EnviroNewsandIssues Newsletter - Edition 10

May 13, 2005

Green Party gearing up for election - Leduc Representative

The buzz coming from Ottawa is that the government will be defeated in a motion of no confidence sometime in the next month. And if an election is called before the end of June, the Green Party of Canada will be ready.

The Greens are coming off their first full-slate election -- nominating candidates in all of Canada’s 307 ridings in the June 2004 election.

“Everybody’s scrambling. I don’t think anybody was looking forward to a snap election,” said Tom Lampman, who ran as a Green candidate in the riding of Wetaskiwin in the last election.
Lampman said he is confident in the chances the Green Party has going into another election. He pointed to a number of polls that show the Greens picking up about 10 per cent of voter support.

That’s up from their 2004 results, which was just over six per cent countrywide.We can hurt back - Bismark Tribune

There should be a way to punish Canada and the province of Winnipeg for the nasty obstructionism they continue to display toward North Dakota water projects.Devils Lake and Stump Lake have resumed submerging roads, forcing expensive new construction on local, state and federal taxpayers and miles of indirection on school buses, mail carriers and emergency responders.Help is on the way in the form of a state outlet for Devils Lake. But, with the outlet nearly complete and at least $20 million in state money already spent on it, our northern neighbors have resumed trying to block it, lobbying the Bush administration and the North Dakota Supreme Court to force a hearing by the International Joint Commission.

The commission is a U.S.-Canadian board that decides such disputes. But Winnipeg and Canada declined to submit their weak case to the IJC in 2002, before the state broke ground on the outlet. For them to seek to do so now is nothing but bad-hearted mischief that we are entitled to resent.

Alberta wants in on Ottawa gravy train - National Post

The Alberta government will ask the Martin Liberals for a $540-million payout, even as Saskatchewan's Premier admitted he may not get the cash he wants in the wake of Ontario's $5.75-billion deal with Ottawa.

"The Prime Minister has been in a rush to do these one-off agreements with provinces and dealing with issues that have been festering for some time with money," Ed Stelmach, Alberta's
Intergovernmental Affairs Minister, said yesterday. "We're going to ask them to treat us equitably and I would hope that Ottawa would treat us with respect and promise Albertans that they will treat them and fairly."

Oakville Tories pick Young to beat Brown - Oakville Beaver

Former Halton Centre MPP Terence Young won the Conservative Party of Canada nomination for the Oakville riding on Wednesday night.

Young beat out Andrew Pask for the right to run under the Conservative banner in the next federal election, which could be called as early as May 19.

Running and winning are two very different things, though, and Young knows he has a long and hard fight ahead of him if he wants to topple Liberal MP Bonnie Brown, who is going for her fifth consecutive election win.

Brown was acclaimed as the Liberal candidate in Oakville last week. The NDP nomination meeting will be held on May 19, and the Green Party is expecting to have an Oakville candidate within the next week.

Imagining a better future - Powell River Peak

Regardless of which major party forms the next BC government, people in Powell River will need a strong voice that will bring up local issues and speak with knowledge, passion and integrity in the legislature. If there are only the two old parties in the legislature, both bitterly attacking each other, any vision of a better future for BC will be lost in partisan bickering.If you elect Green Party leader Adriane Carr to the legislature, it can be different. Just as she listened, responded intelligently, and strongly yet respectfully held the other leaders' feet to the fire in the televised leader's debate, she would do the same in the legislature. And best of all, she has a clear vision for the future of BC. "Imagine our children having a brighter future, more job and education opportunities and a better quality of life than ever before. Imagine our province with a thriving sustainable economy in every region. Imagine healthier people and more livable towns. Imagine a healthy environment that guarantees you and your family clean water, clean air and safe food. Imagine more tolerance and less divisiveness in our communities. Imagine every British Columbian being able to live a life of dignity. Imagine all this, and a balanced government budget, too.

Green Party candidate mounts a late bid for Columbia River-Revelstoke - The Golden Star

CONSTITUENTS WITHIN THE Columbia River-Revelstoke riding will now have a Green Party candidate on their ballot when they head to the polls next Tuesday. Andy Shadrack - a resident of Kaslo who ran for the party in the 1996 provincial and 1997 and 2000 federal elections - last week announced his candidacy for the May 17 election. "I wanted to make sure that every British Columbian had the right to vote for the Green Party," says Shadrack, in response to suggestions he might have filed his papers a tad on the late side considering the election is now a week away.

