Something is wrong in Cochrane, Alberta

David Suzuki Foundation releasing "Broken Ground", the untold story of environmental rights in Canada

VANCOUVER, July 9, 2014 /CNW/- "About three years ago, I started losing my hair. And we found out afterward that many women in our neighbourhood, and young girls as well, were losing their hair." - Nielle Hawkwood, Cochrane resident

Something is wrong in Cochrane, Alberta. People are getting sick, animals are dying and the landscape is becoming scarred. This is "Broken Ground",  a new website that tells the story of why we desperately need the legal right to live in a healthy environment recognized for all Canadians, and the price we're paying because it's not.

Over the past several months, the David Suzuki Foundation has collected stories from Nielle Hawkwood and others to illustrate the need for Canada to join more than 110 other countries — more than half the world's nations — that have enshrined environmental rights in their constitutions.

"Industry will do the bare minimum. Government will do the bare minimum. I think it's up to us to demand more." - Chelan Haynes, Cochrane resident

"Broken Ground" is the story of people who are confronting massive oil development while struggling to cope with severe health impacts. It's also the story of people who tried to bring environmental rights to Canada decades ago but were too far ahead of their time. And it's the story of what can happen when a growing movement of Canadians asks leaders to do something simple: live up to Canada's values and ensure a healthier future for everyone.

"What I hear from them is always to talk about how important it is to create jobs, and somehow that becomes the licence for destroying everything else around us." - Ovide Mercredi, former AFN National Chief

Copies of full interviews and photographs are available to the media. Howard and Nielle Hawkwood, environmental lawyer David Boyd and David Suzuki Foundation staff are also available for interviews.

Visit www.brokenground.ca now.

SOURCE: David Suzuki Foundation

Alvin Singh, Communications Manager, [phone], [email protected]