water

Teachers must support public water

| September 3, 2010

When asked about their investments in private Chilean water utilities, the Ontario Teachers' Pension told the Canadian Press, Chile was a democratic country. Beside the fact that by that measure most of the world's environmentally hazardous projects or developments that violate human rights are open for OTPP investments, there is nothing democratic about water privatization in Chile. The gutting of public services during the Pinochet years paved the way for privatization down the road. In the late 1990s, subsequent governments carried this legacy forward at a time when there was tremendous pressure from Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank to privatize public services as a loan condition.

Hundreds of petitions signed by Toronto teachers

Brent Patterson

| September 2, 2010

The Council of Canadians took its message to Toronto teachers that their pension fund -- the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan -- should divest its shares from for-profit, private water utilities in Chile.

Our message -- teachers don't support private water, so neither should their pension fund. The OTPP owns 50.83 per cent of the Chilean water utility Essbio, 69.4 per cent of Esval, and 100 per cent of ANSM.

More than 200 hundred teachers signed our petition with this demand as they left the Air Canada Centre yesterday after their professional development day gathering there.

'Majestic Plastic Bag' mockumentary supports bag ban

An environmental organization, Heal the Bay, launched a new video campaign narrated by Academy Award-winner Jeremy Irons to generate support for a bill before the California legislature which will ban single-use plastic bags, limit distribution of paper bags and encourage the use of reusable bags.

Tags:

pollution water non-profits video activism campaign plastics waste

Canada must acknowledge international recognition of right to water

Meera Karunananthan

| July 28, 2010

New York City -- In an impassioned speech to the UN General Assembly today, Bolivian Ambassador to the UN, Pablo Salon highlighted the dire situation of the global water crisis by snapping his fingers three times to indicate that a child dies every three and a half seconds from drinking dirty water. He urged the world take action by voting in favour of a resolution presented by Bolivia and co-sponsored by 35 states calling on the UN General Assembly to recognize water as a human right.

G8/G20 Communique: Water rights = rights for all

Krystalline Kraus

| July 26, 2010

Upon hearing that Canada had purposely destroyed the UN's attempt to get access to clean water recognized as a basic human right, perhaps it is time for a critical expansion in the left to see the issue of rights as not limited to us two-legged, but encompass all living things.

With the term "living things", I mean birds, animals, bugs and trees but also things that help accomplish and support life like water, rocks, ice and air, since everything has a spirit.

Don't we all deserve to have clean water, whether we drink it, swim in it or we let water flow over our earthen body?

Au revoir Bruxelles

Brent Patterson

| July 22, 2010

It's just after 7:30 a.m. here in Brussels (1:30 a.m. EST) and I am about to start the journey back to Canada.

The Council of Canadians joined forces this past week with the Trade Justice Network, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the National Union of Public and General Employees, and ATTAC-Quebec to fight the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) during its fourth round of negotiations here.

'Access to clean water is most violated human right,' says Maude Barlow

Brent Patterson

| July 21, 2010

Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow writes in the Guardian UK today that, "On 28 July, for the first time ever, the general assembly of the United Nations will hold a historic summit on the human right to water."

"It will consider and debate a resolution supporting the right to 'safe and clean drinking water and sanitation' that was presented on 17 June by Pablo Solon, the Bolivian ambassador to the UN, and co-sponsored by 23 other countries."

"The desired outcome of the day is consensus on recognising the human right to water. However, some governments are withholding consensus and it appears likely that the resolution will have to be put to a vote, a process that has the potential to divide the world body along north/south lines."

NEWS: CETA talks limit EU action against the tar sands

Brent Patterson

| July 21, 2010

The Inter Press Service reports that, "Fears of a trade dispute with Canada have made European Union officials reluctant to categorise tar sands from North America as a more polluting fuel than conventional petrol."

"One of the trickiest issues to emerge in the discussions (in the development of a fuel quality directive) relates to whether imports of non-conventional sources of oil should be restricted."

"In a 2009 paper drafted by environment officials tar sands were deemed to be 20 percent more damaging to the climate than the petrol typically used to power Europe's cars."

UPDATE: Another EU for Canadians to see

Brent Patterson

| July 20, 2010

While Canadians generally think positively of Europe, and see it as more progressive than the United States, our perceptions could perhaps do with a bit of a reality check.

A critical view of the political institution that runs the European Union - namely the European Commission - is particularly needed.

This is the branch that promotes deregulation, privatization, and trade liberalization. This is the agenda that they are advancing for European transnational corporations through the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement.

UPDATE: 6,000 'release the CETA text' letters delivered to the Canadian Mission to the EU today

Brent Patterson

| July 20, 2010

As negotiations on the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement continued in Belgium today, the Council of Canadians delivered more than 6,000 letters opposing CETA to the Mission of Canada to the European Union at Avenue de Tervueren 2 here in Brussels this afternoon.

This action sends a strong message to the Canadian government and to the CETA negotiators here that Canadians have serious concerns about this deal now in its fourth round of talks.

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