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Indigenous Peoples Distinct Cultures Erode Without Respect For Rights Over Lands, Territories, Natural Resources, Forum Told

Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
Sixth Session
1st & 2nd Meetings (AM & PM)

Two-Week Session Opens at Headquarters with Speakers Stressing Importance of General Assembly Adoption of Declaration on Indigenous Rights

With delicate ecosystems that support millions of native peoples being wiped out at astonishing rates, representatives of indigenous groups from all over the world gathered today in New York to begin two weeks of discussions with top United Nations officials, Government representatives and members of civil society on the struggle of indigenous peoples to defend their rights to access and use the land and natural resources in their territories.

“Without access to and respect for the rights over their lands, territories and natural resources, indigenous peoples’ distinct cultures -- and the possibility of determining their on development -- become eroded,” said Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Chairperson of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, as she opened the Forum’s sixth session, which will run through 25 May and will consider solutions to end the senseless exploitation of traditional lands and natural resources, a key issue at the heart of indigenous people’s efforts to gain recognition of their rights

Paying tribute to “ancestors and the thousands of indigenous activists who had sacrificed their lives in defence of traditional lands and territories”, Ms. Tauli-Corpuz, who is from the Philippines, and was re-elected Chairperson at the opening of the meeting, said that it was no surprise that most local and national indigenous peoples’ movements had emerged from struggles against their customary land tenure and resource management systems, which expropriated their lands, extracted their resources without their consent and which led to their displacement.

Highlighting new developments, she said one of the major thrusts for 2007 would be to press for the General Assembly’s adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, approved by the Human Rights Council last year. Indigenous peoples worldwide had been “deeply disappointed” by the Assembly’s decision to defer action on the Declaration last year. Noting that amendments had been made to the text in the meantime, she said that every effort should be made to ensure that what was put before the Assembly was the Council-approved version, not one “which mangled the Declaration beyond recognition.” “The fate of this Declaration is in your hands and the Governments who are here today,” she said.

In his opening statement, José Antonio Ocampo, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, said that the United Nations had long recognized that indigenous peoples had a profound spiritual and material relationship with the land, on which they often depended both for their physical and cultural survival. Indigenous sacred sites, foundations of indigenous traditional knowledge, indigenous religions, languages and ways of life were all tied to land. “Yet, all too often, indigenous peoples have been forcibly displaced from their traditional territories for economic, military or other interests, without any compensation or other means to sustain themselves,” he said.

Indigenous persons had joined the ever-increasing numbers of migrants that lived fragile lives in cities, at home and abroad. Urban indigenous issues, to which the Forum would devote special attention, were a contemporary reality that Governments, indigenous communities, and the whole society needed to urgently consider. The Forum’s recommendations on its special theme -- land, territories and natural resources -- should serve to enhance positive and constructive action at all levels, while this year’s regional focus on Asia would provide another way to promote action closer to indigenous communities, he said.

Welcoming the Forum, General Assembly President, Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa of Bahrain, agreed that while the Forum had been the source of thought-provoking dialogue and produced concrete recommendations, there was more to be done. “Indigenous peoples continue to face marginalization, extreme poverty and other human rights violations, and are often dragged into conflicts that threaten their survival,” she said, adding that they also suffered from a lack of access to healthcare and education.

Indigenous peoples were not victims, however, but were rather a “dynamic collection of communities” whose knowledge, culture and environmentalism offered valuable lessons, she continued. She assured the representatives of indigenous peoples of her continued commitment to reaching common ground on that important matter. “The doors of the United Nations will always be open to indigenous peoples and their presence would continue to enrich the Organization,” she said.

Among the many expert presentations and reports by representatives on United Nations agencies and Funds that made up the bulk of the Forum’s work today, Erica-Irene A. Daes, of Greece, an elected member of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations and Special Rapporteur on Indigenous People’s Land Rights, said one of the most acute and complex situations facing the world’s indigenous peoples was the refusal by certain Governments to promote and protect their rights to land and natural resources. To understand the profound relationship of indigenous peoples to their lands and natural resources, cultural differences between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples should be recognized.

