Updates

Today’s Speech from the Throne comes at a major turning point in this global pandemic. A second wave appears imminent – in some communities across the country, it has already started.

Canadians are ready for change. Seventy-three per cent of Canadians expect a “broad transformation of society,” and the government promised to move forward on many important social programs today, including steps towards national pharmacare, childcare and national standards for long-term care.

The Council of Canadians supports the Mi'kmaq treaty right to fish for a moderate livelihood, protected by the Peace and Friendship Treaties of 1760/61, reaffirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada with the Marshall decisions of 1999.

Today, the Canadian Health Coalition and 12 other national and regional organizations sent a joint letter to the Prime Minister, the Minister of Health and the Minister of Finance calling for the federal government to take immediate action to implement universal, public pharmacare.

To: The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
Cc: Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister
Bill Morneau, Minister of Finance
Seamus O'Regan, Minister of Natural Resources
Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Environment and Climate Change
Bernadette Jordan, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada Minister
Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry

Re: No federal funding for exploration drilling off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador

The Council of Canadians are in solidarity with our Black members and supporters, and all Black leaders and individuals working for an end to police brutality and killings in their communities. We recognize the existence of systemic racism in our society and we are committed to eradicating it. We believe in the power of protest, and condemn the use of force against protests across the U.S. and Canada.

The Council of Canadians has learned Alton Gas appears to be working on site this week, despite a Supreme Court ruling in Nova Scotia overturning their industrial permit while they consult with Sipekne’katik First Nation.   

A large hole in the ground has appeared at the Alton Gas site and workers have been seen on site this week, raising questions about whether the company is doing work during the court-ordered consultation period with Sipekne’katik First Nation.   

It is with deep gratitude and respect that the Council of Canadians’ Board of Directors announces that Maude Barlow is stepping down from her position of Honorary Chairperson.
 
The Board is immensely thankful for all that Maude has contributed to the organization, right from the Council’s formation in 1985 to the present day. She has provided unparalleled leadership, commitment and dedication to the Council of Canadians, its values, and efforts to bring people together to drive progressive change.
 

Canada needs universal, public pharmacare now more than ever. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, 20% of Canadian households were struggling to pay for their medication. The mass layoffs triggered by the pandemic have now left millions more people without work-based drug plans.

As governments prepare recovery plans amidst the COVID-19 crisis, an informal alliance of over 150 civil society groups, representing collective memberships of millions in Canada, are demanding these plans move us toward a more equitable and sustainable future, with the release, today, of six Principles for a Just Recovery.

The Council of Canadians is in full solidarity with UFCW workers who are being forced to work in unsafe conditions at Cargill meat-packing plants in Canada.