International Day of Action Against the Tar Sands: Tar Sands Tour

Dear friends,

The tar sands are destroying forests, trampling Indigenous rights, poisoning the atmosphere and river systems and threatening community health. On the weekend of June 17th we will fight back globally!

Please join Climate Justice Ottawa to an action for the International Day of Action Against the Tar Sands, on Saturday June 18th.
We will be holding a Tar Sands Tour of the city of Ottawa, intended to inform the public about the tar sands and all the political issues surrounding it. We will meet at 11 am for flyering in the Market and at 12:45 on Sparks and Elgin. At 2 pm, we will meet on Sparks and Elgin (in front of the bear) to start the tour. The tour should last 30 -40 mins and will be focused in the downtown area.

Whether it’s forest destruction, toxic lakes that can be seen from space, the trampling of Indigenous rights or the poisoning of Canadian and U.S. communities living near tar sands operations, turning tar sands into transportation fuel hurts our environment and communities every step of the way.

In Solidarity,

Climate Justice Climatique Ottawa

CJC Ottawa Wishes Everyone A Happy New Year

Climate Justice Ottawa wishes a happy new years to everyone fighting to tackle the systemic injustices in our world. We hope that the new year will bring freedom for our friends who are currently victims to the abusive actions of the Canadian justice system, as well as meet us with a new world full of justice, dignity and respect for all. Additionally, our resolution for the new year is to continue to hold accountable the government and various corporations for their destructive and domineering practices over our environment. We aim to build networks to help us overcome injustices in our community and to continue to be a visible proponent for radical social change.

We could also handle a new government… or well no government for that matter.

Stay tunned for updates on future meetings and workshops!

In Solidarity,

Climate Justice Climatique Ottawa

Climate Justice Organizers Respond to Senate Vote on Bill C-311 – Revive the Bill and Make it Stronger!

Federal Government Responds to Call to “Get to Work” with Shady Senate Move to Kill Canada’s Only Climate Legislation

Climate Justice organizers respond to the Senate vote on Bill C-311

Montreal, QC/Ottawa, ON – Yesterday evening, the Canadian Senate voted 43 to 32 to kill Bill C-311, the Climate Change Accountability Act. In a short notice vote, in which many senators were not sitting, the appointed senate stopped the passage of legislation that had been passed through the elected House of Commons.

“What happened to Bill C-311 shows just how far the current government will go to prevent Canada from taking action on Climate Change,” says Emelia Koberg, an organizer with Climate Justice Ottawa. “To have a body appointed by the current government kill legislation even after it has passed in the House in of Commons is setting a dangerous precedent.”

Yesterday morning, 6 people were arrested and charged with trespassing for staging a peaceful “People’s Assembly” sit-in, inside of the Rotunda of Parliament. They also dropped a banner from the second floor that read “If They Won’t Get to Work on Climate Justice, We Will!” while others rallied outside to echo their demands. The organizers delivered 5 demands to Members of Parliament that outlined concrete steps that the Government needs to take to avoid catastrophic climate change that endangers life and well being of people across Canada and around the globe.

“This move on behalf of the Conservative government shows just how important directly confronting this government’s inaction is,” explains Natasha Peters, who was arrested in Parliament yesterday. “Even with all the phone calls, letters and lobbying, the government still isn’t listening, so what else can we do except take direct action?”

Organizers with both Climate Justice Ottawa and Climate Justice Montreal are calling for the immediate repeal of the Senate decision, and a commitment from all politicians to implement the five steps to Climate Justice delivered at yesterday’s People’s Assembly within six months.

“Bill C-311 is not enough, the targets in its test allow for temperature rise that would be devastating to the Canadian Arctic and lead to the death and displacement of hundreds of thousands globally, but it is a major step in the right direction” said Cameron Fenton, an organizer with Climate Justice Montreal. “It is a show of good faith, and one that a country with as poor a record on Climate as Canada has, desperately needs.”

The action yesterday was the second time that organizers with Climate Justice Ottawa and Climate Justice Montreal took action together. Organizers were arrested last December for occupying a House of Commons Environment Committee meeting during the Copenhagen climate talks.

