Empowering girls through training and participation
For the past two weeks, we have trained 20 more girls on adolescent reproductive health and HIV/Aids, totaling our number to 52 girls. These short trainings to be provided in series will help to equip the target girls with skill and abilities regarding their sexuality and well being. We believe informed girls will be able to protect themselves and prevent exposure to HIV. These girls will be able to make wise choices and reduce their vulnerability to abuse and HIV/AIDS infection.

Participation girls also had an opportunity to share real life experiences on their sufferings and problems and explored ways and means on how best to overcome their problems. Mean while each girls club has been given netball to enhance their frequency of meeting and also to be preparing for Girls Empowerment and HIV/AIDS prevention tournament scheduled in November 2008 and finals to take place on 1st December, 2008 (World Aids Day). Participating girls are currently composing songs carrying information about HIV/Aids, gender and women rights in preparation to community mobilization and sensitization campaign activities to be conducted between October and November 2008.

Morale continues to mount amongst girls in our target area as more girls want to join the clubs and be part of this initiative.

I have leant that given an opportunity girls can do wonders and that problems girls are facing can better be solved by girls themselves. Participating girls are exploring on survival options that does not put their lives at risk.

So I finally arrived at the 4th World Youth Congress which is taking place in Quebec City, Quebec Canada on August 10th in the early hours of the morning. I had started my journey at 10am from the small town in England where I was living and took the public transit bus to the Stansted airport where I then took a National Express bus to the Heathrow airport. The traffice was slow due to the time of day and it would be a general summary of the over all trip to Canada but once I arrived at Heathrow things went smoothly checking in all the camera equipment that I would be using to bring the congress to youth who are interested but could not attend though the World Youth Congress YouTube Channel. The flight across the Atlantic was long but it allowed me to catch up on some applications and scholarships that I was getting close on the deadline to but I was glad to have finally arried back in Canada. The trip trough Canadian customs was quick and painless and I was soon on my third bus from the Montreal airport to the downtown bus station where I would cathc my final bus to Quebec City. When I finally arrived to Quebec City it was 1am Eastern and I was looking forward to getting rid of my luggage and getting to sleep in a bed but that was not to be the case. With things not being to organized I had arrived to Laval University with no where to check into a room, while I knew the othe Peace Child International staff who had flown two days prior were somewhere on campus without any contact information it would have to be a combination of sleeping on a chair and some times leaning on a table to get some sleep until 7am when I was hoping to finally made the end of my journey finished by checking into a room. I did get to see a former Peace Child intern, Annas who I had breakfast with him and his wife Claire which was a not to bad way to wrap up a very long journey to the congress. With all of my recent work on an UNDP Youth Climate Change Project will the emissions from my travel be worth me attending the congress? I will find out in the upcoming days.

Look out for TakingITGlobal's staff conducting quick interviews with WYC delegates! We'll be recording your thoughts about the Congress and the sessions that you're looking forward to. Videos will be uploaded to this virtual congress page, so stay tuned!

If we capture you on camera, you might be able to get a nice gift!

I headed off in the morning to the Australian Science and Math School, hosted at Flinders University. The school is only a few years old, and is built with an open concept -- no classrooms, but instead a number of large spaces with desks and chairs that reconfigured in many different ways to foster teamwork and collaboration. We had a large group - about 50 teachers and school leaders, and had a really interesting day -- when I showed the "Are you listening?" video, a whole bunch of students gathered upstairs in the area overlooking where I was speaking to watch - I think they were really curious that so many teachers were learning about their way of using technology!

After a fantastic dinner by the water with a group of curriculum developers, I headed to sleep -- because I had to catch a 6:40am flight to Canberra!

I made it to the nation's capital early in the morning, and it was freezing! 0 degrees but it warmed up as the sun rose... I had a few hours to fit the gym and have lunch before heading to Canberra University -- the group in Canberra decided to have an evening workshop (4-9pm) with dinner. Although everyone had a full day of work before showing up, we still had a lot of active participation, and after wrapping up at 9 and getting back to the hotel around 10, it was time for sleep for another 6:45am flight back to Sydney for the last workshop of the trip!

