EnviroNewsandIssues Newsletter - Edition 13

May 27, 2005

Manley promotes closer U.S. ties - Toronto Star

Security issue key, ex-minister says Canadians who want easy access to the United States but balk at closer security ties with Canada's southern neighbour because of sovereignty concerns "can't have it both ways," former deputy prime minister John Manley says.

"We want to sell to the United States ... we want to be able to get through that border line without having to wait but if they ask for us to do some things on the side of security, our sovereignty is being compromised," Manley said.

"Well, you can't have it both ways," Manley told a conference on security sponsored by the Conference Board of Canada.

Liberal by-election victory not all it seems - Toronto Star

It would be a mistake to simply file away the Newfoundland federal riding of Labrador as a haven of Liberal calm in the recent political storm.

Earlier this week, Paul Martin's candidate Todd Russell sailed to a decisive by-election victory in Labrador, providing the minority government with a welcome additional body to ward off future attempts to topple it.

The result was predictable; the riding has been Liberal for most of its existence. But everything else about the by-election had precious little to do with business as usual in Labrador.

One of the reasons by-elections have a reputation for quirky results is their traditionally low turnouts. But in Labrador this week voters bucked the trend: 54 per cent cast a ballot, a 10-point increase from last June.

Toronto, Chicago mayors back Manitoba on water diversion project - Canadian Press

QUEBEC (CP) - A powerful big-city U.S. mayor and a Canadian counterpart have thrown their weight behind Manitoba's fight to block a water diversion project in the United States.
Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago and Toronto's David Miller called on the U.S. government to put a stop to a North Dakota project that will send water northward into the Red River from Devils Lake, a growing body of water that frequently floods.

"If we lose the battle of Devils Lake, it sets a precedent that could allow the diversion of the Great Lakes," Miller said.

An international meeting of Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River mayors adopted a resolution Thursday asking for a proper environmental assessment by the International Joint Commission.

Why the boom in homelessness? - Edmonton Journal

If it seems like you're being hit up for spare change more often, in more places, by more insistent panhandlers these days, you're probably right.

Because despite the city and the province's booming economies, homelessness is a pervasive problem that is spreading beyond the traditional downtown core. And with a consistent shortage of services to help what are known as the chronically homeless -- that subgroup of people whose problems can't simply be fixed with a cheap apartment and a trip to the thrift store -- the problem is only likely to worsen.

May 26, 2005

Time To Change The Way We Think Of Politics - Parry Sound North Star

The events of the last few weeks have troubled me greatly. There is no shortage of challenges facing Canada But, rather than setting aside partisan politics, the old-line parties choose to exchange pre-election rhetoric that did nothing more than turn off an increasing number of Canadians from the politic process.

Coalition governments exist quite successfully in many countries around the world where political parties recognize that public debate allows for and recognizes differences in ideas and vision. Politicians work together and act with integrity to enact policies that are good for the country. However, it appears that in our country, the good of the populace takes a back seat to the needs of the current sitting political parties and we all lose out in the end.

It is time for a change and not just from one party to another, but in the way we conduct politics in this country. The events of the last few weeks have only served to solidify my commitment to the Green party and my belief that we need a change from the old-line parties.

Our leader, Jim Harris said, "The Green party is prepared to present a vision to Canada which will restore our trust in government. Honesty, integrity and justice are values that we all share. Our hope is that we can build a country that once again recognizes these values in all of our institutions." As your candidate for the Green Party, I support and applaud this statement.

An interview with Green Party leader Jim Harris Blowing off some Green steam - Ottawa XPress

Jim Harris attacks Canada's Kyoto plan and the impending death of life as we know itElections narrowly avoided, it looks like Jim Harris can step quietly off the campaign trail. But a couple of weeks ago it wasn't so certain. The federal Green Party leader was making the rounds, and with offices just one floor above XPress, Harris spared us half an hour to talk about why we really do (or did) need an election. It has refreshingly little to do with corruption.

"There was a report in the last month called the Millennium Assessment, and it was 1,364 scientists around the world working for four years under the UN, and ... the bottom line is that two thirds of the world's ecosystems face collapse unless we have substantial change," Harris told me, quite calmly.

"So here we see this distraction of the Gomery inquiry and so on as rearranging the chairs on the Titanic as it's sinking. That's not to say it's acceptable [this kind of corruption] but it's taking our attention off things that are going to make a huge difference for our children and our children's children."

