal Communities and Mining

Summary of the workshop held in Ottawa, Ontario by the Innu Nation and MiningWatch Canada, September 10-12, 1999. [September 13, 1999 09:35 AM]

Related links

• Polaris Institute To enable citizen movements to re-skill and re-tool themselves to fight for democratic social change in an age of corporate driven globalization.
• Impact and Benefit Agreement (IBA) Research Network Aims to connect IBA-focused researchers, IBA signatories, and Northern governmental organizations.
• The First Perspective Published monthly by Taiga Communications Inc. at Brokenhead First Nation, Manitoba.
• Google Earth "Fly" wherever you like over the planet in 3-D. Requires a broadband internet connection and a downloadable application.
• Google Maps 2-dimensional satellite and map images that you can view without any special software, zooming in to any part of the globe.
• Western Mining Action Network (WMAN) WMAN works to foster a strong network that protects communities, land, water, air, and wildlife by encouraging reform of mining practices and holding government and corporations accountable.
• Mining Association of Canada
• Ecojustice Formerly Sierra Legal Defence Fund (SLDF). Environmental law advocacy organization.
• Indigenous Environmental Network - Indigenous Mining Campaign The Indigenous Environmental Network is an alliance of Indigenous Nations and communities towards sustainable livelihoods, environmental protection of our lands, water and air, and maintaining the sacred Fire of our traditions.
• Mines and Communities Information and analysis to support communities affected by mining around the world. Much material in Spanish. An excellent resource.
• Environmental Mining Council of BC The Environmental Mining Council of British Columbia (EMCBC) was formed to address the serious gap in information and action on the environmental impacts of mining in BC.

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Newsletters

BRANTFORD:

City Hall Aggressively Suspends Access to the City Hall, Public Counters with a Notice to Tresspass.

