Notes from the London Council of Canadians potluck on October 21, 2015 (including a letter to Justin re Protecting the Thames)

London Council of Canadians supporters collect water from the Thames River at the Forks.

Twenty two members celebrated the end of the Stephen Harper era at our October 21 potluck meeting held at the Mary Campbell Common Room. The room has a fresh coat of green paint and all chairs are new! It is a beautiful place to meet and we are indebted to Kathy Kaill for reserving it for us to use. Conversation was intense, and about the election of course. Thank you all for bringing such wonderful food to share. 

After we finished eating, the subject for discussion was “Where do we go from here?” Suggestions considered came from 350.org, the Council of Canadians, and the Green Party as well as others with proportional representation appearing at the top of most people’s lists.

 http://campaign2015.fairvote.ca 

Rod Morley volunteered to head up a group which would collect a bottle of Thames River water to deliver to Justin Trudeau on Nov. 7 as part of a “Climate Welcome” gift. 

http://climatewelcome.ca/water 

Rod wrote, and Meg edited, a letter (see below) from our chapter to Prime Minister Trudeau asking him to protect our river from toxic oil spills. Dimitri Lascaris agreed to accept the bottle of water and deliver it and our letter personally when he goes to Ottawa. 

We had a guest, Jim Joyce, formerly from London, who plans to relocate here from Yellowknife and wants to become active with our chapter. In Yellowknife they are opposing fracking. Jim serves as Treasurer for the Yellowknife chapter. 

Upcoming events: 

 1) The next monthly event will be our annual AGM, November 18, with our business meeting at 6:30 pm and our potluck at 7:30. It will be at the Mary Campbell Co-op common room. 

 2) Climate Rally in solidarity with the Paris Climate Conference - Victoria Park - Nov. 29 - 1 - 4pm 

 3) “This Changes Everything” a film by Avi Lewis and Naomi Kline, will have its London debut on Dec. 7 as part of our Cinema Politica program of monthly documentaries. Venue and details will follow. 

Roberta Cory, Chair 
London Chapter, Council of Canadians 

----------------------------------------- 

October 26, 2015 

Dear Justin, 

We, the Council of Canadians London Chapter, are writing to you today and sending along a water sample from the former Heritage River known as the Antler/Thames River from Southwestern Ontario. We are providing this gift to you to remind you of your pledge to safeguard Canada’s bodies of water. 

We in Southwestern Ontario are deeply concerned about the possible environmental damage that could occur to Antler/Thames River should the Line 9 pipeline rupture where it crosses this once protected waterway. The Line 9 pipeline is over forty years old and was never purposed to transport the heavy and toxic diluted bitumen that it is now authorized to carry. 

Many of us in Southwestern Ontario do not want to see the repeat of tragedy that occurred near Kalamazoo Michigan just over five years ago when the Line 6B pipeline ruptured, spilling diluted bitumen into the Kalamazoo River. The Line 9 pipeline was built at the same time, and was built with the same materials and safeguards as Line 6B. We wouldn’t want to see the same devastating result here in Canada, and would hold your two new London MPs responsible should they not heed our warnings and work to stop this accident waiting to happen. It isn't a matter of if it happens – it's when.  

The good people of Southwestern Ontario would love to open up a dialogue with a representative of your government to see if we could come up with alternatives to seeing the start of diluted bitumen – dilbit - being transported through this pipeline. We would love to see if we could come up with new ways to power Canada’s prosperity, without destroying the environmental treasure that is Southwestern Ontario. 

Yours in hope,

Council of Canadians London Chapter http://www.londoncouncilofcanadians.ca/

The Great Turning – Negotiations for Public Power

Who will control our power in this crucial decade? 

With the race for climate security on, energy is risky (and expensive) business to be run by corporations. We know there has been irreversible damage to the atmosphere, land and waters. We feel shame and we want change. More serious than the carbon impact of one company, the risks of regional management by a fossil fuel cartel are many. A sustainable energy future requires public control. What will it take for the government of Canada to follow the people’s will? 

