Chapter and Group News
Atlantic Canada Chapter
Conference and Annual General Meeting this June
From June 23 – 25, 2007 enjoy beautiful surroundings, all vegetarian meals, and networking with like-minded environmentalists at our Conference and Annual General Meeting at Camp Keir, PEI. For more information, please visit www.sierraclub.ca/atlantic/ or contact the Chapter office at 902-444-3113.
Sierra Club of Canada – Atlantic Canada Chapter
Annual Gathering
June 22 – 24, 2007
This Year's Theme:
WELLSPRING
Water, Wonder and Environmental Revolution
Join us for a weekend of green good times from June 22-24 at Camp Keir, located in Canoe Cove on the south shore of beautiful Prince Edward Island. The gathering is an annual event held to honour and inspire Sierra Club members and supporters and to celebrate Atlantic Canada's beautiful natural environment.
Attendance at all program events is open to all ages. Everyone is welcome!
For more information or to register check out:
www.sierraclub.ca/atlantic/getinvolved/events/agm/aga2007.htm
Action Alert
Environmental Assessment of the Irving Oil Refinery Project in Saint John, New Brunswick
Immediate Action Needed before June 30, 2007
This is the first oil refinery to be built in North America in more than 25 years, making it the first refinery to be subject to any kind of environmental assessment and the first refinery to be built since Canada ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2002.
Write to the Honourable John Baird, Minister of Environment, 10 Wellington St., 28th Floor, Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0H3. Send copies to your local Member of Parliament and to:
Cheryl Benjamin
Senior Program Officer
Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
1801 Hollis Street, Suite 200
Halifax, NS B3J 3N4 |
Ted Currie
Senior Environmental Analyst
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Maritimes Region, P.O. Box 5030
Moncton, NB E1C 9B6 |
Insist that Environment Minister John Baird order a full environmental impact assessment of the proposed oil refinery with a panel review. As it currently stands, he is simply requiring an environmental assessment of the wharf and breakwater that will be built to load refined petroleum products and petroleum coke onto ships bound
for the US market.
The Minister has the ability to order a federal environmental assessment of the refinery on at least two counts: 1) refinery emissions will cross inter-provincial and international boundaries; and 2) refinery operations and the increased shipping that will result pose risks to species protected under the federal /Species at Risk Act/. You have until June 30th to comment on the proposed scope of the federal assessment.
Once you’ve sent your letter, ask your local MP to support your request in Parliament.
BC Chapter
Kudos for Great Bear Rainforest Agreement
 Sierra Club BC has received an international award for efforts to conserve the Great Bear Rainforest. World Wildlife Fund’s “Gift to the Earth” award was shared with ForestEthics, Greenpeace, coastal First Nations, several logging companies and Premier Gordon Campbell for collaborative work on a conservation plan for the Great Bear Rainforest.
The international award recognizes the parties’ groundbreaking 2006 consensus. The agreement will see two million hectares of rainforest protected from logging, forest companies operating under “Ecosystem-Based Management”, and $120 million flowing to coastal communities to create new businesses and practice land stewardship.
“We’re very proud that this innovative model of conservation is receiving international recognition,” said Sierra Club BC Executive Director Kathryn Molloy. “The collaboration and leadership shown by all parties in developing last year’s agreement remain key ingredients in ensuring this achievement lives up to its promise on the ground.”
Monitoring Change on the Ground: Guardians/Watchmen in the Great Bear Rainforest
First Nations have been monitoring and protecting the lands and waters in their traditional territories since time immemorial. Today, Guardian and Watchmen programs continue this important work. These programs differ from community to community but generally include monitoring fisheries, forestry and tourism activities in First Nations’ respective territories.
In an exciting expansion of the existing Guardian/Watchmen programs, the BC Chapter has partnered with the QQS Project Society and the Northwest Community College to develop and deliver a training program for Guardians/Watchmen in the Great Bear Rainforest. Acting as the eyes and ears on the land and water, Guardians/Watchmen will be watching and protecting their traditional territories on the North and Central Coast. Because of the sheer size of the area, community-based monitoring will be critical to the successful implementation of all aspects of the Great Bear Rainforest land use agreement.
Learn more about the Guardians’ work at their new website, launched in May 2007.
Québec Chapter
Prochaine réunion
Mardi 12 juin à 17 h 30
Chez Claude, le directeur
1291, rue Cartier
Montréal (Métro Papineau)
(514) 651-5847 |
Next Meeting
Tuesday June 12 at 5:30 pm
At Claude’s, the Director
1291 Cartier Street
Montréal (Papineau Metro)
(514) 651-5847 |
Wei David Sun, Shu Yi Chu, Sandra Lee, Xiao-Zhen (Jane) Wu.
Absent: Lain Tam, Chris DeWolf, Cédric Sam.
La Vie en vert (ex-Groupe 128) / Green Life (ex-Group 128)
Une première à Montréal ! Le Sierra Club a tenu une session d’information publique tout en chinois sur la gestion des déchets et les changements climatiques. Le dimanche 27 mai, l’équipe Vie en vert a installé le kiosque du Sierra Club sur la place publique au cœur du quartier chinois. Nos partenaires sont l’Éco-Quartier St-Jacques et les Services à la Famille chinoise.
A first in Montréal! Sierra Club held a public information session entirely in Chinese on waste management and climate change impacts. On May 27, the Green Life team set up the Sierra Club kiosk in the public square of the Montreal Chinatown. Our partners were l’Éco-Quartier St-Jacques, and the Chinese Family Services.