by Tim Sywyk

Greetings, Today City Hall and for over a week now have been very elusive, aggressive and complacent regarding our genuine concerns in our City, in particular Environmental Issues. Yesterday I was served notice to trespass and now today my wife while trying to retrieve information for our OMB appeal was also served the same. It is both amazing and sickening to see this Council, this City Hall, our City Hall being run by what appears to be a totalitarian goon squad full of lying two faced back stabbing councillors, staffers, and an incompetent Mayor who cannot even use a phone, unless of course you personally malign him then he will most certainly call you, write you but to act on civic issues unless your a developer, builder, a person of money and stature you might as well pee in a hurricane. 6 Months after engaging ourselves in protecting our Environment that most if not all council has either ignored or paid lip service too we find ourselves at an impasse. 6 Months later no one at City Hall will take ownership of the Environment, amazingly enough the Environmental Department Managed by Sandra Lawson is MIA or full of deception, deflection and is either unwilling nor able to combat the tons of silt that enter our watercourses, watershed, creeks and then our Grand River. Mr. Terry Spiers assured us three months ago a silt barrier would be placed at Zavarelas site off McGuiness, to date there us none, this is concerning as this property backs right upon the D'Aubigny Creek, cold water system, it is no wonder our creek looks tawny every rainfall. Our City, Council receives a big fat "0" for its track record on the Environment, as a matter of fact we had the well known Environmental Councillor give us a mere 15-20 minutes to tour these sites, the Creek and they had no idea where this was, yet votes on these developments consistently. Also we had to basically beg the councillor to go look, as I tried to Educate the Councillor all I heard about was Brown fields yadda, yadda as the biggest issue we have, I beg to differ. This hastily addressing of the issue was a sham and a debacle. The Expositor did no better when it puked out its "Muddy Waters" piece and minimized it all with the strategic placement of Mr. Gilchrest's Building offences at the end and centre to the article thereby DILUTING its intent, shame on them. There is some good news, two councillors(Cheschi Smith, McCreary), neither from my ward(Carpenter, Calnan) bothered to attend or be an advocate for their own Wards, members of their own Wards. This will in fact cost them their seats on Council. I know Mr. Carpenter wont read this as he admittedly yesterday told me he don't have time for stupid Emails, Internet. Takes up too much time of his. Shame on you Richard. Mr. John Brown the one who authored this right depleting, disgusting literature blocking access to the truth, information is also the one to investigate the hiding, lying of Planning Department and I give the example of hiding the GRCA reports both from Council and us in opposition on the 232 Grand River Ave, Penman's, this is all recorded on Rogers and by us. Shall we call the Brantford Police to Investigate itself also and scrap the SIU? Mr. Brown was to answer three questions; here they are: 1) Who is responsible for silt, sediment, erosion control on these development sites? 2) Investigate our allegations of hiding documents from the Council, Committees as a whole, the public, those who are engaging in an appeal at the OMB? 3) What policy, order, department is responsible for us being "Tagged, Flagged" by security, being followed, pre questioned before we attend public counters and further who is Sandra Lawson to make such orders as Security told us she had to approve our access to these same counters?` To date we got Richard telling us Council backs Lawson, no big surprise as they all work together. They share the same ideals, workplace, employees, should we expect a true advocating voice on our behalf? Of course not, we are mere sheep running to the gate for slaughter, skinning, shearing. Amazing that these people who are to protect us from harm, act on our behalf have taken great efforts' to gag us and allow this sediment, silt debacle to continue. We have documents that speak to these issues very strongly that our City has with these developers and they are not being adhered to, enforced, an example is the Empire Homes on Shellards, Conklin before EXCAVATING was to place firmly around the perimeter of that Phase 1 an ADEQUATE barrier, last week we watched trucks enter/exit same site moving soils not within its property but to the Shellards Lane leaving a 4-6 '' mess of mud, muck that we taped truck #30 from Public Works drive right on through without a stop, hesitation. To date I challenge this City to show me one foot of this barrier on Conklin, it doesn't exist, it never existed and it is resisted to say the least. This is in the Cities own Subdivision Agreement with Empire, yet it is ignored, why?? Maybe no development will take place if these companies are held to task, just maybe................. we all hear and know the only way Brantford will live, be sustainable is to decimate farmlands at a rate unheard of for Mississauga's type urban sprawl............. all at our expense folks, wait till we get the bill for this. Keep in mind the City lost 14 million dollars from these same developers in fees as per Carpenter and yet that area already has an issue for schooling, recreation, that great planning. WE conclude our work is done, we have tried to do so much with so very little, its time others stood up to City Hall. I suggest that others stand up, be heard, be counted, we await your report that you are also now banned from City Hall, at least now I can wash the stink off of me easier on this whole mess. Its now up to you, its not just my city, its yours also. To those that endlessly supported us, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Might I suggest we stop fighting our Brothers, Sisters at Six Nations and join hands with them, align with them on these issues, it is our belief that is our only hope, but hey that's just my opinion.................... p.s. I will conclude the Eagles issue at OMB as per our word, we wont walk on our fellow citizens like those we elected have. By the way, the lease payments on City Halls Lands as you refer to it as haven't been paid, maybe its time to evict those that don't pay rent, I mean it is the whiteman's ways, laws isn't it? Happy Holidays. Tim, Lisette Sywyk Brant Eagle Project http://branteagleproject.bravehost.com/ TnL Productions/Digital Wampum http://tnlproductions.bravehost.com/ Copyright © 2007 TnL Productions, Digital Wampum. All Rights Reserved.

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Green Party: Economists endorse carbon tax

ANTIGONISH – More than 230 of Canada's leading economists issued a statement today that agrees with the Green Party tax-shift plan to combat climate change and create an innovative sustainable economy.

"We know that our plan to tax carbon and reduce personal and corporate taxes is the best way to protect the environment and create good jobs for Canadians," said Green Party leader Elizabeth May.