The Great Turning 

We live in a time of contrast that raises hope and fear. We put our heads in the sand or open our minds to the question – how can I serve? For me the pressure brings both responses: hope inspired by creative localization, and fear and grief from the dismantling of the commons by private interests. David Korten, and other progressives, call this time of tumultuous change: the Great Turning. Trade and investment pacts are mechanisms of the power crisis because they are the long-term platform for the extraction-privatization of nations. With the new deals, city assets and municipal energy bodies are being traded on the free market. In Ontario where I live provincial and municipal energy service is in the process of being privatized. Selling this people’s asset without permission, and hiring private corporations to run it into perpetuity, is a deal breaker for me. In these energy shaky times, I want the next generation to inherit a public system. This knowing is resultant from more than my Tar Sands shame. Privatizing the energy of Canada’s most populous province risks essential stuff, like affordable rates and service quality. In this blog I explore why energy sectors should not privatize, and if they do, never through trade. I also ask questions about the plans to deregulate Ontario energy. 

Extreme Risks 

 What does it mean to have corporations be in charge of energy? Very few of us can survive off the grid – the majority rely on public energy. All day long we employ energy sources in service of our eating, bathing, working, learning. Nearly all our activities are beholden to shared power. Just like water, energy is essential and the quality of our lives depends on its availability. Many problems can arise when energy becomes managed by for-profit interests. With privatization (or p3ing) we frequently see: decreased access, service limitations, job cuts, rate increases, and environmental risks. California saw rolling blackouts when they privatized. Ontario has its own privatization stories that have increased stress and expense like the 407 highway and Hamilton city water. Because of repeated problems, many municipalities are bringing energy (and other life-dependent sectors) back to public hands. Hamburg Germany residents won an energy referendum in 2013 and are in the process of bringing their energy service fully public again. The purpose behind the “Our Hamburg, Our Grid” campaign is to reclaim public authority in order to create a system based in renewables. Under a North American style trade treaty, like CETA-TTIP, this change could be difficult. 

Ontario announces privatization 

Ontario’s premier, Kathleen Wynne, recently announced her intention to sell 60% of the public’s energy shares. Last week, at the London town hall for a public Hydro One, Andrea Horwath, MPP for Hamilton and head of the Ontario NDP party, announced that this number could reach 90% or higher. The transfer of power remains regardless of the percentage, however, Horwath shared this — if Ontario ownership reaches below 10%, the legislation implies that the public will be barred from bringing it back to public control. Why privatize a successful crown corporation that has been generating funds and providing stability since 1906? The government says they will privatize Hydro One to build other public infrastructure – transit lines, roads and bridges with an anticipated 4 billion of the sales, and to pay off debt with the other anticipated 5 billion. This asset makes 300 million a year in dividend income for Ontario people. Why sell it off for small short-term gain when the return is long-term losses forever? The danger for our future is not only the loss of reliable consistent funding but also the ability to shape our energy program and monitor its integrity. The auditor general and provincial ombudsperson have warned that they will no longer be able to monitor a private Hydro One. 

Plausible Future Outcomes 

Big business investors cannot focus on equitable rates and environmental impacts at the expense of their bottom-line. Company survival depends on increasing profit. This does not an-evil-corporation-make, but a dangerous mismatch of public need with private goals. How do energy corporations manage their quarterly profit targets? Increases in rates, decreases in service, or cutting of jobs is likely. What else can do they do to make more money in a context that requires profit growth? In a future Hydro One, we would have no shareholder voice to create renewable infrastructure. The premier knows that we must take care of the climate. She announced a commitment to dealing with climate change this spring. However, encouraging corporations to run Ontario’s energy is fundamentally incongruent with sustainability. Ontario public energy was previously funding renewables until local procurement provisions were banned by the World Trade Organization. Trade law gets in the way of environmental change. 

