KJIPUKTUK (Halifax) – Our featured weekend videos usually have a Nova Scotia focus, but the trailer for the new documentary Green Rights: The Human Right to a Healthy World is bit of an exception to that rule as it is filmed in rather more exotic locations such as Argentina, Ecuador, Australia, and El Salvador.
There is a firm Nova Scotia connection though. The maker of the film is well-known local journalist and author Donald Silver Cameron, and the documentary premiere, together with the launch of a new book, will trigger a Canada-wide tour that starts off in our province.
Both the documentary and the new book, Warrior Lawyers: From Manila to Manhattan, explore our right to a healthy environment, to clean air, drinkable water, healthy food and a say in what transpires in our communities.
And when we’re talking rights here we don’t mean something fluffy and ethereal. We’re talking about very specific and concrete rights embedded in our laws and constitution
Such rights are notably absent in Nova Scotia and Canada. World-wide more than 110 countries now recognize their citizens’ right to a healthy environment.
Although the trailer highlights decidedly non-Nova Scotian subjects, the actual documentary has plenty of Nova Scotia content. Contaminated wells in Harrietsfield, and damage done to residents of the Town of Pictou and Pictou Landing First Nation by Northern Pulp are documented.
Cameron is a great story teller, and I can’t wait to see the full documentary which will be posted on The Green Interview subscription web site in September. The website has a paywall, but offers one month free access.
Even better, in the second half of September Cameron will present the documentary on various Nova Scotia campuses, including Mount St. Vincent, Acadia and St. Francis Xavier. We will post the dates on our events calendar.
