September, 21 2010, 10:05am EDT
Council of Canadians Condemns Harper's Sponsorship of Water Privatization Conference
he Council of Canadians is condemning the Harper government for its sponsorship of an international conference of water corporations that are seeking to privatize the resource.
The organization and representatives of Quebec-based allies unfurled an 8-metre long blue banner with the message "Public Water is a Human Right" at the front doors of the Palais des Congres, where the World Water Congress is taking place. Delegates to the Congress were invited to sign the banner.
MONTREAL
he Council of Canadians is condemning the Harper government for its sponsorship of an international conference of water corporations that are seeking to privatize the resource.
The organization and representatives of Quebec-based allies unfurled an 8-metre long blue banner with the message "Public Water is a Human Right" at the front doors of the Palais des Congres, where the World Water Congress is taking place. Delegates to the Congress were invited to sign the banner.
"It is shameful that Environment Canada is co-sponsoring the World Water Congress," says Council of Canadians Director of Campaigns and Communications Brent Patterson. "The World Water Congress is a conference of large, unaccountable water corporations like Suez Environnement and Veolia Water, as well as the Oil Sands Developers Group. The focus of their meeting in Montreal this week is on how to profit from water scarcity and private water services."
"This sponsorship calls into question Prime Minister Harper's sincerity about protecting water," says Council of Canadians National Water Campaigner Meera Karunananthan. "The government should come clean about the amount of money it is giving the World Water Congress."
"The federal government also currently compels municipalities to explore P3s under the Building Canada Fund," notes Council of Canadians Ontario/Quebec Regional Organizer Mark Calzavara. "Harper should stop trying to force communities to 'partner' with corporations. Instead, the federal government should create a national water infrastructure fund and ensure clean water is delivered as a public service."
"The Prime Minister and the privateers at the World Water Congress would like to be able to sell water for profit to the highest bidder, but public water is a human right," adds Karunananthan. "The Harper government still seems oblivious to the realities of increasing water scarcity and climate change. It's clear most Canadians and Quebeckers support the right to water, so the question is why doesn't Harper?"
Founded in 1985, the Council of Canadians is Canada's leading social action organization, mobilizing a network of 60 chapters across the country.
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Biden Denounced for 'Appalling' Approval of Willow Oil Project
"There is simply no justification for President Biden's decision to approve a massive new oil drilling scheme that will lead to decades of air and climate pollution," said one critic.
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U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday greenlighted a massive oil drilling project on federal land in Alaska, eliciting outrage from climate advocates who say the administration's accompanying restrictions on oil and gas leasing in the region cannot make up for the destruction set to be unleashed by the approved Willow project.
Progressives sought for months to dissuade Biden from approving ConocoPhillips' $8 billion Willow project, noting that it could enable the production of more than 600 million barrels of crude over 30 years. If all of that oil is burned, roughly 280 million metric tons of heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions will be spewed into the atmosphere at a time when United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warns that the planet is reaching a "point of no return."
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Sen. Bernie Sanders on Sunday night called for a full repeal of the 2018 banking deregulations signed into law by former President Donald Trump and declared that "now is not the time for taxpayers bail out Silicon Valley Bank"—the California bank that collapsed Friday.
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As the Washington Postreports, "The decision by Treasury to backstop all deposits at SVB and Signature — not just those up to $250,000 that are insured under federal law — rested on a judgment that it was necessary to avoid a wider 'systemic' meltdown. The move will likely ignite a political firestorm over the decision to protect the assets of tech firms, venture capitalists, and other rich people in California."
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