Should we reform the way we vote? - Prince Edward Island Guardian

Prince Edward Islanders will soon hear what the province’s Commission on P.E.I.’s Electoral Future has in mind for reforming the electoral system. But after hearing what it is, it’ll be up to voters to learn as much as possible about it before they actually vote for or against it. When it comes to something as fundamental to our democracy as the electoral system, all voters need to educate themselves before accepting or rejecting change.

The commission, headed by Leonard Russell, has researched models of electoral reform and will present the model it deems suitable for Prince Edward Island this Friday at a press conference.

It’s this model that Islanders will eventually vote on after a public education program scheduled for this fall.

So far, public involvement in this matter hasn’t been impressive. Norman Carruthers, head of a commission that conducted hearings on electoral reform two years ago for the Binns government, himself commented on the lack of attendance at public hearings at that time.

A wake-up call on environment - Toronto Star

Canadians tend to think of this vast country as one of the world's cleanest places. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, many of us cling to a clichéd image of Canada as the pristine Great White North.

Great though Canada may be, it isn't all that pristine and the environment is hardly snow white.

Consider the environmental news reports for just one day this week.

First, the environmental commission for North America, which was established when Canada, the United States and Mexico opened their borders to free trade, reported Monday that the average release of dangerous air pollutants from facilities in Canada was more than one-third higher than in the U.S.

Stronach in her own words - Toronto Star

"Dear Friends and Neighbours:
"Like many of you, I am deeply disappointed by the revelations of the Gomery inquiry into government corruption and abuse of taxpayers' dollars. The people of Canada deserve better.
"Fortunately, we have a strong Opposition in the House that is ready to govern this country and is willing to clean up the corruption and manage the finances of the nation more responsibly.
"I have also recently spoken out in the media and in the House of Commons on the issue of how much money the federal government transfers to the province of Ontario, the economic engine of Canada.
"Ontario taxpayers give Ottawa a lot of money but do not get back their fair share in the form of government services. That's not good for Ontario, and it's not good for Canada.
"The recently announced agreement between Ottawa and Ontario is too little and too late. The fact is, continued underfunding by the Liberal government is compromising the quality of health care and other services available to residents. While our province generates more than 40% of this country's wealth, we rank ninth out of 10 provinces in federal funding for health care.
"Residents in our riding have been waiting for nearly a year now for an announcement regarding funding for a badly needed cancer care facility at Southlake Regional Health Centre.
"The people of Aurora-Newmarket and Ontario are proud of the role they play in helping to build a strong Canada. All we ask for is fair treatment from the federal government.
"As your Member of Parliament, I welcome your views on this and other issues that are important to you. Please feel free to drop by the constituency office or call us at 905-836-7722 if we may assist in any way.
"And thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve you in Ottawa!
"Signed, Belinda Stronach."

Wind Energy: Nova Scotia's First Wind Farm Opens

PUBNICO, NOVA SCOTIA, May 26 - Clean and renewable energy is now flowing from Atlantic Wind Power Corporation's 30.6-megawatt wind farm atPubnico Point in southwest Nova Scotia. Today, the Honourable Robert Thibault, Member of Parliament for West Nova (on behalf of the Honourable R. JohnEfford, Minister of Natural Resources Canada), the Honourable Chris d'Entremont, Member of the Legislative Assembly for Argyle (on behalf of the Honourable Cecil Clarke, Nova Scotia Minister of Energy) and Aldric d'Entremont, the Warden for the Municipality of Argyle, joined executives fromEmera, Nova Scotia Power and the wind farm in Pubnico to celebrate the grand opening of the state-of-the-art facility, the largest in Atlantic Canada.

Pubnico Point wind farm was first conceived in 2001. Nova Scotia resident owners of Atlantic Wind Power Corporation spearheaded years of development work to bring the project to a reality. The Government of Canada will provide $8.8 million in funding over 10 years to the $50 million project through the Wind Power Production Initiative (WPPI).

"Nova Scotians - and all Canadians - want to protect our environment andaddress climate change. At the same time, they want our country to lead the world in the development and use of renewable energy technologies," said Mr. Thibault. "Atlantic Wind Power's Pubnico facility reflects that desire, and I congratulate all the partners for their vision to lead us into a new era for energy."

"The Nova Scotia government's energy strategy, along with Nova Scotia Power's voluntary efforts to procure renewable energy sources and the diligent work of the Municipality of Argyle, helped open the door for this development," said Charles Demond, President of the operating company, Pubnico Point Wind Farm Inc., and Vice President of Atlantic Wind Power Corporation.