The doctrines of dispossession that had emerged in developing modern international law, particularly the concepts of “terra nullius” and “discovery”, had well-known adverse effects on indigenous peoples, she continued. Other problems included the State’s failure to acknowledge indigenous rights to territories lands and resources; to demarcate indigenous lands; to enforce or implement laws protecting indigenous lands; and the State’s expropriation of indigenous lands for national interest without the prior and informed consent of indigenous peoples. Also, the principle of permanent sovereignty over natural resources and the scope of indigenous peoples’ right to own, develop and manage their territories, lands and resources, should be reviewed, she added.

In other business, the Forum adopted the provisional agenda of its sixth session, and elected by acclamation Vice-Chairpersons from among its membership: Otilia Lux de Coti from Guatemala, William Langeveld from South Africa, Mr. Aqqaluk from Greenland and Ida Nicolaisen from Denmark. Michael Dodson from Australia was elected as Rapporteur.

Dalius Čekoulis of Lithuania, President of the Economic and Social Council, and Luis de Alba of Mexico, President of the Human Rights Council, also addressed the Forum.

As is the Forum’s tradition, the sixth session was opened with an invocation from Tracy L. Shenandoah, Chief of the Onondaga Nation, Eel Clan. Acknowledging Red Willow as the leader of medicines, he said the creator had planted medicines, including berries, for people to use. He also gave thanks to the birds, especially the eagle, and to the “three sisters” of all foods: corn, beans and squash. He also gave thanks to the waters for their help in creating peace. His statement was followed by a performance by the Laihui cultural group from Manipur, India.

The Forum was also addressed by the representatives of the following United Nations agencies, associated funds and programmes and intergovernmental organizations: International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW); United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR); United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT); United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA); United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF); the Food And Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Forum on Forests.

Also addressing the Forum were representatives of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO); the International Labour Organization (ILO); International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD); International Land Coalition (ILC); the International Organization for Migration (IOM); and the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB).

A representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) also spoke.

Taking the floor on behalf of the Forum were Wilton Littlechild from Canada, Aqqaluk Lynge of Greenland and Hassan Id Balkassm from Morocco.

The Forum will reconvene at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 15 May, to begin its dialogue with indigenous peoples and representatives of indigenous groups on the special theme “indigenous peoples’ rights to lands, territories and natural resources”.

Additional online references:

• Please visit http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/hr4917.doc.htm to view full document
   
• Assembly Of First Nations Submission to the Sixth Session Of The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Special Theme: Territories, Lands and Natural Resources available at: http://www.afn.ca/misc/UNPFII.pdf

From CBC News ...

Scientists call for Canadian boreal forest's protection
May 14, 2007 - CBC News

Some 1,500 scientists from more than 50 countries around the world on Monday urged Canadian governments to protect the country's 566.6 million-hectare boreal forest.

The forest — described by the researchers in an open letter as one of the world's last remaining and largest intact forest and wetland ecosystems — is a major source of fresh water in North America, home to billions of animals and important to the livelihood of First Nations communities, they noted.

According to the researchers, the boreal forest is threatened by logging, mining, oil and gas operations and other activities, and will continue to be at risk unless federal, provincial and territorial governments increase the area that enjoys protected status from the current 10 per cent to at least 50 per cent.

"The world scientific community is recognizing that the Canadian boreal forest is more important than they knew," Jeff Wells, a scientist with the International Boreal Conservation Campaign and the Boreal Songbird Initiative, told CBC.ca.

"About 50 per cent of migratory bird species, or about three to five billion birds, migrate through the region, it has the world's largest reservoirs of fresh water in its 1.5 million lakes and ponds … and [it] is a critical shield against global warming," said Wells, who holds a PhD in avian ecology.

The region constitutes about one-quarter of the world's forest and is one of five remaining regions that serve a global environmental balancing role, he said.

Scientists say the forest is the world's largest storage mass for carbon — a crucial link to help curb global climate change. It is capable of storing 186 billion tonnes of carbon, or the equivalent of 27 years of carbon dioxide emissions from planetary consumption of fossil fuels, according to the researchers.

Wells said that in other parts of the world — including the United States — upwards of 90 per cent of forest and grasslands that serve as obstacles to global climate change have been destroyed, changing ecosystems and resulting in the extinction of species.

"The carrier pigeon went from [a population] of three to five billion to zero in about 100 years. It was one of the most common species but the last one died in a zoo in 1914. We don't want to repeat that."

Ecological models suggest that a four-degree increase in temperature will put 40 per cent of all species at risk of extinction, he said, citing recent research.