Johanne Roberge, présidente, pose avec Catherine Sévigny, conseillère municipale et Benoît Labonté, maire de l’Arrondissement Ville-Marie. L’Arrondissement appuie financièrement le Groupe 128, dorénavant renommé La Vie en vert. / Johanne Roberge, chair, with Catherine Sévigny, municipal counselor and Benoît Labonté, Mayor of l’Arrondissement Ville-Marie. L’Arrondissement support financially Group 128, which is now called Green Life.
Dansez pour la planète ! E=MC2 – Chaque geste compte
E=MC2 est un DANSE-O-THON organisé par le Jour de la Terre en association avec le Piknic Éléctronik et permet de financer de nombreux groupes environnementaux. Cette danse aura lieu au Parc Jean-Drapeau le samedi 23 et le dimanche 24 juin, entre 13 h et 21 h. Venez danser pour le Sierra Club du Canada.
Vous pouvez participer comme DONATEUR. Il suffit d’appuyer un des danseurs du Sierra Club, faites-lui un don de à partir du site du Jour de la Terre.
…Ou comme DANSEUR. Venez danser tout en amassant de l'argent pour le Sierra Club. Complétez le formulaire en ligne (optez pour l’Éco-santé / Sierra Club) et sollicitez des dons auprès de vos amis et votre famille afin d'atteindre votre objectif de levée de fonds, et même le surpasser ! Informations et inscription sur www.jourdelaterre.org/emc2/.
Come Dancing for the Planet! E=MC2 – Every Move Can Count
This 3rd annual DANSE-O-THON is once again part of the Electronik Piknic at Jean-Drapeau Park. Organized by Jour de la Terre (Earth Day), it benefits many local environmental groups. Come and dance Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 of June, any time between 1 pm and 9 pm and help Sierra Club of Canada raise funds.
You can participate as a DONOR, simply pick one of the dancers from Sierra Club and make a donation on line from the Jour de la Terre website.
…Or as a DANCER. Come and dance while fundraising for the Sierra Club. Fill in the on-line form (pick Environmental Health / Sierra Club) and send an email to all your friends and family to support you in meeting your fundraising target. Information and registration can be found at www.jourdelaterre.org/emc2/.
Cool Cities
Notre projet Cool Cities vise à aider les villes et les arrondissements à améliorer la qualité de vie et à réduire l’émission de gaz à effet de serres sur leur territoire. Le projet inclut huit secteurs spécifiques d’interventions et d’activités promotionnelles ainsi que certains services que nous pouvons rendre pour appuyer les efforts des villes.
Nous avons besoin de collaborateurs pour :
- Participer à notre recherche pour améliorer notre documentation concernant les interventions environnementales qui ont un bon taux de réussite au niveau municipal dans divers pays.
- Préparer les approches que nous utiliserons auprès de certaines villes du Québec, incluant rechercher ce qui se fait au niveau environnemental dans ces villes, qui sont les gens d’influence et s’il y a des groupes en place avec qui nous devrions nous associer.
Pour nous aider communiquer avec scqinfo@gmail.com
Cool Cities
Our Cool Cities project aims at helping municipalities and boroughs to improve the quality of life and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on their territory.
The project includes eight specific sectors of intervention and of promotional activities as well as services which we can perform to assist municipalities.
We need volunteers to:
- Do research to improve our documentation of successful environmental interventions at the municipal level in various countries.
- Assist in preparing the approach we will use for several Quebec municipalities, including researching what is presently done at the environmental level in those municipalities, who are the influential citizens and if there are local groups with whom we should join forces.
To help us contact scqinfo@gmail.com
Excursions / Outings
Vous trouverez la nouvelle programmation d’activités de plein air du Sierra Club du Québec sur notre site web. / You will find the new outing program on the Quebec Chapter website.
Voici la prochaines sortie. / Here is the next activitiy:
Sam . 16 juin - Mont Whiteface via Mont Marble, Wilmington, N.Y.
Sat, June 16 - Whiteface Mountain via Marble Mountain., Wilmington, N.Y.
International Forum on Applied Sustainable Development,
Sherbrooke (Quebec, Canada)
June 18-20, 2007 www.usherbrooke.ca/rvdd_eng/
More than 125 speakers including
- Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland (video)
- Léopold Gaudreau, Assistant Deputy Minister, Sustainable Development Branch, MDDEP
- Myriam Truchon, Director, Environment and Sustainable Development, Hydro-Québec
- Jean-Pierre Revérêt, Professor, Université du Québec à Montréal
- Lalit Bhati, Urban Planner, Auroville, India
- Amelia Clarke, Past-President, Sierra Club of Canada, and Instructor, McGill University
- Olivier Dubigeon, Founding Director, Sustainway, France
Pour l’information en français, veuillez visiter www.usherbrooke.ca/rvdd/bulletin/rvdd_mai2007.html
Supporting Sierra Club of Canada
Looking for a perfect gift? Here is an idea that also helps the environment!
A tribute gift is a very special way to remember someone special or to honour a special day. We will send a personalized card letting them know of your kind gift and any message you wish to convey.
A gift can be made online or by contacting us. Tribute gifts add a special meaning to all occasions, and it truly is a gift that lasts a lifetime.
Carbon-Friendly Colleagues
From biodiesel school buses to wind-powered computers, Sierra Club of Canada supporters are taking action to save our climate. Planet Organic Markets, a natural products company that partnered with Sierra Club of Canada in 2006, has struck an “Eco Karma Committee” to search for ways to help the environment. So far, among other initiatives, the energetic committee has arranged for the purchase of wind power to run 50 company computers, including all cashier tills. |