"Further, the WPPI played an important role in closing the inherent cost gap between renewable energy and traditional forms of electricity generation."

The Pubnico Point wind farm consists of seventeen V80 wind turbines (manufactured by Vestas), each with a nameplate generating capacity of 1,800 kilowatts (30.6 megawatts in total). It is estimated that the wind farm will produce 100 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year - enough to service up to 13,000 average households. This equates to a reduction of approximately 90,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year.

The wind farm is owned by Atlantic Wind Power Corporation Ltd. and certain funds managed by Creststreet Capital of Toronto. The day-to-day operator of the wind farm is also Atlantic Wind Power Corporation.

The Government of Canada's approach to climate change is focused on making the right choices for Canada. This will ensure that the actions taken produce long-term and enduring results while maintaining a strong and growing economy.

Native group aims to save a language shared only by few hundred <--- Imagine this is in a wired world National Post

Every Tuesday night on the Pacific Ocean side of Vancouver Island, aboriginal elder Carrie Little invites more than a dozen locals into her living room to teach them a native language first uttered along Canada's West Coast 5,000 years ago.

Nuuchahnulth is the original tongue of 14 tribes there, the only place in the world where this language is spoken.

But today only a few hundred people understand these ancient dialects, and Nuuchahnulth (noo-CHA-noolth) is at risk of disappearing in one generation's time.

U.S. seeks review of B.C. coal-mine proposal - Globe and Mail

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been asked to have the International Joint Commission review a Canadian company's proposal to mine millions of tonnes of coal in British Columbia's Flathead Valley.

In a letter to Ms. Rice, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer says the proposed mine, together with possible coal bed methane gas projects in the area, could pollute the Flathead River, which runs south into Montana in a region known for its wild and scenic parks.

May 25, 2005

Took the day off. Mental health day

May 24, 2005

Canada not helping to clear the air: study - Globe and Mail

Canada accounts for 42 per cent of all lead air pollution in North America, a new study from the Commission for Environmental Co-operation said in an annual report.Further, the study, which looked at data it received from nearly 25,000 facilities in both countries, said that although Canada has far fewer factories using lead and lead compounds than the United States, Canada pumped out 13 times more lead into the air on a per facility average basis.Overall though, the United States still produces more lead air pollution, a spokesman for the CEC said.

"Lead pollution is still a threat to human and environmental health and further progress is necessary," said William Kennedy, executive director of the CEC, an international body created by Canada, Mexico and the United States under the North American Agreement on Environmental Co-operation to track and address environmental concerns related to the three countries.

Canadian government urged to stop genetically engineered (GE) Canola contamination in Japan

TOKYO/MONTREAL, May 24 Greenpeace and Japanese consumer, environmental and farmer organizations today appealed to the Canadian government to stop contamination of food products and the environment by exporting only non-GE canola in future.

The Japan National Institute for Environmental Studies found GE canola growing wild around five ports and investigations by citizens groups found the GE canola growing wild around a further three ports. In all GE canola has been found at eight of the 10 main ports importing Canadian canola, It was growing wild beside rice fields, on riverbanks and on grass verges as a result of seed spillages during transportation, including for example on a transport route thirty kms away from the Kashima port. The organizations delivered a strongly worded letter to the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo, addressed to the Minister of the Environment and the Canadian Minister of Agriculture, informing them of the contamination.

Eighty percent of the two million tons of imported canola comes from Canada, of which 80% is estimated to be genetically engineered. GE canola seeds are produced mainly by two chemical companies, Monsanto and Bayer, and are genetically engineered so that they can survive increased doses of the herbicides glyphosate and glufosinate which these companies also sell. Canola seeds are crushed to use as cooking oil and in the production of margarine and mayonnaise, and also for use as animal feed and fertilizer.

Consumer groups are already concerned that GE canola oil is being used as cooking oil and for other food production in Japan without any consumer choice because they are not labelled as GE. Now the GE canola has also been found spreading wild in the environment adding new concerns. In Chiba port, citizens reportedly filled a small truck with Roundup-Ready GE canola that was growing wild.

