[Sust-mar] NS Speech from the Throne includes Lockheed Martin + Upcoming Peace & Justice Events

Sun Apr 4 22:31:25 EDT 2010

Dear Sust-Mar friends who care about the future of this province, 

I am deeply disappointed by the Nova Scotia NDP Government’s Speech from the
Throne given on Thursday, March 25. This is the speech that sets out this
Government’s priorities for our province for the next four years.
(http://www.gov.ns.ca/legislature/HOUSE_BUSINESS/throne.html) 

It is shocking that Lockheed Martin is featured in the speech and that the
Government is going to make Nova Scotia a “world leader in defence”. 

Lockheed Martin is an American company that is the world’s largest weapons
manufacturer. When you think of the military-industrial complex, top of mind
should be Lockheed Martin. It is a company whose fighter jets, missiles and
weapons systems are used to kill people and kill the planet. 

I hope you understand how serious it is that Nova Scotia is going to become
a “world leader in defence” – do we really want our province to be known as
the great place where Lockheed Martin’s naval combat systems are made? Where
we repair Lockheed’s fighter jets? Where we are known for our weapons
exports used in wars around the world?

The Speech could have instead highlighted all the great, responsible Nova
Scotia businesses and initiatives like Just Us!, Genuine Progress Index,
Wooden Monkey & the Food Security Network,  Nova Scotia Business Alliance
for a Local Living Economy, Credit Unions, Bebbington Industries etc
 Why
did the NS NDP Government see fit to highlight Lockheed Martin?

I would also like to note that this Government plans to create a “Cadet
Day.” The Cadet program is controlled by the Department of National Defence
as a way to entice children as young as 12 years old into the military. Have
a look at their marksmanship programs – children can learn how to use a
rifle and gain a “healthy respect for firearms”: http://www.cadets.ca  Do we
want our children to be learning these skills? Do we want Nova Scotia kids
to use weapons? Do we really want a Cadet Day when we don’t even have a
provincially designated “Children’s Day”?

For those of you who care about the environment and sustainability, you
should know that these are not one of the four separate priorities. Instead,
environment and sustainability are buried under the priority “Growing the
Economy and Creating Good Jobs” right next to the section on Lockheed
Martin. Notice that “quality of life” and “genuine progress” are entirely
absent. 

Lockheed Martin and a militarized economy will not create a sustainable and
just future for Nova Scotia. This is the wrong direction for our province
and we need to speak out.  What would Muriel Duckworth, the beloved peace
activist and NDP supporter, think? What happened to the NDP value of peace?

Please see below for things we can do and upcoming peace events. 

With great disappointment,

Tamara Lorincz

WHAT CAN WE DO?

• Contact your MLA to denounce the Speech from the Throne and this new
direction for Nova Scotia:
http://www.gov.ns.ca/legislature/members/directory/alpha.html 

• Contact the Premier to express your disappointment. premier at gov.ns.ca

• Demand that the Government clean up the Nova Scotia Lobbyist Database to
show who is lobbying our government:
http://www.gov.ns.ca/snsmr/lobbyist/search.asp (Lockheed Martin is not even
listed!)

• Write Letters to your newspaper. Chronicle Herald letters at herald.ca 

• Read Chris Benjamin’s article “War on Earth” in the Coast:
http://www.thecoast.ca/halifax/war-on-earth/Content?oid=1577256 published
just before the Speech from the Throne. 

Letters to the Coast: letters at thecoast.ca 

• Watch the incredible Martin Luther King documentary “A Call to
Conscience”: http://www.pbs.org/kcet/tavissmiley/reports/episode-two.html
as MLK speaks out against the US military industrial complex.

MORE ABOUT LOCKHEED MARTIN

Lockheed Martin number #1 defence company in Canada for 2009:
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/canada/ 

Read how Lockheed Martin is “bullish” on Canada
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/data/assets/canada/CDR.pdf 

CEO Robert Stevens makes $22 million/year
Every board of director makes a quarter million $/year. 
Executive Compensation here:
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/data/assets/corporate/documents/ir/2010/2010-P
roxy.pdf 
Paid by our tax dollars.

Lockheed Martin has 21 paid lobbyists on Parliament Hill increasing our
military budget (federal NDP silent on military increases in 2010 budget)
https://ocl-cal.gc.ca/app/secure/orl/lrrs/do/publicBasicSearch?language=en_C
A 

UPCOMING PEACE EVENTS

(1)
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict 101
or Why I Refused to Serve with the Israeli Defence Forces in the Occupied
Territories
a Public Talk by Amir Locker-Biletzki
Tuesday, April 6, 7:30 pm
Alumni Hall, New Academic Building, University of King's College  
6350 Coburg Road, Halifax
Amir Locker-Biletzki is a Jewish citizen of Israel, PhD candidate in Israeli
History at the University of Guelph.  In 2002, he and 550 other Israeli
Reserve Combat officers and soldiers refused to serve any longer in the
occupied Palestinian territories.  In Halifax, he will set the historical
context for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and explain what Canadians can
do to help achieve a just peace. Sponsored by Independent Jewish Voices -
Halifax (ijvcanada.org) and Canadians, Arabs and Jews for a Just Peace
(forjustpeace.org) For more information, email halifax at ijvcanada.org or call
(902) 240-2782

(2)
HALIFAX RAGING GRANNIES OPEN HOUSE
TUESDAY APRIL 13TH, 1:30 TO 3:00PM
THE WOMENS COUNCIL HOUSE, 989 Young Ave. (corner of Inglis St.) HALIFAX
 It’s accessible.   Parking on the street. Would you like to SING OUT FOR
PEACE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE? Come and learn what’s involved in becoming a
Raging Gran. Refreshments. Women of all ages welcome.
Information:  492 0283 /  466 6524

(3)
Friends For Refugees Benefit Concert  on April 11
Friends For Refugees (FFR) a local, non-political group of students and
professionals is presenting a benefit concert featuring singer-songwriter
Stephen Fearing, guitarist Don Ross, as well as Jeff Torbert, Scott
Macmillan and other musical and cultural guests on Sunday, April 11 at
Potter Auditorium in the Kenneth C. Rowe Management Building, 6100
University Avenue. Doors will open at 6:30 pm. The concert will begin at
7pm. Tickets are $20.00 and are available at Taz Records, Outside the Lines
Bookstore, Just Us! Café on Spring Garden Road, and at the door. CBC’s Olga
Milosevich will be the MC for the evening. All proceeds from the benefit
will be used to privately sponsor a family of Palestinian refugees for
resettlement in Halifax.

Tamara Lorincz
Executive Director, Nova Scotia Environmental Network (NSEN)
BA, BComm, MBA, LLB
55 Willowbend Court
Halifax, NS CANADA B3M 3L3
Phone: (902) 443-2423
Cell: (902) 478-1379
tlorincz at dal.ca
ECJ: http://www.ecojustice.ca
GN: http://www.space4peace.org/
HPC: http://hfxpeace.chebucto.org/
NSEN: http://www.nsen.ca
"A better world is possible"

"Our only hope today lies in our ability to recapture the revolutionary
spirit and go out into a sometimes hostile world declaring eternal hostility
to poverty, racism, and militarism." - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., 1967