Vos souvenirs
Veuillez prendre un moment pour lire les commentaires exprimés par les ami(e)s et collègues de Martha. Si vous désirez ajouter quelques mots, svp envoyer un courriel à info@cen-rce.org. Merci.
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I met Martha when I was working at the NAFTA environmental commission, the CEC. Acting on behalf of Friends of the Oldman River, she was one of the first submitters to the citizen complaints process set up by Canada, the U.S. and Mexico in 1994 to allow residents of North America to ask the CEC to investigate problems in environmental law enforcement. Her complaint was that DFO was using letters of advice to avoid triggering environmental assessments under CEAA. Martha was one tough customer. Once the CEC factual record was made public, she released a statement to the media saying, basically, "the report is packed full of facts, but nowhere does it say that Canada is in trouble for not enforcing the law!" I think Martha was under the impression that her complaint had gotten nowhere. In all likelihood, she did not know or admit that she made a permanent mark on our country.
Martha Kostuch enforced the citizen's right to be heard, the government's duty to govern, the requirement to weigh environmental impacts of decisions, the right to know, the duty to provide public access to government-held information, and the interests of future generations. She is responsible for bolstering the ability of the federal government to stand up and enforce its laws in Canada's inland provinces. Martha carried on working when others would have abandoned ship long ago, their spirits broken. Canadians need to know what she contributed to our country, and that her legacy is in peril if others don't pick up the torch and run with it.
Katia Opalka
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I remember many great and historic times with Martha over the past couple of decades. She was always a joy to be with and helpful, whether we were meeting with Ralph Klein about the Oldman River Dam, negotiating a new environment policy with the CEO of Trans-Alta, or helping our friends in Cameroon prepare meals in the kitchen. Martha was equally at ease negotiating and arguing the issues with our industry "foes" or with fellow environmentalists. Whenever I would get "irrationally exuberant" (like feeling the need to vent my anger directly at an Alberta Environment minister) and need calming down, Martha was the one who could do it. I think some of the victories that were her favorites and that she savored most at the end were:
- setting a precedent for all future environmental assessments by taking our Oldman case all the way in the Supreme Court of Canada (and winning!)
- staging the largest gathering (some 12,000 attended) of environmentally concerned Albertans in 1989 at the Oldman Concert on the banks of the Oldman River
- stopping harmful flaring and venting from gas wells in Alberta, and
- eliminating gravel removal in Alberta rivers.
But this is just a small sampling of her contributions. Her legacy spans many disciplines: environmental assessment, air quality, animal health, water quality, water allocation, land use planning, greenhouse gases, wildlife, coalition building, mentoring, collaborative partnerships, legal challenges, environmental petitions and international projects to name a few. Most recently, she was encouraged by the relationship that ENGOs were building with Fisheries and Oceans Canada's Habitat group.
Steady as a rock right to the end, she was handing out work to do and getting me organized just days before her death. Even in her "declining" year she was doing the volunteer work of four or five of even the most dedicated of us. An inspiration to me and many others, Martha you will be sorely missed. No time for crying in my beer though, it's time to roll up my sleeves and get back to work (but I will also raise a glass in your memory . . . )
Cliff Wallis
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Martha has inspired many, and I believe she’ll keep on inspiring. She didn’t waste any time and always stayed focused on what was important. This made her an excellent chairperson, even when busy with her crochet hook. Not only did Martha teach by example, she also made a point of arranging more formal transfer of knowledge so that her accumulated expertise about Environmental Assessment could “pollinate” the environmental movement and increase the effectiveness of other activists. I was sad to hear of Martha’s passing, but she was clearly a woman who understood mortality. I take comfort in the fact that Martha cared so much about future generations and that the legacy of her wisdom and commitment lives on.
Lobie Daughton
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I remember helping to build her awesome house and I know that house will stand for a very long time. I learned much from Martha; one main point was not to take negotiations personally. It's sometimes hard to do but very important; it helps a person keep a cheerful countenance. Even when negativity is actually personal, it is important not to acknowledge this, as the personal element reflects poorly on whoever uses it. The future looks brighter thanks to Martha's work and instruction and we'll all have a lighter load, carrying on with the memory of her helping to shoulder some of it. Martha is now part of each of us...
Jule Asterisk
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I didn't know Martha well but sat on a committee with her for a while. She was professional, assertive, knowledgeable, kind, and certainly knew how to chair a meeting! Thinking back on it now, she was definitely an important female mentor to me, and probably to many others. I wish I would have had more time with her.
