David Suzuki and his namesake foundation brought the Blue Dot Tour to Prince George Saturday night, as part of the environmental icon's final 19-city national tour.
The sold-out event at Vanier Hall featured performances by Canadian singer-songwriters Jill and Matt Barber. Northern B.C. artist Roy Henry Vickers was also a special guest at the event.
In an interview with The Citizen before the Saturday performance, Suzuki said the goal of the Blue Dot Tour is to build a grassroots movement to see the right to a healthy environment enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms -the section of the constitution that guarantees the fundamental rights and freedoms of Canadians.
"This is not a crazy idea. Over 110 countries in the world have some type of guarantee [written in their constitution," Suzuki said. "It raises the issue as something we expect as Canadians."
Current Canadian legislation treats protecting the environment as "some sort of add on" or bonus, rather than as an essential requirement, he said.
"Air, water, soil - these are what we depend on for our lives," Suzuki said. "Whether you're a CEO... or an ordinary worker, we all have to breathe. If you don't breathe, you die. If you breathe polluted air, you're sick."
Despite have the largest fresh water reserves of any country in the world, there are an average of 1,000 boil water advisories in effect every day in Canada, he said.
Polls have shown 85 per cent of Canadians support having environmental rights enshrined in the constitution, he said.
In countries where environmental rights are constitutionally-guaranteed, it prevents environmental regulation from being weakened to suit the needs of economic interests.
"[And] if you look at the most extreme example, in Argentina a woman actually sued because a river was polluted... [preventing] access to clean water," he said. "You can't sue for money, but you can sue for restoration."
Canada, which was once seen as an environmental leader, is now frequently criticized internationally for its environmental position -including abandoning the Kyoto Protocol.
The goal of the Blue Dot Tour, with its mix of environmental message and music, is to engage a larger demographic in the fight for environmental rights.
Some of the celebrities who have or are taking part in the tour include: Neil Young, Margaret Atwood, Robert Batemen, Bruce Cockburn, Jim Cuddy and his Blue Rodeo bandmate Greg Keelor, Feist, Jeremy Fisher, Grimes, Jenn Grant, Chantal Kreviazuk, Shane Koyczan, Stephen Lewis, Metric, Raine Maida, Joel Plaskett, Raffi and Kinnie Star.
While having those big names helps fill the auditoriums, Suzuki said, he felt it was important to give people a concrete, local plan to act upon.
The Blue Dot Tour is encouraging residents to call upon their local governments to pass declarations respecting people's right to live in a healthy environment, he said.
From there, with municipalities on board, the next step to convince provincial governments to pass bills of environmental rights.
Finally, once at least seven provinces representing 50 per cent or more of the Canadian population are on board, the final step is to call on the federal government to amend the constitution to include environmental rights in the Charter.
For more information, go online to http://bluedot.ca/.
.png;w=120;h=80;mode=crop)
