Garden protest against Bill C-38 at Dundas Square in Toronto
The Deets:
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
5:oo pm
Dundas Square – Dundas Avenue and Yonge Street
The Call Out:
Bring your potted plants to Yonge and Dundas at 5:00 pm to form a maple leaf in raising awareness in a peaceful protest against Bill C-38.
Think the Government’s 425-page omnibus budget implementation bill is only about Canada’s finances? Think again.
Bill C-38 amends over 70 different Acts, and 150 pages of the bill could end over 50 years of environmental oversight in Canada.
Within weeks, with next to no debate, and barely any public discussion, this budget could become law – unless you take a stand.
Here’s just part of what that means in practice.
Repeal of the the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act so the federal government can sidestep environmental reviews of potentially harmful projects;
The proposed changes to the Fisheries Act are in Bill C-38, the omnibus budget implementation bill now being studied by two House of Commons committees. The legislation would eliminate one of the most powerful environmental components of federal law – the ban on any activity that results in “harmful” alteration, disruption or destruction of fish habitat.
It is being replaced by a prohibition against activity that results in “serious harm” to fish that are part of a commercial, recreational or aboriginal fishery, or any fish that supports one of those three fisheries. This paves the way for water pollution and pipelines to be built in vulnerable habitats.
Weakening of several environmental laws, including laws protecting species at risk and water and gives the federal cabinet the authority to approve new pipeline projects and overrule the National Energy Board;
In addition to the sweeping environmental changes, the bill’s 752 clauses include measures that would, among other things:
– Reform Old Age Security by raising the age of eligibility for the program to 67 from 65 gradually over a six-year period starting in 2023.
– Eliminate the office of the inspector-general of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
– Split Employment Insurance recipients into three categories based on how often they’ve claimed EI in the past. Frequent users would be given just six weeks of EI to look for work in a similar occupation before they would be expected to take a job not necessarily to their liking.
It’s up to you to speak up now before Canadians wake up to news of an unimaginable environmental catastrophe.
Please sign and share the Liberal petition:”Warn Canadians: Harper is ending environmental protection.”
and visit the Black Out Campaign.
Thank you.
#30#
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