'People once thought clean water was unlimited'
Scientists have only recently started to realize the global importance of the Canadian boreal forest, Wells said.

"People once thought clean water was unlimited, they thought clean air was unlimited, they thought animals were unlimited. Now we know they're not," he said.

The elimination of ecosystems and species that have occurred to date are a direct result of that, Wells said.

"It's a function of lack of vision, lack of knowledge, and poor planning," Wells said.

The International Boreal Conservation Campaign, the Canadian Boreal Initiative and the Boreal Songbird Initiative, backed by U.S.-based Pew Charitable Trusts, publicly released the letter Monday.

Related Online Resources:

• Canadian Boreal Initiative
• Boreal Songbird Initiative

Centre for Indigenous Theatre
Presents the world premiere of
GEGWAH
Written by Alanis King

Sioux Lookout, Ontario – In an unprecedented collaboration, The Sioux Lookout Anti-Racism Committee, Kwayaciiwin Education Resource Centre, Queen Elizabeth District High School and the Sioux Hudson Entertainment Series have joined forces to bring a most extraordinary play to Sioux Lookout. Alanis King’s new work Gegwah will be presented in Sioux Lookout, Thursday, May 17 at 7:30, at Queen Elizabeth District High School. Admision is "Pay what you can", suggested donation of $5. The play will be presented to students on Friday, May 18 at 9 AM at the high school as an activity in its annual Native Awareness Week.
 
The Centre for Indigenous Theatre is touring Gegwah across Ontario in April and May.  It is being performed by CIT’s professional acting students and supported by an award winning production team. Gegwah will be presented in Toronto, Peterborough, Wikwemikong, Sault Ste Marie, Cape Croker, Kettle Point, Ottawa and Sioux Lookout.
 
Set on the shores of Manitoulin Island in the 1600’s, the story of Gegwah follows seven dispossessed characters, a young band of Odawas who are faced with the onslaught of first contact, specifically the bible and the fur trade.  The story focuses on the emotional impact of colonization through the eyes of these characters as they deal with a rapidly changing landscape. The principal characters are two sisters, who are abandoned by their band as their land is set on fire. They seek solace and guidance from Nokomis (grandmother) and the many animate spirits around them, who feed them with stories and songs to give them strength.
 
This piece is performed entirely in Anishnabemowin, specifically the Odawa dialect that is true to the region in which the story is set and very similar to Ojibway. Audience members will be provided with a synopsis of the story, however our experience through the workshop of this piece indicates that the movement choreographed by Alejandro Roncerio (director / choreographer / dramaturge), combined with the production design, will make it accessible to non-speakers of the language.

A graduate of the National Theatre School, Alanis King is a playwright with numerous credits to her name including, Lovechild, Artshow, Heartdwellers, Manitoulin Incident, Tommy Prince Story, If Jesus Met Nanabush, Storyteller and Step by Step. Ms. King is excited about the presentation of this work, “I gladly accepted the offer from [Artistic Director] Rose Stella to be CIT’s Playwright in Residence, it’s a wonderful chance for a playwright to work on a new play and have students develop and produce it with a director.”

Based in Toronto, The Centre for Indigenous Theatre offers post-secondary performing arts training to people of Indigenous ancestry. The purpose of the program is to develop contemporary performance art from a distinctively Indigenous cultural foundation. The training program springboards from Indigenous culture and contemporary theatre techniques, in such a way that students will receive a uniquely Indigenous beginning to their performance arts careers. The curriculum integrates training in the areas of acting, voice and movement with Indigenous cultural classes in dance, song and oral history. The program also offers a professional development component, which allows students and working professional artists to train together, adding a mentoring element to the curriculum. To gain practical performance experience, students are given the opportunity to publicly perform through community showcase events, story creation projects and year-end shows featuring senior students. We seek to create performance, rooted in our mythology and oracy through cultural instruction aimed at bringing out the cultural memory of the individuals attending the school and validating their perception of culture.

The Centre for Indigenous Theatre gratefully acknowledges the support of The Department of Canadian Heritage, Canada Council for the Arts, The Ontario Arts Council, The Toronto Arts Council, the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation, Baagwating Community Association (Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation), Bank of Montreal Financial Group, Miziwe Biik Aboriginal Employment & Training, The Cultural Human Resource Council, The George Cedric Metcalf Charitable Foundation and the Suncor Energy Foundation.

