"Maude Barlow addresses an anti-tar sands protest on Parliament Hill."
I was talking with Ruth Meta on December 16th, when she told me that Bob Ages from the Council of Canadians was going to be taking over mediation of Occupy Vancouver’s moderated Facebook page. We both did some research and felt uncomfortable with the transparency in OV’s relationship.
Ruth wrote the letter below and I decided I would also sent it as my personal request. Here is the content of the letter- my next two postings will include responses.
The response to this letter can be found here: Letter From Gary Neil…
Maude Barlow
Council of Canadians
Ottawa, Ontario
Ms. Barlow:
I have been a supporter and follower of the Council of Canadians for over 30 years. It is the one Canadian organisation I have truly put my faith into … until yesterday.
I must ask you some very straightforward questions:
1. What is the position of the Council of Canadians around the Occupy Movement, does it “support” the movement, or is it trying to take a leadership role in it?
2. How do “directors” of the CoC get chosen, are they “paid” employees and what is their role in taking leadership of movements such as Occupy?
3. Do directors of the CoC require any kind of authority from the Council of Canadians to act as individuals in their respective political duties or, if they act as representatives of the Council, must they seek approval from the Council itself?
I ask these questions because it has recently been brought to light that some of the directors out here on the west coast are taking on some pretty pivotal roles related to Occupy and it is, for me, quite problematic. If they act as individual citizens, there’s not much anyone can say or do, but if they are acting as representatives of theCouncil of Canadians, I have serious reservations as to whether or not I want to remain a member of the CoC.