Arriving in Sydney in the morning, with my 32kg on-the-dot bag faithfully appearing on the carousel, I headed off to Parramatta right on time, and arrived 3 minutes before the workshop was to begin! We had the biggest crowd of any session -- around 60 people, and so a lot of the interactive sections took a lot longer than usual, but they had great ideas and a large group of schools approached me after and wants to deeply engage their entire district with TIGed, which is exciting! After wrapping up and chatting with a bunch of the attendees, I was off to one of my favourite hotels in the world -- the Westin Sydney, to relax, enjoy their great gym, and have dinner with Jenny, who had the whole series of workshops organized, to debrief on the experience (yum, Tasmanian lamb!). After that, I met up with Jarra and Nick, and headed to Micky's for dessert (Banana Pancakes and Ice Cream!) to catch up and for me to celebrate the completion of 10 sessions in 11 days in 5 cities!

I'm writing this now on the flight to Vancouver -- I managed to get right to sleep after lunch on the 10am flight, which will hopefully mean I can work through the North American day and head to sleep at a proper time tonight. Saturday, we head to Quebec City for the World Youth Congress to meet TIG members from all over the world. I've also agreed to head to Brisbane on the 19th to speak at the Queenland Government's e-learning summit, and after that, I'll be ready to just settle down at home and enjoy the rest of the summer in Toronto :)

OK, I was going to close this blog for good - partly because MC suggested I should and partly because I felt that I couldn't really talk about anything that was on my mind on here anymore. But then I figured, hey - I've thought these things through, so I might as well stick it up here for future reference or, maybe hey, someone else might actually find it useful, whether for its strings or gaps.

Lately, I've feeling really bad about myself and confused over balancing the Fid and experiencing life, with

• severe doubts over my aptitude as a scientist/intelligent person
• some anxiety over my close-to-absent social life and loneliness

Not that I'm just sitting here, worrying and doing nothing. I'm trying to do things for both the PhD and my social life, but whether or not these efforts will bear fruit remains to be seen.

So, even this morning, I was thinking,

• am I able to do this? why am I doing this? maybe I should settle for something "less" and stop trying to be something (i.e. smart and creative) that I am not
• my sups think I'm stupid
• I am stupid
  
• maybe being labelled as smart was causing me to put extra pressure on myself?
• maybe all the signs up until now have been wrong - I've just 'hacked' my way through the system, appearing 'smart'
• I feel left out of the lab circle because my intellectual-potential is no longer seen as on par
• why don't I share my ideas as much anymore? what use are they in my book?
• do I feel left out because I am female?
• why do I feel bad about being female?
• why do I worry so much? is this good or just a waste of time?
• is this my weakness, my Achille's heel? will my self-doubt limit my progress?
  
• personally - ugly, ignorant, inexperienced, intimidating/aloof, eccentric
• why does my timidness result in others thinking I'm aloof?
• why do I have no close relationships?
• why do I not trust people and how is it that I am gullible at the same time?
  

But it's sort of like, well, if I'm really that useless, then I might as well be dead.
And I'm not dead.
And I don't want to be dead.

So, today my mind rearranged itself (without much conscious effort from me, thank goodness):

• given that I am the way that I am, it's basically a miracle that the lab hasn't kicked me out yet (thank god, I probably wouldn't do a PhD anywhere else)
  
• also, it has sort of been me kicking myself out
• I need to stop being scared
• despite my deficiencies, everyone is so willing to help and I am grateful for that
  
• at least there is a hope that I will be smart one day (better than no hope)
• at least my friends are still with me, even though I don't have much time for them
  
• and sometimes I'm friendly, because I forget to be self-conscious
  
• and sometimes I'm cold because I suddenly feel extreme fear of the outside world
• at least there is a hope that one day I won't feel like such an alien here
• at least I can still laugh at myself

Well, I'm glad I've sort of figured this out (again). I was feeling like there was no-one to talk to and I didn't want to blog about either because it was just so full of self-pity, confused thoughts/feelings and none of that is useful. I guess for some reason I thought I'd be resistant to this sort of self-doubt and self-denial of faith in oneself. I thought that because I'd been there before (long-term feelings of being unwanted and undeserving, as well as rapid drops in self-confidence/rises in self-doubt/paranoia), I'd be able to handle it easily. I guess I didn't really think that through - how was I going to handle it? I am not resistant, I still have to deal with it. So, I guess last time(s) I dealt with it by changing my perspective.

