Q: When is a lake not a lake?
A: When the Canadian Government says it should be a dump for mine waste.

Lakes that would normally be protected as fish habitat by the Fisheries Act are now being redefined as “tailing impoundment areas” according to a 2002 “schedule” added to the Metal Mining Effluent Regulations of the Act. Once added to Schedule 2, healthy freshwater lakes lose all protection and become dump sites for mining waste. In 2006, two lakes in Newfoundland were added to Schedule 2 and more recently two lakes in Nunavut were approved for destruction.

Online Poll: Should Canadian lakes be used as dump sites for mining corporations? Yes:   No:   View poll results

Click here for Environment Canada’s list of 11 lakes proposed for destruction.  

Take Action! Sandy Pond, near Long Harbour, N.L., is next on the hit list. The mine tailings that Vale Inco plans to dump into the lake will destroy the lake, causing irreversible damage. Save Newfoundland's Sandy Pond and tell our government that lakes should not be used as dump sites.

Not Counting Canadians: The Security and Prosperity Partnership and public opinion

On April 21, 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper traveled to New Orleans to attend the fourth annual North American Leaders’ Summit to discuss progress to the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) with his American and Mexican counterparts. It has been four years since this process began, and no one beyond an elite group of corporate CEOs has been asked how they feel about the SPP—until now.

» Click here to read the report. 

Click here to read a letter to Prime Minister Harper demanding a debate on the SPP, which was signed by Maude Barlow (Council of Canadians), David Suzuki, Ken Georgetti (Canadian Labour Congress), and Maher Arar and Monia Mazigh.

Visit IntegrateThis.ca for SPP updates, to download audio, video and to read more about the SPP.

WATER

How you can help ban bottled water
Across the country, concerned citizens are visiting their municipal councils and local school boards to say that bottled water is an unnecessary drain on the environment and on budgets. More »

Download the Council of Canadians 2008 General Water Presentation

Support our World Water Day action - Tell PM Harper 'Water is for people, not profit' visit www.RightToWater.ca and sign our letter.

VIDEO & AUDIO: Maude Barlow discusses "Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and the Coming Battle for the Right to Water" at Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle., KUOW - Seattle, WA, May 8, 2008

AUDIO: Maude Barlow, Diane Snelling & William Driscoll on Vermont's groundwater issues, VPR News, April 1, 2008

Maude Barlow debates Water as a Human Right, CBC The Current: Part 2, March 24, 2008

VIDEO: Water expert and author Maude Barlow links water desalination to climate change, OnPoint March 4, 2008

VIDEO: Blue Covenant: Maude Barlow on the Global Movement for Water Justice, Democracy Now! with Amy Goodman

VIDEO: Maude Barlow addresses water issues on Allan Gregg in Conversation, TVO, February 8, 2008

HEALTH CARE

NEW! Best Kept Secret: Canada’s health care competitive advantage – a comprehensive resource guide about the advantages of Canada’s public health care system for citizens and businesses.

ENERGY

Stop the injustice: Overhaul Ontario's mining laws and policies Joint statement on Ontario's mining act, March 17, 2008

Send a mitten to Stephen Harper - All Canadians need to stay warm!

Click here for energy fact sheets and ideas on what you can do.