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World Water Day Chapter Actions
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Events
Barrie
Calgary
- March 20 – THE FUTURE OF WATER & LIFE IN ALBERTA: What’s our plan?
Join us for a potluck snack and discussion on water issues that matter most to YOU!
You can make a difference. Together we can tackle concerning water issues such as: the corporate control of drinking water, the growth of the bottled water industry, pollution from mining companies & fracking projects, water shortages from droughts and over-extractions, water markets & disregard for rights of First Nations. Join us for insightful & engaging conversations on how we can ensure a healthy future for water resources in AB and protect human & environmental water rights.
Special guests include: Julia Ko, Water Policy & Program Coordinator of Water Matters and The Raging Grannies!
7:30–9:30 p.m. Unitarian Church - 1703 1 Street Northwest
Free event – donations gratefully accepted
Organized by the Calgary chapter of the Council of Canadians
For more information contact: Alana-Dawn Eirikson at eirikson@dal.ca or 587.433.0744
Cowichan Valley
- Submitted an op-ed to local paper for World Water Day.
Edmonton
- March 19-22 – Edmonton Water Week 2012. For full schedule of events visit edmontonwaterweek.wordpress.com. To see the groups involved in organizing water week events, please read about us.
MONDAY, MARCH 19
Groundwater: Unlocking the Secrets to Alberta’s Most Important Resource
Monday, March 19 (6:30 -8:30 pm)
Global Cafe, Jasper Place High School
8950-163 Street
Read more »
Presented by North Saskatchewan Riverkeeper and North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance
Please RSVP to glenn@saskriverkeeper.ca
Come join the North Saskatchewan Riverkeeper and North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance for an interactive and educational evening on the groundwater beneath our feet, featuring Jon Fennell, M.Sc., Ph.D., P.Geol, Principal Hydrogeologist.
The objectives of our event are to stimulate discussion, create awareness and provide answers to the following questions: 1) What is groundwater? 2) Why is groundwater so important to us and all living things? 3) What are the human impacts on groundwater for now and the future? Our groundwater footprint 4) What can we do to preserve our most important resource?
Is groundwater Alberta’s most important resource?
Dr. Fennell is the Director of Water Resources for WorleyParsons Canada, and a Principal Hydrogeologist with over 25 years consulting experience in the resource sector. He received his B.Sc. degree in Geology from the University of Saskatchewan in 1985, M.Sc. in Hydrogeology from the University of Calgary in 1994, and Ph.D. in Geochemistry from the University of Calgary. Jon’s areas of specialization include physical hydrology and hydrogeology, environmental forensics, water supply and waste disposal, and risk assessment. Jon’s skills also extend to assessing the effects of climate change and land use on basin hydrology, and developing effective management strategies for water sustainability. In addition to his company duties, Jon sits on the Board of Directors for the Bow River Basin Council (a water planning and advisory council under Alberta’s Water for Life Strategy) and serves as chair for the Modelling and Monitoring Committee.
TUESDAY, MARCH 20
White Water, Black Gold
Film Screening and discussion of water issues on Alberta
Tuesday, March 20 (7:00 – 9:00 pm)
Humanities Centre L41
North end of Hub Mall, Saskatchewan Drive west of 111 Street, University of Alberta (Map)
Facebook event page
Read more »
Presented by Sierra Club Prairie Chapter and Alberta Public Research Interest Group.
Screening is free and donations will be accepted.
White Water, Black Gold is a jarring new documentary film on the tar sands following Director David Lavallee as he journeys down the Athabasca River and across western Canada in search of answers about the battle between water and oil. The film follows an imaginary drop of water, and later an imaginary drop of oil, unveiling the threats the tar sands pose to the third largest watershed in the world and two separate oceans. White Water, Black Gold is a film about the inextricable link between water and oil in our modern world.
“Whether it’s a dam breach that could destroy the third largest watershed in the world (the Mackenzie), tailings ponds that are approaching the size of a great lake, or tanker traffic on Canada’s pristine west coast: it’s clear that our country’s water is in trouble,” said David Lavallee, Director of White Water, Black Gold. “Most people do not know that the tar sands impacts actually span half the country.”
