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David Suzuki Foundation

January 02, 2023

The David Suzuki Foundation is a science-based non-profit environmental organization headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with offices in Montreal and Toronto. It was established as a federally registered Canadian charity on January 1, 1991. By 2007, it had 40,000 donors. Its mission is to protect nature while balancing human needs.[1] It is supported entirely by Foundation grants and donations and by 2012, 90% of its donors were Canadian. By 2007, the Foundation employed about seventy-five staff members.[2]

David Suzuki Foundation
TypeNonprofit
IndustryEnvironmental policy and education
Founded1991
Headquarters
Vancouver, British Columbia
,
Canada
Key people
Severn Cullis-Suzuki, executive director
David Suzuki, co-founder
Tara Cullis, co-founder
Websitedavidsuzuki.org

Overview

In 1989, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation aired a radio series by David Suzuki CC OBC FRSC, entitled It's a Matter of Survival which was published in a co-authored 1990 book by the same name.[3][4][5] In the series and the book, described how the "first global scientific consensus" that the world was "entering an era of unprecedented climate change" had emerged in the June 1988 international Toronto Conference on the Changing Atmosphere chaired by Stephen Lewis, and with 300 scientists from around the world in attendance.[5]: 210  The foundation was formed in response to a 1989 meeting organized by David Suzuki CC OBC FRSC and Tara Cullis with about a dozen invited guests who wanted to work towards reversing global climate change. The Foundation was incorporated on September 14, 1990. Suzuki stepped down from the Board of Directors of the Foundation in April 2012—his wife, Tara Cullis, serves as president of the Board.

According to the Foundation's website its goal is to investigate, communicate and support work that balances "human needs" with the planet's capacity to "sustain all life". While concerned with Canada and Canadians, its focus is on four regions—Ontario and Northern Region, Quebec/Francophone, B.C. and the Western Region. The main areas of concern include the protection of the climate, transformation of the economy, encouraging a reconnection with nature, and community-building.

The Foundation publishes information related to their advocacy work through newsletters, scientific studies, research reports, books, information kits, brochures, and news releases. Some of their major projects included the Trottier Energy Futures Project, Healthy Oceans and Sustainable Seafood which provided a ranking of seafood options published on SeaChoice.org, The Saint Lawrence: Our Living River, the Natural Capital Evaluation, Habitat Protection and Endangered Species, Connecting Youth with Nature, and Queen of Green.

Funding

The Foundation was established on January 1, 1991, as a federally registered Canadian charity and is supported entirely by Foundation grants and donations. It does not accept any government funding, except from the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.[6] It is also not a funding body for other organizations.

All financial and donor information is publicly available on their official website and through the publication of their annual reports. In their 2006 report they said that about 75% of their 40,000 supporters, donated less than $500.[7] In the FY 2012, they reported that 59% of their funding came from individual donors. Foundations and businesses provided another 25% and 13% respectively and that more than 95% of the donors were Canadian.

According to their 2005-2006 annual report, there were 40,000 donors to the Suzuki Foundation including 52 corporations—Bell Canada, Toyota, IBM, McGraw-Hill Ryerson, Scotia Capital, Warner Bros., Canon and the Bank of Montreal.[7][8]

After the Foundation implemented its Ethical Gift Acceptance Policy,[9] it no longer accepted donations from fossil fuel industry corporate donors as it had in the past. Prior to the Ethical Gift Acceptance Policy, the Foundation had received funding from the EnCana Corporation, a world leader in natural gas production and oil sands development, and ATCO Gas, Alberta's principal distributor of natural gas, and OPG which is one of the largest suppliers of electricity in the world operating five fossil fuel-burning generation plants and three nuclear plants.[10]