The Five Demands: http://www.mediacoop.ca/photo/youth-drop-banner-parliament-if-they-wont-take-action-climate-justice-we-will/5158

Original Press Release: http://www.mediacoop.ca/newsrelease/5157

People’s Assembly and Banner Drop on Parliament Hill: “IF THEY WON’T GET TO WORK ON CLIMATE JUSTICE, WE WILL!”

PHOTOS FROM THE ACTION CAN BE FOUND HERE

At 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday November 16th, organizers with Climate Justice Ottawa dropped a banner in the rotunda of the Canadian Parliament reading “If They Won’t Take Action on Climate Justice, We Will!”

The concerned community members also began a sit-in “Peoples Assembly” calling for Canadian politicians to begin open and sincere consultations with communities across the country.  This was the message the youth delivered to parliament:

Five Immediate Steps for Climate Justice

We, concerned members of our communities, are starting a People’s Assembly and invite everyone to come join us in creating a plan to shift away from business as usual and towards a just, fair, and sustainable future. Weneed federal politicians to start changing the politics, not the climate. Therefore, we demand that the Canadian government consult, within a six-month period, with every person in Canada to create a long-term ClimateChange Action Plan, starting with the leaders of all federal parties meeting with the People’s Assembly. The following are immediate steps that the government can take to put Canada on the path to a fossil-fuel free future while they develop a long-term plan for climate justice:

Lead, follow, or get out of the way

At the upcoming UN Climate Summit in Cancun, Canada should be the first nation from the global north to adopt the emissions reductions and temperature rise limitation targets of 300ppm and 1.5 degrees Celsius, presented by the largest gathering in history of directly impacted communities at the April 2010 World People’s Summit on Climate Change and Mother Earth in Cochabamba, Bolivia. The first step to achieving this and repaying our climate debt is accepting the Cochabamba Declaration text presented at the UN Summit.

Shut Down the Tar Sands

Tar sands developments are on course to destroy a section of the boreal forest the size of England, and are Canada’s fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions. The direct pollution from tar sands developments is poisoning the Athabasca River watershed and surrounding lands, and is a health catastrophe for impacted communities who are experiencing high rates of cancer and a loss of traditional food sources. Therefore, we callfor an immediate moratorium on present and future tar sands expansion projects, a phase out of existing projects,and to hold corporations responsible for environmental destruction while facilitating a just transition for workersout of destructive industries.

No more Tax Breaks or Subsidies for Oil Companies

Oil companies received more than $2.8 billion dollars in government tax breaks and subsidies in 2008. These subsidies lower the cost of oil and promote the use of dirty fossil fuels when we should be transitioning to cleanforms of energy. Therefore, we call for an immediate end to government financing of environmentally and socially destructive industries.

Invest in Community Solutions

Community-based renewable energy sources like wind, solar, and hydro need to be developed in a way thatdoes not damage natural ecosystems, meaning energy production must be controlled by communities andnot corporations. Current subsidies and systems of agriculture decrease healthy food choices, contribute toecological destruction, and hurt small scale farmers, while a shift towards community-controlled diversified agriculture leads to healthier people and ecosystems. There are more efficient ways of transporting people and products than building mass highways; Canada needs to invest in solutions that re-imagine how we movearound within and between cities through the localization of production, bicycle infrastructure, and accessible public transit. Ultimately, federal infrastructure funds must be directed to these types of community-controlled solutions.

Reject False Solutions

Canada currently relies heavily on technofixes, such as promoting biofuel projects where the amazon rainforestis slashed and burned to grow corn to put in our cars and investing over $3 billion in expensive and unprovencarbon capture and storage technology. Furthermore, solutions such as carbon trading and offsets turn ouratmosphere into a commodity to be bought and sold, allowing corporate lobbying to export responsibility forreductions to elsewhere and perpetuating inequality. Instead of wasting billions on band-aid solutions that ignore the root of the problem, Canada needs to take action at changing unequal and unsustainable systems of production, consumption, and distribution….

