I listened to Ursula Franklin interviewed on The Current on Friday and the part that is really sticking with me, other than how inspiring she is and how I can only hope to ever be as passionate and cool as she is, is her concern about Conservative insinuations, if not outright accusations, that the Opposition Parties are not ‘trustworthy’. This is in relation, of course, to the government’s refusal to disclose un-censored documents to members of the Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan. This issue has been somewhat mitigated by the Speaker’s decision that is forcing the documents’ release but it is the underlying implications that have really got me thinking.

What does it mean when the leader of the country says that the Opposition cannot be trusted? Where could this lead? Well, in the past it has led to the elimination of democracy under the guise of ‘national security’, a phrase that has been tossed about quite a lot lately. It has led to the rise of totalitarian states who claim to be acting in the best interests of the country and citizens and who allow their lust for power to guide them.

How much power should the Prime Minister’s Office have? How much power should a government that received less than a quarter of the potential vote have?*

I was just wondering: Are Canadians ready to give up their democracy for the illusion of security? Now is a good time to re-watch Professor Fonseca’s videos and maybe take a listen to Ms. Ursula Franklin – two people who chose to come to Canada from countries that had experienced dictators in order to participate in a lively democracy and who now feel that it is slipping away.

That queasy feeling in the pit of your stomach? Don’t ignore it. There is trouble afoot.

*Note: The Conservatives received 37.65% of the popular vote, but the voter turnout was the lowest in Canadian history at 59.1%, so the total percentage for the Conservatives was 22%.

A friend of mine sent me this interesting, and kind of disturbing article about Detroit’s proposed solution to its urban sprawl and diminishing populations: tearing down the neighbourhoods and creating new agricultural land.

It has taken me a while to write about it, because, honestly, I wasn’t sure what I could say – it is heartbreaking to see a city that was built on the promises of a modern world in decay and decline. But it is also unsurprising – thanks to Michael Moore’s early films like Roger and Me (which focused on Flint, MI), it is widely known that Detroit was made promises by the auto industry that were not kept.

Promises that could not be kept given the current legislation that deals with corporations (and, yes, I realize that legislation in the States is different than here). Corporate Charter legislation that demands they provide ever-increasing profit to their shareholders, regardless of consequences. ‘Free’-Trade Legislation that makes it more affordable to build cars 1,000 or 5,000 kilometres away from the market where they will be sold than to pay union wages. Accounting and Income Tax legislation that allows companies to externalize environmental and social justice repercussions of the decisions they make. And, finally, a legislative bundle that has created an entire generation of corporate CEOs and profiteers with a twisted set of values where a dollar is more important that a human life and lying is justified when it will make more profit.

I don’t really have a problem with delivering value and profit, that is what companies are for, after all. The problem I have is with the current definition of ‘value’. As a Green, if a company wants to deliver value to me, then it had better be thinking, not just about the jingle of money in my piggy bank, but also the long-term health and well-being of me, my children and my community. I care about the sustainability of my investments, I want to know that it is a good idea not just for me, but for my kids and their grand-kids.

And I have to say that the current corporate culture does not seem to be taking us in that direction. Our current system of fines is largely meaningless and has almost no power to change the behaviour of a corporation – especially for the largest ones, the current fines are considered part of doing business, certainly not a deterrent. Yet, in case after case, companies that take better care of their employees, community, and the environment are more profitable than those who insist on sticking to the ‘status quo’.

So here’s what I would like to see: a Corporate Charter granted in Canada would be dependent upon the company agreeing to both domestic and foreign Corporate Social Responsibility Charters and that, if a corporation was in violation of that Charter on a regular basis, that the Charter would be revoked, the Corporation would be dissolved, and the proceeds of asset sales would be used to compensate employees and shareholders. I would like to see the onus of proof on the corporations themselves, and I would like to see this legislation enforced.

Oh, and one other tidbit I would love to see thrown in to deal with exorbitant executive salaries: let’s cap their compensation at 1000x that of the lowest paid worker. That’s right, if you operate in a free trade zone and the worker there makes $0.50 or $1.00 per day, your total compensation (no sneaking around with stock transfers) is going to work out to around $52,000 per year. Too low, you protest. How about 10,000 times? $520,000 doesn’t sound too bad. Does it? Right now, there are many executives being paid 100,000 to 1 million times more than their lowest paid worker. Does that seem right? Do you think that companies would behave differently if their compensation were tied to that of their lowliest employee (contract or part-time)? I do.