Director David Lavallee worked as a hiking guide in the Columbia Icefields for 15 years. He saw profound changes to the mountain landscape as Alberta ramped up growth in the extremely water-intensive tar sands industry downstream. Lavallee’s burning curiosity to find out why took him on a three-year journey across Western Canada that resulted in the production of this film.
“I wanted to make this film to tell the story of water and how the tar sands are impacting an element essential to all life on this planet,” said Lavallee. “I hope that audiences will listen to the voices in this film, to see the impact the tar sands are having and be moved enough to become advocates for an energy future that does not pose such a great risk to our water resources.
The documentary is narrated by Peter Coyote.
For more information on the film, please check out whitewaterblackgold.com
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21
Fracking and Its Impact on Groundwater: Lessons From Alberta
Featuring Professor Karlis Muehlenbachs
Department of Earth & Atmospheric Science, University of Alberta
Wednesday, March 21 (7:00 – 9:00 pm)
Telus Building Room 134
Corner of 111 Street & 87 Avenue, University of Alberta Campus
Facebook event page
Read more »
Presented by the Council of Canadians Edmonton Chapter, co-sponsored by the Parkland Institute.
As it spreads across Canada and around the world, the process of fracking — the injection of a high-pressure mix of water, sand and chemicals deep underground to create fractures in order to extract shale gas, coal bed methane and oil — has come under increasing scrutiny, with some jurisdictions placing moratoriums or outright bans on fracking until more is known about its impacts. Landowners, some of who are able to light their water on fire due to contamination they say is due to fracking, are fighting back against the process, saying the risks to water are too great. What impact is fracking already having on Alberta’s groundwater? Is it really a harmless and safe process as the oil and gas industry claims, or is this “game-changer” process that promises to unlock almost limitless supplies of previusly inaccessible fossil fuels a risk to our water?
Professor Karlis Muehlenbachs is a geochemist at the University of Alberta. He is a leading authority on a process which can identify the unique carbon fingerprint or isotopes of shale and conventional gases to determine their source and migration. He and his team have used this carbon isotope fingerprinting to create a database of the entire Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, lately concentrating on shale gas. His work on fracking and isotope fingerprinting, and his warnings about the risks of fracking, have been featured recently in two articles by The Tyee’s Andrew Nikoforuk (available online at here and here).
THURSDAY, MARCH 22
Energy Development and the Prosperity and Well-being of Aboriginal Communities in Northern Alberta
Thursday, March 22 (1:00-4:00 pm)
Telus Building Room 236
Corner of 87 Avenue and 111 Street, University of Alberta Campus
Read more »
Organized by University of Alberta Professor Makere Stewart-Harawira as part of the SSHRC-funded Northern Research Initiative.
Please join us for a public conversation on the issues and impacts of resource development, the expansion of various kinds of oil and gas extraction, and its range of consequences for Aboriginal communities in Northern Alberta. Presentations from a range of perspectives, including both scientists and Aboriginal community members, Chiefs and Elders will be followed by a roundtable conversation.
Confrimed speakers include Ricardo Acuna of the Parkland Institute, Jessie Cardinal of Keepers of the Athabasca, water expert Kevin Timoney of Treeline Ecological Research, and geochemist Karlis Muelenbachs.
 Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and the Fight for the Right to Water
Featuring Maude Barlow
Thursday, March 22
Doors at 6:30pm, talk from 7:00pm to 9:00pm, book signing to follow
Myer Horowitz Theatre, Students’ Union Building
University of Alberta
Facebook event page
Read more »
Tickets for the speaking event are $5 and can be purchased in-person at InfoLink booth locations in CAB, SUB, HUB, and ETLC or online at Tix on the Square. Proceeds are shared with our partner the Campus Food Bank and U of A’s Green Grant program.
The Sustainability Speakers Series presents internationally-renowned water rights advocate and environmentalist Maude Barlow on World Water Day!
