Topic: Environment

Saving the Wet’suwet’en Nation and Old Growth Forests [hybrid]

Marlene Hale has just returned to Montreal from her Wet’suet’en territory in BC. She had brought a Human Rights lawyer from Montreal there to meet with Hereditary Chiefs, and both sides of the pipeline. “I got to see at first hand the atrocity it has caused our people of Smithers BC and Witset as preparations resumed to tunnel under the Morice River [Wedzin Kwa] south of Houston BC, as construction of its natural gas pipeline from northeastern B.C. to the LNG Canada liquefied natural gas facility now underway at Kitimat continues.” Marlene will give an update on the Coastal Gas Link and its impact on the Wet’suwet’en Nation. 
She will speak about our Fossil Fuel Addiction, which is supported by Canada’s largest fossil fuel investor – RBC. “RBC must be accountable to their direct contributions to the endangerment of Indigenous Title and Rights.”

Betting on an Energetic Future [hybrid]

Come join us for an overview of the technology of “Fusion Energy”, and what it may offer for the future.
The search for an inexhaustible and safe energy source is the holy grail of energy research.
Recent advances are promising, but more challenges have yet to be conquered.

An Ode to Trees: A Sharing Service [hybrid]

Autumn is the time of year when the trees call out to us – with their bright colours and rustling leaves demanding our attention – and our awe. 
This service will reflect on the magic, majesty, and mystery of trees – and we will have time to share our favourite poems, songs and stories about our love of trees.

The Nature of Value and the Value of Nature [hybrid]

Gary will speak on some of the projects he has been working on to protect biodiversity in Montreal and internationally in the face of development and climate change. It is important to value nature using integrated ecological-economic and social approaches, recognizing that they are all depend on each other. 

Empire of Wheat: 1887-1939 [hybrid]

Nicholas Tošaj (Ph.D. Toronto) is a professor of history at John Abbott College and an active participant in the Oxford Symposium of Food and Gastronomy. 
He will explore the history of bread and staple carbohydrates; its cultural importance in shaping the modern French colonial empire of France, colonial Morocco and French Indochina. He will address themes as varied as colonization, technology and cultural exchange, which provide insight into how dietary habits have shaped the modern world.

The Struggle to Protect Indigenous Land and Old Growth Forests

Marlene will give an update on the Wet’suwet’en Nation and on the Fairy Creek Old Forest Growth Campaigns. Why did the RCMP move in quickly on our protesters at the request of a private company Coastal Gaslink and the BC Government in the case of Fairy Creek; arresting more than 1,000 people and charging 400 with criminal contempt?
In contrast, they were slow to move against the protesters in Ottawa who wanted to overthrow the government. There, the police arrested 192 people and charged only 100 with mischief! Is there a double standard?

Co-creating a Sustainable Future

McGill University Institute for the Study of International Development Professor Eliane Ubalijoro speaks to Lakeshore about sustainable future: The last two years have seen deep societal disruption, from COVID-19, to social justice protests, to floods and fires reminding us of the planetary boundaries we need to take into account in all we do. How do we truly co-create a sustainable and inclusive future that leaves no one behind and grows natural capital?

Don’t Touch It!

Former Lakeshore member Don Hackett, now living in Ottawa, shares his story of commitment to nature, and to the Jack Pine trail, jewel of Ottawa’s Greenbelt. Climate change and population growth endanger it, and it has a fatal flaw.

Soil, Soul and Society

What does it mean to be human in our place and time? One place to start is with our relationship with the earth – not so much the earth as a planet in space, but as the literal ground beneath our feet.