Activities

Nutreco Aquaculture

The David Suzuki Foundation undertook a "Farmed and Dangerous" campaign about environmental concerns related to the farmed fish industry, with a focus on Nutreco Aquaculture, the largest farmed salmon producer in the world.[11] Vivian Krause, who was hired by Nutreco Aquaculture in 2002 as their North American corporate development manager, actively pursued a public relations campaign to counter criticisms levelled against Nutreco, that had been raised by The David Suzuki Foundation and other environmentalists.[11] Krause accessed publicly available online information related to tax revenue to create spreadsheets on names of donors who funded environmental organizations in Canada, and to publish her findings on her Fair Questions blog. This included the information that the David Suzuki Foundation, had received $44 million from tax receipted donations between 2000 and 2010.[12]

In February 2004, Suzuki met with the Prime Minister of Canada, Paul Martin, to present the Foundation's report on how sustainability could be achieved within a generation."Canada vs the OECD: An Environmental Comparison", a 2001 report published by University of Victoria Eco-Research Chair of Environmental Law and Policy Staff and authored by David R. Boyd, environmental lawyer and coauthor of the forthcoming book David Suzuki's Guide to Helping the Planet,[13] examined 25 environmental indicators, ranks Canada 28th out of the 29 OECD nations. The foundation and Boyd created a separate report, "Sustainability within a Generation", that addresses Canada's capacities to improve sustainability and environmental conservation. The foundation believes this can be best accomplished by improving efficiency, eliminating waste and pollution, and building sustainable cities.

The 2000s Nature Challenge, which was established in consultation with the Union of Concerned Scientists encouraged Canadians to reduce home energy use, using energy-efficient appliances and vehicles, drive personal vehicles less by using public transit, biking or walking and by living closer to work or school, buying locally grown food, eat more vegetarian meals, avoid use of pesticides. As of November 2007, over 500 000 individuals had taken David Suzuki's Nature Challenge.[citation needed] Many famous Canadians have taken David Suzuki's Nature Challenge, including Nelly Furtado, Sam Roberts, Margaret Atwood, Robert Munsch, Larry Campbell, and David Miller.

La Rose et al. v. Her Majesty the Queen

On October 25, 2019 The David Suzuki Foundation along with the Our Children's Trust and 15 youth activists including Cecilia La Rose, Sierra Robinson and Sáj Gray-Starcevich, have launched a federal lawsuit against the Canadian government claiming that the government has violated the youth's Charter of Rights and Freedoms.[14] The lawsuit asks the Canadian Government to immediately begin reducing Canada's green house gas emissions to mitigate the effects of climate change.[15]

Criticism

Genetically Modified Food

By the early 2010s, there was a scientific consensus[16][17] that at that time, genetically modified food was as safe as conventional food. WHO clarified that each new GM food introduced needed to be tested on a case-by-case basis.[18]

In 2012, the Foundation's 2012 website still allegedly had a page entitled an "Understanding GMO" page which said that at that time, "the safety of GMO foods" was "unproven" and that and a growing body of research" had connected "these foods with health concerns".[19] This page is no longer hosted on their website.

Tax emptions status and political activities

Since at least 2007, concerns have been raised about how much—if any political activity—can charities with tax exemptions undertake.[20][21] Columnist Licia Corbella, formerly of The Calgary Sun is a long-standing critic of the David Suzuki Foundation and is known for denying the existence of human-caused climate change.[22] Writing about Suzuki meeting with Calgary elementary school students, states that the speech "was essentially urging those listening not to vote Conservative. That makes his message partisan and should exempt the David Suzuki Foundation from receiving tax deductible status."[20] In 2007, Suzuki distinguished between what he says as an individual and what the foundation formally states. His personal opinions have been published, including the statement that Ottawa's plan to fight global warming was a "national embarrassment" and the federal government's energy policy was "not a strategy" but a "shame."[21] According to a 2007 article in Treehugger, in Canadian law, charities are permitted to comment on politics, "Charities have wide latitude to comment on politics, provided they don't endorse parties or candidates and can devote up to 10 per cent of their resources for non-partisan political activities".[21] Charitable organizations can spend funds "to influence law, policy, and public opinion on matters related to its charitable purposes."[21] This includes meeting with elected officials, holding "conferences, workshops, lectures and rallies", and mounting "letter-writing campaigns about issues".[21]