Maude Barlow is the founding member of Canada’s largest citizen advocacy group, the Council of Canadians, and has taken a strong stance on significant national and global issues. Positions such as an advisor to Prime Minister Trudeau on women’s rights from 1983-1984 and also as Senior Advisor on Water to the 63rd President of the United Nations General Assembly, Father Miguel d’Escoto Brockman, have allowed her to promote human rights on a national and global scale. With 11 honorary doctorates and a Nobel Peace Prize nomination, she was also awarded Sweden’s Right Livelihood Award (the “alternative Nobel”) for her work on trade justice and water rights. And she’s coming to talk to the U of A!
All attendees who bring Campus Food Bank donations will be entered to win $50 gift cards for locally- owned restaurants.
See the Sustainability Speakers Series site for more details: www.sustainability.ualberta.ca/speaker
For more information, please contact Lisa Dockman at lisa.dockman@ualberta.ca
Guelph
- March 22 – World Water Day Talk at 7pm, St. Paul’s Cathedral,
Dr. Katrina Moser, Associate Professor Department of Geography.
Talk about the environmental and human affects on our water. Presented by the St Paul’s Environmental Committee and London Chapter Council of Canadians.
Hamilton
- March 20 – Is our tap water safe? Join The Council of Canadians, at their free public discussion 7 p.m., at Artword Art Bar, 15 Colbourne St. thespec.com/news/article/690196--fridge-magnets
- March 21 – Public Meeting on Water Fluoridation as part of the Unfluoridate It! campaign and the World Water Day.
'Is our tap water safe?' 7:30 p.m.
Volunteer Hamilton,
267 King St. East. Hosted by the
Hamilton chapter.
Kamloops
- Recent Blue Communities presentation to City Council.
Kelowna
- March 20-22 – Table at UBC-O at Summerhill Winery
London
- March 22 – “Eutrophication: It Really Stinks!” by Dr. Katrina Moser,
Associate Professor, Department of Geography, Western University. 7-9 p.m. St. Paul’s Cathedral, 472 Richmond Street. Enter By East Door.
London Chapter Co Chair Energy-Fossil Fuels, Gary Brown will be presenting an overview & update on "Fracking".
Everyone Welcome! Free Event. Presented by the Environmental Committee of St Paul’s Cathedral & the London chapter of The Council of Canadians. See poster here.
Mid-Island - Nanaimo
- March 26-27 – Appearing before Nanaimo City Council on March 26th and the Regional District of Nanaimo on March 27 to give presentations requesting the City Councils designate themselves as Blue Communities.
Nelson
- March 22 – An Information Evening about "Fracking" with Dan Woynillowicz: The Nelson Chapter of the Council of Canadians and the West-Kootenay EcoSociety are presenting an information session on the controversial issue of “fracking” on World Water Day at 7:00 p.m., Seniors Branch 51. Join Dan Woynillowicz of the Pembina Institute for a provocative presentation that will explore the climate change and water impacts of shale gas development in BC. Both the issues and solutions facing British Columbians will be discussed. Dan joined the Pembina Institute in 2001 as a policy analyst, and is now the Director of Strategy & Communications.
Ottawa
Peterborough
- March 22 – We shall have a table with our resources all day at the Trent University Indigenous
Environmental Studies students and the Sacred Water Circle exhibition and sharing
to celebrate the importance and sacredness of Water. Several of our members and
supporters participate with the Sacred Water Circle.
- Recently we helped form a local working group to forestall a license application by
Shield Source Inc just outside Peterborough. Shield Source uses TRITIUM, radioactive
hydrogen by-product from nuclear energy production, to produce self-illuminating exit signs. chapter will participate at the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission license
hearing in Ottawa on May 2. Tritium, when released or escaping, goes everywhere,
including into the water system.
Port Alberni
- Chapter member submitted a letter to the city editor commemorating World Water Day and suggested people leave their bottled water on the shelf.
Prince Albert
- March 22 – Movie Night: Screening of Crude Sacrifice.
7:00 (52 minutes),
John M. Cuelenaere Public Library, 125 12 Street East.
