04) FEDERAL OMNIBUS BILL TRIGGERS MASSIVE BACKLASH

     An estimated 500 businesses and organizations and thousands of individual Canadians joined a collective defence of nature and democracy on June 4, as part of the Black Out Speak Out campaign.

     The campaign (known in French as Silence, On Parle) culminated with tens of thousands of Canadians darkening their websites, writing to their elected representatives and speaking out through social media to protest the Harper government's smear attacks on charities, gutting of environmental laws and efforts to silence the voices of concerned citizens.

     "Today, hundreds of organizations and individuals - representing millions of citizens - are speaking out in support of two core Canadian values: the protection of nature and democratic discussion," said scientist and activist Dr. David Suzuki. "These values are the foundation of the peace, order and good government that define our nation, yet they are threatened by the federal government's reckless budget bill, C‑38."

     Buried in the many provisions of the omnibus budget bill are measures to weaken key environmental laws, such as the Fisheries Act, and the wholesale replacement of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act with an inferior review process. This would allow the federal cabinet to veto National Energy Board decisions on mega-projects such as the Northern Gateway pipeline. A weakened review process could mean approval of major industrial projects without careful scrutiny or consultation with First Nations, scientists, and citizen groups.

     The budget bill also includes $8 million to fund Canada Revenue Agency audits of charities, widely perceived as a move to silence advocacy and free speech on key environmental issues.

     "The continued survival of B.C. icons like migratory salmon and steelhead are put at risk through this far‑reaching omnibus bill. It's bad policy and it's bad democracy," stated John Fraser, Conservative fisheries minister in 1984‑5.

     Launched May 7, the Black Out Speak Out campaign is a joint effort of Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE), Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), David Suzuki Foundation, Ecojustice, Environmental Defence, Equiterre, Greenpeace, Nature Canada, Pembina Institute, Sierra Club Canada, West Coast Environmental Law, and WWF Canada. It grew rapidly to include over 400 major not‑for‑profit and social justice organizations, trade unions, scientists, and businesses.

     Other supporters include author Margaret Atwood; former Ambassador to the United Nations Stephen Lewis; Grand Chief Stewart Phillip (BC Union of Indian Chiefs); Dr. Andrew Weaver, Nobel Prize‑winning scientist; Oxfam Canada; Amnesty International; Canadian Labour Congress; the federal NDP, Liberal, Green and Bloc Quebecois opposition parties.

(The above article is from the June 16-30, 2012, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)