We are a group of citizens of Unama’ki (Cape Breton Island) deeply concerned about environmental degradation and climate change and the impacts on all living beings. We aim to promote environmental awareness and concrete action to combat climate change through education, advocacy, community mobilization, and investment in local green initiatives.
We envision inclusive, resilient and environmentally conscious communities where equity and respect for diversity ensure that prosperity is understood as wellbeing for all. We seek to support individuals, businesses and government in growing the green economy. We imagine forging relationships with individuals, organizations and communities outside of our region who share a belief in advancing the right to a healthy environment.
Please join us for an evening learning more about the effects from the Donkin Coal Mine from Dr. Sarah Barnes, Assistant Professor at Cape Breton University.
Monday, July 24: Glace Bay Library, 6-7:30 pm
All are welcome, we hope to see you there!
Listen to Dr. Barnes on CBC Mainstreet, discussing the Donkin mine noise study. This interview aired July 18, 2023.
Our friends at Eltuek Arts Centre are hosting an exciting art event about the remediation of the tar ponds by Kjipuktuk based artist, Luke Fair, who did a residency in Unama’ki a few years ago and studied for this work.
There is a big spring opening and talk with Luke this Friday, April 28 at 7pm in Gallery 211 at the Eltuek Arts Centre.
In Staying with the Soil, Luke Fair underlines and highlights the beauty in community efforts to clean up contamination caused by the mill, while acknowledging the industrial toxins that will remain underfoot for centuries to come.
This is a big art night out, not to be missed!
Free, and open to everyone. No registration required.
The café will be open for food and drink this night.
The CCTF is extremely pleased to hear the provincial government’s announcement today that a golf course will not be constructed within the protected West Mabou Beach Provincial Park. We owe a huge thank you to Nadine Hunt and the Save West Mabou Beach Provincial Park team for working tirelessly to ensure this provincial park remains intact for future generations to enjoy. The CCTF would also like to acknowledge all the work and advocacy from the local community and those from away who wrote letters, called elected officials, and shared posts on social media. When we come together, great things do happen!
This momentous milestone reminds us that gaps remain in our protected parks legislation. Our collective efforts will require advocating for our government to improve this legislation so that protected parks remain perpetually protected.
Link to CBC article: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/west-mabou-beach-provincial-park-cabot-golf-tory-rushton-1.6817243
A summer sunset at West Mabou Beach.
The Cabot Group’s proposal for a golf course in the West Mabou Beach Provincial Park outright violates the Provincial Parks Act, Beaches Act, the Province’s commitment to protect 20% of Nova Scotian land and water by 2030, and jeopardizes the sensitive ecosystem present. We are in a climate crisis and protecting this landscape is crucial.
We are urging government officials to dismiss Cabot Group’s proposal now and not wait until a formal proposal is submitted. The Cabot Group has funds to purchase private land elsewhere in the area for a golf course.
Using a critical perspective further reveals issues regarding wages, job seasonality, pollution into the environment, and groundwater extraction with this development. Any development must consider a green lens focusing on a just transition, a circular economy, and put people and the environment first. A golf course does not fit this criteria.
A development of this magnitude also begs the question of whether the Cabot Group engaged with Mi’kmaw communities, Elders, and Knowledge Holders with meaningful consultation. Under the United Nations Declarations on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as well as Canada’s commitments to reconciliation, any project of this scope should include Mi’kmaw consultation. It must be acknowledged that consultation does not mean consent.
We are not anti-economy, but rather we need a new perspective for the economy to ensure a healthy planet. We need to be a collectively oriented society thinking about the impacts on future generations of people, plants, and animals.
Let the Cabot Group know of your concerns with this development by filling out their feedback form: https://www.mabougolfproject.ca/feedback
Please call and write to the Premier, Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, the MLA for Inverness County, and Municipal Councilor for the area to voice your concerns for this erroneous development.