More of the story can be found here: http://newgenerationtrade.com/2015/04/21/earth-day-isnt-just-for-turning-off-lights/ 

Ontario Energy and Trade Pacts 

The government should not make key policy and structural changes without a public mandate. Doing this behind closed doors and legislating far into the future through trade treaties, like the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), encourages skepticism. For the first time Canadian energy entities of provincial jurisdiction, like Hydro One, and municipal jurisdiction, like Toronto Hydro, will be ruled through international treaty law. According to the CETA text, Ontario’s energy, including Hydro One, the Ontario Energy Board, and major municipal entities are not protected by Annex reservations. On the European side of CETA-TTIP, sustainable energy choices are also not protected. Europeans will lose their ability to favour cleaner energy sources or suffer the threats of ISDS lawsuits. 

Taking Back Power from the CETA-TTIP 

There are many things that work in a profit model, and many that don’t! Corporate energy systems, that put us at risk of going even higher in parts per million, is not on my list of what the generation after us should inherit. What I love about this time is the sweet significance it holds. The Great Turning is abundant with ways to make purpose of our quiet lives. It’s a time of opportunity to think about what we stand for and what we can do to make things better for those coming next. How we power this planet should not be decided by a management team of large corporations nor secretly designed in a trade deal. What you will you do with your power in the Great Turning? What part of story do you feel compelled to voice? Canadian economist Marjorie Griffin Cohen, back in the early days of new trade, in a Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives study, says this of energy: “It is an industry that provides for human survival in a densely populated and complex world. Electricity is the basic infrastructure for every industry. The significance of who controls its generation and supply cannot be overstated.” After all, energy is an expression of our collective power as a civilization. Right now that power is being taken away. There are so many other possibilities. Let’s shine a light on them. 

http://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/National_Office_Pubs/electricity.pdf

Jennifer Chesnut

Trade Justice London 
London, Ontario Chapter
Council of Canadians

Originally published here:
http://newgenerationtrade.com/2015/06/02/the-great-turning-negotiations-for-public-power/

CINEMA POLITICA presents "THE BIG SELLOUT"

*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE* 

‘The Big Sellout’ film mirrored locally in health care privatization by stealth 

Monday December 15 at 7 pm. Central Branch, London Public Library, 251 Dundas St. 

In conjunction with the London Public Library (http://londonpubliclibrary.ca), Cinema Politica London (http://cinemapolitica.org/london) presents the documentary film The Big Sellout. 

“Modern warfare has tried to dehumanize people, to take out the sympathetic element. When you drop bombs from 50,000 feet, you don’t see who they’re landing on, you don’t see the damage. It’s the same thing in economics when you talk about statistics and don’t think about the people that lie behind those statistics.” Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Prize Winner, former World Bank Chief Economist in The Big Sellout 

The Big Sellout shows us the human faces behind economic policies, how ordinary people can fight the commodification of basic public services. It tells true stories, from Philippines to South Africa, from Bolivia to England, about the human costs of economic policies obsessed with ‘efficiency’ and economic growth. The film raises serious questions about the role of governments in serving corporate interests instead of public benefit. “These stories may seem distant and removed from local circumstances, but all the same key ingredients are present in Ontario,” says Peter Bergamis of the London Health Coalition. “Londoners and other Canadians are victims of the same toxic myth-driven policies of financial elites. Universal public health care is maligned and misrepresented as unsustainable or inefficient. In the name of austerity, our government plans to continue eviscerating hospital services.” 

Just as importantly, The Big Sellout also showcases ordinary people who stand up and demand alternatives to neo-liberal economic policies, a model shown to be as hollow as it is unsustainable. Bergamis argues that we urgently need the same kind of resistance here in Ontario, where the provincial government is already systematically closing down outpatient services such as physiotherapy, labs, pain clinics, fertility clinics and more. “Their written plan is to close all outpatient services. As many surgeries and diagnostic tests as can be stripped from local public hospitals without public scrutiny, are slated to be contracted out to private (for-profit) clinics, “ he continues. “This is a wholesale assault on our values as Canadian citizens and must be resisted or else Medicare will vanish from our social fabric.” 

