The Green Shift

Harper on Canadian culture

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Apologies to Aboriginal Survivors

On the day that survivors of Canada’s residential schools system heard an apology from the federal government, Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion offered a second apology on behalf of his own party.

“As the leader of the party that was in government for more than seventy years of the last century, I acknowledge our role and our shared responsibility in this tragedy,” said Mr. Dion.  “I am deeply sorry.”

Today in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Stephen Harper made a formal statement of apology for the legacy of Indian Residential Schools.  In his official response, also delivered in the House, Mr. Dion called today an important moment in the history of relations between Canada’s Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples.

“We must, together as a nation, face the truth to ensure that we never have to apologize to another generation, that the tragedy of forced assimilation of Aboriginal peoples in Canada never happens again,” he said.

Speaking to Members of Parliament as well as residential school survivors in attendance in the House, Mr. Dion acknowledged the terrible wounds left by residential schools on individuals, families and communities. 

“For too long, Canadian governments chose to ignore the consequences of this tragedy instead of trying to understand them, so that the suffering of First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities continues to this day,” said Mr. Dion.  “Today, we lay the first stone in the building of a new monument.  A monument dedicated to truth, reconciliation and healing.”

Child Poverty: A Problem We Cannot Afford

The Haliburton Pine Ridge District Health Unit has published the following statistics for HKLB:

~ locally more than 4000 families with children live in poverty

~ accessing food is a concern for15% of local families with children under age 17

~ 11.5% of households are experiencing food insecurity due to lack of money

~heat/hydro costs have increased

~ only 15% of low-income earners can access subsidized housing due to government cuts in affordable housing programs

Families may be forced to move to remote rural areas where rent is cheaper.  This can reduce access to jobs, childcare, public transportation and grocery stores with lower food prices.

In a country as rich as Canada it is a travesty that 1 in 6 children live in poverty. (National Report Card on Child Poverty, 2006)

A Liberal government has a “30-50″ plan to reduce poverty with goals and timelines.  The same cannot be said for the Conservative government.

Promote Sustainable Behaviours

Healthy ecosystems sustain healthy people and a healthy economy.  Overpopulation and wasteful consumption are threatening our planet.  We must protect and restore nature’s diversity and reexamine our relationship with our planet.  Dr. Robert Housell tells us to listen to our hearts.  He uses this acronym to explain the current dire strait that our planet is in:

H – habitat loss

I – invasive species e.g. pine nut beetle, gypsy moths, zebra mussels

P – pollution – over development to meet human needs

P – population growth

O – over harvesting

We must invest in Earth’s recovery by reducing humanity’s ecological footprint.  Reducing the per person resource consumption is one way to do this

We must reduce our waste economy, protect and conserve our water, ensure healthy food, build sustainable cities to avoid urban sprawl, shift to clean energy and become a conserver society.

Planning for a Sustainable Future

At the Eco Conference at Frost Campus in Lindsay, Dr. Stephen Housnsell’s presentation closed the day.  Dr. Hounsell spoke about bio diversity management.  He said that: “The need is real.  The need is urgent.  We can leave a legacy of pride or a legacy of despair.”

Dr. Hounsell said that if we considered the Earth as our “living bank account” then “We’re in the red.”.  Natural capital is being drawn faster than it is being replenished and we are in a downward spiral.  The pressures on nature are acute.  In Southern Ontario there has been a decline of 80% of our forest cover and 70% of our wetlands.  This comes with staggering losses of wildlife.

Globally Dr. Hounsell said that the global demand on our earth is 25% higher than the earth’s ability to replenish and if we continue our consumption trends we require 2 Earths to meet our needs by 2050.

Humanity’s economic footprint has tripled since 1961 and this has put acute pressures on nature witnessed by the loss of species and habitat: 12% of birds, 23% of mammals, 25% of conifers and 90% of the world’s fish stocks have been reduced since the start of industrial fishing.

The biodiversity losses are unprecedented and “INACTION IS NOT AN OPTION”.

Eco Conference

Last week I attended an Eco Conference at the Frost Campus of Fleming College in Peterborough.  It was a wonderful day organized by third year students in the Environmental Sustainability Program.  My congratulations to staff and students on an excellent day.

One of the studies was on the Environmental Management Plan for Lake Scugog.  The causes of the weed problem in Lake Scugog include: evaporation, high nutrient input and invasive species.  The sources of nutrients in the lake include: septics, industrial sewage and fertilizers.

The author of this study cited these as the major issues: poor agricultural management practices such as manure storage and application as well as the use of fertilizers; access of livestock to water; discharges from the Port Perry sewage plant and leakage of septic tanks.

The PHD presenter suggested the following short term solutions: 1. weed harvesting 2. dredging of some small bays and shallow spots to remove the sediment with nitrogen and phosphates and 3. phoslock application – a modified clay that absorbs phosphates and keeps it inert.

Longer term solutions include: stormwater management, tree planting, erosion prevention, septic inspectors and the promotion of best agricultural management practices.

Afghanistan Mission

The Conservative government is hiding details of the Afghanistan mission from Canadians once again.

 On Tuesday, the Department of National Defence extended an invitation to representatives from all Opposition parties to accompany Minister MacKay to the meetings in Bucharest beginning April 2, 2008.  Yesterday, those invitations were rescinded, with National Defence officials claiming NATO had restricted the size of Canada’s delegation to the meetings, a claim that has been rejected by a NATO spokesperson.

One of the key recommendations made in the report of the independent panel studying the future of Canada’s mission in Afghanistan was for the government to increase the transparency of its actions with respect to the mission, a recommendation that this government is once again ignoring.
 

Earth Hour

Canadians know that the climate change crisis is real and want to take action.  The Liberal team has a plan to reduce our carbon emissions and trigger greater investment in green technologies for not just the distant future, but today.

A Dion-led government would put large industrial emitters on a carbon budget, so that industry can take responsibility for its fair share of the climate change crisis. The Liberal plan puts a price on carbon so we no longer treat our atmosphere as a free garbage dump, while encouraging business to save a small percentage of their profits to invest in pollution-reducing technologies.

Liberals also recognize countries that embrace the environment as a core priority will be the global economic leaders of the 21st century. That is why our government must dramatically increase incentives for renewable power production to encourage green investment.

Canadians want to see their country become a world leader in clean energy technology and they expect their government to help this happen.

We cannot turn our backs on the planet in the face of this climate change crisis. Canada needs real environmental leadership now.

Just a reminder to everyone that this Sat. Mar. 29th from 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. there is an opportunity for you to show your support for our planet by turning out your lights for one hour.  All over the world, people will be engaged in this event.  You, too, can be a part of this grassroots movement to show that we care about our environment.