This spillage of GE canola threatens to spread GE genes into the seeds and food crops of related food plants growing in Japan such as cabbage, Chinese cabbage, deacon radish and turnip. It also threatens to create genetically engineered 'super-weeds' which can lead to further use of extra toxic chemicals. Steve Shallhorn a Canadian working with Greenpeace in Japan joined the delegation of NGOs in Tokyo: 'The Canadian Government has a responsibility to the people of Japan, who are a good customer of Canada, to stop exporting this GE canola.'

To highlight the concerns of Japanese consumers about eating GE food the representatives also took with them bottles of canola oil products in which this GE canola is being used, unlabelled, as an example of the type of product that Japanese consumers may choose to avoid buying if the GE canola imports and contamination continue.

The NGOs delivered their message the day before the first working group negotiation session on liability for damage caused by genetically modified organisms (GMOs) under the Biosafety Protocol, 25-27 May. Akiko Frid a Japanese representative of Greenpeace will be in Montreal attending the session and also the second full meeting of the Biosafety Protocol starting afew days later on 30th May. Frid said: 'The contamination caused by GE canola imports to Japan is a good example of why strict liability laws are needed for GMOs.

The question is; who pays for the damage caused when genetically engineered seeds contaminate our food and environment?'

Greenpeace Canada took this opportunity to invite Environment Minister Stéphane Dion, to meet with them at the opening of the Biosafety Protocol meetings on Monday the 30th of May and collect a specimen of Canadian GE canola found growing in Japan.

May 23, 2005

Vote-reform supporters vow to continue STV fight - Vancouver Sun

Supporters of the single transferrable vote, or STV, will regroup this week for the first time since Tuesday's referendum loss.

Their biggest challenge could be winning over Carole James. The NDP leader, who voted against STV, said she wants a mixed proportional system, under which only a portion of the MLA's are elected proportionally.

But STV supporters say other electoral systems aren't on the table.

"I don't see anything procedure-wise that's putting mixed proportional back on the stage at this point," said Julian West, one of the leaders of the YES campaign. "Nobody went out and campaigned on the basis that a [referendum] result like this would be a mandate to do that.

McGuinty backtracking on clean water? - Ottawa Citizen

Fearful the Liberal government is dragging its feet when it comes to protecting Ontario's drinking-water sources, more than a dozen groups are urging Premier Dalton McGuinty to move forward with legislation promised this spring.

In letters obtained by The Canadian Press, conservation authorities, environmental and municipal groups tell McGuinty they fear the issue is slipping from the government's agenda.

"The apparent absence of clear movement on source-water-protection legislation or appropriate funding in thebudget . . .sends a strong and troubling signal that the government's commitment to protecting Ontario's drinking water appears to have significantly diminished," says one of the letters.

Liberals look to Labrador - St. John's Telegram

For a federal government whose survival came down to a single vote, the upcoming by-election in Labrador is more than a test of its performance so far.

Independent Ern Condon wants Labrador to separate from Newfoundland, New Democrat Frances Fry is the co-ordinator of the Labrador West Status of Women Council, and Jason Crummey, the Green Party candidate, doesn’t live in the region.

While the Klein government dithers on infrastructure, Albertans die - Canoe.ca

This is the weekend that the fruits of the Alberta boom can finally be enjoyed. Or at least put to use. Let the RVs roll. And the quads. And the fifth-wheel trailers.

Sadly for several Alberta families, Victoria Day holiday 2005 will be remembered forever as a time of deep sorrow and great tragedy.

Death in the ditch by Highway 28. Thursday will go down as a day of infamy. All this, so 44 guys could make money to feed their families and pay their taxes.

Hopefully, it will act as a call to arms to force the Alberta Tories to get off their smug butts and finally come to terms with Highway 63 and the other antiquated and dangerous roads that lead from the capital to the oilsands.

Activists fear back-pedalling on water protection - Globe and Mail

Fearful that the Liberal government is dragging its feet when it comes to protecting Ontario's drinking-water sources, more than a dozen groups are urging Premier Dalton McGuinty to move forward with legislation promised this spring.

In letters obtained by The Canadian Press, conservation authorities, environmental and municipal groups tell Mr. McGuinty that they fear the issue is slipping from the government's agenda.

“The apparent absence of clear movement on source-water-protection legislation or appropriate funding in the budget ... sends a strong and troubling signal that the government's commitment to protecting Ontario's drinking water appears to have significantly diminished,” says one of the letters.

May 21/22, 2005

Taking Doctor Ellie prescribed ' experiential field work on "wilderness policy" time.' Nothing much in the papers except for the same same old.