Sometimes I wonder whether that's just fooling myself. Maybe AB was right afterall with her horrified reaction to my choosing Science. But then people only judge by comparing with their understanding of their experiences and themselves. Some people tell me I am meticulous, prompt, logical/analytical, cold or calm under stressful situations, while some people tell me I have my head in the clouds, a free spirit, am creative, warm or a drama queen. Sometimes I think, 'what does it matter why non-parametric is different to parametric? what does it matter that different people prefer different programming languages?' but then sometimes I get that buzz from asking, 'which is more efficient/precise/accurate? why is it like that? yes or no or maybe? by how much? how about this? how about that?'

So, in summary:

• stop being nervous
• keep trying
• remember to be grateful
• stop drinking coffee
• get some freaking sleep

True what AC said, "Cherrie, just relax and you will fly through" and BC with Queen Kong conquering 'WGC', 'varsity', 'the world' and 'happiness'. How sweet and teaching me with words written... 5 years ago. Shit, I've been away from home for 5 years. I guess the biggest thing I miss about that is constantly chasing my Mum for hugs, after learning (at16, 17?) that I could actually hug my parents.

Well, on my way to buy apples (because you know I love apples), I looked up at the starless (city) sky and saw the crescent moon smiling. How appropriate!

I guess one day I'll feel like all of this, this experience, is mine. But my intrinsic liberal nature has never really owned anything, has it?

Here is a very amazing story of someone who is making huge waves for African women with HIV-AIDS. Kristin Roe who has swam from my little province of Prince Edward Island to New Brunswick and then straight back again.

Read the whole story below.

Marathon swimmer touches shore in P.E.I. after finishing gruelling double-crossing

Jul 26, 2008

BORDEN-CARLETON, P.E.I. — After just under 15 hours of swimming in 19-degree water, a Nova Scotia woman completed a marathon swim Saturday that took her from Prince Edward Island to New Brunswick and back, all in less than a day.

Kristin Roe, 27, touched shore in P.E.I. Saturday evening after finishing a gruelling 30-kilometre double-crossing of the Northumberland Strait, the body of water between P.E.I. on the Maritime mainland.

"I'm really glad I finished, I'm really glad I'm on land," said Roe after her swim. "It was a long-haul."

Roe left P.E.I. just after 4 a.m. and was ahead of schedule before she was confronted with strong tides just off the coast of New Brunswick. She had to power through the tides in order to make it to shore around noon.

"I was feeling frustration throughout most of it," said Roe. "It wasn't really a great weather day, and I didn't swim as fast as I had hoped...I was swimming against the wind at the end of the first crossing."

Roe waded on shore in New Brunswick to eat and get a medical check-up before diving back in the water.

"The second crossing was better, but still really hard," she said. "I was so tired from the first, and I just did the best I could."

Following her throughout the entire swim was a boat carrying her family, best friend, a paramedic and the boat captain.

Roe has three brothers who joined her from time to time in the water.

Her older brother, Christopher, brought along a surf board and paddled next to Roe to motivate her and keep her company.

"I was feeling pretty frustrated at the end of the first crossing, and I almost couldn't look at him because I started to cry when I saw him paddling next to me," said Roe. "I thought it was pretty amazing."

Roe, who now lives in Halifax, did the marathon to raise money for two Canadian aid organizations with a focus on Africa and helping women with HIV-AIDS.

The Hamilton, Ont., native estimates she's raised close to $30,000 toward her goal of $100,000 for the Stephen Lewis Foundation and Farmers Helping Farmers, an organization that assists women farmers in Kenya.

It's a cause that's close to Roe's heart. In 2006, she spent six months living in South Africa and while there she became the first Canadian to swim from Cape Town, South Africa to Robben Island, in a fundraiser for women living with HIV-AIDS.

