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Friday, March 28, 2014

Water Rights Film Festival! by Jennifer Chesnut

A film festival about water rights in Canada and around the world. 

What needs to be done to minimize future water loss for the next generation? 

From Friday April 4th through Sunday April 6th at Museum London, the Water Rights Film Festival comes to London. Created by the Solidarity Film Coalition with numerous sponsors like Museum London, The Council of Canadians, and LACASA, this is an opportunity for people to check out some interesting facts about the substance that makes up three quarters of this blue planet, and sustains all our lives. 

Learn about the impact of our water use on the next generation, transnational corporate influence on water bodies, the 2012 elimination of 99% of rules protecting Canadian rivers and lakes, successful community activities to protect water, and more. 

Feature Films include: Blue Gold, Waterlife, Bottled Life; Sacred Spirit of Water. 

Highlights: 

Friday evening, Josephine Mandamin, Anishinabe elder, will speak the aboriginal perspective on water, sharing stories from her experience being the Great Lakes Water Walker. The feature film will be Blue Gold. 

Saturday morning at 11 a.m., in conjunction with the Boys and Girls Club, all are invited to a community water walk at the Forks of the Thames. Following the walk, there will be animated shorts on water inside the Museum’s cinema. At 1 p.m., the full feature documentary program will resume with Waterlife. Mike Nagy, president of Water Watchers, will speak about Nestlé’s involvement in the Guelph area watershed. 

Sunday afternoon, Juan Sanchez, editor of Indigenous Message on Water, will share water poetry. Both the films Bottled Life and Sacred Spirit of Water will be shown. 

The Water Rights film festival is open to all for learning more about the force that constitutes eighty percent of our bodies, and holds all life in its flow! Admission is free. 

In order to protect water for the next generation, we must learn how we are changing it, and change the way we perceive it. 

Expect excellent films, speakers, poems, and a walk for water! Come for part or all of the weekend. Bring a water-loving buddy. 

For more information: 

http://waterrightsfilmfestival.wordpress.com/

solidarityfilmcoalition@outlook.com 

(originally published in London Fuse: http://londonfuse.ca/event/water-rights-film-festival)


03/31/15
For Immediate Release:
Water at Risk:
A documentary tour of the Great Lakes and beyond with a Thames River walk and the legendary Water Walker
From Friday, April 4th through Sunday, April 6th at Museum London, the Water Rights Film Festival ripples through London, Ontario. This free festival highlights issues related to water in Canada and around the world.  Emphasis will be placed on emerging risks to the Great Lakes. Special guest, the legendary Anishinabe elder and Water Walker, Josephine Mandamin, has walked the perimeter of all five lakes since 2003 “to raise awareness that our clean and clear water is being polluted by chemicals, vehicle emissions, motor boats, sewage disposal, agricultural pollution, leaking landfill sites, and residential usage.” Including a community water walk on Saturday morning, 11 AM, at the Fork of the Thames, this free public event is an opportunity to learn about the substance that makes up nearly three quarters of this blue planet. Created by the Solidarity Film Coalition with numerous sponsors such as Museum London, The Council of Canadians, Seeds of Hope, and LACASA, one organizer, Roberta Cory says, “In order to protect water for the next generation, we must learn how we are changing it, and change the way we perceive it.” 
Friday evening, Mandamin will speak the aboriginal perspective on water. Saturday morning at 11am, in conjunction with the Boys and Girls Club, all are invited to a community water walk at the Forks of the Thames. Following the walk, there will be animated shorts on water inside the Museum’s cinema. Mike Nagy, president of Water Watchers, will speak about Nestle’s involvement in the Guelph area watershed. Sunday afternoon, Juan Sanchez, editor of Indigenous Message on Water, will share poetry to help people “remember the sacred nature of Water”. Feature films shown throughout the weekend include: Blue Gold, Waterlife, Bottled Life and the Sacred Spirit of Water.
The Water Rights film festival not only includes films but is a multi-faceted event open to the public to learn more about the force that constitutes eighty percent of our bodies and holds all life in its flow! Some questions that will be investigated are: What impacts are water corporations, like Nestle in Guelph Ontario, having on the Great Lakes watershed? What can we expect from the 2012 elimination of 99% of rules protecting Canadian rivers and lakes? How can we protect the Great Lakes for future generations?
All are invited to meet experts from across the province, participate in a guided walk around the Thames, listen to water poetry from an indigenous perspective, and view excellent films at the Water Rights Film Festival.
#######
For more information:
Roberta Cory:  robertacory@rogers.com, (519) 601-2053
Paula Papel: solidarityfilmcoalition@outlook.com , (519) 697-9252

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Line 9 Snake Walk! The Forks to English St. on Dundas, March 31, 5:00 pm

LINE 9 SNAKE WALK! 

