PEOPLE POWER is a six-chaper 50 minute DVD designed to help activists launch grassroots community-based campaigns to protect public power and the environment.
The Council of Canadians takes charge with Canada’s first day of action on energy: BC’s private power projects are primary conce
On February 2, 2008, the 12 chapters of the Council of Canadians will be joining over 40 communities across the country to mark Canada's first national energy day of action. Events taking place in British Columbia will highlight the theft of BC's rivers through the granting of Private Power Water Licenses to private investors through ‘run-of-river' projects'.
FOR RELEASE ON Feb 2, 2008
BC's private power projects are primary concern
On February 2, 2008, the 12 chapters of the Council of Canadians will be joining over 40 communities across the country to mark Canada's first national energy day of action. Events taking place in British Columbia will highlight the theft of BC's rivers through the granting of Private Power Water Licenses to private investors through ‘run-of-river' projects'. Events are taking place in Campbell River, Courtenay, Duncan, Golden, Kamloops, Kelowna, Nelson, Pemberton, Powell River, Surrey, Vancouver and Victoria. Events range from expert speaker panels, film screenings, leafleting outside supermarkets and at community events, and a day-time rally in Vancouver.
"Canada does not have a national energy strategy that addresses where our energy comes from, where it is going, or the high price of environmental devastation that can come with producing it," says Carleen Pickard, Regional Organizer for BC/Yukon of the Council of Canadians. "Our governments have signed away our sovereignty over energy resources through free trade agreements with the United States."
In British Columbia the provincial government is working to erode public control over resources by handing out run-of-river licenses to private energy companies. With these licenses, corporations are poised to make millions of dollars as these contracts last at least 20 years. With over 500 licenses in the application process, the coalition of organizations participating in the energy day of action is demanding a 2-year moratorium to determine the cumulative environmental, economic, and social costs of these projects.
"Without a Canadian Energy Strategy - a strategy that will give Canadians security of their energy supplies, guaranteed access to energy reserves in times of need, and strong policies that protect our environment and focus on finding alternative, less harmful energy solutions - our country will continue to be a victim of an energy gold rush," says Pickard.
The Day of Action in BC is co-sponsored by the Council of Canadians, COPE 378, the Western Canada Wilderness Committee, Citizens for Public Power, the BC Federation of Labour and CUPE BC.
Click here for more information about this event.