Plugged In - BCCPP eNews February 2010

Take Action
In November 2009, BC's Ministry of Energy, Mines, and Petroleum Resources established a Green Energy Advisory Task Force, inviting the public to submit ideas and input about: clean energy, regulatory reform; carbon pricing, export market development; community engagement and First Nations partnerships; and resource development.

The brief public consultation period began on November 30th and ended January 1st, but the government refuses to publicize submissions received by the Task Force. BCCPP has filed a formal request for access to this information under the Freedom of Information and Protection Privacy Act.

Help bring more transparency to the process:

1) Go Public! If you or your organization/group made a submission to the Green Energy Advisory Task Force and wish to make the information public, please email your submission in MS Word or PDF format to: coordinator@bcguardians.ca and we will post it on our BC Guardians website.

2) Demand Results! Email the Premier (Gordon Campbell); the Minister of Energy, Mines, and Petroleum (Blair Leckstrom); and the Minister of Environment (Barry Penner), along with your own elected MLA.  Remind them of their obligations to a democratic and transparent process and ask them to post all submission received by the Green Energy Advisory Task Force to their website. 

In the Media
The January 29th edition of the Vancouver Sun featured an OpEd by BC Citizens for Public Power highlighting how the government's privatization agenda is masquerading as a green solution to climate change. 

Read the OpEd that exposes the government's disengenuous attempts at creating truly green power.

The February 9th Throne Speech included several references to the government's determiniation to privatize BC's electricity sector--and sacrifice the province's rivers, wilderness and wildlife in the process. 

The government's vision of a "future powered by clean energy" is clearly more about developing the province's private power sector--through an expedited environmental approval process--than about genuine solutions to climate change. 

-- Read the Throne Speech
-- Read BCCPP's media release and response

Also, next month you can expect a significant increase in BCCPP's media and public profile as an additional spokesperson—one of BC's most respected and eminent environmentalists—joins our campaign.

Information and Resources
BCCPP is presently producing an instructional DVD for grassroots activists on creating a successful community-based public power campaign. This resource will be relevant for jurisdictions across Canada. Topics include:

-- Tips and tools for community organizing
-- Coalition building: collaborating with environmental activists, labour organizations, citizens' groups, First Nations, and other allies
-- Countering opposition: tools and techniques to expose strategies typically used by the government, private power industry, and "astroturf" groups to undermine public power systems and campaigns.

Watch for the launch and release of this project in the spring.

Help us keep our doors open
In order to continue our valuable work, BCCPP needs ongoing financial support. We are seeking 500 new or existing donors to join our team of PUBLIC DEFENDERS by contributing $10 per month.

Monthly donors provide a stable revenue stream while reducing administrative costs.  Small monthly gifts also add to significant support over the year.

Read our forthcoming direct mail communication that explains more about BCCPP's program plan and the monthly donor program.

Learn more about the work of BCCPP. 

Download a donation form and mail it back to us with your contribution.

To demonstrate our accountability to supporters like you, we have produced BCCPP's Two Year Progress Report which summarizes our activities and financial position for the fiscal years 2008 and 2009. The report highlights our key accomplishments over the past two years, along with some of our strategic program plans moving forward.

Read BCCPP's Two Year Progress Report