Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - June 18, 2012, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A12 Craig and Marc Kielburger Craig and Marc Kielburger co- founded Free The Children, and are authors of the new book, Living Me to We: The Guide for Socially Conscious Canadians. The 20- year- old video predated YouTube, yet it has since gone viral, with 20 million views. Its picture is grainy but the words are crystal clear. " We've come 5000 miles to tell you adults you must change your ways." A 12- year- old Canadian girl stands before world leaders, expressing the fears and despair of a young generation facing at a bleak future for the planet they will inherit. All listened raptly. Some wept at the starkness of her appeal. She became known as " the girl who silenced the world for five minutes." It was 1992, and representatives of world governments were gathered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the first United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development - the Earth Summit. The girl was Severn Cullis- Suzuki, daughter of environmentalist David Suzuki. Two decades later, Cullis- Suzuki, with a child of her own, cares even more passionately about the issues now than she did then. As the world prepares for another Earth Summit in Rio, we spoke with her about her recollections of that seminal conference and what in her opinion has - and has not - changed in the years since. Cullis- Suzuki remembers the Earth Summit coming at a time of high environmental concern. Two weeks were allotted for the talks. The heads of state from 108 countries attended, including U. S. President George Bush Sr. and Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Over 10,000 journalists were on hand. Back then, Cullis- Suzuki recalls, addressing the depletion of the ozone layer was high on the environmental agenda, as was a growing awareness of a new environmental issue called climate change. A big concern was bringing on side the developing countries who were worried that being forced to comply with environmental measures would hinder their efforts to develop. The end of the Summit saw the signing of legallybinding agreements, including the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and the Framework Convention on Climate Change, which would pave the way for the Kyoto Protocol. The nations of the world agreed to a global action plan for sustainable development: Agenda 21. The world emerged from Rio with a sense of hope and promise. " I look back at those documents that came out of Rio, and they were pretty amazing," Cullis- Suzuki says. " Great promises were made at Rio, then it kind of fell off people's agenda." The hope and promise were short- lived. Cullis- Suzuki recalls that, in the years following the Earth Summit, the global economy slipped into recession and economic constraints meant the environment was no longer a priority. Cullis- Suzuki notes the parallels to today, as economic woes again displace the environment as a top concern for world leaders. She cites the fact the 2012 Earth Summit will last only three days. President Barack Obama will not be there, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper has not indicated if he will attend. Climate change has risen to a preeminent concern. " We're in a new reality, living in a time of climate change. We already have climate refugees around the globe and now have to talk about adaptation and mitigation," says Cullis- Suzuki, who holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and a Masters of Science specializing in Ethnoecology. In an ironic reversal, smaller developing countries like the island nations Grenada and the Maldives, who are already feeling the effects of climate change, are the ones begging industrial nations to address climate change. However, this time there will be no agreements that legally bind countries to meet environmental targets. Instead countries will be asked to work voluntarily towards targets they set for themselves. Cullis- Suzuki is now coaching young Canadians to represent the interests of the next generation as delegates at Rio 2012. We asked her, if she were to stand before the Rio Summit 20 years after she first held the world's leaders rapt, what would she say now? " I'm hearing from a lot of people that the same speech I gave then could be given again today. That is a sobering thought," she told us. " Sometimes it's hard not to feel really negative. I think I would ask why we have not succeeded? Why are we not further along?" The answer may come from her father. In a recent blog, David Suzuki declared environmentalism a failure. Creating environment ministries and holding environment- focused conferences, he argued, made the environment just " another special interest" like agriculture or education. It was something separate from the economy and so fell to the wayside when recessions struck. Ironically, Rio's goal in 1992 was to integrate environmental awareness into global development. As Suzuki put it, " The event was meant to signal that economic activity could not proceed without considering ecological consequences." Twenty years later, world leaders once again need a child to stand up and remind them that, for the next generation, the environment is not a special interest, it's their future. LOOKING BACK - THE EARTH SUMMIT, TWENTY YEARS LATER metowe. com/ living Collision & Glass HAIL DAMAGE? 204- 831- 2022 CITY CITY EDITOR: PAUL SAMYN 697- 7292 city. desk@ freepress. mb. ca I winnipegfreepress. com MONDAY, JUNE 18, 2012 A 12 T HE horrifying new drug called bath salts that is said to have caused cannibalistic attacks has not yet hit Winnipeg streets, authorities say. The RCMP and Winnipeg police have no reported cases of the drug in Manitoba, but Larry Larson, founder of the Recovery Centre for Addiction, Trauma and Families, says " it's only a matter of time. " I assume it will become more prominent in Winnipeg because of the abundance of cocaine and crack cocaine use. I'm anticipating that it will start becoming a big problem," said Larson. " I wouldn't be surprised if it was already here." The federal government is taking steps against the drug, methylenedioxypyrovalerone ( MDPV), despite the few reported incidents in Canada. Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq announced plans on June 5 to make bath salts illegal in Canada. MDPV is the active agent used in bath salts, a new street drug referred to as the " zombie drug." The drug is linked to a May 26 incident in Miami in which Rudy Eugene, 31, allegedly attacked Ronald Poppo, 65, and began ripping his face apart with his teeth and refused to stop. Eugene was shot and killed at the scene. Another similar incident occurred when Louisiana man Carl Jacquneaux, 43, allegedly bit off a portion of neighbour Todd Credeur's face. Symptoms of the drug's use include violent behaviour, hallucinations and paranoia. When asked if she was worried about bath salts ending up in Manitoba, St. Boniface MP Shelly Glover said, " I'm always worried." Originally synthesized as a stimulant in 1964, bath salts are a white, powdery substance whose physical similarities to cocaine make it difficult to differentiate. Bath salts contain amphetamine- type stimulants and is said to be marketed as a form of ecstasy. Aglukkaq said the government will list MDPV on Schedule 1 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which categorizes the drug with heroin and cocaine. Regulating it will make possessing, trafficking, importation, exporting and producing the drug illegal unless authorized. The drug is already illegal in the United States. " Let's be clear. These are not typical household bath salts. They are not the Epsom salts or the scented crystals that you find in many Canadian homes and pharmacies," Aglukkaq told reporters. " These are drugs, serious drugs." While bath salts have gone unreported in Manitoba, Glover said the threat cannot be ignored. " It seems to have been something that we're hearing about more and more in Nova Scotia and Ontario," Glover, who made the announcement with Aglukkaq, told the Free Press . " There have been a number of seizures from different substances and more than 100 of them contained this MDPV." Health Canada announced it would regulate MDPV on June 9 in the Canada Gazette . The public has until July 10 to comment. " We are always trying to stay one step ahead of these chemists of these drugs," Glover said. " Organized crime is behind a lot of these drugs that make their way into our communities. We're always worried when we hear of a new drug. We're just trying to give police officers the tools they need to fight them." katherine. dow@ freepress. mb. ca ABOVE AND RIGHT: Samples of the drug ' bath salts.' Originally synthesized as a stimulant in 1964, bath salts are a white, powdery substance whose physical similarities to cocaine make it difficult to differentiate. LEFT: Rudy Eugene allegedly attacked a man in an incident linked to bath salts. ' Only a matter of time' before drug hits city ' Bath salts' linked to horrific attacks By Katherine Dow ' Organized crime is behind a lot of these drugs that make their way into our communities. We're always worried when we hear of a new drug' O TTAWA - For nearly a year, it was a foregone conclusion that interim Liberal leader Bob Rae was going to run for the permanent job. Rae promised he wouldn't do so when he was named the interim leader a year ago. But in politics, rules are generally made to be broken, bent or otherwise amended to suit the circumstances and whims of the day. The party executive was hours away from voting on a motion to let Rae run when Rae told his caucus June 13 he wasn't going to do it. There are a number of reasons he decided to bow out. Rae will be 67 when the next election is held and it's going to take much more than one election to drag the Liberals up from their current depths. There was also party unrest about whether Rae was the one. Yes, he is one of the most skilled politicians in Canada today and can rev up a room like few others. But he has enough baggage to sink the good ship Liberal before it even leaves the pier. When the Conservatives turned their advertising guns on Rae last winter, it helped stir up resentment among some Liberals who didn't want to spend money defending Rae's record as the former NDP premier of Ontario. Rae's departure from the race suddenly threw the contest wide open. Justin Trudeau, who has the family pedigree and the charm to be a leader but lacks experience, is the perceived front- runner even though he hasn't committed to running yet. The list of others giving it a onceover is growing and now includes MPs David McGuinty, Marc Garneau and Dominic LeBlanc, and former MPs Martha Hall Findlay and Martin Cauchon. The biggest problem for the Liberals is they still haven't figured out who they are. Six years after getting the boot from Canadians, their bitterness at losing power is matched only by confusion as to how it happened. There has not been enough inward reflection and too much stomping of the feet wondering how voters could have possibly picked the Conservatives over the Liberals. Adding insult to injury is the Liberals aren't even the bridesmaids anymore. They barely have guestbook duty. The NDP is the potential government in waiting, and the Liberals are battling just to stay relevant at a time when it is getting harder to distinguish between them and the NDP. Which shouldn't shock since the NDP is led by a former Quebec Liberal and the Liberals are led by a former Ontario NDPer. Last week, the NDP, Liberals and Green party Leader Elizabeth May were united in efforts to embarrass the government on its attempt to amend 60 pieces of legislation in a single omnibus budget bill. They were united in efforts against the shutting down of the Experimental Lakes Area. They united to criticize a plan to close or reduce services at Riel House National Historic Site. Opposition parties generally share distaste for whatever the government is doing but not always for the same reason. Last week, the refrains coming from all the parties were so similar they could have been crafted in the same room. Enter stage left: more talk of mergers. Talk of a unite- the- left movement was strong following the 2011 election, and has simmered mostly under the surface in the months since. The main party players keep ruling it out, but every so often, someone says something that kick- starts the talks. Recently, a small group of people in Winnipeg Centre held a meeting to talk about the idea of co- operating with the Liberals. Several riding associations in Ontario are promoting the idea of the NDP, Liberals and Greens running a single " unity" candidate in the next election. A poll released last week by Postmedia showed nearly two- thirds of Liberal supporters and 57 per cent of NDP supporters back the idea of a merger. When the Liberals were in power, it was said the NDP and Conservatives had one thing in common: They both hated the Liberals. The Liberals and NDP have more than just hatred for the government to unite them. Many MPs from both parties say the unrest among their constituents is growing. If that's true, the movement to unite the left will continue to generate steam from below. mia. rabson@ freepress. mb. ca Whispers of uniting the left growing louder HILL TALK MIA RABSON ADRIAN WYLD / THE CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES - Shelly Glover ADRIAN WYLD / THE CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES A_ 12_ Jun- 18- 12_ FP_ 01. indd A12 6/ 17/ 12 9: 43: 42 PM ;