As for Detroit, a relic of the modern-age experiment in automobiles, perhaps they will figure out a way to revitalize their economy and transition to sustainable growth through green industry… or maybe it will just become a great place to own a farm.

Why not? They’re doing it for health care as well.

Thanks to William Munsey over at the Berry Patch for highlighting this threat in his latest post. He focuses on the ever-increasing plight of family farms, threatened by agri-business and indifferent government. The Green Party is certainly on the side of the small- to medium-sized farms and has an extensive policy to support them and make farming rewarding, financially as well as spiritually.

What concerns me here, what becomes an issue for the whole country, is the threat of NAFTA. As soon as we allow one jurisdiction to commoditize water we open the door to MNCs under NAFTA and our various free trade agreements.

Once we do that, we can kiss our right to water good-bye. Personally, I don’t want to live in a country where we have the most abundant freshwater resources in the world but we can’t access them, where they are no longer part of the Commons.

Let’s hope that the Council of Canadians and the Green Party hop on this bandwagon and rallies support to stop this move by a short-sighted, oil sands-obsessed government.

The recent Manning Centre 2010 Barometer found that 89% of Canadians (based on 1000 interviews) strongly believed that “nothing is more important than family,” a value the Manning Centre claimed for conservative ideology. This contention caused a bit of a stir – do conservatives have moral ownership of the ‘family’ issue?

One comment was that this focus on family (sounds conservative doesn’t it? It’s amazing how well their spin machines work) as the ‘most important thing’ flew in the face of Canadian values and the idea of ‘love thy neighbour’ and taking care of those less fortunate.

And it got me thinking, “Is family the most important thing?” and, as a politician, is it perhaps where I should be focusing. How about we claim family as a Green value – as THE Green value.

My family is the most important thing in the world to me. And I will do what it takes to protect them and ensure that they have a happy and healthy and safe future. That is why I am running for the Green Party. And that is why I think everyone who has kids, and wants to protect them, should vote Green.

This happened to coincide (I just love synchronicity, don’t you?) with an email I received from the most excellent Mr. Kempton, who runs the Albedo blog, and who was informing me that he had had a ‘minor revelation’ which I happen to think is actually pretty major – at least as it pertains to GPC policy.

“It occurred to me last week that we don’t have to get people to believe that climate change is real, or a great danger, etc. We just have to get them to act as if they believe it. Maybe that’s the basic concept behind pushing the positive economic, health, lifestyle effects of changing our ways of being on the planet… Passion and hope are more powerful, really.”

I have a confession to make: [deep breath] I couldn’t agree more. I can’t stand talking about climate change. I know that it is a GPC mainstay but I think it is nothing but detrimental to our cause. Because I think the truth is that climate change paralyzes most people – it is too big, too nebulous, and too easy to argue. Let’s talk about how we will help your family, your kids, your life.

And, as a political issue, climate change is useless. The people who get it have already gotten it, we need to reach the people who won’t get it. I know that fear is a great motivator when it comes to marketing but I don’t think it works as well when it is packaged as existential angst. It works when it is something much more concrete, like, ‘if you don’t use this pill, you’ll never have another erection.’ Now that gets some attention.

Telling people that there are massive planetary changes underway that will slightly increase the earth’s temperature and have catastrophic consequences leads to, ‘Woah! My brain shut down halfway through what you said and I’m now thinking about my shiny new car.”

Moreover, we don’t need it. The Green platform is amazing. We’re promoting healthy, vibrant, abundant communities where people know each other, care for each other, and have the resources they need, locally, to feel happy. We are offering an awakening, a re-vitalization of people’s lives, their homes, and, yes, their families. We actually care that people get to see their kids, that they aren’t spending two hours commuting every day, that they aren’t on the hamster wheel of ‘success’ but empty inside. Our Vision provides all of that.

We have the best plan for job creation.

We have the best plan for energy sustainability.

We have the best plan for food security.

We have the best plan for health.

We are offering passion, hope, and happiness. So let’s drop the focus on… what was it again?

bahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

No really. Thanks to Huffington Post for giving me a great chuckle on this Wednesday afternoon of Bottled Water Week.

The Bottled Water Matters Report video purports to be journalism but is nothing more than a long-form ad for Bottled Water Manufacturers (BWM). Get it! Oh I love their sneakiness.

Whether it is the soft-ball questions and acquiescent head nodding served up in a style that, unfortunately, reminds me of the recent Google PM interview, or the assertions that plastic bottles can be recycled into medical equipment, beverage containers, or… plastic water bottles this video delivers beautiful nature scenes and enough sweetness to make one gag.

