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MAY 12th, 2008 |
IN THIS ISSUE: |
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1) BUSING AVAILABLE FOR TORONTO'S TENT CITY
EVENT 1) BUSING AVAILABLE FOR TORONTO'S TENT CITY EVENT Calling all residents of Kingston and the Ottawa Valley. I am booking buses (in cooperation with CCAMU and AAFN) for all of those interested in attending the Toronto Tent City Sovereignty Sleepover. The purpose of this event is to draw attention to provincial exploitation of resources on indigenous territory without consultation and the failure of the Ontario government to deal with concerns through a legitimate process rather than empty words. **** PLEASE SEND ME AN EMAIL IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN ATTENDING at: sdelisle@kingston.net**** May 26th - SOVEREIGNTY RALLY May 27th - Ongoing events May 28th - Appeal of the Bob Lovelace/AAFN and KI council sentences (6 months incarceration and in Bob's case, fines) May 29th - Aboriginal Day of Action 2) DWAIN SCUDDER PRESENTS THE FIRST ANNUAL WHATEVER* CCAMU will be participating in this event. Come out and enjoy some fun. Saturday May 24th Maberly Hall Cappuccino Hour: 10am For Sale: Evening Concert: Cost $8 * A WHATEVER 3) DAVID SPIVEY'S MOTHERS DAY CARTOON I thought Mothers Day would be a good time to say Bravo to the dozens,
maybe hundreds of mums and grandmums and great-grandmums, who have worked
so tirelessly through this whole issue for months and months and months.
Cost: $10.00 To buy a "No Uranium Mine" sign (to be use in your lawn on,
in a window or at protests) please contact Mavrick at mavy_sp@hotmail.com. Thanks to the Spuehler's for their wonderful support! 5) EXPLORATION/MINING COMPANIES THAT HOLD CLAIMS IN THE FRONTENAC AREA Over this past year there has been a large focus on Frontenac Ventures Corporation as the primary company we have been dealing with in Frontenac County. It is important to know that there are other companies that hold claims in the Frontenac region. One of these companies is RJK Explorations Ltd. This taken from the CNW Group website. http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2007/12/c7026.html About RJK Explorations Ltd. For more information about RJK Explorations go to http://www.rjkexplorations.com/projects.htm For information about RJK's claims in Frontenac go to, http://www.rjkexplorations.com/pj_strike.htm The RJK's website states, "There is a strong indication that the Frontenac project may host a very large uranium mineralized district." 6) CLARIFICATION FROM BULLFROG POWER REGARDING NUCLEAR I was in contact with Bullfrog Power after some of our readers brought forward a concern regarding an article in the Bullfrog Power's newsletter, which made the company appear to support nuclear power generation. They clarified with me that they do not support nor use nuclear in their power mix and offered this statement for the Uranium News. -Lynn Daniluk "An article in the Spring 2008 edition of Bullfrog Power's Bullfrog Buzz newsletter led some readers to question Bullfrog's perspective toward nuclear power. Nuclear power is not a renewable form of energy, creates radioactive waste, and is not a part of Bullfrog's green power mix. Bullfrog Power believes that conservation and renewable power should be maximized in priority to non-renewable alternatives, including nuclear and carbon-based generation. We apologize for the confusion." Tom Heintzman, President, Bullfrog Power Keep those letters coming! We are starting to get response from McGuinty
but we need to keep the pressure on. After his announcement about reforming
the Mining Act, McGuinty would have loved it if we just went away but
it is very important to keep his feet to the fire and make sure he does,
in fact, make the changes that are needed. -LD WHEREAS ONTARIO'S ENVIRONMENT-ITS AIR, LAND WATER, PLANT AND ANIMAL LIFE AND ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS-HAS INHERENT VALUE; AND the environment should be used wisely, protected and conserved, and where necessary, restored for the benefit of present and future generations; and the people should have the means to ensure that this goal is achieved; THE LEGISLATURE OF ONTARIO HAS PASSED THE ENVIRONMENTAL BILL OF RIGHTS WHICH GIVES THE PEOPLE OF THIS PROVINCE: The Right to information on policies and actions that could significantly affect the environment; The Right to have those policies and actions formally reviewed and publicly reported; The Right to initiate investigations into situation or activities believed to be environmentally harmful and to take court action to prevent or remedy such harm; The Right to greater protections as employees who take action to protect the environment; The Right to have an Environmental Commissioner who shall act on their behalf to scrutinize the government to ensure that it meets its environmental responsibilities under this Bill. THESE RIGHTS WILL ENABLE US AND FUTURE GENERATIONS TO ENJOY AND VALUE ONTARIO'S NATURAL ENVIRONMENT. Date of Proclamation: February 15, 1994 (After reading this, one would think that the incarceration of Bob Lovelace and the KI Six is highly illegal.