Join us to learn vital lessons about how we can and must resist the current assault on healthcare and other public services. The Big Sellout screens in the Stevenson-Hunt rooms (opposite Wolf Hall), London Public Library, 251 Dundas St. Doors open at 6:30pm on Monday December 15. This film event is free of charge and accessible. Underground parking (two hours free) can be validated at the Central Library welcome desk. 

Part of a monthly series of screenings by Cinema Politica London in partnership with the London Public Library (see www.cinemapolitica.org/london for details). For information about these screenings, please contact london@cinemapolitica.org or David Heap (djheap@uwo.ca or 519 859 3579). For the London Health Coalition, please contact Jeff Hanks (jeffryhanks@gmail.com or 226 448 3607) or Peter Bergmanis (Peter.Bergmanis@sjhc.london.on.ca or 519-860-4403). 

After introductory remarks, the film will start at 7:00 sharp. Late comers please enter through the door at the back of the room. Everyone is welcome! This is a FREE event offered by Cinema Politica in parternership with the London Public Library. FRAGRANCE FREE EVENT! Please be respectful of attendees who have serious allergies!

OCTOBER 2014 NEWSLETTER

The Council of Canadians is the VOICE of progressive Canadians in 52 cities all over Canada. It is grassroots and bottom-up in its organization, with a small paid staff of researchers in Ottawa who provide the data we need to campaign on issues. 95% of all operating money comes from individual donations. The average individual donation is $50. We are non-profit but are not a charity because we educate and lobby for social and environmental justice. Each chapter determines which issues are important to its local supporters and is as active in campaigns as time and energy allow. Our London Chapter has eight committees: 

The Solidarity Film Coalition manages the Cinema Politica film series, which shows documentary films at the Central Library on the second Monday of each month. The motto of Cinema Politica is “Screening Truth to Power”.

The Trade Justice Committee campaigns against corporate-driven international trade agreements that would take away Canadian democracy and basic rights of self- determination. It has been active in educating London City Council about the perils of the Investor-State clause of CETA, and has been instrumental in getting London City Council to vote unanimously to have the option to vote for an ‘opt-out’ of CETA. 

The Health Care Committee works with the London Health Coalition to keep health care public and is currently engaged in planning a campaign and rally for Nov. 21 in Queens Park, to resist the austerity budget and the adoption of two-tier health care in Ontario. 

The Peace and Human Rights Committee has been active in bringing back John Greyson and Tarek Loubani from an Egyptian prison, supports the boat from Gaza, and opposes war as a solution to problems, social, religious, political or otherwise. 

The Energy and Climate Committee opposes expansion of the Alberta Tar Sands and the movement of bitumen by pipeline and rail. Because we have probably gone past the threshold where our climate can right itself, our position is that any further use of fossil fuels is suicidal for humans and life on this planet. It is also our position that pipelines and rail transport of dangerous substances threaten cities, First Nations, and wildlife, and poison watersheds and rivers they pass through. We actively oppose the reversal of flow of Enbridge’s 38- year-old Line 9 pipeline, just north of London, which crosses the Thames River north of Fanshawe Lake.

The Water Committee will be approaching our new City Council next spring to ask that London become a Blue Community. This means enforcing the bottled water ban in municipal venues and committing to keeping London Hydro public. We have been supporting OPAL (Oxford People Against the Landfill) by protesting with them in Ingersoll, Woodstock, Beachville, and other nearby towns most Fridays at 3:00 pm. In 2015 we will be working with First Nations to organize a water walk along the Thames River from Tavistock to Lake St. Clair.