In 2012, when then Prime Minister Stephen Harper was engaged in "scorching attacks on environmental activists and charities."[23] the federal 2012 budget earmarked $8-million to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to audit selected charities—including seven environmental groups were soon targeted.[24] The CRA budget for these political-activity audits was subsequently increased to $13-million a year which allowed the CRA to audit anti-poverty, foreign aid and human rights groups charities, such as Amnesty International, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, and the United Church of Canada.[24] An investigation by the Canadian Press reported in Maclean's in 2014, said that the majority of the ten 2012-2013 political-activity audits were "conducted on charities in one narrow category — environmental groups, all of whom opposed" the Harper administration's energy policies."[25] which included the David Suzuki Foundation.[25] In 2015, an investigation undertaken by the journalist, Mike De Souza, published in the Narwhal, showed that a senator who was keenly interested in Krause's research on environmental groups, had "worked to advance Krause's public persona, introducing her to key figures in the Canadian political and energy landscape".[26]

See also

References

  1. ^ "About Us". DavidSuzuki.org. David Suzuki Foundation. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  2. ^ . David Suzuki Foundation. Archived from the original on 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2007-10-02.
  3. ^ Review in Biodiversity and Conservation
  4. ^ . Archived from the original on 2008-04-08. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
  5. ^ a b Gordon, Anita; Suzuki, David (1991). It's a matter of survival. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-46970-9.
  6. ^ . David Suzuki Foundation. Archived from the original on 2007-10-02. Retrieved 2007-10-02.
  7. ^ a b . Archived from the original on 2012-02-03. Retrieved 2012-01-10.
  8. ^
  9. ^ Ethical Gift Acceptance policy
  10. ^ Global warming charlatan 2007-10-08 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ a b "Profile of Vivian Krause". The Narwhal. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  12. ^ Krause, Vivian. "$13 Million Paid to the David Suzuki's Foundation from U.S. Sources". fairquestions.typepad.com.
  13. ^ David Suzuki's Guide to Helping the Planet at Amazon.com
  14. ^ Suzuki, David. "15 Canadian youth launch Canada's first federal youth climate lawsuit to protect their charter and public trust rights". The David Suzuki Foundation.
  15. ^ "Canada Says No Legal Remedy to Climate Harm in Defence to Youth Lawsuit". CELL. 2020-02-14. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  16. ^ Nicolia, Alessandro; Manzo, Alberto; Veronesi, Fabio; Rosellini, Daniele (2013). "An overview of the last 10 years of genetically engineered crop safety research" (PDF). Critical Reviews in Biotechnology. 34 (1): 77–88. doi:10.3109/07388551.2013.823595. PMID 24041244. S2CID 9836802.
  17. ^ "State of Food and Agriculture 2003–2004. Agricultural Biotechnology: Meeting the Needs of the Poor. Health and environmental impacts of transgenic crops". Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  18. ^ "FAQ Genetically Modified Food".
  19. ^ . Archived from the original on 2012-12-23.
  20. ^ a b Corbella, Licia (February 28, 2007). "This is a Charity?". The Calgary Sun. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  21. ^ a b c d e Lloyd Alter (June 6, 2007). "Revenooers Chasing David Suzuki." treehugger.com. Retrieved on: October 6, 2007.
  22. ^ "DeSmog".
  23. ^ Prystupa, Mychaylo; Garossino, Sandy (April 21, 2015). "Redacted diary reveals oil's hidden route to Harper". National Observer. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  24. ^ a b Livesey, Bruce (May 18, 2015). "Is Harper the worst prime minister in history?". National Observer. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
  25. ^ a b Beeby, Dean (August 3, 2014). "Canada Revenue Agency accused of 'political' targeting of charities". Canadian Press via Maclean's. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  26. ^ Narwhal, The (2015). "Vivian Krause". The Narwhal. Retrieved October 24, 2020.

