National Day of Action in Canada Protesting Conservative's Assault on the Environment

On January 28th Canadians from across the country will be protesting the environmental policies of the ruling Conservative government. Last year the Harper Conservatives made countless efforts to undermine democratic protections, including two massive omnibus budget bills that gutted environmental laws, cut services and infringed on Aboriginal rights and title.

Canada's Members of Parliament are returning to Ottawa on Monday, January 28th, and people from across the country are planning a national day of action to show the government that Canadians are coming together to stand up for our democracy.

The Day of Action is being staged by a broad range of civil society groups have organized a new network called Common Causes to coordinate their efforts to hold this government accountable and promote democracy, environmental protection and human rights. These groups are hosting this Monday’s rallies across Canada to welcome MPs returning to Parliament,

Common Causes has planned this Monday’s day of action with the Idle No More movement, and the joint rallies will support the movement’s goals of defending Aboriginal rights and title and protecting our shared environment.

Common Causes Rallies and Events - Monday January 28th

Common Causes Rallies
Idle No More

Ottawa – March and Rally 
Place and Time: 11:10am Victoria Island March. Gather at #CommonCauses banner and march together in solidarity to Parliament Hill for Speeches. 2:15pm Parliament Hill - Maude Barlow delivers a message on behalf of Common Causes. Contact: Anil Naidoo anil@canadians.org

Courtenay/Comox – Rally
Place and Time: 12:00 noon at 3310 Comox Road across from the I-Hos Gallery. Contact: Kathie Woodley, riverside11@shaw.ca

Edmonton – Solidarity Event
Place and Time: 12:15pm – Churchill Square Contact: Bill Moore-Kilgannon, billmk@pialberta.org

Guelph – Screening and Discussion
Place and Time: 7pm, Room 103, University Centre, University of Guelph – Toxic Trespass screening with Q&A (Possible mid-afternoon march TBC) Contact: nrchaloner@hotmail.com

Halifax – March and Rally
Place and Time: 10am – Gathering at the Holiday Inn parking, March across the MacDonald Bridge, rally at either Halifax Commons or Citadel Hill Contact: Angela Giles – agiles@canadians.org

Kamloops – Information Evening with Idle No More
Place and Time: 6pm at the Smorgasbord Deli, 225 - 7th Ave. Kamloops Contact: Anita Strong, dnastrong1@gmail.com

Kelowna – Rally at Enbridge Hearings
Place and Time: 12:30pm at the Sandman Inn, 2130 Harvey Street, Kelowna Contact: Lois B, loandcoagain@hotmail.com

London – Rally
Place and Time: 10:30am – 546 King Street (at William), London - in front of Conservative MP Susan Truppe’s constituency office Contact: jkennedy@golden.net

Montreal – Film Screening and Solidarity Statements
Place and Time: 7pm, Concordia H110, Hall Building, 1455 Maisonneuve W. Montreal Contact: Abdul Pirani, abdul.pirani@cgocable.ca

Nanaimo – Rally
Place and Time: 12:00 noon – Diane Krall Plaza (in front of the Library) 90 Commercial Street, Nanaimo Contact: Paul Manly, paulmanly@shaw.ca

Oakville
Place and Time: 8:00am Oakville GO Station start The Reclaim Our Democratic Canada Get off the Omnibus Tour Contact: Clare Henderson, reclaimcanada@gmail.com

Peterborough
Date: Wednesday, January 30 Place and Time: George St. United Church, 7:00 - 9:30 pm Contact: Roy Brady, rbrady1@cogeco.ca

Prince Albert – Video Release
Place and Time: Video and press release on January 28th of weekend action Contact: Rick Sawa, rj.sawa@inet2000.com

Saint John – Townhall
Place and Time: 7pm - Saint John Arts Centre, 20 Hazen Avenue, Town Hall with Rob Moir, Pat Riley and Stephanie Merrill Contact: Leticia Adair, adairl@nb.sympatico.ca. For Information: 506 633-0398

Saskatoon – Townhall
Place and Time: 11:00 am - Multi-purpose room at Station 20 West 1120 20th Street West, Saskatoon Contact: Rick Sawa, rj.sawa@inet2000.com

Sechelt / Sunshine Coast – Rally
Place and Time: 4:00 to 5:30pm - Gather at the corners of Wharf Street and the Sunshine Coast Highway, 4:00 to 5:30pm – Action along Sunshine Coast Highway Contact: Jef Keighley, keighley@dccnet.com

Summerside – Rally – Note the Change
Place and Time: 12pm Noon - 250 Water Street in front of National Revenue Minister Gail Shea’s MP Office Contact - Leo Broderick, lcb45@eastlink.ca

Toronto – Banner Drop
Place and Time: 8-9am - Banner Drop along Don Valley Parkway at Wynford overpass (North of Eglinton) Banner Message - Don’t Sell Out Canada’s Future commoncauses.ca Contact: Mark Calzavara, mcalzavara@canadians.org

Vancouver – Rally with Idle No More
Place and Time: 12:00 noon at 1138 Melville Street, Vancouver, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada. Contact: Harjap Grewel, hgrewal@canadians.org

Windsor – Rally
Place and Time: 4pm - 186 Talbot Rd. Essex. Windsor - in front of Conservative MP Jeff Watson's constituency office Contact: Douglas Hayes, dhayes18@cogeco.ca

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CRY WOLF: An Unethical Oil Story (Video)

DeSmogBlog investigates the controversial decision by Alberta's government to ignore the threat of rapid industrial expansion in the Alberta Tar Sands region, and instead kill thousands of wolves to appear to be doing something to save dwindling woodland caribou populations. Through interviews with scientists, wildlife experts and a First Nations chief, the myth of Canada's "ethical oil" is further exposed as oil industry greenwashing. To learn more click here.