If you want to know about bottled water, check out Tapped or Annie Leonard’s new video. Or you can read a book, try Bottlemania or Blue Gold: The Battle Against Corporate Theft of World’s Water by our very own Maude Barlow.

I am so impressed by Liz McLellan’s efforts to build a community of yard-sharers and her website Hyperlocavore. The general idea is that if a locavore focuses on food grown within 100 miles than a hyperlocavore focuses on food grown with 100 yards. I just had to make sure I preserved this link where I could find it.

It is a great initiative and I totally think we should get something like this going in Newmarket and Aurora. Maybe through the York Region Food Network (YRFN) who already takes care of the food bank and community gardens. Or we could, y’know, just do it up grassroots-style.

I’ll be having my groundbreaking garden-planting party sometime in May. Join my Facebook page if you’d like an invite. Until then, stay warm and dream of fresh, local produce with these yummy titles:
The Edible Garden
Food Inc.
The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
Gaia’s Garden: A Guide To Home-Scale Permaculture
Locavore
Just Food: Where Locavores Get It Wrong and How We Can Truly Eat Responsibly
The Locavore Way: Discover and Enjoy the Pleasures of Locally Grown Food

March 22nd is World Water Day and it seems like an excellent time to muse over the current state of our water resources. Canada is so truly blessed with abundant fresh water and some of the healthiest tap water in the world and perhaps that is why we have been able to keep our per capita consumption rates down (though it has been steadily increasing).

This article from the Huffington Post is an excellent introduction to a few of the issues surrounding bottled water – peak oil, leaching chemicals, and corporatisation. “According to the UN, by the year 2020, two-thirds of the world will lack access to clean drinking water,” and there are many political observers who believe that the wars of the 21st century will be about water. Actually, these wars are already happening – the Golan Heights has been a constant issue between Israel and Syria and its main benefit is significant fresh water resources, providing over half of Israel’s fresh water.

The Council of Canadians has been fighting the privatization of Canada’s water resources for years, with fairly good success. It is also a solid Green Party of Canada platform plank that we support a public trust for water and enshrining the right to water in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. By contrast, our current governments (and by that I mean the NDP, Liberals, and Conservatives) have done little to promote public, safe water and with each free trade agreement we make we move a little closer to losing our ability to maintain our common right to safe water.

Check out the new documentary, Tapped. Maybe we’ll have to have a GPC movie night…

This issue has recently gained the spotlight in Ontario with Bill-237 which would create corporations and implement full cost recovery and metering of municipal water supplies. This Bill was killed when McGuinty prorogued the Ontario Legislature but these seemingly innocuous steps have often been precursors to water privatization. While the Green Party supports full cost accounting it must be done in the context of preserving public access and management of this vital resource.

My family recently had the conversation about whether or not to continue using plastic water bottles. I confess that as a Personal Trainer I used my fair share of water bottles when I worked at the gym. Generally I would buy a bottle and then refill it from the water fountain for a few weeks and then replace it with a new one, but, still, that was a lot of plastic. I even remember buying a case one summer and carrying it around in my trunk – by the end of that case the water had taken on a distinctly funky taste, who knows how many pseudo-estrogens I ingested that summer from the heated plastic. My plastic water bottle usage is almost nothing now, thankfully.

Anyway, my partner’s three kids get a packed lunch every day, and as part of that they each receive a water bottle. Every school day. Finally, I couldn’t take it and after serious debate about practicality, health, taste (only one likes the taste of Brita water, the other two prefer tap water), and political image (after all it looks pretty bad to have the GPC candidate using that much plastic) – my partner went out and bought metal water bottles for all of us. Now the kids have ample water and our plastic recycling rate has dropped immensely. And everyone seems happy.

It makes me wonder what it would be like if Newmarket and Aurora went plastic water bottle-free?

This is going to be one amazingly ‘signature’ Conservative plan. No abortion – deep sigh but okay. But to not even include access to contraception as part of our super-duper G8 ground-breaking plan to improve maternal and infant health? I’m having a hard time imagining what will be in this plan.

Guaranteed access to:
Clean water? Not sure how they would do this…
Affordable medication? Nope, this would threaten pharmaceutical monopolies.
Nutritious food? Nope, this would interfere with free-market agribusiness.
Education? Nope, then women might learn about family planning and their rights.

Or maybe they’ll just make sure that every newborn gets a Tory-blue swaddling blanket and a booklet on how to keep their legs crossed in the future.

