MARCH 26th, 2008

1) CCAMU HAS A NEW MAILING ADDRESS
2) NO URANIUM BUMPER STICKERS
3) THE SUSTAINABILITY PROJECT RAFFLE
4) PERTH MARCH IN MARCH
5) OCAMU FILM NIGHT
6) REMEMBER: SATURDAY IS EARTH HOUR!
7) CCAMU AT QUEENS PARK AND THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
8) CCAMU NETWORKING WITH VANCOUVER AND COLORADO ANTI-URANIUM GROUPS
9) LETTER TO THE EDITOR
10) TWO VIDEOS FROM ACTCITY OTTAWA
11) MPP FOR OTTAWA CENTER RESPONSE TO CONCERNED CITIZEN
12) ARTICLE: ARCHBISHOP ISSUES STERN REBUKE ON JAILING OF NATIVES
13) ARTICLE: ANGLICAN CRITICIZES JAILING OF FIRST NATIONS MEMBERS
14) ARTICLE: DEPLETED URANIUM TURNS EARTHWORMS INTO GLOWWORMS

1) CCAMU HAS A NEW MAILING ADDRESS

To support CCAMU's multi-pronged public education, research and legal campaign, please designate cheques to the

"Uranium Mining Moratorium Fund"
P.O Box 2149
57 Foster St.
Perth, Ont.
K7H 3M9

The "Uranium Mining Moratorium Fund" is audited by the board of the Tay River Defense Fund.

To allocate money to the "Citizens' Uranium Inquiry", please indicate on the bottom of your cheque.

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2) NO URANIUM BUMPER STICKERS

Rosemary Tayler, a member of OCAMU, has generously donated NO URANIUM bumper stickers to our cause. To receive one, she has asked that people email CCAMU a copy of their letter to McGuinty (uraniumnews@mail.ccamu.ca). To find out more about the letter writing campaign, click on the 'How You Can Help' tab on our website.

To help keep costs down, please send a self addressed and stamped legal letter size (10cm X 24cm) envelop to the address below, so we can mail you a bumper sticker.

For larger quantities of bumper stickers, please mail $1 per sticker to

CCAMU
P.O Box 2149
57 Foster St.
Perth, Ontario
K7H 3M9

For now we will cover the postage on larger orders. Please do not send cash in the mail.
All proceeds from the bumper stickers will go to the Citizens' Inquiry into the Impacts of the Uranium Cycle.

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3) THE SUSTAINABILITY PROJECT RAFFLE

All proceeds to go to the "Citizens' Inquiry on the Impacts of the Uranium Cycle".

Draw Date: 6pm, June 28th, 2008
(The anniversary of our protest)
Draw Location: R.R.#3 Lanark, Ontario

To see a photo of the prizes go to our website http://www.ccamu.ca

1st Prize: "Spirit of the Mississippi", Clay Sculpture, Value $300.

2nd Prize: "Spirit of the Ottawa", Clay Sculpture, Value $250.

3rd Prize: "Spirit of the Gatineau", Clay Sculpture, Value $200.

4th Prize: Porcelain Teapot, Value $50.

Pottery made and donated by Chandler Swain of Blakeney, Ontario.

Only 1000 tickets have been printed so there is a good chance to win one of these beautiful prizes!

Tickets: $5.00
Tickets can be purchased at one of our many public events over the next few months.

To order tickets by mail, send your cheque and request to:
"CCAMU Raffle"
P.O. Box 2149
57 Foster St.
Perth, Ont. K7H 2B7

Your ticket(s) will be sent to you by mail.
Please be sure to include your address and phone #.

Raffle License # M554833

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4) PERTH MARCH IN MARCH

Family Walk Against Uranium Mining

Saturday March 29th
Meet @ 10am at the Perth Union Public Library
Support our final "March in March"
New strategies in April!
Bring signs, noisemakers, family, friends and kids. This is part of a Perth group's "March in March" initiative to raise awareness about the threat of uranium mining in the area and the violated environmental and human rights.