Free admission, everyone welcome. Co-sponsored by Prince Albert chapter of The Council of Canadians and Cinema Politica
MUNICIPAL RESOLUTION: (download correspondence and proclamation)
Whereas World Water Day is a United Nations designated day dedicated to water issues;
And Whereas there are more than 1 billion people world wide that lack access to clean, safe drinking water and 2.5 billion people have no access to basic water and sanitation services;
And Whereas 1 in 4 Canadian municipalities has faced water shortages in the last 3 years;
And Whereas water is critical for sustainable development, including environmental integrity and alleviation of poverty and hunger, and is indispensable for human health and well being;
And Whereas the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) could lead to the privatization or drinking water services and water itself.
NOW THEREFORE, I, Jim Scarrow, Mayor, do hereby proclaim March 22, 2012 in the City of Prince Albert as
WORLD WATER DAY.
Red Deer
- March 22 – World Water Day event. Table displays, short presentations on water issues (including CETA and recent federal fishery regulations changes) and ongoing discussions. 11 AM to 2 PM at The Forum,
Red Deer College,
100 College Blvd,
Contact Ken Collier,
(403) 342-7989. Council of Canadians Red Deer is co-sponsoring, along with Occupy Red Deer and the Student Awareness Group at RDC
- March 23, 2012: World Water Day Recognition including Coastal Management Issues
Saint John
South Shore
- March 23 – Promoted WWD at a table at the Lunenburg Market.
- May TBA – The Café Canada Series World Water Day Recognition including Coastal Management Issues.
Toronto
- March 24 – “Shared Water, Shared Legacy” Water Forum presented by the Toronto Chapter of the Council of Canadians
From 10:00am to 4:00pm,
Steelworkers Hall, 25 Cecil Street, rooms A B C & D
See agenda details »
10:00 am - Welcome and Introductions (Tracy Frohlick)
10:10 – 10:15 – Toronto Chapter water team Overview (Tara Seucharan)
10:15 – 10:50 - Why the Council of Canadian's "Unfluoridate It" Campaign is truly a national Social Justice Issue: Evidence that water fluoridation is Unsafe and Ineffective. Dr Hardy Limeback (Introduction by Aliss Terpstra)
10:50 -11:20 - The attack on our shared aquifers (STORM – Dan Mearns, and the Melancthon Megaquarry – Carl Cosack , NDACT)
11:20 – 11:40 - Women’s Roles and Responsibilities to Life and Water (Sylvia Plain, Anishinabe-kwe)
11:40 - 12:00 - Water as a human right (Meera Karunananthan)
12:00 – 12:15 - A “Blue Communities” success story (Robyn Hamlyn)
12:15 – 12:30 - Expert Panel Qs & As session
Lunch – Water Brothers Video
1:30- 2:00 – Why we need a “Commons” (Maude Barlow 2011 video)
2:00 – 2:30 - Our Great Lakes Commons & Fracking (Emma Lui)
2:30 – 3:30 - Great Lakes Water Quality: Challenges and Prospects
• Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement ( Satya Mohapatra)
• Toronto and Region Area of Concern Remedial Action Plan (Lino Grima)
• Combined Sewers and Downspout Disconnection (Karen Buck)
3:30- 4: 00 Panel Discussion and Questions
4:00 Close (Tara Seucharan)
Vancouver
- March 21 – Bodies of Water: An Evening of Dance, Music & Film: You are invited to an evening of dance, creativity, music, and imagining presented by Asava Dance as the opening event for World Water Week. 7 pm, March 21, Roundhouse Community Centre, 181 Roundhouse Mews.
Former Vancouverite Seonagh Odhiambo, now a professor of dance at CSULA, and the Asava dancers offer a stunning performance with live music. The premiere of jazz legend Bennie Maupin s original composition is performed live by world renowned percussionist Angel Luis Figueroa.
The Bodies of Water project draws inspiration from movement and stories of people across diverse shores and rivers. Odhiambo has choreographed site-specific performances across both coasts from New York to Salt Spring Island. Karolle Wall and Florence James (Puneluxulth ) also offer insight through a short film, imush q uyatl un, that helped inspire some of the dance movement. Odhiambo will lead audience members in a movement workshop (optional) with her dancer-collaborators. The audience is invited to contribute stories about water to the creative process. Reception to follow with the artists.