Thanks to Carter for sharing this link with me. Tyler Hamilton at CleanBreak.ca discusses a couple of solar co-ops that are popping up around southern Ontario.

One is Countryside, partnering with ARISE Technologies to start photovoltaic (PV) projects on commercial/industrial rooftops. People who are interested in participating in PV but do not have adequate sites can buy shares in the projects and participate in revenues from the Ontario Power Authority’s (OPA) feed-in tariff program.

Another, on a much smaller scale is the Neighbourhood Unitarian Universalist (NUU) congregation in Toronto installing a PV system on their church roof. Again, they are selling shares.

I think I’ve already mentioned that I have a wee crush on Cathy MacLellan, one of the partners of ARISE (she started it with her husband after they graduated from Waterloo). She is also the Green Party of Canada candidate for K/W and a totally inspiring entrepreneur.

I also happen to love the UUs, my church of choice and one I would love to see in Aurora and/or Newmarket. Social justice is one of their core principles, just as it is for the Green Party.

As for the province’s feed-in tariff program – the Liberals almost got it right. If they can overcome their issues with back-end red tape it could be a really great program and encourage small-scale renewable energy projects all over the province – including here at home.

Anybody feel like starting an energy co-op in Newmarket? Count me in.

I have to thank Elizabeth May for pointing this out last Friday at the Green Party of Canada Economic Summit in Toronto.

Please turn to page 102 of your copy of Budget 2010. You do have one, right? If by some oversight your copy hasn’t arrived yet, you can download it here.

Read with me, if you will, the first paragraph of the creatively titled section: Green Jobs and Growth.

Canada has established itself as an energy superpower, being the third-largest global producer of gas, seventh in oil production, and the world’s largest supplier of uranium. Our international reputation as a safe and reliable energy supplier creates unprecedented opportunities for exporting our energy products within an integrated North American energy market and to the rest of the world. Our substantial reserves of oil, natural gas and other energy sources make Canada an increasingly attractive destination for global investment. These major new investments will allow us to tap our abundant energy potential while contributing to faster economic growth, creating a significant number of high value jobs and rejuvenating communities, especially in remote and rural areas.

Awesome! It really convinces me that our government is on the right track with Green development. Gas, oil and uranium – it just doesn’t get greener than that. Okay, I’m totally kidding. The second paragraph is no better but the third paragraph is very promising with a discussion of renewable energy sources leading up to these bullet points.

Bullet 1: A billion dollars for “clean energy technologies” through the Clean Energy Fund. Since they’ve already allotted $800 million to carbon capture and storage (CCS) there really isn’t any doubt that it is actually a CCS Fund.

Bullet 2: A billion dollars over 5-years for the Green Infrastructure Fund. No idea? Me neither. So I looked here and, ohmigosh, this is brilliant.

Eligible projects are those that promote cleaner air, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and cleaner water and fall within any of the following categories: wastewater infrastructure; green energy generation infrastructure; green energy transmission infrastructure and solid waste infrastructure, and carbon transmission and storage infrastructure.

Looks great right up until the end… do you see it? CCS! “The fund will focus on a few, large scale, strategic infrastructure projects.” Definitely something to keep an eye on. To be fair, almost half of the Fund has already been allocated and none of it is for CCS so far. Here are the projects so far – mostly water treatment and energy transmission. I stand corrected.

“But it has to get better!” you say. All right, let’s move on. After some discussion on transforming the forestry sector the Budget moves on to Modernizing the Regulatory System where we find efforts to streamline major projects (insert oil sands and CCS joke here) and this nugget: “Responsibility for conducting environmental assessments for energy projects will be delegated from the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency to the National Energy Board and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission for projects falling under their respective areas of expertise” (p104).

No. Seriously. The government is moving Environmental Assessments away from CEAA to the National Energy Board. Say good-bye to any attempts at oversight. Getting angry now? I am.

But it gets better. There is some good ideas on page 105 about Forestry and Accelerated Capital Cost Allowances for renewable energy projects. Good, good, things are looking up. Projects for Great Lakes and Arctic monitoring and the development of Environmental Sustainability Indicators. Not sure how those will provide jobs or grow the Green Economy but they are nice. I’m starting to feel a bit more hopeful. And then…

The section finishes with Nuclear Energy on page 107. The section basically says, and this is a heavy paraphrase, “It’s losing lots of money but we’ll continue to support it!”

Just a reminder that if you want to see Green Economics then you had better Vote Green.