Honourable Prime Minister:
As you may be aware, earlier today a member of your national parliament and recent founder of the Greek Christian-Democratic Party used an extremely derogatory term (the Greek equivalent of the word “faggot”) in a Twitter reference to the Prime Minister of Luxembourg. Apparently, your fellow parliamentarian’s tweet was nothing more than an expression of his profound disapproval of the Luxembourgian Prime Minister’s engagement to his same-sex partner.
As a proud Greek expatriate, living in a society where bigotry is broadly condemned, I was disappointed but perhaps not entirely shocked by your colleague’s remark. Having escaped the pervasive and often overt homophobia of Greece in search of a fairer society where I could also have the right to do what...
Politics
Dear Prime Minister Stephen Harper
We are writing to encourage the Canadian Government to implement the EITI, alongside requirements for the mandatory disclosure of extractive company payments to governments.
You will have taken note of the UK Government’s recent announcement that it will review whether to implement the EITI, which we expect to come out positively, and the US Government’s implementation efforts. These announcements arise both from domestic reasons and from a recognition that we cannot expect countries to do what we are not doing ourselves. Good management of natural resources begins with strong systems of transparency and accountability, and it is the lack of these fundamental foundations that has left billions of citizens excluded from the benefits of their country...
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Dear Minister Aglukkaq,
As health professionals and supporters of a strong public health care system, we are writing to express our deep concern about the potential approval of Canadian Plasma Resources operations, and the lack of significant public policy consideration and consultation on this important issue.
In April, a single consultation in Toronto was held to provide information to a small number of stakeholders and discuss the impacts of paid donor plasma facilities. The results of that discussion were mixed at best concerning the viability of such a significant shift in our blood collection process and only a limited number of groups were invited to participate. This left out a significant number of individuals and organizations who would like the opportunity to be further...
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Dear Joe,
Your letter caught my attention. I respect you and like you a lot as a
colleague in the House. Unfortunately, I
think your role as Minister of Natural Resources has been hijacked by the PMO spin
machine. The PMO is, in turn, hijacked
by the foreign oil lobby. You are, as Minister of Natural Resources, in a
decision-making, judge-like role. You
should not have signed such a hyperbolic rant.
I have reproduced a short section of your letter. The idea
that First Nations, conservation groups, and individuals opposed to the
Northern Gateway Pipeline are opposed to all forestry, mining, hydro-electric
and gas is not supported by the facts. I
am one of those opposed to the Northern Gateway pipeline. I do not oppose all development; neither does
the Green Party;...
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Dear Ambassador Doer,
I read with interest the news accounts of your government's recent spending to advertise on behalf of TransCanada's proposed Keystone XL export pipeline. Though this $24 million ad campaign was a flop, your spending surge begs the question: How much Canadian taxpayer money has the Harper Government spent over the entire life of your lobbying and propaganda campaign? And not just in this most recent effort?
I think Canadians, whose money is being spent, and Americans, who are subjected to the resulting propaganda, deserve to know how much has been spent to help the wealthy TransCanada Corporation and a large, massively profitable industry. Citizens of both countries deserve to know -- especially when TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline provides the key for...
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Dear Mr. President,
I am writing on behalf of the UA Canadian Membership and their families who support the Keystone XL Pipeline Project. We are asking that you grant the Presidential Permit that is required for construction of this project.
The UA represents over 52,000 skilled crafts people in Canada and their families. We will be fully involved with the building of this Project. The UA’s highly skilled welders, pipefitters and contractors will insure that the highest skills and safety standards available will be used in the construction of this pipeline. When completed members and contractors will maintain this pipeline to the highest standards.
Your approval of the Keystone XL Project will be the catalyst for many economic benefits for both our countries. These benefits...
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Dear Sisters and Brothers of Russia:
Greetings!
We, several millions of people from the southernmost tip of India, are writing to you to send our love and seek your support for the peaceful and nonviolent struggle that we have been waging for the past nine months against the Koodankulam nuclear power project (KKNPP). This mega nuclear power park is being built with Russian loan and technology against the will and wishes of the local people.
The Indian authorities have not conducted any public hearing to seek our permission or consent for this project. They have not shared the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report, the Site Evaluation Study, and the Safety Analysis Report with our people. After a long and hard struggle of more than 22 years, we have just obtained a copy of...
3,045
Dear President Putin,
As you are aware, in Bremerhaven, Germany this week (July 11th – 16th) there will be a special meeting to consider marine protected area (MPA) proposals for the Ross Sea and several areas off the coast of East Antarctica. The Ross Sea remains one of the most intact marine ecosystems on the planet, with robust populations of whales, penguins, seals, albatrosses and other species. East Antarctica is a remote region of high ecological importance, home to a significant proportion of the Southern Ocean’s penguins, seabirds, seals and whales. Russia’s position will be crucial to the protection of these areas which are amongst the most iconic areas for marine wildlife on earth.
Russia was a founding member of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living...
2,932
Dear Mr. President of the Parliament:
One hundred years ago the Hungarian 20th infantry, one of ten Hungarian divisions to fight in the Great War, was mourning the death of 535 officers and 30,232 foot soldiers since the outbreak of hostilities earlier that year. That war would go on to claim the lives of some 516,095 soldiers of the Hungarian crown. March 22, 2015 will mark the 100th anniversary of the 117,000 soldiers of Hungary’s 23rd infantry division being taken captive by the Russian army, along with 30,000 wounded. Many would never see Hungary again.
The First World War had a multiplicity of causes. But ultimately its outbreak was the product of irresponsible behavior on the part of leading European politicians and government officials. People like you, Viktor Orbán, and...
6,943
Mr. President,
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the FIDH and the OMCT, is deeply concerned by the decision of the Vladivostok Military Court, on 25th December 2001, to condemn Mr. Grigory Pasko, military reporter for the newspaper of the Russian Fleet, Boevaya Vakhta, to four years’ imprisonment and suppression of his military rank. Mr. Pasko was first arrested in November 1997 for the crime of « high treason », after the diffusion by a Japanese TV Channel of one of his reports on the dumping of nuclear waste, and after the publication of several articles on boat cemeteries, nuclear waste and the promotion of some generals. On 20th July 1999, the Vladivostok Military Court dropped the charges for « high treason » but Mr. Pasko was...
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