For more information or media enquiries please call (416) 506-9436. Jeffrey Ross, Marketing Coordinator

or in Sioux Lookout, Laurel Wood (807) 737-2174
lawood@gosiouxlookout.com

-30-

The Centre for Indigenous Theatre
401 Richmond Street West, Suite 205
Toronto, Ontario M5V 1X3
citmail@indigenoustheatre.com
www.indigenoustheatre.com

From Ottawa Sun ...

Natives Push to Find Remains

Monday May 14th - By JORGE BARRERA, NATIONAL BUREAU

A Native group is threatening an "escalating campaign of civil disobedience" to force the federal government into identifying and repatriating the bodies of 50,000 Native children who the group claims died in residential schools.

Thirty-five members of the group, called The Friends of the Disappeared, occupied the Vancouver offices of Indian Residential Schools Resolution Canada on Friday.

"Until the remains of these children are repatriated (to traditional lands) and their murderers brought to justice, church and government facilities across Canada will be disrupted in an escalating campaign of civil disobedience," said the group in a statement sent to Sun Media.

The group, made up of Indian residential school survivors and their supporters, claims 50,000 children died in the schools.
Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice has asked the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, created as part of a compensation package for school survivors, to count the dead and find where they are buried.

FINDING DEAD IMPOSSIBLE

But naming and finding them may be impossible. Many were buried in unmarked graves and the records are incomplete.

The country's leading scholar on residential schools, Trent University professor John Milloy, was asked 10 years ago by a family to find a child who committed suicide in one of the schools. Milloy, however, said he could find no records to lead him to a body.

"You are not going to get a lot of information on the number of children who died," said Milloy.

Bob Watts, interim executive director of the commission, remains optimistic. More and more records are coming into their hands, including private documents like school officials' diaries.

"We are getting more and more files on a daily basis," said Watts, former chief of staff to Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine. "There is more and more history coming forward."

PAUPER'S BURIAL

Native children were buried "two in a grave" in at least one residential school, according to documents discovered by Milloy in the National Archives of Canada.

The children were buried together to save money.

"I directed the undertaker to be as careful as possible in his charge, so he gave them a burial as near as possible to that of a pauper. They are buried two in a grave," wrote Rev. J. Woodsworth, principal of a Red Deer, Alta., school in a 1918 letter to the Department of Indian Affairs.

From the Peterborough Examiner ...

Two solitudes; No hope of common ground between natives, non-natives: aboriginal lawyer

JEANNE PENGELLY / Examiner Education Writer
Local News - Saturday, May 12, 2007

An aboriginal lawyer says there is no hope of common ground between native and non-natives.

"There is no cultural common (ground). People who are trying to talk about one are likely to fail," said Paul Williams, an aboriginal lawyer from Six Nations who has handled more than 100 Indian land claims.

Instead, natives and non-natives are on a "collision" course that began when Europeans landed on North American soil and the only possible shock absorbers are respect, trust and friendship, Williams told a gathering of about 30 educators and academics at Trent University yesterday.

"What appears to be happening is in fact repeated offers to paths of assimilation, which essentially means elimination," he said.

"Not at the senior government level, not at the university levels do people understand - these are irreconcilable differences.
"

Calling the conversation "chilling and challenging," Joe Sheridan, a York University professor and organizer of this weekend's Eco-Justice Education Conference, said the "future of humanity" is at stake.

The topics ranged from spirituality to the environment, but all had the same core - there is no way to separate the outside world from humanity.

The problem is that non-natives have a different world view, Sheridan said.

This is most evident in universities and colleges, he said.

"At the post-secondary education level, we are doing something grievously wrong," Sheridan said.

"It's eco-apartheid. By requiring aboriginal people to take PhDs in post-secondary institutions, prevents the voices of traditional knowledge from being heard."

That's something the leader of the 42-member First Nations of the Anishinabek Nation said must change.

"All too often universities want to put all of their apples in one basket," Grand Council Chief John Beaucage told the group at Gzowski College's Gathering Space.

"Our elders have every bit as much knowledge as a person with a PhD in environmental science. We would be cheating ourselves and our children if we don't consider the teachings of our elders."

Williams said the problem stems from people focusing on some future point, rather than the here-and-now.

