Firstly I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart foryour thoughtful decision tonot take Canada into this illegitimate, immoral and irrational war on Iraq. I was one of the thousands of Canadians who wrote to you earlier in this regard and more recently left a lengthy phone message with the iraq information desk for you.

I am presently in São Paulo as the following press release indicates where I am taking part in a Social Water Forum which is to the World Water Forum in Kyoto as the World Social Forum is to the World Economic Forum. As you will see Peace is very much on everybody's mind, and more and more globally aware citizen actors are seeing the link between corporate globalization's failure, massive privatization including of water, and with militarism and war.

I hope you will have time to scan this release to see how hard we are working here to stop the war through ourprayers, protest march and peace vigil.

I have a very personal concern as well - our daughter and son-in-law are in Bahrain and will not be easily able to leave in the next little while since she is expecting a baby any day now. I have always felt the pain of war and the devastation it visits on peoples and the environment and like millions of people around our planet feel the massive insecurity that our dominant political economic system represents. We live at a timeinhistory which seems to have erased all our efforts over the past half century and more toend the scourge of warand instead are entering a 21st century based onfear, agression and violence. I would personally like to see that old system crumble and to work with the millions of committed and compassionate peoples of the planet, people of conscience and conscious awareness to rebuild another world from the bottom up and with a renewed United Nations.

Since my formative political days when former Prime Minister Trudeau offered our country hope and creative approaches I have always been proud to be a Canadian and proud to travel the world as a Canadian.Over the past few years there have been many times when that pride has faltered. However, today I assure you that you have restored my faith in Canadawithyour wise and thoughtful decision.

Thank you for seeing the links between injustice in the world, war and global insecurity.

Last night when I toldmy Brasilian friends and colleaguesat the Forum about the decision of Canada's Prime Minister,they all cheered and later in the evening toasted you.

With much appreciation and with never ending hope for a just and peacefulworld.
janet m eaton, PhD

The Social Water Forum began Sunday March 16th on a theme of Water and Peace. In the Opening Session Leonardo Morelli, Forum organizer and Co-ordinator ofMovement Grito das Aguas (Cry of the Waters) stressed the importance of establishing a world order based on peace, not war,noting that if today's wars are about oil - the wars of the future will be about water.In the opening session, Maria Helena Murta, a lawyer and Brazilian NGO leader for Gender and Water, had the entire audience on its feet with arms raised in one voice chanting "Water for Peace". Janet M Eaton, forum delegate from Canada stressed the importance of learning from Brazilian indigenous movements, whosedeep ecological and cultural perspectiveleads to harmony between people and nature. She saidwe must resist a global corporate model which treats water as a commodity in a devastatingcompetitive system which sanctions both economic and military wars on people and the environment.

On March 15th, Social Water Forum organisers, journalists and international delegates joined tens of thousands of citizens in São Paulo to march against War on Iraq.

International delegate Janet M Eaton brought a message of solidarity from the Canadian Peace Movement which was read at the Peace Rally, a celebration that took place at Ibirapuera Park, after the march.

Sunday evening forum organizers, delegates and participants took part in an empowering vigil inspired by talks from Brazilian feminist Amyra El Khalili, of the Brazilian Environment Commodities Exchange and Maria Helena Murta who painted the connections between globalization, water privatization, militarism and war while calling for compassion, feminine consciousness, and peace in the world. Candles were lit and participants maintained silence and prayed for the people of Iraq and for peace in the Middle East. The vigil concluded when the candles and other symbols of peace were placed in the centre of the circle while all stood in silence to hold the treasured moment of peace in their hearts.