Tag Archives: FCM

GE talk tour Ontario – CBC Radio talks with Tony Mitra

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We are on the GE talk tour already. While I have sporadic access to the internet, I believe one should still try to put up an update here for those interested. We are all in it together. So this is a fresh blog that I shall update time to time as more material comes in, and I find the time to collate it.

I am sitting in the wonderful home of Ann in Thunder Bay, Ontario. We arrived by a short flight from Toronto and Ann was there to greet us.

Attendees in Flesherton were very supportive and enthusiastic about our message. I did remember to tell them that without the women in Canada, our talk tour would not have gotten off the ground. Some of them said I should be staying back in Flesherton. I think some of these women should challenge the status quo in local municipalities, and try to emulate Richmond BC and other municipalities, and start pushing back at Glyphosate and GMO.

This was in essence our third stop. We had already spent an eventful day first at Flesherton, ON, and then at Owen Sound, ON, both within a few hours drive from Toronto. Both those events, in my view, went famously. The Flesherton event was a late morning+lunch+afternoon event. We got appreciated, and a lot of hand shakes and hugs.

Thierry Vrain addressing attendees at Harmony Centre, in Owen Sound, on Nov 1st, 2014

People in Owen sound were enthusiastic and knowledgable. The town has banned lawn pesticides, but they also knew about Neonicotinoids and were very keen to see what BC municipalities were doing with GMO and stretching the limit of how much authority municipalities have in banning substances that are federally approved.

Then there was this giant of a red bearded man that came up to shake my hand, along with many others. He found my talk on political activism within municipalities very inspiring and wished to get engaged himself in his municipality and also consider standing for election and beginning to bring change from the bottom up, and learn to kick some butt in the process, focussing on how a handful of corporations are attempting to hijack Canada.

This young man takes to heart my talk and would like to engage in the municipal election and consider working for the betterment of the community and pushing back at the attempt of Corporate takeover of Canada.

Those were in Flesherton and Owen Sound.

And now, we are in Thunder Bay. We shall only be speaking in the evening, but we already have news.

Mr. Bruce Hyer, Green Party MP, who is against Glyphosate

First, there was a call from a Canadian MP, Mr. Bruce Hyer. He was at the Thunder Bay airport. He called in to say that he could not cancel his flight since he needs to vote on an important budget bill in Ottawa, so will miss our talk, much to his regret. He is aware of the dangers of Glyphosate and has tried passing bill to restrict it, but did not succeed. He was once with NDP but is now with the Green Party.

He said I should send him an email so he could stay in contact and also so he can send me his statement or speak to me on record, so I could quote him in my blogs if I found the need. I did tell him I consider it my duty to tell them which politicians were keen to protect Canada from GMO and Glyphosate and I would like to talk about him. So far the only MP that has come out straight away in our support has been MP Alex Atamanenko, NDP, from BC.

He also hoped we could get to meet him while we are in Ottawa face to face.

And then I got interviewed on phone by CBC radio in Thunder Bay area. We shall see if my talk is aired or not. I have never learned to mince my words or not call a spade a spade. Sometimes, that is too much reality in todays mainstream media. So we shall see.

Thierry is having another radio interview this afternoon. Then we talk together in the evening. Thierry usually takes say 90 to 120 minute for his talk and question and answer. I usually take around 20 minutes to ignite the issue of Canadian sovereignty and set fire in a few politicians underpants.

Had another eventful afternoon in Thunder Bay

This involved speaking with two ladies.
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One of them is a councillor in the municipality of Thunder Bay. Her name is Linda Rydholm. Apart from being a councillor, she is also a board member of FCM (Federation of Canadian Municipalities). She is interested to know the exact wordings of the UBCM motion to be GMO free that was passed last year. I shall ask Harold Steves & Allan Patton of BC to please help. She is also keen to see if their own municipality could pass resolution to be GMO free and what the wording of Richmond resolution is.

I shall try and introduce Linda with Harold and Allan and hope she can kickstart it in Thunder Bay as well as in AMO (Association of Municipalities of Ontario), not to mention trying to bring it to the table at the next FCM.

Linda also got a copy of Thierry Vrain‘s letter to Rona Ambrose, explaining why Glyphosate needs to be the prime focus and not GMO per se, when discussing dangers to health and safety of Canadians.
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The other person was Kendal Donahue, food strategy coordinator working for “Food Strategy”, which, the best I could understand, is a sort of semi Govt organization with gets public funding, but is not strictly a Govt organization. She too was interested in different aspects of the GMO debate and spent some time with Thierry Vrain on the science of the item. They both would check up on my blog.

Linda cannot attend this evening talk by us since they have a Municipal meeting today, the first one after the recent municipal election. Linda got re-elected.

Kendal will attend this evening.

CBC – Up North Airs a talk with Tony Mitra

Attached is a recording of my 8 minute talk with CBC Radio that was aired on 3rd November at Thunder Bay and surrounding areas on FM.