"Today's letter from top economists at universities across Canada amounts to the strongest possible endorsement of our policy and a scathing critique of the Harper government's dangerous approach," Ms. May said, while campaigning in her riding of Central Nova. "It's rare for economists to agree on anything, so to get so many of them calling for what amounts to the Green Party's Green Tax Shift is further proof that we're on the right, in fact the only, track."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canadavotes/story/2008/10/07/scientists-environment.html Top scientists urge Canadians to vote for the environment

Last Updated: Tuesday, October 7, 2008 | 11:49 AM ET

The Canadian Press

More than 120 of Canada's top climate scientists have signed an open letter urging Canadians to vote strategically for the environment in next week's federal election.

Andrew Weaver, a lead author with last year's Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, says global warming is the defining issue of our time.

But Weaver says the Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper has not addressed the "innovative and urgent policies" needed to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The group's John Stone says this is shaping up to be "the rare election in which the environment is the issue."

'The economic issue is important but it will take care of itself, global warming won't.'

--Simply put

Stone says never has attention to the environment been more necessary, but he says the opportunity for an informed national debate on Canada's response to global warming is slipping away.

Group stresses seriousness of climate issue

The letter, signed by a who's who of Canada's top climate experts, says "it seems people have simply no idea how serious this issue is" even though it's clear the public accepts that global warming is a threat.

"Global warming is a problem that must be dealt with now, before it's too late," says the letter. "Any further delay will only increase the risks of damage and costs of action.

"The world needs to start down a path of greenhouse-gas reduction to avert the most serious consequences of global warming."

Even if atmospheric greenhouse gases are stabilized at current levels, it says, the Arctic would still go ice free in the summer, between 10 and 25 per cent of the world's species would still be committed to extinction, and weather will continue to become more extreme.

Many of the letter's signatories are research scientists who depend on federal granting agencies for the bulk of their funding.

But David Schindler, who won Canada's top science prize in 2001, says the scientists are confident that granting agencies will continue to support good science on its merits and on the basis of professional peer review rather than politics.

"Regardless, this is not a moment for any Canadian to be timid," Schindler said. "This is an urgent issue and I am proud to side with so many scientists who are willing to stand up for what they believe in."

Oil Sands will pollute Great Lakes report warns

Massive refinery expansions for processing crude threaten to wipe out clean-up progress around world's largest body of fresh water

By MARTIN MITTELSTAEDT

Wednesday, October 8, 2008 Page 4

ENVIRONMENT REPORTER

The environmental impacts of Alberta's oil sands will not be restricted to Western Canada, researchers say, but will extend thousands of kilometres away to the Great Lakes, threatening water and air quality around the world's largest body of fresh water.

In a new report, the University of Toronto's Munk Centre says the massive refinery expansions needed to process tar sands crude, and the new pipeline networks for transporting the fuel, amount to a "pollution delivery system" connecting Alberta to the Great Lakes region of Canada and the U.S.

It warns that the refineries will be using the Great Lakes "as a cheap supply" source for their copious water needs and the area's air "as a pollution dump."

The report, which is being released today at a conference at the university, says that as many as 17 major refinery expansions around the lakes are being considered for turning the tar-like Alberta bitumen into gasoline and other petroleum products. While not all will be undertaken, enough of them will be to have a regional environmental impact.

Proposed pipeline and refinery projects around the lakes are expected to lead to total investments of more than $31-billion (U.S.) by 2015, spending similar in scale to expenditures at many oil sands projects. For this reason, the report says the various projects, when taken together, threaten to "wipe out many of the pollution control gains" achieved around the lakes since the 1970s.

The massive expenditures are needed because typical refineries can't process heavy crude derived from tar sands without costly upgrades.

"This expansion promises to bring with it an exponential increase in pollution, discharges into waterways including the Great Lakes, destruction of wetlands, toxic air emissions, acid rain, and huge increases in greenhouse gas emissions," it says.

Most of the projected spending is on the U.S. side of the lakes. Only one major refinery project has been announced for the Canadian side, but that expansion, at a Shell refinery in Sarnia, was put on hold in July because of surging costs.