External links

  • Official website  
  • Reports published by the David Suzuki Foundation
  • Canada vs the OECD: An Environmental Comparison

January 02, 2023
david, suzuki, foundation, science, based, profit, environmental, organization, headquartered, vancouver, british, columbia, canada, with, offices, montreal, toronto, established, federally, registered, canadian, charity, january, 1991, 2007, donors, mission, . The David Suzuki Foundation is a science based non profit environmental organization headquartered in Vancouver British Columbia Canada with offices in Montreal and Toronto It was established as a federally registered Canadian charity on January 1 1991 By 2007 it had 40 000 donors Its mission is to protect nature while balancing human needs 1 It is supported entirely by Foundation grants and donations and by 2012 90 of its donors were Canadian By 2007 the Foundation employed about seventy five staff members 2 David Suzuki FoundationTypeNonprofitIndustryEnvironmental policy and educationFounded1991HeadquartersVancouver British Columbia CanadaKey peopleSevern Cullis Suzuki executive directorDavid Suzuki co founderTara Cullis co founderWebsitedavidsuzuki wbr org Contents 1 Overview 1 1 Funding 2 Activities 2 1 Nutreco Aquaculture 2 2 La Rose et al v Her Majesty the Queen 3 Criticism 3 1 Genetically Modified Food 4 Tax emptions status and political activities 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksOverview EditIn 1989 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation aired a radio series by David Suzuki CC OBC FRSC entitled It s a Matter of Survival which was published in a co authored 1990 book by the same name 3 4 5 In the series and the book described how the first global scientific consensus that the world was entering an era of unprecedented climate change had emerged in the June 1988 international Toronto Conference on the Changing Atmosphere chaired by Stephen Lewis and with 300 scientists from around the world in attendance 5 210 The foundation was formed in response to a 1989 meeting organized by David Suzuki CC OBC FRSC and Tara Cullis with about a dozen invited guests who wanted to work towards reversing global climate change The Foundation was incorporated on September 14 1990 Suzuki stepped down from the Board of Directors of the Foundation in April 2012 his wife Tara Cullis serves as president of the Board According to the Foundation s website its goal is to investigate communicate and support work that balances human needs with the planet s capacity to sustain all life While concerned with Canada and Canadians its focus is on four regions Ontario and Northern Region Quebec Francophone B C and the Western Region The main areas of concern include the protection of the climate transformation of the economy encouraging a reconnection with nature and community building The Foundation publishes information related to their advocacy work through newsletters scientific studies research reports books information kits brochures and news releases Some of their major projects included the Trottier Energy Futures Project Healthy Oceans and Sustainable Seafood which provided a ranking of seafood options published on SeaChoice org The Saint Lawrence Our Living River the Natural Capital Evaluation Habitat Protection and Endangered Species Connecting Youth with Nature and Queen of Green Funding Edit The Foundation was established on January 1 1991 as a federally registered Canadian charity and is supported entirely by Foundation grants and donations It does not accept any government funding except from the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada 6 It is also not a funding body for other organizations All financial and donor information is publicly available on their official website and through the publication of their annual reports In their 2006 report they said that about 75 of their 40 000 supporters donated less than 500 7 In the FY 2012 they reported that 59 of their funding came from individual donors Foundations and businesses provided another 25 and 13 respectively and that more than 95 of the donors were Canadian According to their 2005 2006 annual report there were 40 000 donors to the Suzuki Foundation including 52 corporations Bell Canada Toyota IBM McGraw Hill Ryerson Scotia Capital Warner Bros Canon and the Bank of Montreal 7 8 After the Foundation implemented its Ethical Gift Acceptance Policy 9 it no longer accepted donations from fossil fuel industry corporate donors as it had in the past Prior to the Ethical Gift Acceptance Policy the Foundation had received funding from the EnCana Corporation a world leader in natural gas production and oil sands development and ATCO Gas Alberta s principal distributor of natural gas