Premier Tim Houston
902-424-6600
800-267-1993
premier@novascotia.ca
Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables, Tory Rushton
902-424-5935
mindnr@novascotia.ca
Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Tim Halman
902-424-3736
minister.environment@novascotia.ca
MLA for Inverness County, Allan MacMaster
902-258-2216
888-968-7652
mlamacmaster@bellaliant.com
Lynn Chisholm, Municipal Councilor for West Mabou area
lynn.chisholm@invernesscounty.ca
The climate change task force (CCTF) will be hosting a sustainable forestry discussion on November 29th. Please grab your tea and coffee and snack and sit in and learn together!
Join Us on Zoom – https://zoom.us/j/96274673147
This is an opportunity for us all, regardless of our current level of knowledge, to listen and engage in some discussion around where we are and where we might need to go in Nova Scotia to ensure a sustainable and healthy future for our forests.
The CCTF is multisectoral and we want to bring people together from a variety of sectors and from different perspectives within sectors as well. We believe we need to learn and make change together. We have asked two young professionals who work in the industry in Cape Breton to come and share with us their knowledge and experience. And we have asked ACAP CB director Kathleen Aikens, with Habitat Restoration Technician Morgan Campbell to share ACAP’s perspectives on valuing forests.
Please join us for 30 – 45 minute info sharing followed by reflections and discussion. An informed public is key to our ability to impact climate change. Hope to see you on Zoom!
Kirsten grew up on the Orangedale Rd to a family involved in forestry and farming. Her love for the woods came when my mother said “if you’re staying inside you’re helping me clean!” needless to say we can guess what she chose.
She attended Agricultural College in Truro graduating with an animal science diploma, milked on an organic dairy farm outside of Wolfville and at another dairy farm in Mabou. Then attended NSCC for the Environmental Technology Diploma, and onto New Brunswick to the Maritime College of Forest Technology graduating with a forestry and fish & wildlife diploma. Kirsten worked with Port Hawkesbury Paper (PHP) for 6 years as the first female woodlands supervisor. She is currently the manager of the Cape Breton Private Land Partnership (CBPP)
Paul has been with Port Hawkesbury Paper for 6 years, having started in 2016 as an Operations Supervisor and later moving into the role of Planner. Prior to moving back home to CB Paul worked in the woods of Alberta and later Northeastern US doing timber and carbon credit surveys. Paul graduated from the Maritime College of Forest Technology in Fredericton in 2014 and from CBU with a Bachelor of Arts in 2011.
Paul currently lives in Sydney with his wife Nicole and 2 cats and 2 dogs. When he’s not in the woods, (which isn’t very often) he’s enjoying the nerdy things in life, be it books/games/movies/etc!
Kathleen Aikens is the Executive Director of ACAP Cape Breton, an environmental non-profit focused on practical solutions that help protect and restore our natural environment. Kathleen holds a PhD in environment & sustainability studies, and a MSc in Natural Resource Sciences. Kathleen loves exploring the forest, particularly with children (often her own). She enjoys work that allows her to collaborate with others and solve complex problems.
Morgan Campbell is a Habitat Restoration Technician with an education in Natural Resources Environmental Technology from NSCC. Morgan is ACAP CB’s chainsaw operator on the stream restoration team, clearing debris jams, carving digger logs and covered bank structures. Morgan’s passions are in sustainable forestry, where good scientific practices help support healthy ecosystems and preserve intact forests. When not on the trails, you can find Morgan around a campfire with good friends.
The Climate Change Task Force is made up of a group of citizens of Unama’ki Cape Breton, deeply concerned about environmental degradation and climate change and the impacts on all living beings. We aim to promote environmental awareness and concrete action to combat climate change through education, advocacy, community mobilization, and investment in local green initiatives. With the belief that locally focused activity is an essential building block to broader social change, we aim to act locally while thinking globally.
The Climate Change Task Force (CCTF) will be conducting its October Meeting today, Oct 18, 2021 at 4:00 PM.