"Forgive my cynicism," Williams said. "I don't think human beings are the be-all and end-all on earth. Once you become a society that believes you have a destination, what about the people you meet along the way?"

If there is no hope for reconciliation, there's no need for truth and reconciliation commissions, he said.

While he says it's a "huge challenge," Bob Watts, newly appointed director of the Assembly of First Nations' truth and reconciliation commission, said he's optimistic.

"There may be a need to set aside notions of superiority and imperialism," Watts said.

Curve Lake First Nation Chief Keith Knott said he was "inspired" by the conference.

"What I would like to see is to take the setting and bring it out in the open," he told The Examiner.

"Nobody knows when the rest of the world is ready."

Knott said Trent University - with its history of respect for indigenous studies and with buildings set part in the city, part in the country - is a good place to start.

Presse Release ...

Sioux Lookout Mothers and Daughters Canoe to Raise Money for Youth

May 11, 2007 - Sioux Lookout. Twelve women announced here today that they will embark on a three-day, 50- kilometre canoe trip to help keep the Sioux Lookout Anti-Racism Committee (SLARC) Youth Centre open.

On June 1, 2007, the women will set out from Abram Lake near Sioux Lookout paddling 25 kilometres to Stranger Lake and back in an effort to raise $5,000 on behalf of the Youth Centre, a popular place for town youth to hang out in the evenings.

This is the fifth time the women of the community both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal have experienced a wilderness adventure together under the leadership of Lorraine Kenny, Lac Seul social activist. “For each trip we look for a cause that will benefit the community,” said Ms. Kenny. One year it was the Sunset Women’s group. Another time it was the Sioux Lookout Menoyawin Hospital. This year we are focusing on youth because our daughters are involved in the trip and because the Youth Centre really needs our help”.

The Multicultural Youth Centre is an important and successful resource for Sioux Lookout’s youth, providing a safe and cool hangout that is drug and alcohol free. The youth – from both First Nations and non-Native backgrounds –  run the Centre with supervision. Participation at the Youth Centre has been growing exponentially with over 2,400 visits from local youth this year. Supported by SLARC with space provided by the town, there is at present no funds available to provide programming and supervision support for the Centre.

“The canoeathon is always fun and a challenge,” said four-time women’s canoeathon participant Laurel Wood. “It’s great to introduce new women to canoeing and the time together on the water is good for us all and good for our community too."

All donations will receive a tax-deductible receipt from the Sioux Lookout Anti-racism Committee.

For More Information Please contact
Jennifer Morrow Business Manager
Sioux Lookout Anti-Racism Committee
(807) 737-4901
jmorrow@slarc.ca

or

Lorraine Kenny
807 7372727
lorrainekenny@knet.ca

From the Canadian Press ...

Aboriginal land claim spending set to drop
By SUE BAILEY The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — Tensions are rising over native land disputes, but federal funds to settle them would drop under newly released spending plans.

The government’s Plans and Priorities report says the core amount budgeted to resolve land claims will be steadily cut over the next three years.

Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice says the document should be ignored, however, since he’ll move this spring to overhaul a discredited system "as soon as is practical."

Basic funding for related settlements is set at about $159 million this fiscal year, said Michel Roy, assistant deputy minister overseeing land claims at Indian Affairs.

That amount is slated to drop to just under $153 million next year and to $143.1 million in 2009-10.

The planned spending decrease is mainly due to the gradual completion of payments owed under certain major land deals, Roy said.

Yet there are no planned increases to speed a settlement process that the government itself concedes isn’t working.

An exhaustive Senate committee report earlier this year urged the Conservatives to commit at least $250 million a year. The alternative, it warned, is the flare-up of more potentially ugly clashes like the one that pitted native against non-native in Caledonia, Ont., last year over a housing development.

Frustration is once again building in the southwestern Ontario community as complex talks drag on.

Farther east, a rail blockade three weeks ago by a splinter group of Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte paralyzed passenger and freight traffic between Toronto and Montreal. The protest near Deseronto, Ont., caused chaos for a day until it was peacefully ended.

There are more than 800 unsolved claims in a growing "inventory" of cases across much of Canada, Roy says. Of those, just 120 have made it to the active negotiation stage.

It typically takes 13 years for a case to be resolved from start to finish, he says.

From the Canadian Jewish News ...

An apology that’s long overdue

The following official court notice appeared in local newspapers recently: “The Indian residential schools settlement has been approved. The healing continues.”

