Leave
it
to
the
unsinkable
Maude
Barlow
to
protest
an
award
she’s
about
to
receive.
The
national
chairperson
for
one
of
the
nation’s
biggest
citizen
activist
groups,
The
Council
of
Canadians,
is
indeed
grateful
for
the
Citation
of
Lifetime
Achievement
that
she’ll
accept
at
the
Canadian
Environment
Awards
in
Toronto
tonight
for
her
work
in
raising
awareness
about
the
growing
global
water
crisis.
However,
she
says
that
should
there
be
demonstrators
outside
the
gala
protesting
Shell
—
activists
who
argue
the
presence
of
the
oil
company
and
award
sponsor
is
a
travesty
against
the
global
climate
change
fight
—
she
will
show
her
solidarity
by
joining
them
arm-in-arm.
As
one
of
the
few
energy
companies
in
support
of
the
Kyoto
Accord,
Barlow
notes
Shell
has
made
some
progressive
strides,
but
she
still
has
some
major
concerns,
among
them
being
its
coal-bed
methane
operations
in
Northern
B.C.
and
its
history
in
Nigeria.
“I
will
support
the
demonstrators
outside
if
they
are
there.
I
don’t
see
it
as
a
choice:
You
can
go
inside
and
accept
the
award
but
at
the
same
time
make
a
statement,
which
is
what
I’ll
do,”
says
the
author
of
Blue
Covenant:
The
Global
Water
Crisis
And
The
Coming
Battle
For
The
Right
To
Water.
“You
can
be
critical
of
these
corporations
and
advance
the
work
together.
I
think
I’ll
be
doing
inside-outside
support.”
Barlow
plans
to
address
several
hackle-raising
subjects
during
her
acceptance
speech.
The
main
ones
include
the
danger
of
the
corporate
takeover
of
water
systems
and
the
government’s
enthusiastic
plans
to
sell
off
Canadian
water
resources
to
an
already
thirsty
U.S.
—
adding
the
Bush
administration
and
the
Pentagon
have
been
getting
advice
from
Lockheed
Martin,
the
world’s
largest
weapons
manufacturer,
on
how
to
appropriate
water
from
sources
outside
of
its
borders.
Barlow
also
wants
Canada
to
recognize
water
as
a
fundamental
human
right
at
the
United
Nations,
and
she
doesn’t
buy
Ottawa’s
argument
to
the
contrary,
saying
she
can’t
imagine
a
more
willing
vendor
than
the
Harper
government.
“Our
government
says
if
water
is
a
human
right,
we’ll
be
forced
to
sell
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