Thirst for Justice challenges G8 agenda in Halifax

From the Council of Canadians (a non-profit organization that doesn't accept money from corporations or governments):

The Council of Canadians held a public forum and was part of an organizing committee for a march, rally, and information picket challenging the G8 agenda as Development Ministers from G8 countries gathered in Halifax for talks.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has put women's and children's health in the global south, including access to clean water, on the agenda at upcoming G8/G20 meetings Canada will host in Toronto in June. At a public forum last week called “Thirst for Justice,” Barbara Clow from the Atlantic Centre of Excellence for Women's Health, Carleen Pickard , Director of Organizing for the Council of Canadians, and Jada Voyager from the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation made the links between how the Canadian government is failing women, children and First Nation communities through policies that lead to the contamination of water resources, deny access to clean drinking water, and by failing to recognize water as a human right in Canada and internationally. To read our opinion editorial, published in the Halifax Chronicle Herald during the recent G8 ministerial meeting go here.

The Council of Canadians joined a coalition of groups and concerned individuals known as the “Halifax G8 Welcoming Committee” for a family-friendly rally last Sunday to speak out against the exclusive agenda of both the G8 and G20. Both have been criticized as clubs for rich nations, whose political leaders make decisions that affect less wealthy nations. The Council of Canadians believes the true forum for global decision-making should be the United Nations, also referred to as the G192. We will continue to confront the pressures of global capitalism and a failed model of world trade that has led to inaction on climate change, the loss of clean, accessible water and rising corporate power as Canada hosts the G8 and the G20 meetings June 25-27. To read more about the Halifax rally, which included chapter activists from across the Atlantic region, go here.