On Oct. 3 at 3 PM at the Fredericton Public Library: The opening of the poster exhibit: 80 years of the Nuclear Age: Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki will feature a talk by M.V. Ramana, Professor and Simons Chair in Disarmament, Global and Human Security at the University of British Columbia.
The exhibit, which will run for the month of October, is organized by CRED-NB Champion the CEDAR project in partnership with four departments and programs at St. Thomas University. More info HERE.
Tag: National Conversation
Confusion about a second repository for radioactive wastes
CRED-NB is a member of the network that publishes a monthly bulletin about small reactors and related issues. The bulletin is sent to all federal MPs and elected representatives in several provinces, including New Brunswick.
This month the topic is: Confusion About a Second Repository for Radioactive Wastes. In June, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) posted a “discussion paper” outlining their intention to site a second deep geological repository (DGR) for radioactive waste.
The NWMO announcement of an additional DGR has caused confusion. MPs are having trouble keeping the story straight among the various nuclear waste schemes. Read the complete bulletin HERE.
Join us at Draw the Line events in New Brunswick on Saturday, Sept. 20
CRED-NB and hundreds of civil society groups across the country are inviting their members to join the Sept. 20 mass day of action for people, for peace, for the planet. Join with hundreds of other people in the province who want more action on climate change, at one of the three actions in New Brunswick.
Sackville
We believe Sackville will be the largest of the three New Brunswick actions. The Sackville Draw the Line host is Seniors for Climate. CRED-NB will have a table at this one. If you participate in the Sackville event, drop by our information table to meet CRED-NB Chair, Ann McAllister.
The Sackville event poster is HERE. (en français ICI) The Draw the Line event is held in conjunction with the Sackville Fall Fair. The Draw the Line info tables will be at the Climate Corner of tables on Dufferin Street from 10:00 a.m. till 5:00 p.m.
Saint John
The host of the Draw the Line – Menahkwesk (Saint John) event is People United Saint John. Meet at 11:00 AM at Liberation Square (Queen Square). The hosts have made more info available about their event and are asking everyone to register HERE for details.
Fredericton
The Fredericton Draw the Line event poster is HERE. The event hosts are the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change and the Madhu Verma Migrant Justice Centre. Participants will meet at 1 PM at Fredericton City Hall, corner of Queen Street and York Street. The event will open with Wolastoqiyik cultural protocols from Wolastoqewi Kci-Sakom spasiqisit possesom – Ron Tremblay – (Wolastoq Grand Chief Morning Star Burning), followed by speakers. After a march to the New Brunswick Legislature, light refreshments will be offered.
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CRED-NB is a member of the Climate Action Network Canada who shared this info sheet to explain what the massive Draw the Line Day of Action on September 20th is all about. In addition to three flagship demonstrations in Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver, there are more than 60 actions taking place in cities, towns, and villages from coast to coast to coast.
CRED-NB was asked to share with you a letter signed by 21 social movement leaders published in the independent news outlet The Tyee: Draw the Line: Tell the Carney Government to Pick a Side.
CRED-NB joins NGOs across Canada to name radionuclides as chemical of concern
CRED-NB joined dozens of other NGOs across Canada and the US to urge the US and Canadian governments to accept/pass radionuclides as a Chemical of Mutual Concern (CMC) under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA). Read the letter HERE.
CRED-NB supports the Build Canada Homes initiative
CRED-NB joined with more than 100 groups across Canada to sign a letter to the Prime Minister asking to ensure that the Build Canada Homes initiative includes sustainability guidelines. The letter we signed asked that these new homes use the most modern technologies for heating and cooling air and water. Rather than building these homes with antiquated oil or gas heating, residents of Canada would greatly benefit from homes that come equipped with high efficiency electric heat pumps or other low-carbon alternatives like high-efficiency direct electric or geothermal district heating. Read the letter HERE.
New petition: Build a Canadian east-west electricity grid powered by renewables
The David Suzuki Foundation is hosting a petition, ready to sign, asking the federal government to build an east-west electricity grid powered by renewables. We’re asking all CRED-NB Champions to please consider signing the petition, HERE.
A massive build out of renewable energy, connected regionally and nationally, is the best way out of the energy bind we are in with our reliance on fossil fuels. A policy of building only renewable energy and storage systems will boost our fight against plans in New Brunswick for a new fossil gas plant north of Sackville.
