Speaker Event: UBC Robson Square 6-9pm.

UN World Water Day, March 22, aims to draw attention to global water issues. In response, a number of local and international organizations have collaborated to host an evening event in Vancouver, focusing on water challenges and opportunities in Western Canada and abroad.

The opening guest speaker is Canadian author Andrew Nikiforuk (Tar Sands: Dirty Oil and the Future of a Continent). Nikiforuk will discuss three issues in particular: the impact of the tar sands on water, the Enbridge (Gateway) pipeline project, and hydrofracturing – a water-intense process that is used to release shale gas. Nikiforuk will then join a panel with Chief Bob Chamberlin, chair of the Musgamagw-Tsawataineuk Tribal Council, and Patrick Lucas, an environmental scientist and returned CUSO-VSO volunteer. The panel will be moderated by Dr. Karen Bakker, director of the UBC Program on Water Governance and author of Eau Canada: The Future of Canada’s Water.

Water: Challenges and Opportunities takes place at UBC Robson Square, below Robson Street (between Howe and Hornby), HSBC Hall. Admission is $5 and all are welcome to attend. Doors open at 6 pm with presentations beginning at 6:30 pm. For more information call 604-657-1070. Seats are filling up fast, to reserve your seat, please RSVP to: info@cepvancouver.org

The event hosts are Connecting Environmental Professionals, Tides Canada, Amnesty International, Program on Water Governance (UBC), Council of Canadians, Oxfam Canada, The Water Team, and the Sauder School of Business (UBC). The event is Bullfrog powered. Light refreshments will be served. Books by Andrew Nikiforuk and Dr. Bakker will also be available for purchase.

Contact: Gemma Dunn