EVERYONE WELCOME  

11 puppeteers needed to operate the 30 foot evil black Line 9 Snake

The Snake joined the Anti - Line 9 rally at Queen's Park on March 7, 2014: 

http://rabble.ca/news/2014/03/line-9-will-snake-across-ontario-and-quebec-waterways

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZ7W2wWgHz4&feature=youtu.be 
 (press conference) 

http://ww3.tvo.org/video/196834/pipeline-runs-through-it

RALLY AT FORKS OF THE THAMES 
5:00 pm Monday, March 31, 2014 
(Rally at Riverside Park just north and west of the river.)

WALK THE SNAKE ACROSS THE BRIDGE OVER THE THAMES. 

WALK EAST ON DUNDAS TO THE EAST VILLAGE COFFEEHOUSE. 

THEN: 
SPRING THAWS PIPELINE MELTDOWN TOUR!

More info: Roberta 519-601-2053

Thursday, March 20, 2014

COMING EVENTS

Council of Canadians, London Chapter 
Coming Events 

March 20 
Thursday 6:30 - 8:30 Landon Library ENVIRONMENTAL BOOK CLUB - bring a book/title on climate change to share 

March 21 
Friday 2:00 car pool to Beachville Quarry Lake STOP THE DUMP RALLY Meet at 193 Duchess Ave. (4 houses W of Ridout) 519-601-2053 

March 24,25,26,27 
Monday though Thursday - 7:00 to 9:00 MAKE THE WATER SNAKE sew scales on the 30 foot Water Snake 193 Duchess Ave. 519-601-2053 

March 29 
Saturday 9:00 - 9:00 PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH CARE REFERENDUM canvas neighbourhoods in groups with ballots to vote for public health care; take a shift at tables with ballot boxes - Western Fair Farmer's Market and other public places - volunteers needed; Visit 620 Richmond St. for materials 226-238-9141 or 519-643-6806 or call Roberta 519-601-2053 

March 31 
Monday 5:00 ANTI-LINE 9 RALLY AND SNAKE WALK down Dundas. Meet at Riverside Park NW of Forks for Rally. Walk the Line 9 Snake across the bridge and East down Dundas 6:30 - East Village Coffee House - English and Dundas - food and drink for sale; film on resistance to tar sands and pipelines - music until 10:00 pm 

April 5 
Saturday All day long - BALLOT BOXES ALL OVER TOWN:      REFERENDUM ON PUBLIC HEALTH CARE - volunteers needed Phone to volunteer at a polling place - 226-238-9141 or 519-643-6806 

April 4,5,6 
WATER RIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL, MUSEUM LONDON
 FREE! 
Friday, April 4 6-9 Grandmother Josephine Mandamin - Water Walker film: Blue Gold 
Saturday, April 5 1-5 films: Waterlife and Dolime Dilemma Sunday, April 6 
 11-1 family program: water walk/films; 
 1-5 films: Bottled Life and Sacred Spirit of Water Juan Sanchez - poetry - Indigenous Message on Water 
Debut of the Water Snake!
http://waterrightsfilmfestival.wordpress.com 

April 26 
Saturday 1:00 pm MAUDE BARLOW at Earth Day in Ingersoll sponsored by OPAL ALLIANCE (Oxford People Against the Landfill); 
Second appearance of the Water Snake!    
Ride pool from 193 Duchess Ave. RSVP - 519-601-2053 leave at 11:00 am 
http://opalalliance.ca

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

"A RIVER RUNS THROUGH US": MAUDE BARLOW!

April 26th, 2014

Ingersoll District Memorial Arena, 97 Mutual St. South

Schedule        

STOP THE DUMP! Special protest at the quarry

Friday, March 21, 2014 from 3:00 to 4:00 pm, the weekly protest against the dump will focus on the entrance to the Carmeuse property where Carmeuse wants to drain a lake and Walker wants to fill an active quarry with garbage. 

Driving north on Embro Road aka Foldens Line from the 401, it is just north of the four way stop at Beachville Rd (which in Ingersoll is called Charles Street). 
https://goo.gl/maps/6hZWZ

Like the Arcade Fire concert recently, this gathering has a dress code: come prepared for pond hockey, or fishing, or ice-fishing, or with a boat, oar, paddle, fishing rod, landing net, bird-watching gear and googles, etc. 

This proposed dump is next to the Thames River, which flows down through London. Any disturbance to the Thames Watershed affects us all. This garbage, to be dumped right into a quarry which is below the water table, would include Toronto's "residential, industrial, commercial and institutional solid waste, contaminated brownfield soil and asbestos", according to Walker, the landfill company! The quarry leaks like a sieve! The Thames is contaminated enough! Please help stop this incredibly dangerous dump! 

