This post was sent to us from Ivona from the Ottawa Coalition Against Mining Uranium - a grassroots network of concerned citizens working on protecting the greater Ottawa-Gatineau region, including its watersheds (Ottawa, Mississippi, Rideau and Gatineau), from uranium exploration, mining and milling-related toxins.
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Without official public consultations, environmental assessment and independent health and safety studies, many people within the Ottawa/Gatineau watershed are left in the dark about the proposed uranium mining and its consequences on their health and environment. As a result, OCAMU is working to fill the gap in awareness among the general public.
Since informing everyone within Ottawa/Gatineau is a work of monumental proportions, OCAMU is asking groups and individuals to adopt this awareness raising campaign and do any type of outreach possible anywhere in Ottawa and Gatineau at any time.
We must reach out to each other because our collective water supply is at stake. Losing water, we lose our very basis for survival. There is no safe amount of radioactivity or heavy metals. Even a bit of uranium mining is too much for too long.
LET’S STOP IT BEFORE IT BEGINS. 
UPCOMING ACTIONS
* Vigil: Just Say No to Uranium Mining within Ottawa/Gatineau Watershed
Ottawa: Friday June 13 at 12 Noon. Meet on the bridge by the old train station (between Elgin and Wellington) - across from the war memorial. (Ontario Liberal Party Annual General Meeting at Westin Hotel, Ottawa - June 13-15)
* Flyering
Kingston: Saturday, June 14th, Bob Lovelace Benefit Concert at Sydenham St. United Church. Please let us know If you can help. Email: events@kNOw-URANIUM.org
Ways to get involved are multifaceted and many. Anyone from Ontario or beyond is welcome to participate.
- organizing vigils or flyering sessions in your neighbourhood or beyond
- postering your neighbourhood
- adopting and adjusting outreach to your organizational style
- joining OCAMU’s vigils
- writing letters to Ontario’s Premier Dalton McGuinty or Quebec’s Premier Jean Charest
- forwarding the message to your listservs and contacts
generating new lists (e.g. Ottawa/Gatineau elementary and secondary schools)
- inviting OCAMU to speak to your groups
- writing, speaking or drawing about the issue in the media
- using multimedia approaches to promote the issue (music, visuals, skits, etc.)
To invite us to speak or let us know about your initiatives please email to events@kNOw-URANIUM.org OCAMU will provide a copy of a flyer or a poster and a banner (if required) for your outreach.
BACKGROUND
The City of Ottawa is downstream from uranium exploration sites in eastern Ontario and West Quebec. If uranium mines are developed, our water may become undrinkable due to contamination from heavy metals and radioactivity.
The City of Ottawa and 19 nearby municipalities and counties have said “NO” to such destructive operations and petitioned the Provinces of Ontario and Quebec for a moratorium.
Residents on both sides of the river, Aboriginal People, landowners, environmental and grassroots groups are united in peacefully protecting our lands and waterways. Despite this, the Ontario and Quebec governments continue to give mining corporations the right to stake and drill on public and private land.
PLEASE JOIN US IN DEMANDING:
- AN IMMEDIATE MORATORIUM ON URANIUM EXPLORATION AND MINING UNTIL A FULL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT IS COMPLETED AND AN INDEPENDENT HEALTH AND SAFETY STUDY IS PROVIDED TO THE PUBLIC
-AN END TO THE MINING ACT’S OUTDATED ‘FREE ENTRY’ SYSTEM
-SETTLEMENT OF NATIVE LAND CLAIMS (IN EASTERN ONTARIO)
More information: www.kNOw-URANIUM.org