More Darfur help needed to get key vote in Canada - Reuters via Yahoo! News

OTTAWA (Reuters) - A pivotal independent legislator said on Thursday he would vote against Prime Minister Paul Martin's minority government in a confidence motion unless Ottawa significantly improves aid to Sudan's troubled Darfur region.

"If he doesn't do significantly better in the next week then he can assume that my vote's going to be against him," Member of Parliament David Kilgour told Reuters.

Martin announced 100 military experts as part of a C$170 million ($136 million) package for Darfur on Thursday, but Kilgour said this was mere tokenism for the size of problem. Parliament is so evenly divided that Kilgour's vote could be crucial in a confidence motion expected next Thursday.

May 12, 2005

The makings of an electoral-reform revolution - Winnipeg Free Press

Roger Gibbins

THE upcoming B.C. election is dramatically different from most provincial votes. While most are strictly local events, the May 17 contest could have a significant and perhaps even revolutionary impact across the land.

The reason for this national importance does not stem from the partisan outcome of the election.

Although the choice between the Liberals and New Democrats is not devoid of national interest, it is the referendum on electoral reform that makes the vote so important east of the Rockies. There is no question that the outcome of the referendum will have a great impact on the movement for electoral reform in other provinces, and nationally.

Voters in British Columbia are being asked to endorse either the first-past-the-post status quo or a new electoral system virtually without precedent in Canada. In short, they are being asked if they want to redesign the basic connective tissue between citizens and governments.

The Tories should be wary of the election they frantically seek - Vancouver Province

We wish it weren't so. But the federal Liberals appear to have lost the ability to govern this country. And it's time this was addressed decisively, however annoying it might be for election-weary B.C. voters.

That's why Prime Minister Paul Martin was right to announce yesterday that his minority Liberal government would bring the issue to a head next Thursday -- at least if the Opposition lets him.

A party that cannot control the House of Commons (as shown by its 153-150 defeat in Tuesday's vote) cannot govern the country.

So what's it all about? - The Sunday Times

A new film explaining spirituality through quantum physics has caught the attention of the stars, but fashionable doesn’t mean right, says Bryan Appleyard.

Ever since the Beatles adopted, dumped and finally, in their song Sexy Sadie, abused the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, celebrity spirituality has been a rocky and exotic road. The basic setup is, of course, familiar: famous person with lots of money is stricken by doubt and uncertainty.

What, he or she wonders, is it all about? Along comes an Indian guru, for the Fab Four, kabbalah, for Madonna, or Scientology, for Tom Cruise, and all is revealed.

Which brings me to What the Bleep Do We Know?, an indie American documentary that opened in one cinema in Washington State a year ago, and has become spirituality’s latest fashion moment. It was in the top 25 of the US film charts for 14 weeks. It forms part of a new spiritual wave in Hollywood. A Spiritual Cinema Circle has been formed by, among others, Bruce Joel Rubin, writer of Ghost and Deep Impact, Stephen Simon, director of Indigo, who is now filming The Celestine Prophecy, and Mark Vicente, co-director of What the Bleep?

Métis Nation leadership asks federal parties where they stand on Métis issues

OTTAWA, May 12 - Today, on behalf of the Métis Nation, Métis National Council President, Clément Chartier, wrote to the leadership of allthe federal parties requesting their party's policy positions on Métis issues.

"As you are well aware, it appears that a federal election is imminent.

The Métis National Council is in the process of undertaking an analysis of the federal parties' policy platforms vis-à-vis Métis with a view to fully informing our citizens in the upcoming election" wrote President Chartier. Further, President Chartier posed a series of specific questions with respect to Métis rights, self-government and improving the quality of life of Métis Nation citizens. Copies of these letters are available at http://www.metisnation.ca/ .

"In this upcoming election, I am encouraging all Métis citizens to exercise one of the rights our people hold dear; namely, the right to vote.Our people deserve to know where these federal parties stand on Métis issues in order for them to make an informed decision, whenever the election is held," said President Chartier.