and OPG which is one of the largest suppliers of electricity in the world operating five fossil fuel burning generation plants and three nuclear plants 10 Activities EditNutreco Aquaculture Edit The David Suzuki Foundation undertook a Farmed and Dangerous campaign about environmental concerns related to the farmed fish industry with a focus on Nutreco Aquaculture the largest farmed salmon producer in the world 11 Vivian Krause who was hired by Nutreco Aquaculture in 2002 as their North American corporate development manager actively pursued a public relations campaign to counter criticisms levelled against Nutreco that had been raised by The David Suzuki Foundation and other environmentalists 11 Krause accessed publicly available online information related to tax revenue to create spreadsheets on names of donors who funded environmental organizations in Canada and to publish her findings on her Fair Questions blog This included the information that the David Suzuki Foundation had received 44 million from tax receipted donations between 2000 and 2010 12 In February 2004 Suzuki met with the Prime Minister of Canada Paul Martin to present the Foundation s report on how sustainability could be achieved within a generation Canada vs the OECD An Environmental Comparison a 2001 report published by University of Victoria Eco Research Chair of Environmental Law and Policy Staff and authored by David R Boyd environmental lawyer and coauthor of the forthcoming book David Suzuki s Guide to Helping the Planet 13 examined 25 environmental indicators ranks Canada 28th out of the 29 OECD nations The foundation and Boyd created a separate report Sustainability within a Generation that addresses Canada s capacities to improve sustainability and environmental conservation The foundation believes this can be best accomplished by improving efficiency eliminating waste and pollution and building sustainable cities The 2000s Nature Challenge which was established in consultation with the Union of Concerned Scientists encouraged Canadians to reduce home energy use using energy efficient appliances and vehicles drive personal vehicles less by using public transit biking or walking and by living closer to work or school buying locally grown food eat more vegetarian meals avoid use of pesticides As of November 2007 update over 500 000 individuals had taken David Suzuki s Nature Challenge citation needed Many famous Canadians have taken David Suzuki s Nature Challenge including Nelly Furtado Sam Roberts Margaret Atwood Robert Munsch Larry Campbell and David Miller La Rose et al v Her Majesty the Queen Edit On October 25 2019 The David Suzuki Foundation along with the Our Children s Trust and 15 youth activists including Cecilia La Rose Sierra Robinson and Saj Gray Starcevich have launched a federal lawsuit against the Canadian government claiming that the government has violated the youth s Charter of Rights and Freedoms 14 The lawsuit asks the Canadian Government to immediately begin reducing Canada s green house gas emissions to mitigate the effects of climate change 15 Criticism EditGenetically Modified Food Edit By the early 2010s there was a scientific consensus 16 17 that at that time genetically modified food was as safe as conventional food WHO clarified that each new GM food introduced needed to be tested on a case by case basis 18 In 2012 the Foundation s 2012 website still allegedly had a page entitled an Understanding GMO page which said that at that time the safety of GMO foods was unproven and that and a growing body of research had connected these foods with health concerns 19 This page is no longer hosted on their website Tax emptions status and political activities EditSince at least 2007 concerns have been raised about how much if any political activity can charities with tax exemptions undertake 20 21 Columnist Licia Corbella formerly of The Calgary Sun is a long standing critic of the David Suzuki Foundation and is known for denying the existence of human caused climate change 22 Writing about Suzuki meeting with Calgary elementary school students states that the speech was essentially urging those listening not to vote Conservative That makes his message partisan and should exempt the David Suzuki Foundation from receiving tax deductible status 20 In 2007 Suzuki distinguished between what he says as an individual and what the foundation formally states His personal opinions have been published including the statement that Ottawa s plan to fight global warming was a national embarrassment and the federal government s energy policy was not a strategy but a shame 21 According to a 2007 article in Treehugger in Canadian law charities are permitted to comment on politics Charities have wide latitude