The Regina Leader-Post reports that, “As politicians from around the world gather in Cancun to discuss the global climate, many other citizens around this country are getting together to have their voices heard.”
“In Regina on Sunday, around 20 people gathered for The Council of Canadians’ People’s Assembly on Climate Justice where they discussed what can be done to combat the climate issues facing the world.”
Council of Canadians Regina chapter president Jim Elliot says in the article:
“It’s happening in many cases now where you’re twinning … you’ve got a nation-to-nation discussion and a people-to-people discussions right beside it. That’s what spawned the Cochabamba talks in Bolivia (where a climate gathering recently resulted in the creation of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth).”
“It may take a little more strong effort from the other 180 countries because in some cases it’s certain countries are driving what is happening. If the other 180 countries can gang up on them and say, ‘You’re going to be part of it or we’ll go past you, carry on and bring it to the UN for ratification.'”
“In Canada, I don’t think the voice is being heard and with the configuration we have in Parliament, you think it should be because there’s a minority government.”
“Our provincial and federal budgets are so dependent on that (resource revenue) money coming directly into the budget that we can’t step back.”
The full article is at http://www.leaderpost.com/mobile/story.html?id=3932375.