BECAUSE IF OUR POLITICIANS WON’T GET TO WORK ON CLIMATE JUSTICE, WE WILL!

Update – All participants in the People’s Assembly were pulled out of the parliament rotunda without being given the chance to deliver their message to politicians.  Two banner droppers and a security liaison were let out with a warning, six People’s Assembly participants were arrested and charged with trespass.  Simultaniously, a solidarity rally was going on just outside of parliament hill’s centre block and the media coop article on the action was shared almost 150 times in less than an hour.  Here is some additional press coverage:

http://www.cbc.ca/politics/insidepolitics/2010/11/how-the-climate-protest-on-the-hill-unfolded.html

http://www.cbc.ca/politics/story/2010/11/16/protest-parliament-hill.html

http://www.mediacoop.ca/photo/youth-drop-banner-parliament-if-they-wont-take-action-climate-justice-we-will/5158

http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2010/11/16/16173916.html

http://fr.canoe.ca/infos/quebeccanada/archives/2010/11/20101116-193604.html

Popular Education to Build a Movement!

The weekend of November 12-14th is a weekend filled with workshops put on by Climate Justice and our friends! Check it out:

Friday the 12th – 7:00pm – Organizing for Justice Keynote – University of Ottawa MRT205 – FACEBOOK EVENT

This past summer, a big thing went down in Toronto. Please join us to hear from three Toronto organizers about the issues, the planning, the action on the streets, the police repression, the arrests, the charges, and the continuing aftermath. And what lessons can we take forward in our organizing?

Saturday the 13th – 10am to 5:30pm – Organizing for Justice – University of Ottawa LMX – FACEBOOK EVENT

Organizing For Justice creates a space in Ottawa that allows for people to come together not on a single issue but around the broad themes of social, economic and environmental justice. It is about building healthy communities, and learning and engaging in activism.  The Saturday schedule offers a wide selection of workshops on different aspects of social change.

Saturday the 13th – 2:30pm to 5:30pm – Beyond Polar Bears and PPM: Strategy Tools for Climate and Environmental Justice Organizing (a workshop at Organizing for Justice) – FACEBOOK EVENT

Beyond the statistics and images of polar bears, there is a growing climate justice movement being led by the communities most impacted by fossil fuel extraction and climate change. In this participatory workshop we will explore how through being allies and participating in community-based resistance we can rewrite the story behind climate change,the tar sands, and other extractive industry, building a grassroots movement that people can connect to. The tried and true tools we will discuss include the spectrum of allies, different points of intervention, and an analysis of how our tactics affect our message, allies, and opponents. While this workshop is built around climate and environmental organizing, the tools and discussions are essential for all intersecting social justice movements. Come build a movement!

This workshop (along with the next one), put on by members of Climate Justice Ottawa, together with friends from Climate Justice Montreal, is an awesome way to find out about Climate Justice Ottawa and your role in the environmental justice movement!

Sunday the 14th – 9:30am to 5pm – Let’s Build a Movement! Strategy and Actions Training for COP16 and Beyond – FACEBOOK EVENT

All activists working towards climate and environmental justice are invited to an all-day strategy and actions training, co-hosted and co-facilitated by members of Climate Justice Ottawa and Climate Justice Montreal.  At this skills share, participants will learn tools to create a movement to effectively confront climate chaos and injustice. There will be an emphasis on activists who plan to be organizing at / around the UN Climate Conference in Cancun coming up at the end of the month, while focusing on building a successful long-term environmental justice movement. We encourage all members of the public that have an interest in movement building, solidarity actions, grassroots organization models, and how to intertwine these into a stronger, more powerful climate justice movement, to attend.  FILL IN THIS FORM TO SIGN-UP!

Hope to see you there!  And SPREAD THE WORD!

Note: Désolé, mais ces ateliers seront offerts principalement en anglais, mais les animateurs sont bilingues et vous êtes invités à participer en français. En outre, si la traduction ASL ou d’autres aménagements sont requis, s’il vous plaît contacter cjcottawa@gmail.com.

