Media Advisory
April 14, 2008
Who: The Citizens Coalition Against Mining Uranium,
(CCAMU) has created an opportunity for citizens and organizations
to be heard
What: The Citizens' Inquiry into the Impacts of
the Uranium Cycle
Where: Sadlier House, 751 George St. N.
When: April 15th, 2008. The public forum will
be held at from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Why: "We had been asking the government to
hold an inquiry into uranium mining and they failed to respond….
In the absence of action by the government, we are holding this
Inquiry and have invited the Premier and his Ministers to attend
to hear what people have to contribute," commented Wolfe
Erlichman of the sponsoring organization
____________________________________________________
The much-anticipated Citizens' Inquiry into the Impacts of the
Uranium Cycle arrives in Peterborough on April 15th. The public
forum will be held at Sadlier House, 751 George St. N. from 1
p.m. to 5 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The sessions are open
to the public and provide a neutral venue for those who have registered
to have their say on any aspect of the uranium/nuclear equation
- for or against.
The first in a series of hearings began on April
1st in Sharbot Lake, ON and drew a large and attentive audience.
The venue had to be moved part way through the morning to allow
for the growing crowd. Thirty-five people presented using various
modes of communication, from PowerPoint to poetry.
In Peterborough, over 40 presentations are expected
from residents of Peterborough, Port Hope, the Haliburton area
and beyond. While registration is closed, submissions will be
received until May 1/08 at: info@uraniumcitizensinquiry.com and
can be viewed at www.uraniumcitizensinquiry.com
"We had been asking the government to hold
an inquiry into uranium mining and they failed to respond,"
said Wolfe Erlichman of the sponsoring organization, The Citizens
Coalition Against Mining Uranium, (CCAMU). "Fourteen councils
from Kingston through to Ottawa passed resolutions supporting
a moratorium on uranium exploration and mining and a public inquiry
into the mining act; many thousands of people have written letters
and dozens of organizations have made appeals. In the absence
of action by the government, we are holding this Inquiry and have
invited the Premier and his Ministers to attend to hear what people
have to contribute. We will hold a forum in Ottawa, his hometown,
on Earth Day, April 22nd to accommodate him."
Donna Dillman, a 53-year-old Lanark area grandmother, resumed
eating after 68 days without food when, in lieu of action from
the provincial government, CCAMU, along with several NGO's, including
The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, Students
Against Climate Change, Sierra Club of Canada, The Suzuki Foundation
and Greenpeace, rallied to announce a Citizens' Inquiry last December.
"While it was good to imagine sharing Christmas dinner with
my family, these forums offer the possibility that the government
will hear our voices and begin to act on behalf of our grandchildren
and the planet that sustains us. As well, they are a platform
to inform and educate," said Dillman. "While not eating
and living on the side of the road was a challenge, the greater
hardship has been watching the inaction of the Ontario Government
on the most important issues of the day."
info at: www.uraniumcitizensinquiry.com
The "Citizens' Inquiry into the Impacts of
the Uranium Cycle" is brought to you by The Community Coalition
Against Mining Uranium (CCAMU) which thanks the following for
their assistance:
Greenpeace
Sisters of Providence
The First Six Years
Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment
Toronto Climate Campaign
Students Against Climate Change
David Suzuki Foundation
Mining Watch Canada
Voice of Woman
Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility
Sierra Club of Canada
Panel Members for Peterborough:
Marion Dewar was mayor of Ottawa from 1978 to
1985, and a member of the
Parliament of Canada from 1986 to 1988. She has served as chair
of Oxfam
Canada and the Ottawa-Carleton Police Services Board. In 2002,
Marion was
made a Member of the Order of Canada. She is a committed peace
activist
pushing for nuclear disarmament, and personally picketing the
American
Embassy after the invasion of Grenada. Marion appeared in the
1985
documentary "Speaking our Peace." In recent years, she
has been
politically active; supporting her son Paul's political career
and
volunteering her time for many community pursuits. She has five
children,
and a number of grandchildren.
Fraser McVie IS A retired Director General, Security,
Correctional
Services Canada. He has held a variety of senior positions in
the federal
corrections system in British Columbia and Ontario.
During his time with Corrections Canada Mr. McVie WAS responsible
for
helping to develop modern and humane approaches to corrections
based on
research based models of rehabilitation and treatment.
As well, he has worked in reconstruction as an expert with United
Nations
Interim Mission in Kosovo and for the past 35 years in the Canadian
criminal justice system.
These WORK experiences have heightened Mr. McVie's awareness and
respect
for fundamental human rights and the need to work very closely
with all
ethnic and cultural groups and communities to try to forge common
understandings and viable ways to move forward while respecting
the
rights of all members.
Mr. McVie resides with his wife Catherine in Manotick Ontario
near the
Rideau River. He enjoys skiing and kayaking and spending time
with his
daughters and two granddaughters who ALSO live in the Ottawa area.
Professor Robert Paehlke has taught at Trent in
both the Department of
Political Studies and the Environmental and Resource Studies programme.
He is a graduate of Lehigh University, the New School for Social
Research
and received his Ph.D. in Political Science at the University
of British
ColUmbia.
His teaching interests lie primarily in the fields
of public policy and
environmental politics. He has been chair of the Department of
Political
Studies and of the Environmental and Resource Studies programme.
In 1997, he was the recipient of the Trent University
Faculty Research
Award. For nearly 30 years, he has worked with governments, environmental
organizations and businesses in Canada, the United States, Germany,
Great
Britain, Norway and Australia.
Among other, more recent, publications, Professor
Paehlke authored
"Environmentalism and the Future of Progressive Politics"
in 1989, and is
a founding editor of the journal 'Alternatives: Perspectives on
Society
and Environment;' is on the editorial board of 'Environmental
History' and
is presently a member of the National Advisory Board of the Canadian
Environmental Defense Fund.
-30-
Donna Dillman
613-259-9988
Wolfe Erlichman
613-273-3986
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