This new national petition follows on from a letter on the same theme sent to PM Carney in July, signed by 105 groups across Canada, including CRED-NB and allies in New Brunswick. That letter was also organized by the David Suzuki Foundation as part of their ongoing campaign to encourage our governments to build only renewable energy systems.
Stop Canada’s $24 Billion Nuclear Privatization Deal!
A Parliamentary petition, now open for signatures, was developed by Ole Hendrickson, a CRED-NB ally in Ontario concerned about the link between civilian nuclear power and the nuclear weapons industry. We share his concern. Key info from the petition:
- Canada is poised to award a multi-billion dollar contract — the largest federal contract ever — to a consortium of U.S. companies;
- If this happens, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, a former Atomic Energy of Canada Limited subsidiary, will be owned by American firms calling themselves “Nuclear Laboratories Partners of Canada.”;
- The new contract would last up to 20 years, cost taxpayers over 24 billion dollars, and allow private commercial work at Atomic Energy of Canada Limited sites across Canada;
- Hundreds of millions of dollars in contract management fees would be paid annually to firms that operate U.S. nuclear weapons facilities;
- Canadian Nuclear Laboratories’ current projects include a $1+ billion facility to enable plutonium research, and a tritium extraction facility; plutonium and tritium are key explosive ingredients in nuclear weapons;
Read the rest of the petition and sign it HERE.
If you’ve never signed a parliamentary petition before, your name will not be displayed but after signing, you’ll get an email that you click to confirm your email address. You can also choose to get updates on the petition.
Open letter: 105 groups call on PM Mark Carney to build Canada’s east-west electricity grid with renewable energy
105 environment, labour, Indigenous and community groups, including CRED-NB, released a letter today, July 3, calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney and the federal government to prioritize building out Canada’s east-west electricity grid with renewable energy, while upholding workers’ and Indigenous rights.
The following is a summary of the priorities listed in the letter. The full letter can be found HERE.
- Commit significant federal funding toward permitting, planning and construction of strategic interprovincial and intra-provincial electricity transmission projects.
- The Green Budget Coalition, Green Economy Network and Climate Action Network Canada each identify a funding commitment of at least $20 billion over five years while the Canada Electricity Advisory Council recommends significant investment and reducing barriers for these transmission projects.
- Uphold legal and inherent Indigenous rights for Indigenous communities throughout Canada.
- Implement key labour supports as a condition for federal funding on electricity projects.
- Alongside the work on transmission and generation, the federal government should strengthen its financial support for energy efficiency, demand-side management, energy storage and other electricity system upgrades.
- With these priorities in mind, the federal government should update and implement Canada’s Electricity Strategy. This includes implementing the Clean Electricity Regulations, and continuing to advance Canada’s work to achieve a net-zero electricity grid.
See the press release HERE.
Climate groups react: Bill C-5 becomes law, setting a dangerous precedent
CRED-NB is a member of the Climate Action Network Canada that condemns Parliament’s reckless passage of Bill C-5’s controversial Building Canada Act. The Act erodes democratic principles, runs roughshod over Indigenous rights, shuts Canadians out of decisions that could affect them, and puts the environment at risk.
Bill C-5 sets a dangerous precedent. It gives sweeping and potentially unconstitutional powers to the federal Cabinet to bypass environmental laws and legal safeguards. The Bill allows decisions to be made about “national interest” projects with little public participation, without robust environmental impact assessments, and without the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples.
Read the full media release HERE.
As the G7 Leaders’ Summit concludes, Canada fails a test of climate leadership
CRED-NB is a member of Climate Action Network Canada that issued a statement condemning the glaring absence of climate change, and climate solutions, from any of the G7 statements released today.
“The leaders of the world’s richest and most powerful countries published a statement on fighting wildfires that completely ignores climate change—the root cause that’s making wildfires so much more deadly and extreme,” said Caroline Brouillette, Executive Director of Climate Action Network Canada.
“What’s the point of a coalition of like-minded countries if it isn’t even capable of mentioning the existential crisis facing humanity? Instead of showing leadership, Canada’s G7 Presidency catered to the lowest common denominator—for the sake of appeasing a President who couldn’t even be bothered to stick around to the end of the summit.
“Canada was smart to invite other leaders from Global South countries, but it is past time to imagine coalitions that maintain multilateralism without exposing ourselves to the whims of climate deniers like President Trump.
“The G7 Leaders’ Summit was a test of Canada’s climate leadership, and Prime Minister Carney failed.”