ALEX for 10 pts...what is the Canadian Environmental Network

What's all this?

My first interest is to become more knowledgeable and active concerning the CEN.
This is a rather large black hole at present.

Frankly I'm a bit surprised at how my group, LARK, could have advanced so far in its mission to preserve the rights of Canadians to navigate their lakes, rivers and streams unfettered by the capricious actions of government and at the same time not been notified or even obliquely affected by the CEN!!

But maybe this is a good thing?

As I have said, I'm an activist. I write letters, attend meetings, deliver papers, forment, and where certain bureaucrates are concerned, possibly torment. Still, I'd rather work from the inside out than from the outside in. Currently it is no fun at all being an environmentalist.

The Canadian Environmental Network (RCEN - notice RCEN - right away a problem since the name is CEN logically but here we see the consistent inclusion of the french "R")

Environmental Non-Government Organizations can become RCEN members by joining their regional affiliate environmental network, which would be either the Ontario Environment Network (OEN) for Whitewater Ontario or the Réseau affilié des associations environnementales du Québec (RAAEQ) where LARK is located.

The RCEN is not a government agency, it is a non-government, non-advocacy, non-partisan network, with over 800 member groups across Canada.

If you have never heard of them, it’s probably because apparently RCEN/CEN doesn't take positions on issues.

Their role is to facilitate communication and build capacity among our member groups, and to get them involved in consultations with the federal government on environmental policy issues.

CEN members attend these consultations on behalf of their own organizations, and while they do consult with the broader RCEN/CEN membership before and afterwards in order to gather input and disseminate information, they do not represent the RCEN/CEN at external meetings.

One of their key processes is the delegate selection process. The RCEN/CEN puts out calls for delegates for over 100 consultations annually; and have a well-established delegate selection process that is respected by environmental groups and government alike for being bilingual, democratic and transparent.

See their website at http://www.cen-rce.org/eng/consultations/delegate_selection.html

Delegates must be current members of the RCEN/CEN in good standing.

Once an RCEN member, sign up for CEN weekly e-bulletins (also on-line at http://www.cen-rce.org/eng/bulletin.html ), with up to date information on RCEN/CEN member activities and RCEN/CEN Calls for delegates.

Members join a National Caucus and get connected with groups across Canada working on similar issues.

see their website at www.cen-rce.org .


Joining the RCEN will also allow you to join one of their ten National Caucuses that collaborate on various environmental issues, including the Water, Fisheries and Oceans Caucus.


LARK is based on Quebec with Ontario members: nothing is neat and tidy. I noticed it costs $40 to be a member in Ontario and $20 to be a member in Quebec, Plus, the form for membership is available on the Quebec site but nothing no doc no pdf is actively available on the Ontario site.


For more information, visit the RCEN/CEN website. You can find the contact info for our regional affiliate networks, as well as information on our National Caucuses.

Leela Ramachandran

National Caucus Coordinator/Coordonnatrice des caucus nationaux

Canadian Environmental Network

Réseau canadien de l'environnement

300-945 Wellington West

Ottawa, ON K1Y 2X5

Tel: 613-728-9810 ext. 223

Fax: 613-728-2963

Leela@cen-rce.org

www.cen-rce.org
1. Since the 2006 Annual report is unavailable, would it also be possible to have the names and contact information for the current Board of Directors, the names of their respective ENG's indicating the name of the current Chairperson please?

The list of Board members is the following:
BoD Chair 2006: STEVE RISON , Citizen Advisory for Environmental Research, Chair for 1 year
Vice Chair 2006: DOUG BADGER, High Prairie Regional Environmental Action Committee, Aboriginal Representative 2004
Treasurer 2006: ANDREA WAYWANKO, Sierra Club – Prairie Chapter, Regional Affiliate Representative 2005
Secretary 2006: MICHAEL SIMPSON, One Sky, Member at Large Representative 2004
GABRIELLE KRETZCHMAR , New Brunswick Partners in Agriculture, National Caucus Representative 2006
OLIVIER KOLMEL , Conseil régional de l’environnement-Montréal, Francophone Representative 2006
YUJING GU , Saskatchewan Environmental Society, Youth Representative 2006
DENISE HAMMEL , First Nation Technical Services Advisory Group, Member at Large Representative 2006
PHILIPPE BOURKE , Regroupement national des conseils régionaux en environnement, Quebec Affiliate Representative 2006
More information about our governance is available at http://www.cen-rce.org/eng/governance.html.


2. Back in 2004, what led to the disaffiliation of the RQGE?

I wasn't involved with the disaffiliation of the RQGE, but I understand they had a different vision of networking from the RCEN's. The RCEN focuses on networking with ENGOs, even when ENGO members have opposite views on various topics. The RCEN serves as a discussion forum to facilitate communications among ENGOs, and with the Government.

The RAAEQ is now the RCEN's Quebec Affiliate. They currently have more than 70 members.


3. What are your past experiences with petitions to the auditor general's office?

Because we are a non-advocacy, non-partisan organization, the RCEN does not send petitions.
RCEN members do send petitions from time to time, and the RCEN may provide communication support for strategizing purposes, but the RCEN does not send petitions.


