Julian, centre, prepares to speak at ‘Shout Out’ panel
On June 1, Conservative Member of Parliament Brian Jean criticized New Democrat MP Peter Julian in the House of Commons for speaking at the Council of Canadians organized ‘Shout Out Against Mining Injustice’ conference, which took place in Vancouver this past weekend.
The government party MP, who has represented Fort McMurray-Athabasca – the focal point of the destructive tar sands in northern Alberta – for the past eight years, stated in the House of Commons: “Mr. Speaker, the NDP’s energy and natural resources critic is at it again. We all know he has led the NDP charge on nearly every trade treaty deal that has come before the House during his time here. He opposes trade deals with countries on several continents and even supported the U.S. in its buy American policy, which unfairly discriminates against Canadian exports. He should be ashamed of himself. This weekend, he is taking it a step further. Attacking the natural resources sector, he is attending a Council of Canadians conference that actually opposes the mining industry and Canadian companies around the world. The member for Burnaby—New Westminster is spending his weekend attacking trade and our resource sector. We know the NDP members think that natural resources are a disease, but such positions will cost Canadian families jobs and prosperity at a time when they are needed most. He and his anti-oil-sands party and leader should be absolutely ashamed of themselves.”
More accurately, Julian spoke at the June 2 ‘Shout Out’ lunch-time plenary presentation on ‘Bringing Canadian Mining Companies to Justice: Obstacles and Opportunities’, which was moderated by Council of Canadians Board member Steven Shrybman. The description for that plenary says, “In order to support an ever-expanding mining industry, the Canadian government is dismantling environmental safeguards in Canada while undermining local democracy abroad through the aggressive pursuit of trade deals that entrench corporate rights. This panel will examine these realities, and explore the tools at our disposal to hold these companies and the Canadian government accountable.”
Julian was invited to speak, in part, because of his private members bill, Bill C‐323, the International Promotion and Protection of Human Rights Act. The Council of Canadians has backed this legislation and encouraged its members to sign a petition which says, “many multinational Canadian and foreign corporations face international condemnation for the practice of socially and environmentally destructive practices including: forced displacement of communities, social conflicts, violent disruption of protests against unfair employment practices, poisoned local water sources, destruction of fresh water sources, farmlands and fisheries… Therefore, your petitioners call on the Government of Canada to support Bill C‐323 thereby creating a new civil cause of action that would allow the Canadian Federal Courts to hear and decide claims for violations of international law that occur outside of Canada, and allow non‐citizens to sue anyone for violations of basic human, environmental or labour rights when they are committed outside of Canada through the Canadian court system.”
In the coming weeks, we will be posting videos of all the plenary presentations from ‘Shout Out Against Mining Injustice’, including Julian’s presentation. Watch for it.
The excerpt from Hansard, the official transcript of the House of Commons, can be read at http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=41&Ses=1&DocId=5633019#T1110. To read more about the ‘Shout Out’ panel that Julian spoke at, go to http://canadians.org/blog/?p=15378. To find out more about C-323, and to collect signatures to back the bill, please go to http://canadians.org/blog/?p=11435.