The court order states that $1.9 billion be given to native people who suffered in residential schools. Up to $275,000 per person will go to individuals based on the amount of sexual, physical and psychological abuse they suffered; $125 million has been set aside for “healing”; $60 million is earmarked for “research” and preserving the experiences of the survivors; and $20 million will go to national and community commemorative projects.

If you’ve never read about Canada’s residential schools, Google “native residential schools Canada” and learn that children were pulled from the arms of their parents as part of religious missionary work and taken to one of 72 residential schools across Canada. The last schools closed in 1996.

In these unsanitary schools, children were punished for speaking their language and forced to sleep next to youngsters dying of tuberculosis (of whom thousands were buried in unmarked graves).

The $1.9 billion that has been earmarked to pay for this genocide – the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide says the forcible transfer of children from one group to another is an act of genocide if done “with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group” – is long overdue and far too little.

If it’s possible to quantify the value of a child, whether that child died in St. Philip Residential School or Duck Lake boarding school (where it is said that more than one half of the children sent there died before their 18th birthdays), $1.9 billion does not cover one single native son or daughter who died at the hands of nuns, priests, government officials and those sworn to protect us, the RCMP.

Over the next year, survivors of the residential schools or their family members will make claims for the suffering they endured. Those who present appropriate evidence will one day receive a cheque in the mail. They will open the envelope, remove the cheque and likely stare at it for a long time – the same way, I imagine, Jewish Holocaust survivors do when they hold a German government cheque in their hand.

The amount of the cheque or the simple fact they were granted financial compensation, will not, however, be sufficient to give them closure.

To achieve that will require thorough and ongoing education for people like you and me that reveals the anguish our native people have gone through. Our schools need to bare the Canadian soul by teaching the real history of Canada, including the nasty policies of corporations that committed unspeakable crimes against native Canadians.

To find closure, a government cheque will not suffice. The prime minister of Canada must involve our entire country in a truth and reconciliation process so, we, the children and grandchildren of those who perpetrated this national crime, are encouraged to beg forgiveness from native survivors, and from those who died and will never have a voice.

He must speak to the entire nation, on prime time television, and say: “We can never properly repay those who lost their lives in Canadian residential schools. We will never be able to return children to their mother’s arms who died in those horrific places. The Canadian people will forever live with this aspect of our history. However, today we beg you for forgiveness.”

How is it possible that in our country, one with “glowing hearts,” the most vulnerable among us – our children – were treated by the Anglican, Catholic and United churches like the enemy? How do we come to grips with the fact our government for decades ignored report after report that death tolls in some of these schools had reached 69 per cent?

To our children, our Aboriginal children, we say: “We are deeply sorry.”

Press Release ...

Conservatives are Sending Mixed Signals on Bulk Water Sales - An Interview with Mark Holland

OTTAWA, ON, May 8 - In an interview on water.ca, Liberal MP (Ajax-Pickering) Mark Holland said that the export of bulk water in any fashion, including diversions and removals, is not acceptable. Canada is very fortunate to have great amounts of water, but they should not be taken for granted, especially in the context of climate change and the uncertain effects it will have on our environment. Bulk water exports are dangerous to our environment and natural ecology.

Of great concern to Mr. Holland and to his party, are the recent meetings held under the North American Prosperity Partnership where bulk water sales were being discussed. According to Mr. Holland, in delegating government bureaucrats to this meeting, the Conservatives are sending a mixed signal which threatens our very sovereignty over Canadian water resources. The fact that these meetings were held behind closed doors, did not include other parties and were not made public is also very disturbing.

It would be wise and prudent, according to Mr. Holland, to have a National Water Policy not only to reiterate our opposition to bulk water sales, but also in terms of our domestic consumption and the impact of global warming on our water resources.

Other topics discussed during the interview include the need to give Canadian cities the powers and resources they need to manage issues such as infrastructure renewal; and the absolute importance of dealing with the horrible water problems in native communities.

For a more detailed account of this interview, you are invited to log onto water.ca where all interviews are posted in their entirety.

Water.ca is an online information service dedicated to the preservation of Canada's water. The site also features an interactive map pinpointing all water advisories across the country, and a Red Button Service to alert communities faced with a water crisis.

For further information: Matt Armstrong, (613) 225-5353, armstrong.water@gmail.com