"I think it's created a lot of awareness in the country, and I think it's benefiting women in Africa," said Roe of her swim. "These are very much grassroots projects for women affected by AIDS and women involved in the agriculture sector who are also affected by HIV-AIDS."

Learn more here.

Now that I've been away a full week, I forced myself to carve out some time to reflect on the intensity of the time so far before kicking off the second stretch.

As always, our summers at TakingITGlobal are quite busy -- generally for the education "industry", most conferences are held during the summer when teachers have school holidays. This summer, as a follow-up to my keynote at last October's ACEL (Australian Counsel of Educational Leaders) conference (which was apparently quite good even though I was quite sick at the time), I was invited to be a "Traveling Scholar" for ACEL, presenting 5 full-day workshops on TakingITGlobal to school leaders and teachers across Australia. In addition, I started off the trip by keynoting a leadership conference at Melbourne Grammar School, and today keynoted the International Middle Years conference in Adelaide... so I've made quite good use of two weeks!

Sunday - Wednesday: Melbourne

After the trek from Toronto to Vancouver to Sydney to Melbourne, I knew the first thing I needed to do to keep my sanity was to spend a good amount of time at the fitness center at the Westin. What a great idea - it helped me refresh, have a fantastic swim in the beautiful infinity pool, and after a brief stroll that was quickly canceled when the rain started, I got to sleep at a reasonable hour.

On Monday, I woke up nice and early and arrived at the charming greened campus of Melbourne Grammar, one of Melbourne's oldest and most respected private schools. To their enormous credit, they had invited students from a broad cross-section of Melbourne to attend the conference, in addition to a grade of their students. I was brilliantly introduced by one of their capable students, and my keynote was well-received - with more questions from students than we had time for. Following the keynote, a panel including a futurist, scientist, and Aboriginal leader Patrick Dodson, who cited my presentation several times as they discussed issues of leadership in the 21st century and challenged students to act on the issues they felt challenged by. In the afternoon, I ran several hours of hands-on workshops guiding a small group of students through the TIG site and beginning the Guide to Action as a tool for action planning.

Tuesday morning, I visited Kilsyth, a suburb of Melbourne, and ran a 3 hour workshop with a group of teachers across that region looking at TIG and especially with an interest in Health education... it was a good challenge because we didn't have Internet except for a very slow 2G connection, so I was able to get well prepared and experiment with some activities for the following days' sessions!

That evening, I traveled to Mooney Valley Racecourse (home of Australia's best race - the Cox plate, worth $3 million!) and presented our work at TIG to about 150 principals, who also had some great questions, and I enjoyed meeting a teacher who grew up in Mississauga and had spent his recent years enjoying and exploring Australia's wilderness.

On Wednesday, I spent from 9 AM to 3:30 PM with an enthusiastic group of teachers and principals learning about TIG, exploring global issues, and understanding how to fit our programs and ideas at TIG into the curriculum and everyday use in their classrooms. I also shared our Best Practices on Global Education resource with them... and then I was off to the airport, heading to my next destination: Tasmania!

Thursday - Saturday: Hobart, Tasmania

On Thursday, I woke up and did it all over again, in a beautiful setting amongst Lemon trees at Lateare Gardens in Hobart with a fire burning to keep us all warm and cozy from the cold outside! I think the goals of what we do at TakingITGlobal really connected closely with some people - one teacher was literally in tears sharing how wonderful she thought what we did was... it's really a special opportunity (as exhausting as it is) to be able to share our work with people that are also dedicating their lives to helping young people develop. I think sometimes we all forget the power and opportunity we have to impact the lives of others - and I feel like a few people really felt reconnected to that opportunity, which is really an amazing opportunity to be able to stimulate.

After a short 2 hour break to refresh and do some e-mail, I headed off to the Hobart Yacht club, where I addressed about 50 high school principals, who weren't able to attend the day's workshop because they were having a leadership retreat. I had to pack 90 minutes into a 30 minute before dinner speech, so I think it was overwhelming, but many of them were quite excited by what we do... and I had delicious local Salmon which was a bonus!

