Don’t Sell Us Out Coalition Stages First Demonstration In Downtown Vancouver
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Protestors Denounce Alcan’s Sell-Off Of B.C. Water At CEO Speech
Protestors lined the entrance to the Westin
Bayshore hotel in downtown Vancouver today as the newly-formed Don’t Sell Us
Out Coalition staged a demonstration against Alcan’s sell-off of B.C.’s
natural water resources.
Around 25 protestors made their presence felt outside the Westin Bayshore
with placards and sloganed water bottles while Alcan President and CEO Travis
Engen spoke to the Vancouver Board of Trade about the global economy.
“More and more people are telling us everyday that this sell-off of our
water resources is unacceptable,” says John Calvert, spokesperson for the
Don’t Sell Us Out Coalition and board member of the B.C. Citizens for Public
Power. “This is a vivid demonstration of the people of B.C.’s growing concern.
They will no longer tolerate the provincial government and Alcan sidelining
this issue.”
Calvert, who is also an adjunct professor at Simon Fraser University,
added that this would be the “first protest of many” until Alcan started
abiding by the intent of the contracts it has signed with the people of B.C.
Through a mixture of print and in-person protests, the Don’t Sell Us Out
Coalition has escalated this long-standing issue this week into a national
media story. The coalition took out large advertisements in today’s
The Vancouver Sun and The Province, which listed Alcan’s broken promises and
the huge economic damage caused as a result.
The Don’t Sell Us Out Coalition’s members include the Council of
Canadians, the B.C. Citizens for Public Power, the Council of Senior Citizen’s
Organizations of B.C., the Save the Northwest Coalition, the District of
Kitimat and the Canadian Auto Workers. The coalition’s website is:
www.dontsellusout.com.
@ April 13, 2005