There are approximately 250,000 potential Métis Nation voters from Ontario west in the next federal election. In specific ridings from Ontario to British Columbia, these Métis voters could have significant impacts on election result. In over 50 ridings, the Aboriginal vote can be a deciding factor in an election. For example, in forty-five ridings, the Aboriginal voting age populations exceed 5% of the total electorate. Of these forty-five, eight ridings have voting age populations of 10,000 or more and an additional twenty-one have Aboriginal voting populations of 5,000 or more.

The Métis National Council represents the Métis Nation within Canada at the national and international levels.

**>URGENT<** OTTAWA - The Liberal government's chances of surviving a crucial budget vote next Thursday improved with news that a cancer-stricken Conservative MP will likely miss it.

Darrel Stinson of British Columbia must have surgery next week just before a budget vote that could bring down the minority government.

A spokeswoman for Conservative Leader Stephen Harper says Stinson won't likely be well enough to be in Parliament. Carolyn Stewart Olsen says that could give the Liberals enough support to win the vote and hold off an election.

It all depends on how two undecided Independent MPs vote.

Stinson and Conservative MP Dave Chatters, who is also sick with cancer, made it to a vote this week that called on the Liberals to resign.


May 11, 2005

Spain tries Greenpeace five - The Guardian

Giles Tremlett in MadridWednesday May 11, 2005The Guardian Five Greenpeace activists went on trial in the southern Spanish city of Cádiz yesterday on charges related to a protest against the use of a Spanish port by US navy vessels heading for the Iraq war.
Two Spaniards, an American, a New Zealander and an Argentinian face prison sentences of between nine months and three years in connection with the Rainbow Warrior's "symbolic blockade" of the joint US-Spanish naval base at Rota. All the accused yesterday denied the charges, which included resisting arrest, disobedience and, in one case, causing injury to the civil guard who boarded the vessel in March 2003.

Maw’s the man as Green Party gets set - Cochrane Times

Cochrane Times — Wild Rose has been a hive of activity as a likely federal election date draws nearer, with the Green Party the latest to name a candidate for the sprawling riding.
Cochrane resident Sean Maw, 39, assumed the mantle for the fledgling political party after a nomination meeting last Thursday at the Cochrane Golf Club.

“I think we’ve got a real shot,” said Maw, an independent sports science and technology consultant who served three years as the director of engineering research at the University of

Calgary’s Olympic Oval.Time to fix long-term care problems - Edmonton Journal<--- A note from the richest province in Canada Albertans who cheer the province's debt-free status and smaller government might see the Alberta Advantage in a different light this week, after the release of a damning report from the auditor general on long-term care for the elderly in this province. Auditor General Fred Dunn found more than 30 per cent of the long-term care homes he investigated didn't fully meet the basic standards of care, which themselves are in desperate need of updating. Nor does the government have enough information to assess the quality and cost-effectiveness of the seniors services it is providing, he found. "On the basis of what he has written, there isn't much that's good in some of these places," admitted Health Minister Iris Evans after reviewing the report. Our elderly deserve better - Calgary Herald <--- A note from the richest province in Canada Need to act on seniors' homes underscored by Dunn's findings A report on eldercare in the Herald 2 1/2 years ago found that many Alberta seniors were stacked into crowded long-term care facilities where staff were providing care at the minimum standards or worse. Despite reams of legislation, standards were found to be either too low or absent altogether, inspections for compliance erratic and enforcement non-existent. Not all boats will rise if China floats - Toronto Star

For just 20 minutes on Asia's financial markets 12 days ago, the Chinese currency floated up against the U.S. dollar, outside its very tight, state-set trading range. The brief break from the renminbi's firm peg to the dollar — uncertainty lingers if it was just a technical lapse or a quiet test by Beijing — gave a tantalizing glimmer of the world's financial future. And it generated even more intense speculation that China may soon take the long-awaited step of appreciating its currency against the dollar by, at least initially, 3 to 5 per cent or even more.

Such a rise is very needed and long overdue.

China's currency is believed to be as much as 30 to 40 per cent undervalued against the dollar. But while China is under growing international pressure — including protectionist threats from the U.S. Congress — to revalue the renminbi, it may not turn out to be as much of a panacea as has been hoped on this side of the Pacific.

Latest international survey shows Canadians need to maintain and improve their literacy and learning skills

OTTAWA, May 11 - Today's release of the Learning a Living:First Results of the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey highlights the continued need for Canadian adults to upgrade and maintain their literacy and other essential skills, said the Honourable Claudette Bradshaw, Minister of State (Human Resources Development).