The next day was my main day off. I decided not to head off to my next destination right away, but to stick around in Hobart and see some of the beautiful wildlife Tasmania has to offer. So I signed up for a Tasman Island Eco Cruise - having no idea how much of an adventure it would be! After a scenic bus ride to Port Arthur, one of the main convict colonies from the 1800s, we boarded a powerful boat (675 HP) that they describe as a 4x4 of the sea. Initially the ride was quite smooth - and we discovered some caves and amazing rock formations on the coast. The "swells" were only about 1 meter, and so it was just like jumping waves on a boat at home.

However, once we got out to the Tasman Sea, things got a lot more interesting. The waves and the winds were coming strongly from an unusual direction, and 2-3 meter waves and swells gave us quite a ride! I had chosen to sit in the 4th row (moved from the 2nd) and for close to an hour, we jumped waves and it felt like we were on a roller coaster as we plunged down after riding a wave.... but I stuck with my seat - a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

We arrived at two areas with Australian and New Zealand seals, and at a cove where dolphins chased our boat around until we had to leave - amazing to lean over and watch them at the water and bow of the boat jumping up playfully! A number of albatross with their huge wingspans also provided us with an amazing show - watching them fish and gracefully glide across the sky with nothing around us but huge rock and menacing water... or what looked menacing in my book. In 1998, however, the water was so rough that in the annual Sydney-Hobart race, five boats sank and six sailors were killed.

On Saturday morning, before heading to the airport, I spent a few hours enjoying the Salamanca Market, with hundreds of stalls offering delicious local treats and art and coffee and everything needed to pass a few hours and take in the culture of a place!

Sunday - Monday: Adelaide, South Australia

Now I'm here in Adelaide, where this morning I keynoted the International Middle Years of Schooling conference, and was again introduced by a fantastic student duo! I gave out dozens of bookmarks afterwards, with many many people promising to check out the site and connect their students into TIG. I was also followed by an excellent presentation by Professor Erica, who gave a talk on creativity that linked really perfectly and built on top of many of the themes I covered.

Tomorrow I'm off to the Australian Science and Mathematics School to do another day-long workshop, and then heading to Canberra the next morning... I'll be sure to check in soon with more! And I'll be editing this entry in about 2 hours with photos once they upload.

G'day for now, Mike

Introduction:
In reality the first step is always the hardest to take. Often people do not know what their first step is how to take the first step and they are not aware that such a step is necessary. People have great power and unlimited energy. People have the pulse and the impulse of change/freedom. Let us embrace and celebrate the stories of this energy, the narratives of change.
We all dream of a world that is just and fair. We wish to create a word that does not marginalize people based on their age, color, language, skills, culture and location – a world that celebrates and respect differences.
When making a dream into reality, we must take the first step for change, be it local, national or international.
Having these in mind, First Step idea was initiated by a group of young activists who took part in the CIVICUS Youth Assembly 2008 in Glasgow, Scotland, and developed the idea through their discussions during the assembly.

First Step Campaign has been initiated by a group of youth worldwide in order to:
• Inspire and activate those who have not participated yet in community affairs;
• Share the story of how youth take their first steps to make the world a better to live for all;
• Sustain those who are already involved in their community;
• Link communities, organizations and groups working on - specific issues and specific areas;
• Motivate youth to take part in Youth-Led development projects;
• Provide useful resources for youth to take actions;

I had just been trying to work out my travel plans for after the World Youth Congress to return back to Prince Edward Island and thought that I would share a great way to travel across the ever so large country of Canada and how to forget about flying since trains are the more sustainable way to travel. Currently if you become a member with the Sierra Youth Coalition or renew your membership you are able to use your membership card to receive a 40% discount on Via Rail ticket purchases. The process is very easy just visit the Sierra Youth Coalition website and click on the Become A Member tab.

After you make your $20 donation you will be able to use an emailed status of membership until your official Sierra Youth Coalition membership card arrives. All you then need to do is mention the discount code (11261) when booking your train ticket with VIA Rail and have proof of membership and your ID when you pick up your ticket.

Now you can still enjoy travel and exploring with having a smaller impact on the planet.

