Archive for 2007 September

I’m back from the all-candidates meeting with fresh impressions still on my mind.  I wish there had been more opportunity to articulate some of the strongest parts of the Green platform.  But my dominant impression had nothing to do with policy and everything to do with smug power.     Read more »

All-Candidate’s Meeting
Thursday, 2007 September 27, 7 pm
Ralph Thornton Centre
765 Queen Street East (east of Broadview)
Accessible location.  Free.
For more information: 416-392-6810

Unfortunately, Patrick will not be there.  He has been forced to travel in the midst of his campaign.  Andrew James will discuss Green policy on his behalf.

I’d like everyone to look into the Vote for Clean Energy campaign.   The energy issue is strangely missing from most of the dialogue in this election.   Actually, it feels surreal when I see that Dalton McGuinty has somehow managed to take the moral high ground by arguing that only Catholics deserve special treatment in school funding.

Whereas the Province intends to spend over $100 billion dollars rebuilding our nuclear fleet, expensive natural gas plants and associated transmission lines and nobody says a word.   I believe this is the single most expensive plan the Province has ever tabled.   If implemented it will have profound influences on the way we live for decades to come.   There is no Environmental Assessment, no meaningful public consultation and the plan doesn’t even attempt to meet any emissions targets.   It certainly won’t meet Kyoto levels in the foreseeable future.   We’re about to be hammered with this, and we seem to be in a daze, staring off in the opposite direction.     Read more »

If you believe Stephen Harper is actually interested in combatting climate change, read this history of some of his statements. [Link broken, but here’s a similar list and yet another timeline.]  Even more significant to me is the fact that in Mr. Harper’s history, he solicited money to fight against the Kyoto protocol.  That ties him firmly to a base of support with an entrenched interest in defeating meaningful progress.     Read more »

A few days ago I was upset to see headlines all over the city announcing that the NDP would pump another $600 million dollars into the auto sector.

Reading the details, the plan is not quite as crazy as the headline sounds.  Only $100 million is new money.  It is contingent on maintaining agreed on jobs and includes a special incentive for developing green technologies.

I still oppose it.     Read more »