Anyone who is interested can attend the meeting by clicking on the following Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89238947131?pwd=aDY0UGVIdGJOa2V1SmpycTY5eEhFZz09
Look forward to seeing you all there!
Dear friends from Canada,
It’s a life and death promise made 12 years ago — that rich countries would give 100 billion dollars per year to poor countries who’re ravaged by the climate crisis they did little to create.
The deadline’s up. The promise is unmet.
This week, ministers are meeting, with 3 weeks to go before the mega climate summit of the decade. If promises are not honoured, what good are negotiated words on paper?
That’s why it’s critical our representatives feel the heat *right now* — to keep their word and meet the shortfall, NOW. Lives hang on the line. Poor communities are condemned to climate devastation.
Canada is key — working to deliver an international plan to meet the gap but is still falling short in its own contributions! Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could commit to increase contributions and inject momentum for an ambitious deal for climate when it’s most needed. Write a heartfelt message to the politicians below — reminding them politely but firmly to do their fair share. (Additional information you can use to craft your message is given below)
Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Finance
chrystia.freeland@fin.gc.ca
Minister of Environment and Climate Change
jonathan.wilkinson@parl.gc.ca
Prime Minister
Media@pmo-cpm.gc.ca
Our politicians will only bring real ambition if they feel the pressure coming from all of us — their voters. Below is some more information you can use to write your message:
While finance ministers and leaders at the International Monetary Fund are getting together, the IMF just put out a report saying we’re still subsidizing fossil fuels with over 5 trillion dollars per year (or 11 million a minute!). It’s a lie when our politicians say there’s no money — they just lack the willingness and courage to put the money where it is needed to protect our ravaged communities and our dying ecosystems. Let’s call out those lies wherever we see them, and demand they put our money where we need it.
Power to the people,
Risalat, Diego, Oscar, Nax, Marta, Luciana, Lilian, Nell and the whole Avaaz team
P.S. The fair share numbers used in this email are taken from the research of the think tank Overseas Development Institute. A link to their report is provided among the list of sources below. Avaaz supports other credible research on fair shares such as national civil society organizations but is using a single source across countries for consistency of methodology.
Avaaz is a 65-million-person global campaign network that works to ensure that the views and values of the world’s people shape global decision-making. (“Avaaz” means “voice” or “song” in many languages.) Avaaz members live in every nation of the world; our team is spread across 18 countries on 6 continents and operates in 17 languages. Learn about some of Avaaz’s biggest campaigns here, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
The Climate Change Task Force operates in Cape Breton/Unama’ki (Land of fog), part of the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq. Our group is comprised of members from both indigenous and settler backgrounds, and we aim to engage more broadly with indigenous communities while respecting our treaty responsibilities. We recognize today as a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Climate change is not experienced by all residents of Cape Breton/Unama’ki equally. Generations of systemic disenfranchisement, marginalization, and environmental racism have resulted in Mi’kmaq community members disproportionately experiencing the adverse effects of our climate crisis. We must encourage traditional Mi’kmaq land-based learning, advocate for self-determination and community-based environmental solutions, and forge genuine relationships as we act together for positive environmental change.
As a group of individuals deeply concerned about the health of our environment and our community, we are committed to ongoing collaboration with Indigenous communities to promote a fair transition to a cleaner economy and a greener society, in a spirit of openness and equity. It is our hope that our efforts can be one way we help support Truth and Reconciliation.
[Update]: Thank you to everyone for coming out in support of our Rally. Your support and continued efforts in making our voices heard made the event a great success. We look forward to receiving your support for future events as well.
Climate change is the defining issue of our generation. As the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC) declares the situation Code Red for Humanity, the time to take action is now.
Join us on Sept 10th as we rally from City Hall to the New Dawn Centre for Social Innovation. Wear RED. Be Heard.
This event is brought to you by the Climate Change Task Force. COVID protocols must be followed at this event. Please wear a mask.
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