The following is an article from CBC News, this greatly saddens me to read this story and puts even more anger in me to know that as a Canadian tax payer that the citizens of Canada are funding this so called "expansion of democracy".

If this our country exporting democracy I wonder what the reaction of Canadian citizens would be if an outside country send an army to Canada to protect us and the same event would happen.

The death of children's lives no matter where they live is still not justified by any countries government.

Canadian troops kill 2 children after car nears convoy
Monday, July 28, 2008 |
CBC News

A two-year-old boy and his four-year-old sister have died after Canadian troops opened fire on a car they feared was about to attack their convoy in Afghanistan, the Canadian Forces said Monday.

A gunner in a light-armoured vehicle pulled the trigger on a 25-millimetre cannon after the driver of a car ignored repeated signals to keep a safe distance, officials said.

The incident happened around sunset Sunday when the car approached within 10 metres of the convoy, a Canadian military statement said.

Witnesses reported the little girl was struck in the head and her younger brother in the chest.

The children's grief-stricken mother was seen pacing the hallway at the local hospital, sobbing and shrieking that her children had been killed by foreigners for no reason. The father was treated for lacerations.

"We deeply regret this incident, and our thoughts are with the families and friends of the deceased during this difficult time," the Canadian military said in a statement.

"Our soldiers are trained to take all appropriate steps to minimize civilian casualties. However, they must take action to protect themselves when they believe they are being threatened."

The statement said the fourth and fifth occupants of the vehicle were not injured.

Afghan police and coalition forces will be investigating Sunday's incident.

Coalition forces run frequent advertising campaigns to warn locals to keep a safe distance from convoys and many locals are scared of getting close to military vehicles.

NATO commanders say they take all reasonable precautions and that militants, who regularly use civilian cars loaded with explosives in suicide missions, are to blame for endangering innocents.

Human Rights Watch estimates at least 300 Afghan civilians were mistakenly killed by coalition forces in 2007, with thousands dead since the mission's start six years ago.

Afghan and United Nations officials have urged international troops to take extra precautions to prevent civilian casualties.

(With files from the Associated Press )

The UNDP Youth Climate Change Publication is reaching its final stages and will be sent off to the printers in the next few days. The process to create a summary of this years United Nations Human Development Report 2007/2008 has been a long road but very rewarding one. We have had some amazing young editors come to work work at the Peace Child International office, worked along side some of the UNDP's staff and had many wonderful submissions to the project.

We will be launching the publication at the 4th World Youth Congress in Quebec City, Canada on August 12th.

If you are attending the congress make sure to come up to the Peace Child staff afterwards but if you are not attending you can still how everything unfolds and be involved through the Virtual Congress.

Since a main portion of this years World Youth Congress is focused on Climate Change I thought I would share this article on how the Canadian government is trying to sweep dirt under the mat. I also wanted to extent anyone who is using Facebook to join the growing International Youth Climate Movement.


Globe And Mail Article
BILL CURRY
July 23, 2008

OTTAWA — The Conservative government is planning a quiet release for a major Health Canada report that warns of the harmful impact of climate change on the health of Canadians, particularly the young, elderly and aboriginals.

Should the department follow through with its communications plan, it will be the second time this year that the government has taken such an approach with a major climate-change study.

Those involved with the report were informed in a July 3 conference call that the government is preparing a “low-profile release” on the Health Canada website, rather than launching the report with major media fanfare, sources told The Globe and Mail.

The Health Canada report is called Human Health in a Changing Climate: A Canadian Assessment of Vulnerabilities and Adaptive Capacity. It is more than 500 pages long and has been ready for several months.

McMaster University chemistry professor Brian McCarry, who chairs a group called Clean Air Hamilton, said the dangers of global warming and fossil fuels on human health deserve far more attention, not less.

“Certainly, the stance taken by this government has been to keep climate change in a low-profile format,” he said. “Unfortunately, Canada and the U.S. are almost singular in the world now as being not quite climate-change deniers, but they’re not putting much emphasis on [it.]“

Canadian scientists and climate experts worked for months on a similar major study last year for Natural Resources Canada called From Impacts to Adaptation, which warned of the specific impacts of climate change for each region of the country.

