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See below to SIGN ON to Support Biosafety Protocol Ratification (pour un version français envoyez un message par courriel à <aaronk@isn.net>) Greetings, Just wondering if anyone in Nova Scotia is planning to, or interested in, attending the consultation meeting regarding the ratification of the Biosafety Protocol. It will take place next Wednesday, September 11 in Halifax. If you, or your organization, plan to participate in the September consultations (via the web or in person), please email me ASAP (preferably with you phone #). We can provide you with more information and with an analysis document that is currently being prepared and will be available in early September. Aaron -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (pour un version français envoyez un message par courriel à <aaronk@isn.net>) URGENT ACTION: Sign On to Support Biosafety Protocol Ratification Dear Fellow Activists, Please consider signing onto the following "Statement to the Canadian Government...” in order to send a strong message that Canadians want our government to ratify the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (Biosafety Protocol). To sign-on, just send an email to <aaronk@isn.net>, * by September 25, 2002; * with your e-mail address; * with the name of your organization, and/or name and credentials of experts; * with "Subject" line that reads "Endorse Biosafety Statement". Since not everyone has the time or ability to travel to the consultations that our government is holding on this topic, some civil society organizations have initiated this sign-on statement, to be endorsed by organizations and experts with relevant credentials. The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (Biosafety Protocol) is an international agreement designed to protect biological diversity, including human health, from the impacts of trade in living (genetically) modified organisms (LMOs). More background information can be found below. As you may have already known, the Government of Canada will be holding consultations this September regarding the ratification of the Biosafety Protocol. The stated OBJECTIVES of the consultations are to solicit views on · (morning) Whether Canada should ratify the Protocol, and if so, when; and · (afternoon) The content of draft regulations that would be needed if Canada were to ratify the Protocol. If you, or your organization, plan to participate in the September consultations (via the web or in person), please let us know. We can provide you with more information and with an analysis document that is currently being prepared and will be available in early September. The face-to-face consultation meetings are scheduled as follows: September 11 (Wed) Halifax September 12 (Thurs) Montreal September 18 (Wed) Winnipeg September 19 (Thurs) Saskatoon September 24 (Tues) Calgary September 25 (Wed) Vancouver September 30 (Mon) Ottawa ]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]] A Statement to the Canadian Government from Canadian Civil Society Organizations on the Matter of Canada’s Ratification of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity. September 2002 Recommendations: Preamble: In order to achieve the objective of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (Biosafety Protocol) as outlined in Article 1, i.e., “to contribute to ensuring an adequate level of protection in the field of the safe transfer, handling and use of living modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology that may have adverse effects on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, taking also into account risks to human health, and specifically focusing on transboundary movements”; and In order to implement the precautionary approach contained in Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development as reaffirmed in the preamble of the Biosafety Protocol; and In order to meet Canada’s long-term interests in the protection of the environment and public health, biodiversity conservation, as well as its agricultural markets, we, the undersigned, strongly urge the Government of Canada to: 1. Cease any further delay and immediately ratify the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety; 2. Implement a stringent, precautionary regulatory system in Canada governing the import and export of all relevant categories of LMOs; and 3. Adopt a different, precautionary approach to the ongoing deliberations to operationalize the Biosafety Protocol by calling for implementation measures that are rigorous and restrictive. Background: The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety is an international agreement designed to protect biological diversity, including human health, from the impacts of trade in living (genetically) modified organisms (LMOs). From 1996-2000, the Protocol was negotiated between over 130 countries, including Canada, under the auspices of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. The Biosafety Protocol was adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on January 29, 2000. As of August 8, 2002, it has been signed by 111 countries and ratified by 23. Additionally, the European Union has initiated a process for ratification by member countries. To enter into force, the Protocol must be ratified by 50 countries that are signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Canada has signed but refused to ratify the Biosafety Protocol despite repeated requests by civil society organizations to do so. Many Canadian civil society organizations participated in the development of the Biosafety Protocol as members of the Canadian Biosafety Protocol Advisory Group (BPAG), as delegates at Biosafety Protocol meetings, as well as individually. Through a series of events including demonstrations in the streets of Montreal during the final negotiating sessions of the Protocol in January 2000, Canadian civil society clearly voiced our demand for a legally binding agreement that would strongly protect the world’s people and biodiversity from the risks, including social and economic impacts, that can be caused by the introduction of genetically modified organisms to the environment. The final text of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety is not everything that Canadian civil society organizations had hoped for. Still, it does represent an