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Cry Wolf: An Unethical Oil Story

As reported in Desmogblog over the last several months, Alberta has killed more than 500 wolves using aerial sharpshooters and poisoned bait in order to conceal the impact of rapid industrial development on Canada’s iconic woodland caribou.

Independent scientists say that declining caribou health stems chiefly from habitat destruction caused by the encroachment of the tar sands and timber industries. But in a perverse attempt to cover industry’s tracks, the Alberta government is ignoring the science and shifting the blame to a hapless scapegoat: the wolf.

As DeSmogBlog reported earlier this year, the Alberta Caribou Committee, tasked with the recovery of the province’s dwindling caribou populations, is dominated by timber, oil and gas industry interests. Participating scientists have been silenced—their reports rewritten and their recommendations overlooked.

The prospect of the expansion of this unscientific wolf cull, projected to claim the lives of roughly 6,000 wolves over the next five years, has outraged conservationists and wildlife experts. While the wolves dodge bullets and poison, this scandal is flying largely under the public radar.

A team of DeSmogBlog researchers traveled to the Tar Sands region to investigate the dirty oil politics behind this fool’s errand. Here is our first report: Cry Wolf: An Unethical Oil Story.

Is this what “ethical oil” looks like?

Rather than relying on science to protect caribou habitat and restore this iconic species, Alberta is killing wolves in order to protect unfettered industrial development.

As a result, our unethical oil addiction is leading to one of the most shameful wildlife control programs ever imagined. Government complicity, on both the federal and provincial levels, leaves biologists caught up in the mix with no higher power to appeal to. Real science is shelved, while industry-friendly political decisions prevail.

What does this say about the state of our democracy when scientists are ignored and industry profits are prioritized ahead of safeguarding iconic wildlife species?

Stay tuned for more details as DeSmog continues their investigation into this controversial issue.

Take Action

You can make a difference by participating in these actions to stop the unscientific wolf cull.

Tell the Canadian government: Stop your tar sands wolf kills. More than 200,000 voices in opposition to the wolf killings.

DeSmogBlog petition on Change.org

Tell Canada’s federal Environment Minister Peter Kent, who considers the cull “an accepted if regrettable scientific practice,” to put an end to the reckless wolf slaughter.

Alberta Provincial petition: Put some pressure on at the provincial level too, by signing this petition to Frank Oberle, Minister of Alberta’s Sustainable Resource Development and Fiona Schmiegelow from the University of Alberta.

National Wildlife Federation Action Center: American residents can go here to send a letter to their senator or representative in order to connect the dots between the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline and the wolf cull. Also watch National Wildlife Federation scientist David Mizejewski on the Today Show http://blog.nwf.org/2012/03/nwf-on-nbc-dont-poison-tar-sands-wolves/ and read NWF’s report http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/Media-Center/News-by-Topic/Wildlife/2012/02-06-12-Tar-Sands-Development-to-Lead-to-Poisoning-of-Wolves.aspx on the plan to poison wolves to protect tar sands interests.

For more information on the tar sands, check out DeSmogBlog’s tar sands action page.

And for those who may be unfamiliar with what the ‘ethical oil’ campaign is, check out our previous coverage of the Sierra Club’s John Bennett and Ethical Oil Institute spokesperson Kathryn Marshall on CBC’s Power and Politics with Evan Solomon.

For more information, click here.

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Conservative Budget Guts the Environment

Prime Minister Steven Harper's ruling Conservative government is using their majority to all but eliminate Canada's environmental protections. On March 29, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty released a federal budget which guts environmental legislation. It is tragically ironic that this anti-environment budget comes only one week after record-breaking temperatures in the National Capital Region.

Under the new budget Environment Canada will be cut by $88 million. Parks Canada will be cut by $6 million this year and rise to $29 million in 2014/15. Environmental reviews for major oil, gas and mining projects will be shortened and some of these reviews will be handed entirely to the provinces.

Activists are upset about pension reform, job losses, social spending cuts and of course the enviroment. Canadians have protested from the House of Commons gallery chanting, "This is not our budget! Where are we in your budget?" before being detained and later released by Hill Security.

Canadians opposed to the Harper government's austerity measures are rallying around the slogan Not Our Budget, and issued a press release coinciding with the action on Parliament Hill. The two paramount issues for this group is the "gutting of environmental legislation" and cutting "services for First Nations education and health."

Despite the opposition from aboriginal people, the federal budget tries to sell projects like the environmentally destructive Northern Gateway pipeline as being benefitial to First Nations. The truth is that accelerated environmental assessment related to oil and gas and uranium is part of the problem not the solution.

This Conservative government has a deplorable environmental record, in fact it is one of the worst developed countries in the world. In addition to undermining UN climate negotiations, Harper's Conservatives have defended big oil's interests at every turn and they have lobbied the US and EU on behalf of the tar sands.

Steven Guilbeault of Équiterre said the budget, "seems to have been written for, and even by, big oil interests, the Harper government is gutting the environmental protections that Canadians have depended on for decades to safeguard our families and nature from pollution, toxic contamination and other environmental problems."

While President Barack Obama is working to end oil subsidies in the US, Prime Minister Harper is searching out new markets for the tar sands and other Canadian resources. It is no coincidence that Harper is pitching lowered domestic environmental standards to markets that share Canada's lax environmental review policies.

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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