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5) OCAMU FILM NIGHT

Uranium: Award-winning film (Canada - NFB / 1990 / 48 minutes / English) http://www.nfb.ca/collection/films/fiche/?id=18301

Local activists will be present at this event.

Doors open at 7pm / Film starts at 7:30pm

MacDonald Hall Auditorium (MCD 146),
150 Louis Pasteur Street
University of Ottawa Main Campus

Admission: FREE

For more information go to the Ottawa Coalition against Mining Uranium (OCAMU) website. http://www.kNOw-uranium.org

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6) REMEMBER: SATURDAY IS EARTH HOUR!

>From the Earth Hour newsletter http://wwf.ca/earthhour/EarthHour-Individuals.htm

"With Earth Hour almost upon us, there is a definite buzz in the air! In a few short days, people around the world will be joining together to turn out their lights for Earth Hour, sending a very strong message that we need to do more to fight climate change.

According to a recent poll, conducted on behalf of Virgin Mobile, a staggering 70% of Canadians have said they will be participating in Earth Hour! And in the spirit of Earth Hour being a catalyst for change, more than 50% of Canadians surveyed said Earth Hour has made them more conscious to save energy and go green in the future. This is great news for the planet! See how WWF-Canada can help you reduce your ecological footprint everyday.

Remember, if you are in the Toronto area, come out to hear Canada's own Nelly Furtado play an unplugged concert at the Earth Hour community event at Nathan Philip Square starting at 7:00 p.m. This low-power event will be carbon-neutral - being powered with green, renewable energy from Bullfrog Power.

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7) CCAMU AT QUEENS PARK AND THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO

March 19th: While miners were making their way to Queens Park, a group of people met at the Munk Centre to protest mining. The miners were to be welcomed into the legislature and to meet with Ministers and MPPs and attend a reception in honour of the industry that benefits from the extraction of resources. The protesters had chosen the Munk Centre, which is funded by Peter Munk of Barrick Gold, to meet and then march to Queens Park in protest of 'Meet the Miners Day.'

The rally was organized by Students Against Climate Change and Forest Ethics to peacefully protest QP mining lobby day and in solidarity with the Ardoch Algonquin and Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nations, Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation and 'settlers,' represented by CCAMU, to call for a moratorium on uranium exploration, and to revise the antiquated and draconian Mining Act.

Speakers included Leah Henderson (Forest Ethics), Marilyn Crawford (CCAMU), Paul York (SACC), Kim Fry (Greenpeace), Rev. Ralph Carl Wushke (Eccumenical chaplain, University of Toronto), and Rebecca Johnson (Christian Peacemakers Team). As well as concerned citizens, KAIROS, the Student Christian Movement and people from the United Church attended the rally.

Rev. Wushke offered a prayer to the Great Spirit calling for justice and reconciliation between our culture and aboriginal cultures.

"O Great Spirit. O Great Creator, Source of all that is. You breathe and infuse us with life. We are mindful that we are standing on Ground, Sacred Earth here today. Root us, and ground us in Earth, that we may be mindful and respectful of Earth, all the plants and animals, and all our brothers and sisters, especially those in the First Nations. Move us and our governments to deal honourably, and bring respect and humility to conversations with First Nations that there may be Right Relations among us. Use all the efforts and commitments expressed here today to contribute to the outcomes for which we long and pray. Amen."

An evening gathering at University of Toronto included an informal talk about the rights afforded to prospectors and developers under the system of free entry and the Ontario Mining Act was given by Marilyn Crawford, CCAMU. A discussion followed the showing of the NFB movie 'Uranium.'

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8) CCAMU NETWORKING WITH VANCOUVER AND COLORADO ANTI-URANIUM GROUPS

"Please take a moment to review our websites. We are a grass roots organization fighting a Vancouver mining company. They seek to use our aquifer to perform in-situ uranium mining. We would appreciate the opportunity to share links."

