GREENPEACE DEFENDS THE PLANET THROUGH CIVIL DESOBEDIENCE

The Toronto-area camp is the second of five Greenpeace is running across the country. The action camp, at Camp Scugog, near Port Perry, runs until Sunday. About 70 people from throughout Ontario will train as ‘'climate defenders’' and learn how to undertake acts of civil disobedience to pressure the federal government to become a leader on climate change in the lead-up to the UN climate conference in Copenhagen in December—considered the most important environmental meeting of our generation.  

“Our planet is under attack and stands at the brink of climatic collapse. The Harper government is gambling with the future or our children, and it’s time for those who care about the planet to raise the ante.” said Dave Martin, Climate and Energy Coordinator with Greenpeace, Canada. “Denial is not a solution to the climate crisis; we need real solutions. Millions of people are already threatened by catastrophic climate change and that number will rise the longer we wait. We need action now.” 

The first action camp in Alberta in August focused on the tar sands, the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada. Since then, Greenpeace used civil disobedience on September 15 to block a mining operation at Shell’s open-pit mine in the tar sands and call attention to this climate crime. 

“The tar sands are causing irreversible destruction to the environment – to water, to forests, to the atmosphere,” said Dave Martin. “In addition, they are impacting the health of downstream First Nation communities. It's time to stand up for a new green world that doesn't sacrifice our environment or our communities. In the tradition of Ghandi and Martin Luther King, we must directly challenge a government that refuses to take the climate change crisis seriously.”  

While other world leaders spoke at the recent United Nations Climate Summit in New York, Canadian Prime Stephen Harper had lunch with the Mayor of New York. The following day, Harper was accused of favouring donuts over diplomacy, when he opened a Tim Hortons shop in Ontario rather than attending the General Assembly. It has been widely speculated that the government’s support for the tar sands is the reason for Canada being a laggard in international climate negotiations. 

Greenpeace will hold climate action camps in Montreal, Halifax and Vancouver in October and November. 
 

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Media are invited to join the camp and meet participants:

Friday October 2 - 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Saturday October. 3 – 10:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Sunday October 4 – 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.  

For more information, please contact:

Catherine Vézina, Media and Public Relations Officer, (514) 212-5749

Dave Martin, Climate & Energy Campaigner, (416) 627-5004

Camp Scugog (direct line to the camp): (905)-986-4401