October 13^th, 2017

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CAMPAIGN UPDATES:

1. Green Energy Campaign: Energy East Ended… Disaster Averted - A message from Christine Elwell, our Green Energy Campaign Chair

With news that TransCanada pulled its applications for Energy East and Eastern Mainline pipelines, the Harper era, pre Paris Climate Accord and oil at $100 a barrel, is over. Indeed, the fossil fuel future is rapidly drawing to a close. Much gratitude for all of the amazing people out there who worked so hard to achieve this major VICTORY.

As the Sierra Club Ontario (SCO) and Green Energy Campaign Chair, I would like to thank the many Sierra Volunteers who dedicated their skills, expertise, and countless hours to help shape our submissions on these proposals to the National Energy Board (NEB):

Louisette Lanteigne – Lead Pipeline Expert 

Louisette is a Mi'kmaq Metis Acadian citizen advocate to secure concessions and cancellations of harmful projects, who helped us identify major environmental impacts of the two proposed pipelines. She is currently working to address the risks of Enbridge Line 9 and Line 10.

… Read more on Sierra Club Ontario’s website

2. Greenbelt Campaign: Time to Celebrate— 21 Rivers added to Ontario's Greenbelt

Please join us in celebrating 21 new rivers added to Ontario's Greenbelt...                                            

                                                     then

...hike the endangered Lockhart Drive old growth forest with us!

The borders of our world famous Ontario Greenbelt were firmly fixed for its first decade, from 2005 to 2015, then reopened for provincial review and possible revision.  It has proven to be a huge asset to the province and to the millions of urbanites living in the GTA but it remains, inevitably, under extreme pressure from its proximity to crowded cities and rapid population growth. Can the Greenbelt be better protected and enhanced for the coming decade?

Good news - it’s now time to celebrate one major step in that direction!  With the intent of making the Greenbelt into a more complete and self-sustaining ecosystem, while giving southern Ontario communities a greater share in its benefits and opportunities, the province has assigned the public lands of 21 new urban rivers, their valleys and wetlands, (collectively termed Urban River Valleys or URVs) to the Greenbelt.  

…Read more on Sierra Club Ontario’s website

3. Great Lakes Campaign: Sierra Club Ontario joins 47 ENGOs to Comment on Great Lakes Draft Binational Strategy on Persistent Toxins: PCBs and HBDCs

"The PCB and HBCD drafts suffer from a lack of specifics. There are no definitive goals or timelines in either document. They use generic terms such as “reducing toxins,” but fail to elaborate on how to reduce them."

The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between Canada and the United States was signed in 1972 by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and President Richard Nixon. Its goal is to identify shared priorities and coordinate action to protect the biological, chemical, and physical integrity of the Great Lakes Basin.

The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement has been amended multiple times, most recently in 2012. Annex 3 of the latest addition identifies eight Chemicals of Mutual Concern, which are substances of human origin that pose a threat to human health and the environment. It commits our two nations to reducing the release and impact of such substances on the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem.

… Read more on Sierra Club Ontario’s website

4.NOTICE: We are recruiting Executive Committee members for 2018!

Sierra Club Ontario's (SCO) Nomination Committee is seeking candidates as members to serve on its volunteer, non-profit Executive Committee, commencing January 2018. 

Candidates should be passionate about environmental protection and supporting grassroots activists in local communities to advocate for a more sustainable, greener future. We are looking for candidates who meet one or more of the following criteria:

• A track record of commitment and reliability as a Volunteer/Campaign Leader, and facility as a team player.
• Experience and success in developing and executing Fundraising and Development strategies for non-profit organizations.
• Experience and skilled at Marketing and Communications to help strengthen SCO's campaign outreach efforts in local communities.
• At this time, SCO is particularly interested in candidates suited to join its Finance Committee.

SCO's Executive Committee meets 6 times per year and is committed to equity, inclusion, and diversity in all of its appointments and activities, self-nomination is welcome. Deadline to apply is Friday, October 27, 2017.

For more information, please visit Sierra Club Ontario’s website.

5.OTHER ITEMS:

Sierra Club Ontario is proud to co-present - together with Planet in Focus - their Wildlife Shorts Program, taking place:

• Date: Saturday October 21st, from 2.30-4pm.
• Venue: The Al Green Theatre at the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre.

We are giving away 2 FREE TICKETS to the film program! Here's what you have to do to win them...

Contest Instructions:

1. Write a short paragraph (8 sentences maximum) about:

• What the environment means to you, 
• What you think is the greatest environmental threat humanity is facing,
• And what we, locally as a community, or as a global collective, need to do to overcome this problem.

2. Send it in to: "ontariochapter @ sierraclub.ca" by Monday October 16th at 11.59pm.

3. Follow us on either Twitter or Facebook (@SierraClubON), and subscribe to our Ozone newsletter.

*Contest winner will be announced on Tuesday October 17th at 12pm.

We would like to take this opportunity to recognize Mr. Norm Opperman, a Sierra Club Ontario donor and old friend of Dan McDermott (Dan is the former Chapter Director at Sierra Club Ontario, who unfortunately passed away earlier this year). Norm made a major gift donation to the Ontario Chapter in memory of Dan. Below is a few words he’d like to say about his donation to Sierra Club Ontario and his memory of Dan:

“This donation in memory of Dan McDermott is from Jo Ann & Norm Opperman. Jo was Dan’s cousin from Rochester, NY. She died in October 2016.  Jo was a committed environmentalist and worked for “Is 5 Foundation”, Pollution Probe and the City of Toronto. I have known Dan (& Patty) and Helen for many years since he came to Canada in the ‘70’s. We got together often for dinners to discuss his work and Jo’s at Pollution Probe. Dan was a crusty bugger in some ways but you could not fault his commitment and dedication to the environment in Ontario. Our conversations were lively and verbally combative with lots of irony thrown in for spice. He was articulate and well read. He was usually well prepared for debate & argument on environmental issues and enjoyed it immensely judging by his trademark smile and twinkle in his eyes. I hope the donation will contribute to the success of Sierra Club Canada Foundation and its Ontario Chapter work."

- Norm Opperman, Grimsby ON.

Above: Jo and Norm Opperman; Below: Dan McDermott, Helen, and Jo.

If you too would like to make a donation to the Ontario Chapter to support our charitable work, please visit Sierra Club Canada Foundation’s website, or email us at: ontariochapter @ sierraclub.ca.

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