CAPP Launches a New Phase in Green Masquerade Insisting Tar Sands can be “Greened”

Ottawa – Members of Climate Justice Ottawa, dressed as Big Oil representatives hiding behind green masks, were outside the Chateau Laurier on October 25th denouncing the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP)’s new false dialogue as yet another attempted greenwashing tactic by to promote the Tar Sands as a sustainable source of energy.

On October 25th and 26th, CAPP, in collaboration with the Canada School of Energy and Environment, met in Ottawa with various hand-picked stakeholders to continue their “National Oil Sands dialogue”.

For years now, CAPP has been trying to hide the harsh realities of the Tar Sands by building a green facade. But behind this facade, the problems remain. “The bottom line is that the oil industry only seeks to expand its operations and maximize profit for its shareholders”, says Natasha Peters of Climate Justice Ottawa. Held in multiple cities across Canada, these CAPP led “false-dialogues” are part of a vast public relations campaign which includes billboards to falsely promote the Tar Sands as sustainable. Some of these can be found on the streets of Ottawa.

“The Tar Sands are not and will never be sustainable,” Emelia Koberg, an organizer with Climate Justice Ottawa explains. “Immediate action is needed to address the climate crisis, stop the destruction of the land and respect the affected communities. An immediate moratorium on the Tar Sands must be implemented and this much needed change will not be lead by CAPP.”

Tar sands development is on track to destroy a section of Canada’s boreal forest the size of England. The rapidly increasing carbon pollution from this mega-project and other global sources is fueling climate change, which already results in the deaths of an estimated 150,000 people each year and threatens upwards of 70% of the planet’s species with extinction.

Climate Justice Ottawa, a group of concerned community members, is calling for the federal government to take serious action on climate change, to implement an immediate moratorium on tar sands expansion, and take the role of affected First Nations communities seriously in deciding the future of this megaproject.

UPDATE: When concerned community members who see through big oil’s greenwashing arrived outside the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers “dialogue” at the Chateau Laurier they spoke to many passers by who were also incredibly concerned about the state of tar sands development.  A spokeswoman from CAPP was worried by the demonstration and came to speak to organizers from Climate Justice Ottawa, inviting them into the event to be “listened” to.  Climate Justice Ottawa saw through the masqerade and politely declined the offer because any kind of national discussion cannot be lead by industry, seeing as they have the most to profit from the fundamentally unsustainable project, An immediate moratorium on tar sands expansion is needed and the role of affected First Nations communities needs to be taken seriously in deciding the future of this megaproject.  After filming the interaction between CAPP and demonstrators, CBC declined an interview from CAPP.

 

Fossil Fools Set Sail to Celebrate Colonialism and Climate Change in Canada!

Ottawa,ON – A procession of fossil fools sailed their ship of co2lonialism from Victoria Island to federal offices in Gatineau early this morning to celebrate 500 years of colonial atrocities on this continent.

After a banner calling for a “Stop to Co2lonialism” was dropped of Nepean Point, in front of the statue of Canada’s original colonizer, Samuel de Champlain, a mock celebration of “fossil fools” set sail.  The action, organized by Climate Justice Ottawa for the global day of action for climate justice, highlights historical and current colonialism in Canada, exemplified by unchecked tar sands development and rapidly growing greenhouse gas emissions. “The government must begin to take environmental protection, climate change, and treaty rights seriously,”said Daniel T’seleie.

“By fueling the climate crisis, carbon colonialism is destroying the land and cultures of indigenous peoples around the world, refusing them the right to live as they always have on their land,” said Kerry Duncan.

By ending the procession at the office of Environment Canada and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Climate Justice Ottawa illustrated the failure of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to meet their environmental responsibilities and uphold Canada’s constitutional obligations. “The government continually and recklessly allows industry to pollute our environment, increase greenhouse gas emissions, and exploit resources on First Nations’ land without their free, prior and informed consent” said Daniel Cayley-Daoust.