The release of that report was delayed for several months before being posted in a hard-to-find section of the Natural Resources Canada website. As a result, the report received little media coverage, frustrating many of the public servants, scientists and academics who worked on it.

Similar frustration is now beginning to surface over the government’s handling of the Health Canada study.

Health Minister Tony Clement’s press secretary, Laryssa Waler, issued a brief response yesterday to questions about the department’s communications plan. “Health Canada is preparing the report for release. Once it’s ready, it will be released,” she said in an e-mail.

Peter Berry, Health Canada’s senior policy analyst for climate change and health, who was on the July 3 conference call discussing the communications plan for releasing the report, offered an outline of the study during a February presentation to Clean Air Hamilton.

At that time, Dr. Berry said the report would be released in the spring. It is expected to warn of the health dangers of longer and hotter heat waves on the elderly and children, while saying that changing vegetation will affect the traditional ways of northern aboriginals.

Dr. Berry’s presentation included a quotation about how society will only act to avoid the effects of climate change if it is aware of the possible negative consequences.

Environmentalist Dale Marshall of the David Suzuki Foundation, who has been critical of what he describes as the Conservative government’s “weak” climate-change policies, offered an exasperated sigh yesterday when told of the government’s plans.

“If this government cared about climate change,” he said, “then it would highlight these reports and use them as a way of engaging Canadians on the importance of addressing the issue.”

Globe And Mail Article
BILL CURRY
July 23, 2008


OTTAWA — The Conservative government is planning a quiet release for a major Health Canada report that warns of the harmful impact of climate change on the health of Canadians, particularly the young, elderly and aboriginals.

Should the department follow through with its communications plan, it will be the second time this year that the government has taken such an approach with a major climate-change study.

Those involved with the report were informed in a July 3 conference call that the government is preparing a “low-profile release” on the Health Canada website, rather than launching the report with major media fanfare, sources told The Globe and Mail.

The Health Canada report is called Human Health in a Changing Climate: A Canadian Assessment of Vulnerabilities and Adaptive Capacity. It is more than 500 pages long and has been ready for several months.

McMaster University chemistry professor Brian McCarry, who chairs a group called Clean Air Hamilton, said the dangers of global warming and fossil fuels on human health deserve far more attention, not less.

“Certainly, the stance taken by this government has been to keep climate change in a low-profile format,” he said. “Unfortunately, Canada and the U.S. are almost singular in the world now as being not quite climate-change deniers, but they’re not putting much emphasis on [it.]“

Canadian scientists and climate experts worked for months on a similar major study last year for Natural Resources Canada called From Impacts to Adaptation, which warned of the specific impacts of climate change for each region of the country.

The release of that report was delayed for several months before being posted in a hard-to-find section of the Natural Resources Canada website. As a result, the report received little media coverage, frustrating many of the public servants, scientists and academics who worked on it.

Similar frustration is now beginning to surface over the government’s handling of the Health Canada study.

Health Minister Tony Clement’s press secretary, Laryssa Waler, issued a brief response yesterday to questions about the department’s communications plan. “Health Canada is preparing the report for release. Once it’s ready, it will be released,” she said in an e-mail.

Peter Berry, Health Canada’s senior policy analyst for climate change and health, who was on the July 3 conference call discussing the communications plan for releasing the report, offered an outline of the study during a February presentation to Clean Air Hamilton.

At that time, Dr. Berry said the report would be released in the spring. It is expected to warn of the health dangers of longer and hotter heat waves on the elderly and children, while saying that changing vegetation will affect the traditional ways of northern aboriginals.

Dr. Berry’s presentation included a quotation about how society will only act to avoid the effects of climate change if it is aware of the possible negative consequences.

Environmentalist Dale Marshall of the David Suzuki Foundation, who has been critical of what he describes as the Conservative government’s “weak” climate-change policies, offered an exasperated sigh yesterday when told of the government’s plans.

“If this government cared about climate change,” he said, “then it would highlight these reports and use them as a way of engaging Canadians on the importance of addressing the issue.”