Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow will begin an eight-city tour in defence of the Great Lakes this Tuesday in Toronto.

Advance media on the tour has been good:

Wait a minute! Hang on! Didn't we celebrate that President Obama announced that the Keystone XL permit decision (whether or not approve TransCanada's application to build a mega pipeline to transport dirty tar sands oil from northern Alberta to the Gulf of Mexico) was off the agenda until 2013? Yes, we did. BUT then the payroll tax cut extension came up for consideration in Congress and outraged Republicans decided to attach legislation forcing President Obama to approve or deny Keystone XL in 60 days. This happened on December 23.

Maude Barlow joined more than 12,000 peaceful demonstrators from across North America today, to surround the White House in a shout out for climate justice. The following is her address at the action.

Hello water warriors! I say water warriors because, although there are many reasons to oppose Keystone, none is more pressing than the destruction of water that takes place in tar sands mining and refining.

Tar sands oil uses and destroys massive amounts of water. In Northern Alberta, the used water is held in giant tailings ponds so poisoned that birds landing on them die.

On the eve of the #Surround action against the Keystone XL pipeline at the White House, we are at the All Souls Church on 16th Street in Washington with about 500 others.

Bill McKibben wrote in advance, "We'll be hosting a meet-up and strategy session the night before the action, November 5th at 5 pm. I'll be giving some campaign updates along with a few other folks, and then we'll break into small groups to discuss what's next."

Tonight, McKibben told those assembled that we are at about the halfway point of a big fight and the odds for us are getting better.

About 25 Council of Canadians chapters participated in 21 occupations across Canada this week-end.

AM 1150 reports, "The Occupy Kelowna demonstration brought about 150 people out to Kerry Park on Saturday. ...While demonstrators held signs with pointed opinion on a wide variety of issues, for Peter Kerr, a member of the Council of Canadians, the message of the protest is clear. 'The goal is to make people aware of what's happening and to change society so that there is less inequity like there is now.' Kerr was joined by several colleagues. They handed out pamphlets and chanted with some of the speakers who got on a stage that was set up."

Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow was arrested in a non-violent civil disobedience action on Parliament Hill yesterday morning while attempting to express her opposition to the tar sands directly to the Harper government.

Prior to stepping over the fence, Barlow told the more than 1,000 people assembled on the Hill that the Harper government is violating the law -- notably, the Fisheries Act, the human right to water, the rights of nature, and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Bill McKibben tweeted, "@billmckibben: Maude Barlow is a serious hero -- Canada's Wangari Maathai. And I think I just saw her get handcuffed on the #ottawaaction video feed."