4. Would it be possible to include the recreational use of naturally occuring whitewater as an item on the list of Water issues?

Once you become a member of a Provincial Affiliate, you may decide to join regional caucuses/activities and to join a national caucus.
To join a national caucus, a member should contact the appropriate National Caucus Coordinator. The Caucus Steering Committee is made aware of new caucus members.
Once you become a member of the Water caucus, you decide with the rest of the group which issues to discuss. National Caucus Coordinators don't decide which issues will be dealt with.
They can sometimes make recommendations, but the caucus has the final say.


5. Concering the navel gazing done by the BCEN and Quebec (reports such as Sandra Thompson report concerning the BCEN) would you say that these findings are more or less universal: from your point of view: as it seems to me they are.

All Provincial Affiliates have had ups and downs throughout the years, because of variations in regional topics, funding availability, provincial governments, etc. But currently, both the BCEN and the RAAEQ work well with the rest of the network.


6. About the OEN:

To contact the OEN, you should talk to Phillip Penna by email at oen@oen.ca or by phone at (705) 840-2888.
The OEN membership subscription form is available at http://www.oen.ca/membersinfo.html.

Resources vary from province to province, depending on provincial funding, foundation resources, donations, and other local sources of funding.
In the past 15 years, I believe the RCEN's central office received more funding than its affiliates.


7. Annual report and funding:

I found the attached past annual reports on our website at http://www.cen-rce.org/eng/publications/index.html. Two of them are password protected. I'm not sure why. I'll try to get the passwords and get back to you.

Our funding comes from coordination contracts with various Government of Canada Departments. Most of our work takes place with Environment Canada.





_________________
Working hard to safeguard paddling assets for all Canadians

LES AMIS MEDIA ITEMS

From the Director of River Preservation Activities

On the judicial review:

- We are asking the court to review PW and Transport Canada's failure to protect navigation rights.

- There are two issues we are asking the court to look at, one is navigation rights under the NWPA and the other is the federal government's responsibility to consider significant environmental impacts of their projects and conduct meaningful public consultation on those impacts.


On the cancellation of the rally:

- In May we were trying to arrange a meeting with PW to talk about our plans for the 2007 rally. PW refused to meet with us.

- While we were trying to talk to PW they published an ad in local newspapers saying that they were going to deny access to the entire top section of the river during the festival. That is the way they chose to talk to us by putting an ad in the newspaper, and they planned to eliminate our navigation rights, not just at Laniel but on the entire top section of the river.

- We contacted PW and they told us the ad was placed in error, but how do you make an error like that? We then asked them to confirm that they would make water available and they refused to do that. In fact they are now denying that they have provided water for us for the last 20 years.

- We are a non-profit group of volunteers trying to host a community festival that benefits tourism. One of the reasons people come to this festival from all over eastern Canada and parts of the U.S. is because we have had a water release for the past 20 years. If you take away that water release the rally is finished. We can't host it. We can't ask tourists to spend their money and come all the way up here if PW is not going to make water available.

- We canceled the rally because we couldn't trust PW.

- We were able to cancel the rally, but one of the rafting companies that comes on that weekend already had over 100 people booked and paid to go rafting, they couldn't cancel their trips. The rafting company explained to PW that they were running trips that weekend and asked that water levels be maintained...and this is what PW did...SEE LANIEL DAM WATER LEVEL CHART. This what PW did on that weekend. They purposefully closed the dam on Friday and then opened again on Monday. They ruined the rafting company's trip. And they did it on purpose.

- So why is PW doing this? Why are they denying that they've given us a water release for the past 20 years? Why are they acting against non-profit volunteer group? Why are they purposefully ruining a tourism operation in the region?

- We think it is to punish us because we have a case against them in federal court. Governments are not supposed punish people for taking action to protect their rights, rights that are guaranteed under law. That's not supposed to happen in a democracy.

ON HYDRO DEVELOPMENT:

- There are two hydro project proposals on the table...Tabaret and the Algoqnuin Project.

- The problem is that BOTH of these projects will divert almost all of the water from the Kipawa River below Laniel.

- We are not against Hydro development. We are against BAD hydro development.

- Turning a 10,000 year old river into a little trickle of water and eliminating the future tourism potential of that river, to produce hydro power is BAD hydro development.

- Yes we have to look for ways to generate electricity. Yes hydro is sometimes a very good option in some places. Yes hydro could be developed on the Kipawa Watershed, and even on the Kipawa River.

- But that hydro development needs to leave room for other economic opportunities like tourism. You don't have to destroy the Kipawa River to produce hydro on this watershed.

- One option is to build a small hydro station at Laniel. There is enough drop there. There is enough water, and if you generate hydro at Laniel you save the Kipawa River because the water stays in the river. And you invest in tourism because people will still come here to paddle the river.

- Making a choice on hydro development doesn't mean you have to throw other values away. You use smart development that makes room for other values and doesn't eliminate future economic potential.

- We don't have the right to take this river away from our children and our grand-children. We need to protect it so that they will have choices to make in their future.