Sierra Club of Canada

Sierra Club of/du Canada (SCC) is a Canadian, volunteer-based environmental organization. It is part of the environmental movement.

The roots of the Sierra Club of Canada go back to 1963, when environmentalists in British Columbia affiliated themselves with the Sierra Club of the United States (many of these individuals were prominent in the founding of Greenpeace). The Sierra Club of Canada became a pan-Canadian organization in 1989, and was legally incorporated as a Canadian organization in 1992.

As of 2005 it has approximately 10,000 members and supporters. Its main office is in Ottawa.

Organization

The Sierra Club of Canada is governed by a nine-member Board of Directors, three members of which are elected each year in an election in which all SCC members can vote. [http://www.sierraclub.ca/national/aboutus/board.html] Two of the seats are reserved for youth members of the Club.

SCC currently has five Chapters (Atlantic, British Columbia, Ontario, Prairies, and Quebec) and the Sierra Youth Coalition. It has offices in Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, and Victoria.

In addition, SCC includes several local groups working mostly at the municipal level.

Executive Directors

#1989-2006: Elizabeth May
#2006 - on: Stephen Hazell

Affiliates and subsidiaries

The SCC is also affiliated with the Sierra Club of Canada Foundation and the Sierra Club of British Columbia Foundation.

The Sierra Youth Coalition is the youth-led wing of the Sierra Club of Canada.

SCC is a major member of the Canadian Environmental Network.

ITER project

In 2003 the Sierra Club of Canada lobbied extensively to stop Canadian participation in the ITER project. [http://sierraclub.ca/national/media/item.shtml?x=393] [http://sierraclub.ca/national/media/item.shtml?x=388] [http://sierraclub.ca/national/media/item.shtml?x=372] [http://sierraclub.ca/national/media/item.shtml?x=426] The SCC, arguing that the research project was a subsidy, influenced public opinion against the project. Canada is now no longer involved in ITER. [http://www.iter.org/new_text-Feb04.htm]

External links

* [http://www.sierraclub.ca/ Sierra Club of Canada website]
* [http://www.sierraclub.ca/foundation/ Sierra Club of Canada Foundation website]
* [http://www.syc-cjs.org/ Sierra Youth Coalition website]