Toronto | Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, and the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – As part of a national Day of Action organized by 350.org, Environmental Defence held a rally outside the constituency office of MP Danielle Martin, who sits on the Legislative Committee on Bill C-39 (CC39). Environmental Defence spokespeople also made remarks at other rally locations throughout the day. Speakers and participants shared a clear message: our communities, climate and environment must come before the interests of major industrial projects.
Bill C-39, the Bulldoze Nature Bill, hands ministers sweeping new powers at the expense of nature, workers’ right to strike and Indigenous rights.
Public opposition to Bill C-39 keeps growing as the bill moves closer to third reading in the House of Commons. Today, in over 60 ridings across the country, constituents have called on their Members of Parliament to vote against the dangerous bill and stand up for the protections that matter to their communities.
Next week, committee CC39 moves to clause-by-clause consideration — the final committee stage before the bill returns to the House of Commons for a final debate and vote.
QUOTES
Keith Brooks, Programs Director, Environmental Defence
“The ‘Bulldoze Nature Bill’ is a reckless legislative assault on what our communities care about. It puts nature, wildlife and our climate at risk by allowing major industrial projects to bypass environmental safeguards and public scrutiny. That’s why we are calling on the government to withdraw the bill, and failing that, for Members of Parliament to vote against it. Environmental laws are not red tape. They help protect our communities, our waters, our wildlife and our future.”
Eve Saint, Financial Divestment Campaigner: Gidimt’en, Co-founder, Executive Director of 8th Fire Rising
“Our children and future generations will pay the price for decisions being made today. Bill C-39 puts decisions with consequences lasting generations increasingly in the hands of federal Cabinet ministers, while sidelining the Indigenous nations whose territories and futures are at stake. Their futures should not be decided for them by politicians and corporations.”
Muhannad Malas, Director of Law Reform, Ecojustice
“We can’t build a strong Canada by dismantling the laws that safeguard our environment and eroding the rule of law that underpins a healthy democracy. Canadians reject the idea that we must sacrifice environmental protection to strengthen the economy, but this government is doing just that. With Bill C-39, the Carney government is choosing the path of species extinction, intensifying climate disasters and weaker rights, all to benefit the bottom line of wealthy corporations. Our elected Members of Parliament can make a different choice by rejecting the Bulldoze Nature Bill C-39 and voting against it.”
View photos and videos from the rallies here. (Toronto rally photos by Salik Ahmad)
Background information:
- Environmental Defence’s submission to the Legislative Committee on Bill C-39 can be found here.
- Civil society has denounced the rushed process being used to fast-track Bill C-39.
- Recent polling shows that the changes proposed in the bill are unpopular.
- For a full list of the rallies across the country, visit 350.org’s map.
ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.
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For more information or to request an interview, please contact:
Midhat Moini, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca
