15 October 2016 / By Alaya Boisver for BlueDot.ca

On September 28, 2016 the David Suzuki Foundation and Ecojustice co-hosted a reception on Parliament Hill about the future of environmental rights and responsibilities in Canada.

Our goal was to introduce Members of Parliament (MPs) and their staff to the Blue Dot movement and the call for legal protection of everyone’s right to a healthy environment through a gold-standard federal environmental bill of rights.

Senator Grant Mitchell sponsored the event, along with MPs:

• Will Amos
• Mike Bossio
• Linda Duncan
• Andy Fillmore
• Elizabeth May
• Deb Schulte
• Wayne Stetski.

More than 45 MPs from across the political spectrum attended.

A Kitigan Zibi First Nation elder welcomed everyone to Algonquin territory.

Indigenous poet, writer and artist Albert Dumont reminded us of the importance of communicating with nature and how we must do more to protect our waters.

Author and environmental lawyer David Boyd’s rousing presentation included inspiring stories of other countries with legal protections for environmental rights. (Watch David’s webinar to learn more.)

Volunteers from Vancouver, Ottawa and Montreal, such as Linda Ablack and musician Derek Olive (who biked across Canada last year to raise awareness about Blue Dot), shared community organizing stories . (Watch our storytelling webinar for tips on how to share yours.)

We wish every Blue Dot supporter could have been in the room! We did our best to convey your passion and enthusiasm for environmental rights.

Celebrating two years of the Blue Dot movement

Stay tuned for more info on a federal launch event November 16 in Montreal. It’ll celebrate our dedicated volunteers and feature an interactive panel discussion with David Suzuki. We’ll be webcasting the whole thing and hosting meetups across the country.