The Democracy Committee works with Leadnow to fight for fair elections and proportional representation, so that our election process is a more just and accurate reflection of the wishes of all Canadians.

The Food Security Committee is working with City Council to make London a pollinator sanctuary for bees and butterflies. It opposes GM foods, and supports urban agriculture and the distribution and marketing of local food.

 

We strongly urge citizens to go beyond emotional or intellectual sympathy with the campaigns of the Council of Canadians and to contact us and get involved. We will put you in touch with whichever committee chair is working on your favourite issue. Help make Canada THE CANADA WE WANT. 

People's Climate March London, Ontario - Sept. 21, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

PEOPLE'S CLIMATE MARCH, LONDON, ONTARIO, SEPT. 21, 1:30 PM - RIVERSIDE DR. AT THE JET D'EAU FOUNTAIN 

On Sunday, September 21, 2014, 1:30 pm at the Jet d'Eau Fountain at the Forks of the Thames, London will march in solidarity with hundreds of thousands of deeply concerned human beings around the planet to say NO to runaway climate change. The People's March in New York City expects over 100,000 people with 496 buses coming from nearly all 50 states and Canada. Those who cannot get to New York City are marching in their own cities. London will join 125 other cities in Canada, including Peterborough, Brampton, Barrie, Owen Sound, Oshawa, Belleville, Sudbury, Toronto, Burlington, Guelph, Stratford, Waterloo, Kitchener, Hamilton, St. Catherine, and Niagara on the Lake for this historic moment in history. 

Canadians who are angry with our government for escalating climate change and have a different vision for Canada are encouraged to speak to the crowd. The renown Line 9 Snake, which made its debut in Queens Park last spring to protest the National Energy Board approval of the reversal of the 40 year old Line 9, will be walked around downtown as marchers carry signs denouncing the continued use of fossil fuels. The march will end at the Peace Garden in time for the dedication ceremony of the new Peace Plaque. This is a fitting terminus for the People's Climate March, since escalating climate change is a serious threat to world peace. Rising sea levels, deserts where people once farmed, and lack of drinking water will all lead to wars over scarce resources. 

Anyone with a troubled conscience about Canada's contribution to climate change is invited to add their numbers to this historic event and join us at the Forks. 

Roberta Cory 
Chair, London Chapter, Council of Canadians 
519-601-2053 

LONDON CLIMATE MARCH!

IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE NEW YORK MARCH

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2014

1:30 PM AT FORKS OF THE THAMES

 (next to the bridge at the water cannon off Riverside Dr.)

 ANYONE CAN SPEAK (briefly)
 YOUR OWN WORDS OR QUOTES

BRING SIGNS

WALK THE LINE 9 SNAKE

PHOTOS OF OUR MARCH WILL BE SENT TO JOIN THOUSANDS OF OTHERS FROM CITIES AROUND THE WORLD

WE WILL END THE MARCH AT THE PEACE GARDEN FOR THE REDEDICATION OF THE PEACE PLAQUE at 2:45 pm 

Please go to watchdisruption.com. It is a 51 minute film that will help you understand the crucial fight against Climate change.

September Monthly Meeting of the London Chapter of the Council of Canadians

Documentary film: "KOCH BROTHERS EXPOSED"

Thursday September 11, 2014 at 6:00 pm - 8:45 pm in  Landon Branch, London Public Library, 167 Wortley Road,  Martha Bishop Room.

The September Monthly Meeting of the London Chapter of the Council of Canadians starts at 6:00 pm; the film starts at 7:30 pm. 

All are welcome! Free! Refreshments! 

Donations accepted gratefully! 