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That is the update from the afternoon. I had a talk with Councillor Allan Patton, about the GMO free motions and his efforts in this regard in January this year. Those interested can check it out and hear Allan Patton speak about his efforts to get the GMO free motion tabled at the Federal Council of Municipalities –  Blog on Allan.

Addressing the Thunder Bay people on Nov 3rd. Dr. Thierry Vrain nearest to the Camera looking at me.

That is the update from the afternoon. I had a talk with Councillor Allan Patton earlier this year, about the GMO free motions and his efforts in this regard in January this year. For those interested can check it out and hear Allan Patton speak about his efforts to get the GMO free motion tabled at the Federal Council of Municipalities as well as the wording of the GMO free motion that he push through, unsuccessfully, at FCM –  Blog on Allan.

Meanwhile I am including the audio recording of his talk with me on this issue, here as well.

Allan Patton’s effort of stopping GMOs through the Municipalities of Canada

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Allan Patton is the Director for Electoral Area “C” (Rural Oliver) and has been a full-time Oliver area farmer since 1981. He is a Past Director and Vice-President of the BC Fruit Growers Association, Past Director for BC Agriculture Council, Past Chair of Area “C” Advisory Planning Commission as well as Past Oliver and District Community Economic Development Society Director.

Allan Patton

He has been active in getting the Union of British Columbia Municipalities to pass the recent resolution to declare itself wishing to be GMO free. He is currently proposing a similar motion to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) who will hold its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at Niagara Falls this summer.

The motion states :

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Claude Dauphin, President
Federation of Canadian Municipalities
24 Clarence Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1N 5P3
 
WHEREAS The Okanagan Tree Fruit Industry and the Canadian Horticultural Council Apple Working Group are very concerned about protecting Food Safety and CanadaGap requirements and Asian and European export Markets;
 
AND WHEREAS Certified Organic producers and retailers have expressed grave concerns on the continued existence of their industry;
 
AND WHEREAS the public are expressing increased scepticism on the purported benefits of GE food and animal feed crops;
 
AND WHEREAS the Union of BC Municipalities, at their 2013 Annual General meeting, carried a resolution “to ask the Provincial Government to legislate the prohibition of importing, exporting and growing plants and seeds containing genetically engineered DNA, and raising GE Animals in BC and to declare through legislation that the Province o BC is a GE Free area in respect to all plants and animal species” and an identical addendum to send it to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities for similar consideration by the Federal Government;
 
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Federation of Canadian Municipalities recommend to the Government of Canada that:
A moratorium be placed on all present and future Food and Animal Feed Genetically Engineered registration application, subject to:
– a non-partisan review be undertaken by Parliament to assess all aspects of GE crops now in existence.
– a public and consumer input and consultation process be developed and undertaken across Canada with recommendations presented to parliament for consideration.

If you need any further information regarding this item please call Christy Malden, Deputy Corporate Officer at (250)-490-4146

Mark Pendergraft
RDOS Board Vice Chair

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I spoke with District Director Allan Patton about his efforts to see that this motion does get tabled at the coming FCM and go to a vote, and does not get rejected and end up under the carpet.

I also asked him what the listeners, or the people of Canada might do, to help this motion along.

This is one more example of democracy working from the bottom up. The municipalities are the lowest level of Government and the closest to the people, and it is through them, rather than through the provincial or federal Government, that the voice of the people may get heard.

You can hear the podcast by clicking on the play button at the bottom of this page. You may also save it through my podcast channel in iTunes (search Tony Mitra) and play it through your music player off line.

I would welcome feedback – at tony.mitra@gmail.com

Thank you.

Harold Steves – and his battle to save British Columbia from GMO attack

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British Columbia, as much as all of Canada, needs a a few saviours that will stand tall, and fight long and hard, to save this land from the ravages brought on by mindless greed that brings toxicity into our food, our water, our air, and our lives, through GMO and its associated pesticide culture.

Harold Steves

And just like weeds and organisms are known to develop resistance to poison over time, some people seem to rise to challenge this newfangled toxic invasion in our lives.

Harold Steves of Richmond, BC is one such – a hero just in time, whose singular vision and effort may yet save British Columbian farmlands, as well as residents, from the ravages of GMO, and who efforts are being recognized and copied across the land, within and without British Columbia.

It is our hope, that Canada produces scores of Harold Steves across the land, and return Canada to what this country was decades ago, a land so beautiful and pure that it compared with our notions of Gods own land.

Apart from being an organic farmer that raises grass fed beef, Harold has been a city Councillor for Richmond, BC, continuously since 1977. His efforts to move the region against further encroachment of Genetically Engineered Organisms is an excellent example of how democracy can be taken back by the people, community by community, and municipality by municipality, from the clutches of Industrial greed, lobby power of the biotech corporations, and corrupt politicians.

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