Blue Dot Presentation by Co-Chair Geoff Strong

The Right to Live in a Healthy Environment On 05 January, CERCA Co-chair Geoff Strong took part in a Blue Dot presentation to Duncan. City Council. The Blue Dot Movement (see http://bluedot.ca/) was started by the David Suzuki Foundation and it calls upon local communities to sign municipal declarations respecting citizens' rights to clean air, clean water, and clean soils for healthy food. More than 110 governments around the world recognize their peoples' right to live in a healthy environment through bylaws, declarations, legislation, charters and constitutional provisions. However, Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms presently does not explicitly protect or even address environmental rights, leaving Canada among a minority of countries that do not yet recognize the right to a healthy environment. Blue Dot reasons that having many individual municipal governments recognize the right to a healthy environment would draw attention to the Canadian Constitution’s silence on environmental issues. The presentation to Duncan City Council included a brief presentation by eight-year old Aiden Wetzel-Eden, who appealed to councillor's conscience by speaking about the beauty of Earth, the only planet available to humans, and the consequent need to protect it. The 10-minute can be viewed on YouTube at http://youtu.be/bLuOmzAXceg, accompanied by the power-point presentation shown here. (PowerPoint Download) After brief discussion, Council unanimously endorsed the declaration subject to review by city staff. That decision was then confirmed in a final vote on 19 January, and the signed declaration is shown here. To date, BC communities of Vancouver, Richmond, Keremeos, Victoria, Duncan, and Ladysmith have signed the declaration. Geoff's team is now requesting hearings by CVRD and North Cowichan Council to appeal for their support to this movement.Please view the press release and declaration by the City of Duncan (PDF files)

Geoff Strong

Co-Chair CERCA

20 January 2015