However, two big Canadian companies, TransCanada Pipelines Ltd. with its Keystone project, and Enbridge Inc., with its Alberta Clipper project, are vying to build pipelines to bring crude from the tar sands to U.S. refineries around the lakes.

The report says the environmental effects in Alberta from tar sands development - from dying ducks caught in tailings ponds to massive carbon dioxide emissions - are well known, but the implications for the Great Lakes "are less well-understood and less extensively explored."

Policy makers around the lakes, in both Canada and the U.S., are largely unaware that the tar sands will lead to massive industrial development in their region, and consequently have no strategy to minimize the environmental impacts, it says.

Some of the harshest criticism is for the Ontario government, which it characterizes as "remarkably unengaged" over how tar sands oil will affect the province and "doesn't seem to even be asking the key questions, let alone contemplating the possible policy answers."

There has been one major dispute in the U.S. over a tar sands-related refinery expansion, at a British Petroleum facility at Whiting, Ind. The company proposed a $3-billion refinery modernization that would raise discharges of two pollutants by about 35 per cent and 54 per cent respectively. But it backed down and pledged not to increase the pollutants after a public outcry.

The 54-page report, called How the Oil Sands Got To The Great Lakes Basin, is being issued by the Munk Centre's program on water issues.

Among its recommendations is a call for refineries to offset all of the additional carbon dioxide emissions they produce because of the difficulty of processing oil sands crude.

These emissions are estimated at 2.3 million tonnes a year, or about the same amount as produced by about 500,000 typically driven cars. Another recommendation is to require all refinery expansions to meet California's strict air-pollution standards, the toughest in North America.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/freeheadlines/LAC/20081008/LAKES08/national/National

Canada: Aboriginal and Treaty Rights

Since the early 1990s, the Gitanyow had watched five companies obtain forest licences, make solemn promises to replant the trees, hack down the timber – and then go broke, doing little or nothing to replant. ...

The Gitanyow, as with most native bands in B.C., have been negotiating for years, beginning talks with the federal government in 1980 and the province in 1994. In the meantime, they and other bands are claiming jurisdiction over huge chunks of B.C., virtually the entire province, sparking legal proceedings in which courts have consistently ruled in their favour. ...

For the moment, all that's at stake is the small matter of the Crown's control of the forestry industry. But the executives of any company looking to build a mine, resort, power project or road should feel a chill from this line in the judgment: “The goal of reconciliation necessarily imports recognition of aboriginal rights to limited resources on claimed territory, and the importance of sustaining those resources while claims are pending. If they are destroyed, there is nothing left to reconcile.”

***

Court sends a chill through the woods

PATRICK BRETHOUR

Globe and Mail Update

August 28, 2008 at 6:00 AM EDT

British Columbia's forestry industry is about to find out who is really in charge of deciding what trees can be cut, and where. Hint: It isn't the Ministry of Forests.

The Gitanyow First Nation has won a big legal victory in its six-year quest to exert control over forest licences being granted in what it sees as its territory – 1.7 million hectares in the province's northwest. The decision from the B.C. Supreme Court is very clear that the Gitanyow don't have a veto on forestry on those lands. Yup, no veto, none at all – just the ability to scupper the decisions of the Forestry Ministry if they clash with the positions of the band.

The Gitanyow decision is the latest in a string of legal victories for aboriginal bands seeking to assert their authority over “traditional territory” – generally speaking, a big swath of land only part of which would ever be formally handed over in a treaty negotiation. That day is unlikely to come any time soon: The Gitanyow, as with most native bands in B.C., have been negotiating for years, beginning talks with the federal government in 1980 and the province in 1994. In the meantime, they and other bands are claiming jurisdiction over huge chunks of B.C., virtually the entire province, sparking legal proceedings in which courts have consistently ruled in their favour.

Such is the case with the Gitanyow, who watched with growing frustration over decades as forestry firms clear-cut timber on the bands' traditional territory. Since the early 1990s, the Gitanyow had watched five companies obtain forest licences, make solemn promises to replant the trees, hack down the timber – and then go broke, doing little or nothing to replant. Frustration turned to a lawsuit in 2002, culminating in a new case last year, after a regional director for the Forestry Ministry issued a batch of new licences, despite the Gitanyow's objections.

There had been extensive talks, good-faith negotiations, and even a signed agreement that defined how the province and Gitanyow would work together on forestry issues until such time that a treaty could be negotiated. The court nevertheless ruled that the province fell short in its duty to meaningfully consult the Gitanyow and reasonably accommodate their concerns. Translation: It's not enough to listen to aboriginal objections; they must be acted on.

It's hard to see how the ministry's regional director could have acted otherwise, considering what the Gitanyow were demanding. The band wanted recognition of its title, half of the stumpage fees and other forestry revenue from the area, subordination of the tree-licence process to the forestry management agreement and a requirement that forestry companies pay hefty deposits to pay for replanting. Those are the kinds of demands at the heart of treaty negotiations, and some would require a wholesale rewriting of forestry legislation. All are well beyond the pay grade of a regional director. Addressing those concerns means, in essence, reaching a treaty settlement with the Gitanyow, something the province has tried and failed to do since 1994.

Yet, the court judgment doesn't address this political reality. Instead, the judge seems to say that in the face of a strong claim to aboriginal rights and title, the Crown must make reasonable concessions. No such obligation to make reasonable concessions is placed on aboriginals. No points for guessing how talks will go if one side knows all it has to do is stick to its guns and it will eventually get what it wants in court.

The forestry businesses are mere bystanders, even though the Gitanyow had argued their new licences should be cancelled outright. The court turned down that request, at least for now, and both parties will have to make submissions on what can be done. Perhaps that will mean revenue sharing. Perhaps the court will merely shred tree licences negotiated in good faith.

For the moment, all that's at stake is the small matter of the Crown's control of the forestry industry. But the executives of any company looking to build a mine, resort, power project or road should feel a chill from this line in the judgment: “The goal of reconciliation necessarily imports recognition of aboriginal rights to limited resources on claimed territory, and the importance of sustaining those resources while claims are pending. If they are destroyed, there is nothing left to reconcile.”

Federal contamination of Indigenous lands John Hummel has created a usable database of federal contaminated sites by federal riding, and has alerted federal MP's. Excellent work John!!

“It really hit me that so many of the ridings with the most contaminated sites were northern, or rural, or heavily First Nations in population. (MP Cullen)

Dear Friends,

It took a while but, this is is exactly what I had hoped would happen from my press releases and the other emails I sent to 2,500 people including: every MP in Canada, all opposition candidates for each Federal riding where there were 9 or more Federal toxic sites plus, to hundreds of media, Environmental and Social/Justice NGO's Worldwide, hundreds of First Nations, Métis and Inuit leaders, hundreds of 'Grassroots' people and Dr.'s and scientists worldwide. Unity amongst all people is all I am seeking on this issue. Think, for a moment, of the children who might be left with this toxic legacy if we ignore it in our generation! Now, perhaps, this toxic mess in Canada will finally be cleaned up before even more people get sick!

Link to One of Many news articles on this topic in the last few days:

http://www.bclocalnews.com/bc_north/lakesdistrictnews/news/27139674.html

For Land and Life,

John H.W. Hummel

Pollution Researcher,

Nelson, B.C.

Canada

Cullen calls for strong action on contaminated sites Published: August 19, 2008 11:00 PM

Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen has reacted strongly to the Aug. 13 LD News story detailing that 984 federal contaminated sites are located in his riding, the highest total for federal ridings in B.C., and the second-highest in Canada.

“I’ve been the NDP’s Environment critic in Parliament for four years, and I’ve never even seen this report,” commented Cullen.

