| Posted by Winnipeg Chapter on June 23, 2011 at 11:56 PM |
The 30th annual Walk for Peace and First Annual International Peace Festival were, coincidentally, held on the same day as International Stop the Tar Sands Day – an unplanned double event that was a perfect match. The Tar Sands development is more closely tied to war than any other energy project, with nearly half of Canada’s oil production coming from the Alberta Tar Sands, and the Pentagon our biggest customer. Not only does most of the oil go directly to fuel the US military, but the Tar Sands development itself only became economically worthwhile after the 2003 invasion of Iraq caused further Middle Eastern destabilization and skyrocketing oil prices. This most ecologically destructive project in the world carries tragic social costs.
At the Peace Festival, the Council of Canadians – Winnipeg Chapter launched a postcard campaign targeting Peter Kent, Minister of the Environment. The postcards, designed by a local artist, all carry clear images of tar sands destruction and quick facts highlighting some of the more disturbing realities of the development. We are continuing to collect signatures on these cards over the next few months and we’ll be mailing them to Mr. Kent en masse.
We were glad to be part of the hope filled Walk and Festival, where children participated in t-shirt and banner making, various community groups came together in cooperation, and the sun shone all day long!
Thanks to all who were there, making it such a wonderful event.