http://www.powertechexposed.com

http://www.nunnglow.com/

Thanks,

Jeff Edquist

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9) LETTER TO THE EDITOR

How is it that in the last two months seven First Nations people have been sent to jail for 6 months each for peacefully obstructing exploration and mining near their communities and the mining company just dropped charges against three white people last week for exactly the same activity? In the protest against the proposed uranium mine north of Sharbot Lake, First Nations people and non-native landowners and concerned residents have been united in their opposition to this mine and the ecological consequences of the toxic mess it would create in the surrounding watershed area. Why then has the mining company, Frontenac Ventures, opted to only request the most exxtreme sentence (6 months in prison, $25,000 fine to Mr. Lovelace plus $2000 for every day that he refuses to comply with a gag order forbidding him to continue to protest plus a $10,000 fine for his community)? The six First Nations people from north of Thunder Bay will also be in Jail for 6 months for similar protest. And why did the Ontario civil court comply with the companies' requests? In my opinion it's a shameful and disturbing use of the courts to squash opposition to the government's plan to push through uranium mining and nuclear power plant development, trying to convince the public that this is a great solution to the energy crisis. It's not. It's outright madness--expensive, dangerous, polluting and potentially disastrous. Is it possible that the mining companies and the government want the people of Ontario to believe this is solely a Native land claims issue? Do they want to hide the fact that property owners, cottagers, organic and regular farmers, parents and grandparents--we're all opposed to this mine and the destruction it will create? This is a health issue; a property rights issue, an ecology issue and affects all of us in so many ways. It is now also becoming a civil liberties issue. We need a total moratorium on uranium mining and a complete overhaul of the mining act as well as the settling of First Nations Land Claims. And we need it soon.

Susan Quipp
Perth, ON

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10) TWO VIDEOS FROM ACTCITY OTTAWA

Canadian Political Prisoner Robert Lovelace
Robertsville, Ontario Canada
Note: This interview with political prisoner, retired Algonquin Chief Robert Lovelace gives insights into why we have to oppose the destructive and unnatural extraction...
Length: 7:24
From: actcityottawa

Yellow Cake Street Theatre
Kingston uranium protest trials, Tuesday, March 18th, 2008.
Yellow Cake Street Theatre, an ActCity Ottawa Production....Yellow Cake street theatre uranium protest.
Length: 10:00
From: actcityottawa

Source:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=actcityottawa&search_type=

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11) MPP FOR OTTAWA CENTER RESPONSE TO CONCERNED CITIZEN

Yasir Naqvi, MPP
Ottawa Center
411 Roosevelt Ave
Ottawa, Ont
K2A 3X9

Dear Mr. Naqvi;

Thank you for your letter of Feb 28, in response to my e-mail re uranium exploration on land claimed by First Nations near Sharbot Lake, and re the jailing of Bob Lovelace. Since then, as you know, six First Nations leaders from the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) community have been jailed for protesting exploration for platinum on their ancestral land. I hope that Mr. Bryant's meetings with Phil Fontaine and the KI community, and his offer to meet with the Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation, are indications that your government is finally going to really listen.

I looked at the Ont gov't website re the consultation process which you mentioned. It looks good on paper. However the Ardoch, Shabot Obaadjiwan, and KI first nations are obviously not satisfied with your government's actions, and the jail sentences and crippling fines imposed on protesters speak louder than policy papers. True, effective consultation necessarily means that both sides feel that real communication is occurring and that there is a fair balance of power.

While I understand that your government cannot interfere with the courts, I suggest that if you did start communicating (which includes listening, and demonstrating that you have heard and understood) with the First Nations communities, then protesters might be more willing to cease the activities, which are deemed to be in contempt of court.

In paragraph 5 of your letter, you state that your government is reviewing the Mining Act. Thus you appear to understand that there is a possibility that there might be problems with the Act. That is a good reason to impose a moratorium on all except truly urgent exploration and mining. Obviously, Ontario must maintain an attractive investment climate. In that light, surely industries and investors need clarity and fairness in legislation. A moratorium would establish a level playing field so that companies wanting to act under possible improved legislation would not suffer disadvantages compared to companies like Frontenac Ventures or Platinex which are acting to grab all that they can as quickly as possible. It would also reduce the risk of well-intentioned companies being goaded into hasty and destructive exploration methods by fear of losing out to more ruthless competitors.

Your assurances re the safety of uranium exploration and mining fail to answer the concerns raised by credible scientists. There are, of course, experts on both sides. The debate generated by the firing of Linda Keen as head of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Association over possible risks at Chalk River is one recent example of why many Canadians are highly skeptical of claims that nuclear power is safe. I realize that there are varying amounts of low-level radiation everywhere. However geologists say that even exploration for uranium exposes increased amounts of uranium to weathering and to dissolving in water, thereby damaging human health as well as the environment. And the destructive effects of building roads and other infrastructure required for exploration are undeniable.

In your second last paragraph you state your belief that the use of nuclear power is inevitable in Ontario. Yet our society wastes so much of the power already available to us, and has taken such paltry action to develop sustainable sources of power. I refer you to an article in the Globe and Mail business section on March 22, "Germany's Power Play" which refers to Germany's more enlightened approach to the problems of power supply. An Ontario company, Alrise Technologies, has moved to Germany because Ontario does not have the right economic climate to facilitate research and development of sustainable power. Ontario could join Germany in positioning itself for the future by investing now in research and development of sustainable power and effective conservation instead of continuing on this reckless race to find short-term power at any cost.

Once again, I urge your government to impose a moratorium on all exploration and mining of uranium, to order a halt to exploration of other resources on land claimed by First Nations, to begin to consult in good faith with First Nations and with the Ontario public in a thorough rewriting of the Mining Act, and to halt development of nuclear power in favour of real conservation and research and development of sustainable power.

I look forward to your reply.

Sincerely, Cecilia Cranston

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12) ARTICLE: ARCHBISHOP ISSUES STERN REBUKE ON JAILING OF NATIVES

Globe and Mail
BY Michael Valpy

March 25, 2008

Canada's Anglican primate has called the jailing of six Northern Ontario native community members a throwback to colonialism, a dangerous violation of the rights of native people and an act of the Ontario government putting itself above the law.

Archbishop Fred Hiltz's unusually forceful language appears in a letter to Premier Dalton McGuinty, in which the Anglican leader implies that members of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation are being punished solely for defending the sacred trust of their traditional lands.

He also links the jailing of KI Chief Donny Morris, the deputy chief and four councillors to the abuses of the residential school system, and says it has caused a "serious impasse" between Canada's native peoples and the Ontario government.

To read the complete article, go to,

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080325.warrests25/
EmailBNStory/National/home

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13) ARTICLE: ANGLICAN CRITICIZES JAILING OF FIRST NATIONS MEMBERS

Jorge Barrera
For Canwest News Service

Sunday, March 23, 2008

OTTAWA - The "continual imposition of the powers and values of colonizers" led to the jailing of six people from a small northern Ontario First Nations community who were trying to stop mineral exploration on their traditional territory, says the Anglican Church of Canada.
Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) First Nations Chief Donny Morris, his deputy chief, three councilors and another community member were sentenced to six months in jail for contempt this past week in Thunder Bay over their opposition to Platinex Inc.'s plans to drill for platinum on the community's traditional lands near Big Trout Lake.

To read the rest of this article go to.

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=3965e0b8-d058-42f8-9fe1-6304da426403&k=76334

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ARTICLE: DEPLETED URANIUM TURNS EARTHWORMS INTO GLOWWORMS

Fears that radioactive material has tainted ecosystem.

By Jasper Hamill
Sunday Herald
March 23 2008

EARTHWORMS WERE pushed into the firing line last week after a resumption of the testing of depleted uranium shells at Dundrennan.

Significant levels of radioactive uranium isotopes were found in the flesh of worms at the Ministry of Defence's Dumfries weapons range last year. Despite concerns from environmentalists and the international community, the MoD last week started a series of tests of depleted uranium (DU) shells, supposed "safety checks".

A report published in the Journal of Environmental Monitoring found that worms in the Dumfries testing ground had significant traces of poisonous uranium isotopes in their bodies.

Worms are a crucial part of the ecosystem, aerating the soil and aiding the nutrient uptake of plants. If they are contaminated, it suggests the wider environment is tainted.

To read the rest of this article go to,

http://www.sundayherald.com/news/heraldnews/display.var.2123280.0.0.php