News and event information for Williams Lake, BC - as it happens.

Maude Barlow, the National Chair of the Council of Canadians will visit Williams Lake on May 25 and May 26.  She will head up a panel to speak at a public meeting on the evening of May 26 in Williams Lake Secondary School.  The free event is sponsored by the Williams Lake Chapter of the Council of Canadians.

Barlow is also Senior Advisor on Water to the President of the UN General Assembly, Father Miguel d’Escoto Brockman.

Barlow will travel to the Chilcotin on Tues. May 25 to meet with First Nations Chiefs to hear their concerns about the struggle to defend Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) against the proposal to turn the lake into a dump for mine rock.

The mine proposal is the subject of a Federal Panel Review which was completed on May 3 in Williams Lake.  The Panel report and recommendation is expected by July 2, 2010.

A public event is planned for 7:30 pm on Wed. May 26 in Williams Lake Secondary School Commons Room.  Barlow will speak about the right to defend lakes across Canada and the broader struggle for water justice around the world.

The Williams Lake Chapter of the Council of Canadians has been involved in local water issues for a number of years.  It is one of 27 chapters in B.C. and part of the more than 100,000 member national organization.

It was founded 25 years ago by a group of distinguished Canadians including Barlow and Mel Hurtig, among others.

The Council of Canadians, along with Mining Watch Canada and the Canadian Environmental Service, made presentations to the Federal Review Panel.  The Panel spent a week in Chilcotin communities listening to their concerns.

Barlow, a grandmother, travels around the world in her role as UN Advisor.  She will be part of a panel presentation in Vancouver on May 27 entitled Fighting for Lakes, Water and Rights.  The panel will include Rex Weyler, cofounder of Greenpeace International.

In an address to the UN General Assembly Maude Barlow said “The problem is that we humans have seen the Earth and its water resources as something that exists for our benefit and economic advancement rather than as a living ecological system that needs to be safeguarded if it is to survive.”

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