The report released by Statistics Canada ( www.statcan.ca ) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), shows that there was little change in the average literacy scores of working-age Canadians since the 1994 International Adult Literacy Survey. In both surveys,most Canadians rated "Level 3" or higher in prose and document literacy, with Level 1 being the lowest level, and Level 5 being the highest. Level 3 is considered to be sufficient for today's knowledge-based society and economy.

Most Canadians rated slightly under Level 3 in numeracy and problem solving.

Canada, the United States, Switzerland, Norway, Italy, Bermuda and the Mexican State of Nuevo Leon participated in this first round of the survey.Canada ranks approximately in the middle on all literacy measures.

"This report demonstrates that Canadians can not afford to be complacent about literacy and other essential skills. To find meaningful, long-term solutions requires the collaboration of all learning partners in the private, public and non-profit sectors," said Minister Bradshaw. "The reality is improved literacy skills allow Canadians to realize their potential, improve their standard of living and actively take part in society."

There were encouraging findings in the 2003 Survey. For example: younger Canadians tend to score high in document literacy and have larger proportion sat skill levels 4 and 5; the average score of the lowest 5% of adults increased by 31 points in prose literacy and 51 points in document literacy since 1994; and around half of Canadian adults participated in organized (formal) education and training in 2003.

The Government of Canada has played a critical role in building the capacity to respond to literacy needs of Canadians across the country. For example, the National Literacy Secretariat works to promote literacy as an essential component of a learning society and to make Canada's social, economic and political life more accessible to people with weak literacy skills. Activities are undertaken in partnership with the provinces,territories, non-governmental organizations and business and labour organizations.

As a result of the support and collaboration provided by the program, nearly every province and territory now has a literacy strategy. In 2004-2005,the National Literacy Secretariat approved 233 new literacy projects. A list of new projects funded to date in 2005 and a backgrounder on the Government of Canada's role in literary action is attached.

Budget 2005 includes an additional $30 million over three years to enhance the National Literacy Secretariat's capacity to further develop partnerships, foster awareness and involvement in literacy issues, and promote learning in the workplace. The Government of Canada will continue working in collaboration with provinces, territories, and stakeholders on the development of a literacy and essential skills development strategy.

May 10, 2005

Comment - A sudden concern for Darfur's plight - Victoria Times/Colonist

Politics might be behind the decision to send troops to Sudan, but it is the right thing to do
When David Kilgour announced last month that after 15 years as a Liberal MP he was leaving the party's caucus, he said Canada's failure to play a leadership role in halting the "ethnic cleansing" in Sudan was "the straw that broke my Liberal camel's back."

A former junior minister for Africa, Kilgour has been demanding Canada do something to halt the systematic raping and killing by marauding Muslims of black Sudanese in the Darfur region, where more than 300,000 have died.

Until last week, it didn't look as if the MP's lobbying was having any effect. But apparently he was assured by Prime Minister Paul Martin himself that Canada will send cash and military personnel to that country to support African Union peacemakers.

Nursing schools cutting enrolment, report says - Globe and Mail

Ottawa -- A federal report says nursing schools are being forced to cut enrolment despite a shortage of nurses in all health-care sectors.

Leadership lacking over water issues -Star Phoenix

OTTAWA -- Canada has become a nation where provinces and industries squabble over urgent water issues -- chiefly pollution and water shortages -- in an atmosphere of distrust with no national leadership, an internal Environment Canada assessment says.

The blunt briefing note to Environment Minister Stephane Dion says Canada is one of the world's most water-rich countries, and our image in foreign affairs rests heavily on our moral responsibility to protect water.

Pay now, or pay later - Toronto Star

Does it not make sense to provide the poor with higher incomes so they can afford healthier food and reduce the risk of developing serious illness, asks Kathy HardillThe men, women and children relying on social assistance in Ontario do not receive enough money to be healthy. One of the primary reasons is something called "food insecurity," colloquially known as "going hungry." You don't have to take my word for it. Reams of data compiled by much bigger brains than mine fill library shelves and public health data banks.

Art Curbs Death Rate - www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2004/03.11/01-mockus.html
Bogotá's mayor brings city out of chaos by using art, humor, and creativity.