Oxford People Against the Landfill

 Car pools leave London at 2 pm. Roberta 519-601-2053

https://www.facebook.com/events/627707830636100/

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Line 9 Snake goes to Toronto!

LINE 9 SNAKE GOES TO TORONTO  

Our black, 32 foot long Line 9 Snake was built by many people, each giving a few hours of their time. People volunteered to sew, paint black letters on white fabric, cut out plastic teeth, and engineer the head. The body was designed to be held up with 4 foot dowel poles and the cardboard head to be held up by a broom handle. After a pretty intense day (the NEB announced approval of reversal of Line 9 for dilbit under increased pressure at 4:40 pm so we had to get out our press release immediately) the Snake was finished by Roberta at 11:00 pm Thursday March 6 and left at 8:00 am the next morning for Toronto with Paula Marcotte, Anthony Verberckmoes, Rory and Roberta Cory. 

It was a splendid day at Queen's Park: clear, cold and crisp. We unrolled the Snake and attached the body to the head with velcro tabs. As people were arriving at the Stop Line 9 rally they saw the Snake and took up a dowel pole to walk the Snake around in front of the Legislature. Finally the Snake positioned itself behind the speakers and the banners from Idle No More, 350.org, Rising Tide, and other eco justice groups. Mark Calzavara, our CoC Regional Organizer, sent his cell phone picture of the Snake to Maude Barlow, and she sent back her approval and support. There were around 300 people at the rally and about 50 media cameras!! As Sakura, one of the speakers for Rising Tide said, we all knew the NEB would be a rubber stamp for Line 9 and so we see this as the kick off for our real campaign across Ontario to demand an independent Environmental Assessment. 

Many of our members are taking the excellent "Not Worth the Risk" report to their MPPs and City Councillors and the Snake will appear at a rally here in London at the Forks of the Thames very soon - date to be announced. 

More on the rally:
http://rabble.ca/news/2014/03/line-9-will-snake-across-ontario-and-quebec-waterways

Information on Line 9: http://risingtidetoronto.noblogs.org/files/2014/02/NEB_report_final.pdf
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/news/hamilton-protesters-denounce-line-9-reversal-decision-1.2564095
http://desmog.ca/2014/03/06/concerns-mount-about-61-year-old-enbridge-pipeline-great-lakes

Council of Canadians London Chapter - announcements and updates

Attention all Activists: 

1) londoncouncilofcanadians.ca (click on “London CoC Blog Site") has all events, past minutes, agenda, blog, e.g.: 
http://londoncouncilofcanadians.blogspot.ca/2014/03/monthly-meeting-of-london-chapter-of.html

2) Monday, March 10 (tomorrow!) - Kick off for London Health Coalition campaign - part of a referendum in support of protecting public community hospitals (see Ontario Health Coalition ontariohealthcoalition.ca). London Joins Major Referendum to Protect Community Hospitals WHERE: Campaign Office @ Richmond & Central (620 Richmond street Unit F) WHEN: 12 pm (noon), Monday March 10. WHAT: Bed-In and Ballot Box for Public Health Care. WHY: The London Health Coalition is campaigning to raise public awareness leading to a referendum on community hospitals. Join us to learn how Londoners can get involved and cast their vote in support of quality public healthcare. 

3) Until Wed. March 13 - Art: for the BEES! Artlab Gallery, Western, John Labatt Visual Arts Centre IMAGINE: Sustainability, community, engagement: BEES! Show continues until March 13: Spread it far & wide! Cross-pollinate .... everywhere! ---------- Forwarded message ---------- The potential extinction of one species, the honey bee,would bring about widespread irreversible damage to our food supply and the natural environment. In an effort to tackle the massive issue of sustainability, this year's Gallery Practices class uses the humble bee as a starting point to present an urgent matter in concrete, imaginable ways.. Exploiting the interactive and temporal properties of large-scale installation and video the honey bee is connected to much greater concerns that outline the necessary personal stake we must have in our environment, both natural and built, and in our approach to sustainable living. Rather than pointing to ubiquitous overconsumption, "hive mentality" can be repurposed to mean community and involvement. The hive is our city and the issue of sustainability requires a reimagining of possible ways of living as we ultimately aim to be forward-looking. Please see attachments for more information. We hope to see you there. Best regards, Susan Susan Edelstein, Director Artlab Gallery, Department of Visual Arts The University of Western Ontario John Labatt Visual Arts Centre, VAC 122 Perth Drive London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5B7 Tel: 519-661-3440, ext. 86186 Fax: 519-661-2020
www.uwo.ca/visarts/ 