“It really hit me that so many of the ridings with the most contaminated sites were northern, or rural, or heavily First Nations in population.

What really struck me was how many sites had no action plan and no site management strategy,” he said.

The Treasury Board database came to the notice of MPs due to the efforts of a toxics researcher in Nelson, B.C.

“It just shows what citizens can do when they’re determined to fight pollution,” said Cullen.

“I think the number of contaminated sites in Skeena-Bulkley Valley may be a little high; I went through and sampled the database, and some sites appear to be duplicated,” he commented.

“But, still, we need the Treasury Board to step up, and any individual owners who are responsible for those contaminated sites.

We need to be more strict, and have better laws. Anyone who contaminates a site ought to have to post bonds to take care of clean-up costs. We need better protection.

There’s two issues: the list itself, and adding to the list. That’s what we don’t want. In order to stop the list of contaminated sites growing, people have to know they’re going to be hit with fines, if they don’t adhere to the laws.”

He said the policy of the federal Conservative government is woefully inadequate. “We release toxins into the environment, and find them in the products we buy, and the government just blinks.”

“Ignorance is not an excuse; especially if it’s willful. There were no laws, and no fines, but that can’t go on. We can no longer pretend there is no cost to pollution.”

“If you have 6,000 metres of contaminated soil, you can’t just put in a front end loader and clean it up in an afternoon. Some of those sites could take years to clean up, and it could take hundreds of millions of dollars, if not billions.”

The President of the Treasury Board and the Minister of the Environment should be aware of the report.

“They’re given briefings by their officials,” he said.

Cullen said the NDP caucus intends to put pressure on both ministers to get some action.

“As the party’s Environment critic, I’ve alerted all NDP MPs as to the contaminated sites database. We’re going to meet as a caucus and develop a policy we hope to take to an all-party committee in Parliament.

We need some action across party lines on this. The contaminated sites are a national problem. We need to band together to clean up these sites, and then enact tougher legislation to protect future generations,” he concluded.

Environment: Canadians tap algae to clean Alberta oil sands May 8, 2008 1:21 PM PDT

Posted by Martin LaMonica Post a comment

Canadian researchers hope algae offers them "la grande solution" to greenhouse gas emissions and the environmental havoc caused by oil extraction in the Alberta tar sands.

The project is called CARS, Carbon Algae Recycling System, and it's backed by a consortium of researchers.

Canadians researchers believe they can grow microalgae to take CO2 out of the atmosphere, clean toxins, and make valuable products. Click on the image to see a video explanation.

(Credit: Alberta Research Council)

The idea is to grow algae next to a source of carbon dioxide, like a power plant. A number of algae start-ups plan to or are already doing exactly that to "feed" their algae the CO2 they need to grow.

Algae can be used for toxic cleanup as well, researchers tell clean-tech reporter Tyler Hamilton.

more ...

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-9939463-54.html

RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES: CROWN'S DUTY TO CONSULT AND TO ACCOMMODATE "EXISTING ABORIGINAL AND TREATY RIGHTS" [T]he Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that the Crown has a legal duty to consult, and where appropriate to accommodate, when the Crown has real or constructive knowledge of the potential existence of Aboriginal rights or title, and the Crown contemplates conduct that might adversely affect those rights ― whether those rights have been established (proven in court or agreed to in treaties) or whether there is the potential for rights to exist New Brunswick http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/opinion/article/342446

The First Peoples of New Brunswick are being conspicuously ignored, and their rights flagrantly violated and infringed as result of this new-drive to modernize and expand. Government "correspondence" now substitutes for "consultation"; industry pays "lip service" to aboriginal concerns and hopes to be left alone by First Nations in exchange for a donation to a sporting event or a modest scholarship allocation. ... Indian land title to New Brunswick remains unextinguished. ... we are reaching a point of no return in terms our exclusion from consultation with the province's self-sufficiency agenda.