Antanas Mockus had just resigned from the top job at Colombian National University. A mathematician and philosopher, Mockus looked around for another big challenge and found it: to be in charge of, as he describes it, "a 6.5 million person classroom."

Mockus, who had no political experience, ran for mayor of Bogotá; he was successful mainly because people in Colombia's capital city saw him as an honest guy. With an educator's inventiveness, Mockus turned Bogotá into a social experiment just as the city was choked with violence, lawless traffic, corruption, and gangs of street children who mugged and stole. It was a city perceived by some to be on the verge of chaos.

People were desperate for a change, for a moral leader of some sort. The eccentric Mockus, who communicates through symbols, humor, and metaphors, filled the role. When many hated the disordered and disorderly city of Bogotá, he wore a Superman costume and acted as a superhero called "Supercitizen". People laughed at Mockus' antics, but the laughter began to break the ice of their extreme skepticism. ...

Liberals' "Green Plan" Wimps Out - Straightgoods

by Peter Tabuns
At this writing, a Federal election looms as a serious possibility. If an election comes, it looks as though the dominant issues will be the sponsorship scandal and, in many places, same sex marriage.

However, there is a very large block of voters who care about climate change and Canada's obligations under the Kyoto Accord. Those voters will be the object of intense efforts by the Liberals to convince them that they, the Liberals, have a plan and are ready to act on Kyoto.

May 9, 2005

Pipeline dreams - Ottawa Citizen - Sound Off

Aboriginal demands and a runaway regulatory process must not be allowed to threaten one of Canada's largest and most important construction projects: the $7-billion Mackenzie Valley pipeline.

Originally proposed more than 30 years ago, the 1,350-kilometre pipeline from the Mackenzie Delta to Alberta has already died once on the altar of native rights. Now, more than ever, it's too important to be allowed a second burial.

Last month, the consortium of oil companies charged with building the pipeline halted work, claiming that native demands for hundreds of million of dollars in social spending, coupled with the federal government's inability to rein in the sprawling regulatory review process, threaten the economic viability of the project. Both issues can and should be addressed quickly and to the satisfaction of all parties, for all parties stand to benefit from the completion of the pipeline.

Regardless of class size, good teachers are the main factor in education - Vancouver Sun

The impact of class size on student performance is one of the most studied issues in education.

But for every study that concludes smaller classes improve learning, another finds no statistically significant correlation between class size and student achievement.

Nevertheless, the B.C. Teachers' Federation has launched a campaign focused on class size, releasing with some fanfare data obtained through a freedom-of-information request showing that some classes exceed limits of 30 students for English and social studies and 26 for science.

Cross-border amity eroding: poll - Globe and Mail

OTTAWA -- Canadians' and Americans' national regard for each other is rapidly eroding even as, somewhat paradoxically, their core values are rapidly converging, according to a new Ipsos-Reid poll.

Just 53 per cent of Canadians now cite the United States as Canada's closest friend and ally, down from 60 per cent in 2002. And only 14 per cent of Americans believe Canada is their country's closest ally, compared with 18 per cent three years ago.

India is next Asian tiger - National Post

India and China are in a race to lead major world economies in growth in the next half-century as their populations of more than one billion people each evolve into middle-class consumers. China is in the lead, with production this year increasing at a faster-than-forecast 9.5% a year, compared with India's 6.6%. But there are demographic trends at play that may give India the advantage over time.

Kyoto Protocol--Propaganda or Censorship? - Canadafreepress.com
by Garth Pritchard

Last Thursday, I received a telephone call from Douglas Leahey, Ph.D., representing a group of Canadian scientists under the umbrella of "Friends of Science." It seems that they had been talking to Peter Worthington of the Toronto Sun, and he had mentioned to them that they should get in touch with me.

Dr. Leahey began by asking me how they could get a 27-minute documentary on television.
I have 15 years experience of fighting with federal and provincial slush funds for that very thing.
I asked some routine questions at first: Did they have a letter of licence? Had they rolled a camera before they got permission? Had they talked to the big broadcasters? Did they have a "pitch" and a budget?

Then I found out what their documentary was about. The story was incredible: it documented scientists--from Canada--speaking out against the $10-billion scam known as the Kyoto Protocol.

Yes, the very same Kyoto Accord that our government has committed Canada and Canadians to support.

Mining Gone Wild! - MoJo Journal web site featuring his work.

May 9, 1957 - I was born