4) Tuesday, March 18 - "The Boat From Gaza" with film "Green Lazer" and film maker John Greyson,        Tolpuddle - 6:30 social, Middle Eastern snacks 7:00 film 
 Council of Canadians http://londoncouncilofcanadians.blogspot.ca/2014/03/monthly-meeting-of-london-chapter-of.html 

5) Thursday, March 20 - Eco Book Club - 7:00 pm Landon Library - all are welcome 

6) Water Rights Film Festival - April 4,5,6 - Museum London - by the Solidarity Film Coalition
http://waterrightsfilmfestival.wordpress.com 

Robert Cory (“Rory”) 
Website/SocialMediaAdmin 
London Chapter Council of Canadians 
londoncouncilofcanadians.ca 
Facebook&Twitter: londoncoc 
Phone 519-601-2053

Monthly Meeting of the London Chapter of the Council of Canadians

JOHN GREYSON
When: Tuesday March 18, 2014
Where: Tolpuddle Co-op general room
380 Adelaide between Dundas and King 

Finger food, coffee, tea 

Presentation: THE BOAT FROM GAZA - David Heap 

John Greyson will show his film “Green Laser” and speak about the Palestinian/Isreali issue of Gaza and share his experiences. 
http://www.cinemapolitica.org/film/green-laser http://www.cinemapolitica.org/artists/john-greyson 

Products made in Gaza can be ordered. 
http://www.gazaark.org 
http://www.bdsmovement.net 

Refreshments will be courtesy of the Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) club at Western University. 

Networking and Action Plans 

This is a FRAGRANCE FREE event. 

Bus goes down Dundas - questions - need a ride - 519 - 601 - 2053 

COUNCIL OF CANADIANS, LONDON CHAPTER 

MARCH 18, 2014 AGENDA 


"THE BOAT FROM GAZA" DAVID HEAP 

6:30 SOCIAL: MIDDLE EASTERN SNACKS PROVIDED 

7:00 FILM: THE AWARD WINNING "GREEN LASER" 
FILM MAKER JOHN GREYSON FOR TALK AND Q AND A 

7:45 ABOUT GAZA'S ARK: WENDY GOLDSMITH; DUNIA HAMOU 

8:00 BUSINESS 

ACTIONS AND CAMPAIGNS: 
HEALTH COALITION REFERENDUM 
WATER RIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL 
POLLINATOR SANCTUARY LONDON 
STOP CETA 
LINE 9 "NOT WORTH THE RISK” 
ECO BOOK CLUB 

NEW BUSINESS 

8:30 MINGLE - JOIN A CAMPAIGN - GET INVOLVED 

APPEARANCE OF THE LINE 9 SNAKE!

Minutes of last meeting, Feb. 10, 2014: http://londoncouncilofcanadians.ca/LondonCoCMeetingMinutes.pdf

Thursday, March 6, 2014

NEB approves Line 9 reversal to carry dilbit / no independent environmental assessment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Roberta Cory - 250-220-1763
March 6, 2014

The Council of Canadians London Chapter condemned the National Energy Board (NEB) today for approving Enbridge’s Line 9 proposal to ship diluted bitumen in their forty-year-old pipeline between Sarnia and Montreal and is urging Premier Kathleen Wynne to prevent the controversial project from going forward. 
  
“Pipeline safety expert Richard Kuprewicz testified to the NEB that Line 9 has a high risk of rupture if the project goes ahead” said chapter spokesperson Roberta Cory.  “Line 9 passes though hundreds of communities and rivers that flow right into the Great Lakes and Enbridge still hasn’t finished cleaning up after their last massive diluted bitumen spill in the Kalamazoo River four years ago. Line 9 crosses Hyde Park Rd., Richmond Rd. near Birr, Highbury Rd., and the Thames River at Plover Mills just north of Fanshawe Lake.  Are our first responders prepared for a massive chemical spill, are our hospitals prepared to take the injured, and have we budgeted for this type of emergency?"
  
“How can the NEB allow an accident prone company to pump some of the dirtiest oil on the planet through an ancient pipeline across the drinking water supply of millions of people?” ” said Rod Morley. “The NEB is clearly just a rubber stamp for big oil. Now it is the absolute duty of the province to protect our drinking water. Premier Wynne must step in to prevent a catastrophe.”

The Council of Canadians is Canada’s largest citizens advocacy group with more than 60 chapters across the country and 11 chapters near Line 9 including London, Guelph, Brantford, Hamilton, Peel Region, York University, Toronto, Northumberland, Peterborough and the Kawarthas, Brockville and Montreal.
  
  For more information contact:
         Roberta Cory - (250-220-1763)
  Rod Morley - (519-872-0008)
  Geoff Crealock - (519-433-4284)

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Water Rights Film Festival

Water Rights Film Festival coming in April! April 4-6, 2014, Museum London, London, ON; more details will be provided soon!