to comment on politics provided they don t endorse parties or candidates and can devote up to 10 per cent of their resources for non partisan political activities 21 Charitable organizations can spend funds to influence law policy and public opinion on matters related to its charitable purposes 21 This includes meeting with elected officials holding conferences workshops lectures and rallies and mounting letter writing campaigns about issues 21 In 2012 when then Prime Minister Stephen Harper was engaged in scorching attacks on environmental activists and charities 23 the federal 2012 budget earmarked 8 million to the Canada Revenue Agency CRA to audit selected charities including seven environmental groups were soon targeted 24 The CRA budget for these political activity audits was subsequently increased to 13 million a year which allowed the CRA to audit anti poverty foreign aid and human rights groups charities such as Amnesty International the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and the United Church of Canada 24 An investigation by the Canadian Press reported in Maclean s in 2014 said that the majority of the ten 2012 2013 political activity audits were conducted on charities in one narrow category environmental groups all of whom opposed the Harper administration s energy policies 25 which included the David Suzuki Foundation 25 In 2015 an investigation undertaken by the journalist Mike De Souza published in the Narwhal showed that a senator who was keenly interested in Krause s research on environmental groups had worked to advance Krause s public persona introducing her to key figures in the Canadian political and energy landscape 26 See also EditEnvironmental Dispute Resolution Fund List of foundations in Canada West Coast Environmental LawReferences Edit About Us DavidSuzuki org David Suzuki Foundation Retrieved February 12 2012 Foundation Team David Suzuki Foundation Archived from the original on 2007 10 13 Retrieved 2007 10 02 Review in Biodiversity and Conservation It s a Matter of Survival Archived from the original on 2008 04 08 Retrieved 2008 12 10 a b Gordon Anita Suzuki David 1991 It s a matter of survival Cambridge Mass Harvard University Press ISBN 978 0 674 46970 9 Frequently Asked Questions David Suzuki Foundation Archived from the original on 2007 10 02 Retrieved 2007 10 02 a b David Suzuki Foundation Annual Report 05 06 Archived from the original on 2012 02 03 Retrieved 2012 01 10 Global Warming Charlatan Ethical Gift Acceptance policy Global warming charlatan Archived 2007 10 08 at the Wayback Machine a b Profile of Vivian Krause The Narwhal Retrieved November 16 2020 Krause Vivian 13 Million Paid to the David Suzuki s Foundation from U S Sources fairquestions typepad com David Suzuki s Guide to Helping the Planet at Amazon com Suzuki David 15 Canadian youth launch Canada s first federal youth climate lawsuit to protect their charter and public trust rights The David Suzuki Foundation Canada Says No Legal Remedy to Climate Harm in Defence to Youth Lawsuit CELL 2020 02 14 Retrieved 2020 05 08 Nicolia Alessandro Manzo Alberto Veronesi Fabio Rosellini Daniele 2013 An overview of the last 10 years of genetically engineered crop safety research PDF Critical Reviews in Biotechnology 34 1 77 88 doi 10 3109 07388551 2013 823595 PMID 24041244 S2CID 9836802 State of Food and Agriculture 2003 2004 Agricultural Biotechnology Meeting the Needs of the Poor Health and environmental impacts of transgenic crops Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Retrieved August 30 2019 FAQ Genetically Modified Food Understanding GMO Archived from the original on 2012 12 23 a b Corbella Licia February 28 2007 This is a Charity The Calgary Sun Retrieved November 16 2020 a b c d e Lloyd Alter June 6 2007 Revenooers Chasing David Suzuki treehugger com Retrieved on October 6 2007 DeSmog Prystupa Mychaylo Garossino Sandy April 21 2015 Redacted diary reveals oil s hidden route to Harper National Observer Retrieved October 24 2020 a b Livesey Bruce May 18 2015 Is Harper the worst prime minister in history National Observer Retrieved 2020 11 16 a b Beeby Dean August 3 2014 Canada Revenue Agency accused of political targeting of charities Canadian Press via Maclean s Retrieved November 16 2020 Narwhal The 2015 Vivian Krause The Narwhal Retrieved October 24 2020 External links EditOfficial website Sustainability within a Generation report Reports published by the David Suzuki Foundation Canada vs the OECD An Environmental Comparison Video segment from Connected Life Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title David Suzuki Foundation amp oldid 1129804186, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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