Minutes of our June 16, 2014 Monthly Meeting:
http://londoncouncilofcanadians.ca/LondonCoCMeetingMinutes.pdf

"We've reissued Koch Brothers Exposed in an updated version, Koch Brothers Exposed: 2014 Edition, to shine a light on them. We've delved even deeper into where their money is going, who their money is hurting, and how much they are making..."
http://www.bravenewfilms.org/koch2014

London Regional Social Forum, July 11-13, 2014

Final program:

 http://londoncouncilofcanadians.ca/LondonRegionalSocialForum2014.pdf 

Facebook page:

 https://www.facebook.com/events/464484100320894/

Kamilla Pietrzyk

The incredible program for the Forum begins Friday, July 11, 2014 at 6:00 pm with Musical Entertainment by Margo Does, activist/song-crafter, Indigenous Welcome by Gary Dickey, and Welcome by Lorraine McNeil and members of the organizing group. This welcome will be followed by the  Keynote Talk: "History and Impact of the Social Forum Movement" by Speakers Kamilla Pietrzyk and Ajamu Nangwaya. 

Ajamu Nangwaya

Then at 9:00 pm there will be rousing Musical Entertainment at East Village Coffee House, for which Tickets are available: $8 /sliding scale.

The spectacular program for Saturday July 12, 2014 promises to be a blockbuster, starting with a Panel Discussion at 10:00 a.m. on "Building Movement and Broad Resistance to the Right in Canada", With long-time activists and authors from across Canada: Tony Clarke, Carol Baker, Ken Lewenza Jr. and Matt Price with Murray Dobbin via Skype, followed by a Q and A session moderated by Patti Dalton. From 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm there will be a wide variety of workshops, including "The Fight to Protect our Groundwater", "Understanding and Resisting the Expansion of the Prison State", "Global-Local Solidarity with Palestine: Gaza's Ark and BDS", "Anarchist Perspectives", "Residential Schooling and the Indian Education Act: Why all the Hype?", "Peace Process in Colombia", "The Ontario Common Front", and "Grassroots Resistance to Line Nine". Following the workshops everyone is invited to join in on a walk led by the infamous giant LINE 9 SNAKE, and, if enough puppeteers are available, the giant Blue Water Serpent will come too. Both puppets are 30 feet long. Participants will decide on the details of the walk! 

Finally, Rabble.ca is holding a Book Launch at 7:00 pm for "The Best of Rabble 2014: The Year of Living Consciously"! Wow! Just wow!

Rain can have no effect on the program (all inside) on Sunday July 13, 2014, the grand finale, with eight more fabulous workshops starting at 10:00 a.m., including "Mayan Communities Fight Back Against Canadian Mining Companies: The case of the community of El Estor against Hudbay Minerals", "Exploring the Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson", "NGO-ization", "Women and Leadership in a Changing World", "Mesoamerica Resiste: a global struggle against capitalism", "Power to the 99% through Monetary Transformation", "Building Community: The Invisibles of Organizing", and "Alternative Media Panel Discussion".

Lunch will be provided by London's renowned Food Not Bombs group, and the Forum will be concluded with a Presentation at 4:00 p.m. on The People's Social Forum, Ottawa, Aug. 21-24, 2014 and a discussion of ideas for the PSF and the future of social forums in general and the London Regional Social Forum in particular. Once again we will be entertained by the biting guitar and wit of Margo Does as she sings us out following closing remarks by Meg Borthwick. What a day!

Council of Canadians, London Chapter updates, May, 2014/ Line 9 Pledge of Resistance

Dear Activists - 

Since we were not able to send the minutes of the April 14 meeting out until this late date (BUSY doing CoC work) here are the updates and CHANGES to the minutes:

 1) Earth Day in Ingersoll was wonderful - met George Henry, Chippewa of the Thames , and will work with him against Line 9 and to save the Thames River - Maude Barlow helped walk the Water Serpent - lots of us went. 

 2) Earth Day in London - Water Serpent taken around by Boys' and Girls' Club -Thank you Cathy Quinlan, Paula Papel, and Daisy Oliver. 