Asava Dance is a Los Angeles-based ensemble that has riveted audiences in Canada and the US for the last year. The company presents site-specific works and dances for the concert stage. The Bodies of Water project is reaching audiences from Toronto to Los Angeles. Canadian dance legend Elizabeth Langley called it Dance that retains its humanity while thrilling us with its energy. Canadian choreographer Seonagh Odhiambo, composer Bennie Maupin, percussionist Angel Luis Figueroa, and the dancers Bria Milan Cameron, Mariah Murray, Megan Ryan, and Kimberley Michelle Smith, explore energy, flow and reflection around questions of social and environmental significance.
To book a ticket, visit downstream.eventbrite.com - entry by donation - sliding scale 0 to $30
- March 22 – World Water Night:
Readings with Lee Maracle and Michael Blackstock,
Screening of Samaqan: Water Stories with Director Jeff Bear. 7 pm,
SB 301, Emily Carr University of Art and Design.
Free and open to the public.
Lee Maracle is one of the most prolific aboriginal authors in Canada. Her books include Daughters Are Forever (fiction, Raincoast, 2002), Will’s Garden (Theytus, 2002), Bent Box (poetry, Theytus Books, 2000), Sojourners & Sundogs (fiction, Press Gang, 1999), Ravensong (Press Gang, 1993), I Am Woman (nonfiction, Press Gang, 1988) and Bobbi Lee, Indian Rebel (fiction, Women’s Press, 1975). She has received the J.T. Stewart Voices of Change Award, and she contributed to First Fish, First People, which won the Before Columbus Foundation’s American Book Award. Maracle has taught at the University of Toronto, the University of Waterloo, Western Washington University, South Oregon University, and many more places.
Michael Blackstock is an independent scholar, poet, artist, and forester who has served as a member of the UNESCO-IHP Expert Advisory Group on Water and Cultural Diversity. He has published two books of poetry: Salmon Run: A Florilegium of Aboriginal Ecological Poetry and Oceaness. Of Gitxsan (Hazelton) and Euro-Canadian descent, Blackstock has a MA in First Nations Studies. His first book, Faces in the Forest (McGill-Queen’s UP), examines tree art in conjunction with First Nations cosmology, citing carvings, paintings and writings on trees within Gitxsan, Nisga’a, Tlingit, Carrier and Dene traditional territories.
Jeff Bear (Maliseet) produces, writes and directs independent documentaries with director Marianne Jones (Haida) at Urban Rez Productions in Vancouver. Since 2000 Urban Rez has produced the 26-part series Ravens and Eagles, for broadcast on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, as well as Storytellers in Motion, a 39 part documentary series about indigenous storytellers, and currently, Samaqan: Water Stories. The first documentary that Bear and Jones shot together, Burnt Church: Obstruction of Justice won the 2001 Telefilm/APTN award for Best English Language Production. Bear has worked in video and television steadily for the last 24 years. He received the 2000 Leo Award for Best Information Series as the producer of First Story, an aboriginal current affairs program broadcast in Canada on CTV. A past editor-in-chief of Kahtou magazine, he has written widely about indigenous political and cultural representation in Canada. Bear speaks the Maliseet language fluently and was raised in Tobique First Nation, New Brunswick.
See downstream.ecuad.ca/?page_id=339 for more information
Victoria
- Victoria Chapter endorsed the coalition for Bottled water-free day on March 15.
Waterloo University
- March 22 – World Water Day Graduate Research Fair: A day-long celebration of World Water Day, highlighting university water research and raising awareness of local and global water issues. The event will highlight the breadth and depth of water research here in Waterloo, and also act as a meeting place for water researchers, practitioners, and stakeholders. Sponsored by the UW Water Institute, SWIGs, Wilfred Laurier's Institute for Water Science (IWS), and Laurier's Cold Regions Research Centre.
Williams Lake
- March 23 – The Williams Lake Chapter of the Council of Canadians will be holding an information and interaction event on from 2 to 5 pm in front of the Food Coop at the corner of Third and Oliver in Williams Lake. We have prepared a fact sheet on the status of the City of Williams Lake's water system. In addition we will use other print materials including some info about fracking.
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