This marathon session of oral presentations on the Impacts of the Uranium Cycle took place on Tuesdya 22 April 2008, from 1 pm to after 9 pm. Donna Dillman and other helped organize a very successful day with about 40 speakers discussing various aspects of this important and dangerous component of our environmant. Most presentations lasted 10 minutes, and some were followed by questions from a 3-person panel.

The Ottawa South GPC nominated candidate, Qais Ghanem, gave a 15 minute powerpoint slide presentation on the health hazards of exposure to depleted uranium (DU) with some graphic examples of congenital malformations in babies.

He then recited a short poem entitled "Depleted Uranium":

They sold us uranium and called it depleted
We woke up one morning, only to be greeted
By chemicals in rivers, and toxins secreted 

Polar bears are dying, the arctic is heated
Mother earth is scorched, the rich have competed
To cut down the forest and have the job completed 
The people in Baghdad, are thoroughly defeated
Their children have cancers that cannot be treated
Their genes irradiated, and some are deleted 

They told us some stats, but hid some and cheated
They promised Kyoto, then promptly retreated
The rich corporations are utterly conceited
They own all the media, their facts get created
Lies and fabrications are simply repeated 
The men we elected, in comfort are seated
For those who protest, revenge is meted 
But we reject Uranium, even if depleted
And lackeys in parliament will soon be unseated!