After decades of rapid tar sands expansion, the federal government still fails to properly consult and involve affected First Nations communities in the development process. The federal government’s mismanagement of the tar sands mega-project is a violation of treaty rights for affected first nations in Alberta and the Northwest Territories.

Tar sands development is on track to destroy a section of Canada’s boreal forest the size of England. The rapidly increasing carbon pollution from this mega-project and other global sources is fueling climate change, which already results in the deaths of an estimated 150,000 people each year and threatens upwards of 70% of the planet’s species with extinction.

Climate Justice Ottawa, a group of concerned community members, is calling for the federal government to take serious action on climate change, to implement an immediate moratorium on tar sands expansion, and take the role of affected First Nations communities seriously in deciding the future of this megaproject.

Climate Justice Ottawa will be holding a workshop on October 19th.

For more information contact:

Daniel T’seleie, 867-444-0509, cjcottawa@gmail.com

Daniel Cayley-Daoust, 819-360-4657, cjcottawa@gmail.com

Climate Justice is Happening! Ottawa, watch out!

Amazing stuff has been happening: the climate justice camp was a huge success, Appalacia Rising, etc!

We are just returning from an empowering and informative climate camp which occurred in the Ottawa region. Thank you to IEN and CJ Montreal for your help in facilitating enlightening seminars on skills such as: consensus decision making, tips for organizing actions as well as a solid base of information on  Non-Violent Direct Action (NVDA). The experience was highlighted by the beautiful scenery of fall leaves and cool breezes, as well as delicious food which satisfied the soul. We are proud to have hosted the first ever climate camp in Ottawa, and hope that it will not be the last!

For those who may not be aware of the actions of climate justice advocacy groups in other parts of the world, please check out what is happening with Appalachia rising. Thousands of protesters gathered in front of the White House Monday to protest mountain top mining removal. The actions lead to over a hundred protesters being arrested in the process. Climate Justice Ottawa stands in solidarity with all the amazing people that took part in the Appalachia Rising action, and their fight against mountain top mining removal. For more information about their action check out the following articles: http://appalachiarising.org/ ,  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/27/james-hansen-arrested-wit_n_740887.html , http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/121153-more-than-100-arrested-at-coal-mining-protest-in-front-of-the-white-house

Also, the International Day for Direct Action for Climate Justice is coming up on Oct 12th (http://www.climate-justice-action.org/), so expect many more amazing climate justice actions!

Contact us at cjcottawa@gmail.com if you want to find out more about Climate Justice Ottawa or want to be involved with planning.

Ottawa Climate Action Camp!

Join Climate Justice Ottawa on September 24th-26th for a weekend long NVDA Training just outside of Ottawa. The training will include workshops by the Indigenous Environmental Network, Climate Justice Montreal, and others.  Topics will include the tar sands, inclusive organizing, climate policy, tools for a carbon-free economy, and tactics in civil disobedience.  The weekend will also be a space to connect with other Ottawa area activists. Don’t miss out on this fun and informative weekend to stick a wrench in the cogs of climate chaos!

Contact cjcottawa@gmail.com with any questions and register on this site ASAP, hopefully no later than September 22nd!

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Camp d’action climatique d’Ottawa

Joignez-vous à Justice climatique Ottawa du 24 au 26 septembre 2010 pour une formation d’une fin de semaine sur l’action directe non-violente juste à l’extérieur d’Ottawa. La formation inclura des ateliers par “Indigenous environmental Network”, Justice climatique Montréal et d’autres. Les sujets qui seront couvert incluent les sables bitumineux, organiser de manière inclusive, politiques climatiques, outils pour une économie sans carbone, et tactique de désobéissance civile. La fin de semaine se veut également comme une opportunité pour connecter avec d’autres militants d’Ottawa. Ne manquez pas cette fin de semaine amusante et informative!

Notez que la fin de semaine se déroulera principalement en anglais, mais que des accommodements vers le français sont possible (ex: traduction chuchotée).

Contactez cjcottawa@gmail.com pour toutes les questions et inscrivez-vous sur notre site web dès que possible et pas plus tard que le 22 septembre!