First Nations are about to walk away from industries who do not take us seriously. We may have to revisit them in other forums in other ways. Currently New Brunswick has no consultation policy with First Nations sufficient to discharge its lawful obligations to discuss and, if required, accommodate, our concerns. Nor are there meaningful talks under way to fashion such a policy.

Wondering how you can help resolve Indigenous land rights issues? Tell your elected representatives that you want them to resolve Indigenous land rights and land titles issues ... - fairly - in good faith - without even a hint of "sharp dealing" - promptly providing all relevant research and documents - promptly make decisions on the Crown's culpability - promptly acknowledge successful land claims publicly - promptly arrange land transfers/payment Label it 'Open letter to ...' (This allows the media to print it.) Email your MP, MPP, city councillor. cc the Prime Minister, Premier, Mayor, and the executives of each political party cc local and national media cc the appropriate 'critics' from the other parties Post your letter(s) on a blog Email them the blog link a few days later, to let them know it is public and you are persistent. Email your letter to everyone you know, and more, and ask them to forward it again to the people listed above, with their own comments. You may receive nothing but an automatic acknowledgment. Do not be discourage by this. All mail is read and summarized for the 'boss'. A policy analyst is assigned to particular issues and will brief the 'boss' on what has been received. The policy analyst who reads your letters is the real expert, and is the one who advises the 'boss' on policy decisions for that issue. YOUR LETTERS COUNT! Every letter is estimated to reflect 100 votes. Politicians only care about votes. -->Politicians care about your letters. Don't overdo it, but sending follow-up letters is a good idea too. Let them know that you are still following what they do on the issue, and are still concerned. It is good for them to get to know your name and what you stand for. They may well pay more attention to future letters, especially if you continue to email them to the media as well. It doesn't really matter if the media print them, only that the politicians think they might. REMEMBER! Politicians do not care about 'doing the right thing'. They only care about votes. Appeal to what they care about. Humane pleas for them to 'do the right thing' are useless with Canadian politicians. Tell them how it will gain or lose them votes. That is the only language that Canadian politicians understand. NOTE TO SELF: Some day we must investigate how we allowed all of our politicians to become such useless, fatuous airheads, and how we can replace them with some leaders who are intelligent, well-intentioned and competent instead. Presently the system eats real people for breakfast, so they seldom stand for election. However, for the moment ... address your letter to flatter and cajole them with votes, and don't forget to tell them how dashing they look! (I guarantee that message will get through!) PS ... Some women politicians may not fall for flattery and cajoling, unless they are Tories. Women are more likely to retain some bullshit detectors. Be judicious and don't overdo the goo! Now get writing... g

Emergency Action Update ALGONQUIN YOUTH AND SUPPORTERS REFUSING TO LEAVE CONSERVATIVE MP LAWRENCE CANNON'S OFFICE Support Urgently Needed for Algonquins of Barriere Lake Today a group of Algonquin youth and supporters entered MP Lawrence Canon's office to demand a meeting with him. They are refusing to leave until this happens. Anyone able to come to the Buckingham constituency office to lend support is invited to attend. They've been told they will be arrested unless they leave. Instead of fulfilling their obligations, the Federal Department of Indian Affairs has ousted the Customary Chief and Council and illegally appointed a minority faction as the leadership, in an attempt to scrap the agreement. ==============================