important step towards the effective regulation of international trade in genetically modified organisms. The Protocol requires that States make decisions on whether or not to import LMOs, based on assessments of the potential impacts of those LMOs, prior to their import. In cases where there is a lack of scientific consensus, or insufficient scientific knowledge to properly ascertain the risks associated with a LMO, States are able to decline those imports on the basis of the precautionary principle. The Protocol provides for information exchange on the assessment of risks of LMOs through the medium of the Biosafety Clearing House and for capacity building for LMO risk assessment in developing countries. It provides the framework for requiring the labelling of LMOs for export (including the eventual labelling of all LMO commodities) and the Protocol calls for public participation in decision making on LMO imports. The Protocol also creates the framework for further negotiations on the establishment of rules and procedures in the field of liability and redress for damages resulting from transboundary movements of LMOs. Canadian civil society organizations were frequently embarrassed by the role the Canadian government played during the negotiation of the Biosafety Protocol. Many of the more environmentally and socially progressive positions brought forward in negotiations were rejected by Canada’s official representatives. As lead spokesperson for the six-member Miami Group of countries, Canada was seen to place its perceived economic interests (a perception challenged by many) in the unregulated trade of genetically modified agricultural products ahead of the protection of global biodiversity and public health. These actions caused significant harm to Canada’s reputation on the world stage and within the activities of the United Nations Environment Program as a whole. Civil society organizations hoped that Canada’s decision to sign onto the Protocol in April of 2001 was an indication that the government of Canada had finally decided to take seriously the concern that exists around the world regarding genetically modified organisms. The emerging global reality is that both domestic and export markets expect the segregation and labelling of genetically modified crops, and that modified crops and seeds will have to clearly demonstrate their safety before they are accepted. To meet these public expectations and to provide meaningful health and environmental safety requires that Canada’s domestic regulatory system for genetically modified organisms be overhauled, fully embracing a precautionary approach to the risks associated with genetic engineering (as outlined in the February 2001 report of the Royal Society of Canada’s Expert Panel on the Future of Biotechnogy). Canada must introduce regulations governing the export of LMOs requiring segregation and labelling as well as mechanisms to ensure that liability for harm caused by LMOs lies with the commercial developers and exporters of these products. All of these aims can be achieved through the regulatory reforms that we believe need to be implemented in the process of ratifying the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. As civil society organisations, we urge Canada’s immediate ratification of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. We call on the government of Canada to take seriously the objectives of this Protocol by fully implementing a precautionary regulatory system governing the import and export of all relevant categories of LMOs. We also urge the government to adopt a different, precautionary approach to the ongoing deliberations to operationalize the Biosafety Protocol by calling for implementation measures that are rigorous and restrictive in order to maximize protection of health and environmental safety. Canada’s long-term interests in the protection of the environment and public health, biodiversity conservation, as well as its agricultural markets, now lie with meeting the objectives of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. In solidarity, we are: Canadian Environmental Law Association Canadian Health Coalition Council of Canadians The Eco-Council of Peterborough Greenpeace Canada Brewster Kneen, Publisher, The Ram's Horn ++ Organizations and experts with relevant credentials are invited to endorse this "Statement to the Canadian Government..." by sending an email to <aaronk@isn.net> * by September 25, 2002; * with your e-mail address; * with the name of your organization, and/or name and credentials of experts; * with "Subject" line that reads "Endorse Biosafety Statement". ================================================================= (pour un version français complet, envoyez un message par courriel à <aaronk@isn.net>) URGENCE D’AGIR: Signez pour témoigner de votre appui de la ratification du Protocole pour la biosécurité Chers collègues activistes, Nous vous prions de signer cette «Déclaration au gouvernement du Canada» dans le but de transmettre un message clair que les Canadiens veulent voir leur gouvernement ratifier le Protocole de Cartagena sur la prévention des risques biotechnologiques (Protocole pour la biosécurité). Pour ajouter votre signature, envoyez tout simplement un message par courriel à <aaronk@isn.net>: • d’ici le 25 septembre 2002; • en indiquant votre adresse de courriel; • ainsi que le nom de votre organisation et/ou le nom et les compétences de vos experts; • en indiquant dans l’Objet le titre «Appui de l’exposé sur la biosécurité». ********************************************************************* Aaron Koleszar Biotechnology Caucus of the Canadian Environmental Network <aaronk@isn.net> -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- SUST-MAR TIP: tell your friends how to join sust-mar! To join, just send "subscribe sust-mar" to majordomo@chebucto.ca CBC enviro news-briefs follow: -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- AIR CANADA EXPECTED TO REDUCE ATLANTIC STOPS Air Canada is dropping scheduled service to several Atlantic centres. Starting in January, the airline's 'Jazz' flights will pull out of Yarmouth, after losing half a million dollars a year. FULL STORY http://novascotia.cbc.ca/template/servlet/View?filename=ns_aircan020905 © Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
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