-LD) Premier Dalton McGuinty Dear Mr. McGuinty, Thank you for your long awaited reply to my many emails regarding the Frontenac Ventures problem in the heart of the Land of Lakes Tourist region, and the draconian sentence Mr. Lovelace received at the Kingston Court House for defending his rights under Aboriginal Law by peaceful protest. I am very pleased to hear of the positive steps you are presently undertaking to help resolve this complicated and tragic matter. I am well aware that the process of reviewing and revising the Mining Act and ensuring the government's' duty to consult' with Aboriginal peoples (by the way, throwing money at the issue is not enough if the parameters of consultation are set out by the government in advance) will take time. I am wondering what you are prepared to do to protect the Land of Lakes, Kingston and Ottawa regions from the imminent danger or toxic substances which an unfettered Frontenac Ventures Company is, and will be, creating during the immediate future. Justice after the fact is not an option. The damage to the environment and our health created by exploration as well as mining will be irrevocable for hundreds of thousands of years. Mr. McGuinty, I and thousands of others are calling on you to do the right thing. Declare a moratorium on uranium mining now so that we can resolve these issues without poisoning our citizens in the meantime. All we are asking is that we wait to determine the safety of this activity before proceeding. Surely you realize that when peaceful protest is not only ignored, but severely punished by law, then violence and tragedies like Ipperwash can occur when people feel powerless and desperate. Mr. McGuinty, right now you are acknowledging the problem and making the right moves to correct this grave injustice. Hopefully, you can restore your supporters faith in you, as our leader, by invoking the necessary moratorium. Wishing you the best in your challenging job, Wishing you and your family continued health and happiness, Joan Rose 9) ARTICLE: HIGH-STAKES BATTLE OVER MINING RIGHTS Century-old law giving prospectors right to drill on private land unites natives and non-natives May 12, 2008 OMPAH, Ont.-Frank Morrison knew immediately what the red metal tag meant. He didn't understand why it was on his land. To read the rest of this article go to, http://www.thestar.com/News/Ontario/article/424393 10) JOHN KITTLE'S RESPONSE TO: HIGH-STAKES BATTLE ARTICLE My reading of this Star article is that McGuinty and Gravelle are playing clever politics: following is my translation of the key McGuinty/Gravelle messages I see in this article: 1. "We need to modernize the Act so that it is in keeping with our values and expectations at the beginning of the 21st century" . translation: this is very complex and it'll take time to bring it about; earlier, McGuinty said that it will be years before you see any changes . translation: by then someone else will likely be in power and it'll be their problem 2. "To defuse the controversy, the government says it supports freeing Lovelace and the "KI Six" . translation: they may "support" freeing them, but earlier McGuinty said that the government cannot intervene in matters that are before the courts; so their "support" is useless; also, they are concerned that there is a "controversy"; they are not concerned about the underlying ethical, legal and human rights issues 3. "The government has no desire to curtail development, and some communities welcome it" . translation: we intend to continue promoting Ontario mining opportunities to the world 4. "The real issue is how do we find the balance between the requirement to have consultation that's viewed as legitimate by First Nations and the need to maintain the investment climate, which is extremely positive in Ontario. It's a bit of a tightrope" . translation: we intend to continue promoting Ontario investment and mining opportunities to the world John Kittle 11) ARTICLE: CALLS TO REPEAL ONTARIO'S ANTIQUATED MINING ACT By Daina Lawrence May 10 2008 In 2001, Marilyn Crawford and her husband retired to their cottage in the Ontario town of Westport to enjoy a quiet life. Two weeks after the move they discovered they were not the only ones interested in the site. To read the rest of this article go to, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/01540a1a-1e2a-11dd-983a-000077b07658.html 12) ARTICLE: WHAT NUCLEAR RENAISSANCE? By Christian Parenti This article appeared in the May 12, 2008 edition of The Nation. If you listen to the rhetoric, nuclear power is back. Smashing atoms will replace burning carbon-based coal, gas and oil. In the face of a disaster movie-like future of runaway climate change--bringing drought, floods, famine and social breakdown--carbon-free nukes are cast as the deus ex machina to save us at the last minute. To read the rest of this article go to, http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080512/parenti 13) ARTICLE: B.C.'S URANIUM BAN IS IRRATIONAL, ECONOMICALLY IRRESPONSIBLE Vancouver Sun Friday, May 09, 2008 The provincial government has slapped a ban on exploration for uranium, outlawed any development of known deposits and imposed a "no registration reserve" to ensure no future claims include rights to the mineral. It has offered no rationale for these draconian measures. To read the rest of this article go to, 14) ARTICLE: FUNGI TO FIGHT (DU) 'TOXIC WAR ZONES' Fungi could help clean up [DU] toxic war zones, scientists at a Scottish university have discovered. BBC NEWS Dundee University researchers have found evidence that fungi can "lock" depleted uranium into a mineral form. This would make it more difficult for the heavy metal - used in armour-piercing shells - to find its way into plants, animals or the water supply. To read the rest of this article go to, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/tayside_and_central/7384500.stm |