 3) Defend our Climate Day of Action - Two actions: Lead Now event in Victoria Park got a crowd, and 50 people from all over, Guelph, Kitchener, Toronto, Sarnia, and London went on the Toxic Tour in Sarnia, got educated (it is appalling - I will share more at a later date) and supported the Aamjiwnaang First Nation in solidarity. Line 9 Snake and Water Serpent marched in a stiff wind with 24 puppeteers. Important to continue to support them in anyway we can. Serious situation! 

 4) Tzeporah Berman spoke at the Central Library last night and energized the audience - a new crowd - lots of potential activists for the important anti-Line 9 campaign we are engaged in here in London. See Rising Tide Toronto message below. Google - Not Worth the Risk Report - read it - print out copies - share it with friends - PLEASE 

 5) New place for our meetings needed - Tolpuddle most likely not available - please look around for free, can hold 25, can show films, central and easy to get to with free parking. Write us back if you find somewhere. 

 6) June meeting date and place not found at this time. It will still be a potluck and George Crowell will speak about the Bank of Canada and how it will help solve some of Canada's problems. 

 7) Our Solidarity Film Coalition will be hosting Cinema Politica next fall. 

 8) SLAVERY was eliminated, WOMEN have the vote, the VIETNAM WAR ended, ENDANGERED SPECIES have been protected and populations are returning, the UN passed the RIGHT TO WATER resolution, LABOUR UNIONS created decent working conditions where there were none before, we have MEDICARE ………….all these happened through grassroots organizing, relentless resistance, patience, and networking. Today the issues are CLIMATE CHANGE and holding on to DEMOCRACY. 

 9) EACH OF US has a little time and some skills and experience. TOGETHER WE ARE A FORCE. WHAT WILL YOU DO? 

Roberta Cory, Chair 
Council of Canadians, London 

 ---------------------------------------- 

From: "Rising Tide Toronto via Leadnow.ca" 
Subject: Update: Line 9 Pledge of Resistance 
Date: 13 May, 2014 9:52:18 AM EDT 
Hi there! 
Rising Tide Toronto would like to send you a (delayed) thank you for being one of over 600 people to take our Line 9 Pledge of Resistance. It's powerful to think what over 600 of us can accomplish for our communities and our environment if we work together to stop this reckless project from being built. With construction along Line 9 rapidly moving forward, it is more important than ever for us to stand together to protect our communities, our environment and our future, and we need to be able to keep you updated on what's happening, and how people who've taken the Pledge of Resistance can take action. To make our ongoing organizing as easy as possible, the folks at Leadnow - whose awesome petition system we used for the pledge of resistance - have said we can keep you updated directly via our own Rising Tide Toronto mailing list, rather than Leadnow's system, as long as that's OK with you. Of course, we're deeply committed to respecting your privacy, and rest assured, Rising Tide Toronto will never spam you. All our emails are sent with the understanding that you, like all of us, likely have a busy schedule to manage. We only hope that RTT can help you to nonetheless stay up-to-date and involved on this important issue that affects all of us. This email is coming from Leadnow's petition system. If you would prefer not to get updates directly from Rising Tide Toronto in future, please just click the "opt out" link at the bottom of this message. (You can also opt out in the future at any time as well.) In Solidarity Always, Rising Tide Toronto 

------------------------------------------ 

http://londoncouncilofcanadians.ca/LondonCoCMeetingMinutes.pdf

Climate Day of Action, May 10, 2014: Sarnia, Here We Come!

Toxic Tour in Sarnia for the Climate Day of Action on May 10, 2014 looks like it's attracting large numbers of peeps from all over Ontario! The place to be! There should be plenty of puppeteers to operate both giant 30 foot long snake puppets, the Black Line 9 Snake (representing tar sands pipelines) and the Blue Water Snake (representing our precious fresh water, especially the Great Lakes and associated waterways and watersheds). Plans for the snakes include taking the Black Line 9 Snake from Sarnia to the terminus of Line 9 in Quebec and taking the Blue Water Snake from the headwaters of the Thames River to its mouth on Lake St. Clair. The Toxic Tour on May 10 would be the first time both snake puppets have appeared together! Hoping for nice weather, because they can't be used in the rain... If you need a ride to Sarnia from London call Roberta 5196012053.