================== CONTENTS 1) UPDATE FROM INSIDE MINISTER CANNON'S OFFICE 2) THE DEMANDS 3) BACKGROUND INFORMATION 4) MINISTER CANNON'S OFFICE LOCATION AND CONTACT INFO ================================================ 1) UPDATE FROM INSIDE MINISTER CANNON'S OFFICE: "Our group, composed of Algonquin youth and supporters, successfully entered Minister Cannon's Buckingham riding office, 25 minutes from Ottawa, at 11:30am today, Thursday, June 26th. Minister Cannon is not around and his staff have been mum about his whereabouts. But spirits are high and people are settling in and getting comfortable, despite the fact the Minister Cannon's staff have turned off the air conditioning in an attempt to force people to leave the office. At first Minister Cannon's staff offered to arrange meetings with low level bureaucrats instead of a meeting with Minister Cannon, but we are refused to take the bait. Now we've been told that Minister Cannon has no involvement or responsibility for Barriere Lake, and that if we do not leave we will be arrested. We intend to stick it out until our demands are met. We would love to have supporters form the surrounding region come to Minister Cannon's office to join us. The more the merrier, and supporters may help deter any police action. Alternately, if you can't come to Minister Cannon's office, we encourage people to call or fax his various offices and request that he meet with us." 2) DEMANDS We are members of the community of Barriere Lake and their supporters. We are peacefully occupying Minister Lawrence Cannon's office. We demand: i) A meeting with Lawrence Cannon, MP for the Barriere Lake community. ii) That the government oversee a leadership re-selection process, with outside observers, recognize the resultant Customary Chiefs and Council, and end all interference in the internal governance of Barriere Lake. 3) BACKGROUND INFORMATION [ ] NO COUPS D'ETAT ON ALGONQUIN LAND [ ] END INDIAN AFFAIRS' MANIPULATION OF TRADITIONAL GOVERNMENT [ ] HANDS OFF BARRIERE LAKE For twenty difficult years, the small Algonquin community of Barriere Lake, 3 hours north of Ottawa, has been struggling to hold the government to their word. In 1991, they signed a landmark resource co-management and sustainable development agreement with Canada and Quebec to protect Algonquin land uses, to conserve the forest and wildlife, and to give them a share in the resource revenue from the logging and hydro projects on their traditional territories. Corporations extract $100 million a year -- Barriere Lake receives nary a penny. The Canadian government walked away from the agreement in 2001. Instead of fulfilling their obligations, the Federal Department of Indian Affairs has ousted the Customary Chief and Council and illegally appointed a minority faction as the leadership, in an attempt to scrap the agreement. * Despite several Quebec Hydro dams on their territory, the community is forced to use aging diesel generators to provide power. * The housing crisis in the community has reached tragic proportions, with most living in moldy, often condemned houses. As many as 18 people live in one house. * The Surete du Quebec has been used to forcibly impose and maintain the authority of the government-backed minority faction. * Children have been prevented from speaking Algonquin in school by teachers hired by outsiders—a grim throwback to residential schools. Join us in Gatineau, and support the community as it demands that the government respect the law and uphold their agreements. MORE INFO: barrierelakesolidarity.blogspot.com CONTACT: barrierelakesolidarity@gmail.com 4) MINISTER CANNON'S OFFICE LOCATION It's about a 25 minute drive from Ottawa. The address is: 127 Joseph Street Buckingham, Qc J8L 1G1 Map link: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&q=127%20joseph%20street%20gatineau%20quebec&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl All of his contact info is described here: http://www.lawrencecannon.com/EN/contact_lawrence/ ***UPDATE***

From the Dominion (See http://www.dominionpaper.ca/weblogs/lia_tarachansky/1903 for a short video and more info) After a six hour occupation of MP Lawrence Cannon's Office in Buckingham, QC, yesterday, six Algonquin activists and allies were arrested by Sûreté du Québec police officers. The arrestees were detained for four hours and were finally released at 9:30 p.m. into the arms of cheering family and friends outside the Gatineau Police Department building. Among the awaiting crowd was Customary Chief Benjamin Nottaway (seen in video) whom the government attempted to revoke from power in the Barriere Lake reserve by imposing a minority appointed government. The so called Coup D'etat was the latest in a long series of governmental interventions in the impoverished reserve and led to the office occupation which took place yesterday. Previously, the indigenous representatives attempted to raise awareness of neo-Colonial intervention in their community by camping on Parliament Hill one year ago. Please do not reply to the listserve. Reply to mohawksupport@riseup.net