Kate Maddigan
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During a meeting yesterday I received Martha's letter asking folks to take up a task for our environment that we hadn't planned to do and to do this in her memory.
In reading her letter from my blackberry to the group of government directors who had come together to build a framework for managing the cumulative effects of oilsands activity on water resources - there was a pause, and as I looked up to the people in the room, people were quiet, reflecting.
Martha's challenge resonated.
If there is one thing that I need to take away from my experience of Martha in my life - it is the necessity to be inclusive, build collaborative partnerships with government, ENGOs, communities, and industry.
I hope to rise to Martha's challenge and work to ensure that we have a suite of environmental policies that honour her legacy - by fostering partnerships, identifying opportunities and by helping to define the public interest.
With humble respect,
Lisa M. Fox
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My goodness. This comes as a shock as I had not expected Martha's passing to be this close at hand even though I know she had withdrawn from her activities. Martha was such a great colleague and I know she had planned to give all her efforts to her environmental work after her retirement. She would have enjoyed that so much. We will certainly have to increase our efforts to fill the vast space left by her absence!
I am sure we will find many ways and moments to remember and celebrate Martha. At this point I am simply sending fond thoughts and blessings for a life well lived via the breezes that blow through the trees, embracing all of nature.
Sheila Cole
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I heard the news of her death on CBC radio, the World at Six, last evening while driving back home from Edmonton - a fitting place and time to hear the announcement. She was a tireless environmental advocate, and a huge thorn in the side of anyone, no matter how highly placed, who tried to avoid the environmental consequences of their decisions, especially in Alberta. When you consider the formidable conservative political dynasty and wealth and power of the oil & gas industry in Alberta, you can't help but marvel at Martha's audacity in challenging them all to be more environmentally responsible. She would not, could not, be intimidated. Her vision was clear and her dedication undeniable. She was truly one of a kind, and surely will be missed.
Steve Rison
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When I think about Martha, I am inspired to live a life with as great a purpose and as generous a spirit as hers. I feel privileged to have known her and am sure that she will live on for a very long time through all the people she touched and the many victories she won to preserve our common earth.
Sarah Heiberg
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Martha will be missed by all who had the privilege to know her, however briefly at the RCEN meetings. Her love of family and friends was something special. I know that she could and would help others with an idea or wording of an issue. As well, she could tell stories of the many environment movement battles with corporations or government. To listen to her talk about environmental history as one who lived it was very special for many people.
Bob Sexsmith
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No one can forget seeing Martha knitting away at a meeting. She must have given away all kinds of knitted things made with her own hands. Martha must have really enjoyed making knitted items.
Joseph Prymak
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I can't remember when I first met Martha - many years ago, but she was always an inspiration to me in her dedication, knowledge and activism. She was also a fellow knitter - several of us semi-seriously considered forming a "Knitting Caucus" at the AGM held in PEI way back in 1993!
Her remark in her "goodbye" to friends, kindly circulated by Lobie, that she always enjoyed a good argument, put me in mind of a breakfast I shared with Martha and Gary Schneider, at yet another CEN AGM. The two of them got to discussing aspects of the proposed gun control laws, and yes, they were on opposite sides. Gary, resolutely in favour, and Martha, not so much in favour - based on her experiences as a rural veterinarian. The details of the discussion are fuzzy in my mind at this remove, but what I do remember is what a privelege it was to sit with these two gentle, intelligent, well-informed Canadians from different ends of the country, having an entirely civilized, respectful and well-reasoned debate about an important current issue, and finally, agreeing to disagree! You have to love them both.
Goodbye Martha - you will be greatly missed.
Anne Lindsey
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Martha was an outstanding person as well as one of the most effective eco-advocates we have ever had.
She will not be replaceable but her legacy will continue and we will all help build from it.
Reading her last letter makes me admire her even more.
She seemed to have no fear of what was coming and little understanding of how much she actually achieved.
Her most endearing quality was her lack of pomposity or self-importance; she was always just one of us.
She was always eager to give a hug whenever we got together in one of those endless meetings.
Which brings to mind another factor of admiration, she seemed to thrive at those meetings.
Perhaps it is because I am so poor at them that I have that response?
You can go to the Greens website and find a piece I put in yesterday about her.
I have had a Vision Statement from her for some time that I posted; it has very, very solid, pragmatic green policy.
I am hoping we Greens can adopt it as a guiding principle.
David J. Parker
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