Toxic Tour: On The Front Line

Saturday, May 10 at 12:00 noon
Maawn Doosh Gumig Community and Youth Centre 
1972 Virgil Avenue, Sarnia, Ontario 
519-491-2160 or 519-491-1374 

AGENDA: 

Meeting outside of Maawn Doosh Gumig at 12:00 noon for Opening Prayer and song. The walk will include prayers to the 4 directions. We plan to walk through Aamjiwnaang to honor our relations with the land, air and water along the St.Clair river, through Chemical Valley. Back through Aamjiwnaang and walking along Talfourd Creek and to end back at the community centre for dinner at 5:00 pm.


The London Chapter of the Council of Canadians will be participating in this action! We will have both the giant Black Line 9 Snake, to be operated by 11 volunteer puppeteers, and our usual yellow CoC banner with us. 

For rides from London call Roberta, 519-601-2053.

Monthly Meeting of the London Chapter of the Council of Canadians

TZEPORAH BERMAN 
("Canada's Queen of Green") 
"Hope and Engagement: 
Tackling Climate Change and Pipeline Politics" 
Monday, May 12 at 7:00pm - 9:00pm 
Stevenson and Hunt Room 
London Public Library 251 Dundas St., London, Ontario 

$5 suggested donation 

http://www.tzeporahberman.com/ 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tzeporah_Berman 

Tzeporah Berman has been designing and winning environmental campaigns in Canada and internationally for 20 years. She currently works as a strategic advisor for dozens of environmental organizations, First Nations and philanthropic advisors on clean energy, oilsands and pipelines. She is the former co-director of Greenpeace International's Global Climate and Energy Program, Executive Director and Co-founder of PowerUp Canada and Co-founder and Campaign Director of ForestEthics. Tzeporah was one of the experts in Leonardo Di Caprio's environmental documentary 11th hour, was one of six Canadian nominees for the Schwab Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award, has been profiled as one of 50 Visionaries Changing the World in Utne Reader and as "Canada's Queen of Green" in the cover story for Readers Digest. This year Tzeporah was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of British Columbia. Her first book, This Crazy Time: Living Our Environmental Challenge was recently published by Knopf Canada.

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

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

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)

    http://risingtidetoronto.noblogs.org/files/2014/02/NEB_report_final.pdf

Half Page Handbill Jan. 18, 2014


http://londoncouncilofcanadians.ca info@londoncouncilofcanadians.ca

Chapter Chair – Roberta Cory
robertacory@rogers.com
519-601-2053 

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Campaigns: Trade Justice London, London Health Coalition (fighting austerity and privatization), Food Security (Pollinator Sanctuary London), Solidarity Film Coalition (with LACASA), Water Rights, Stop Line 9, Peace and Human Rights

WALK OF SOLIDARITY AND RESISTANCE TO FREE- TRADE GLOBALIZATION
Sat., Feb. 1, 2014, 12 noon, meet at Tolpuddle Co-op on Adelaide

TAR SANDS DRAGON OPERA
Sun., Feb. 2, 2014, East Village Coffeehouse at English and Dundas 6:00 pm potluck; 7:00- 9:00 pm performance by Birdbone Theatre

EARTHDAY PARADE IN LONDON
IMAGINE FLOATS, BICYCLES, PROPS, MASKS, COSTUMED MARCHERS, REVELERS, MUSIC, DRUMMING, CELEBRATING OUR MOTHER GAIA. Freedom of Speech Marchers – any group with a message about human beings and their relationship to our planet – from celebratory to ironic humour. Email robertacory@rogers.com See for example: Heart of the Beast May Day parade, http://hobt.org/mayday/parade/

LETS GET ORGANIZED AND MAKE IT HAPPEN!