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.  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 »

There will be two follow-ups to the original Power to Choose forum.  One will be in Ottawa on Friday and the other will be here in Toronto this Saturday:

Power to Choose
Public consultation on Ontario’s Energy Plan
Saturday, 2007 September 29, 9 am – 5 pm
OISE Rm 4-414, 252 Bloor St W (at St. George TTC)
Come for all or part of this free all-day event.

Contact Paul York for details about the event.  If you’d like to make a presentation, you can email Adriana.

If you can’t attend, you can still make your views known using the online survey form.

As an update on my post about how John Tory would sue First Nations, the man has actually made this into an election platform, demonstrating that it was not a slip of the tongue he regrets.

It’s interesting to note that his own advisers admit the Province may have no authority to impose the kind of remedies he proposes.

Perhaps what he should do is to begin by cracking down on the illegal occupations of native lands.  For example, he could sue all of us here in Toronto for the centuries-old occupation of disputed Mississauga territory.

Elizabeth May is recovering in Ottawa from successful hip surgery.  She is looking forward to being able to walk around again.

Please wish her a speedy recovery.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has once again been forced to admit that the outlook for climate change is bleaker than they had previously predicted.  The reason I joined the Green Party is that no other party comes close to addressing the scale and severity of the problem.     Read more »

I’ve been approached by several people recently with stories about what Peter Tabuns said at the all-candidates debate on Tuesday night.  While I wasn’t there to hear exactly what was said, it is clear that something he said gave people the impression that the Greens supported a power plant on the Portlands.  This impression is false.     Read more »

Green Party supporters won’t be able to hear their leader at the Provincial Leaders’ Debate on Sept 20, so Frank de Jong is giving them an alternative.

The Green Party of Ontario is throwing a party for all Green Party supporters where he will respond in real time to the questions being posed during the debate.  Results will be broadcast over the Internet.

Green Party Leader’s Debate Party
Thursday, 2007 September 20, 6pm
Pantages Hotel and Spa
200 Victoria St, Toronto
Map

Several people have asked me about the Green Party’s stand on Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) representation, which will be put to a referendum simultaneously with the provincial election this October 10.  I urge everyone to consider voting for Patrick Kraemer and strongly suggest that everyone vote YES to MMP.

The Green Party supports proportional representation and mixed-member proportional is among the best democratic systems available.  To explain why, I asked my friend Sharon Howarth, who is devoting every moment of her time to promoting MMP.  Here are her comments:     Read more »

This in response to a story in the Toronto Star (September 13, 2007) which filled me with horror and outrage!     Read more »

David Hughes is a senior geoscientist at Natural Resources Canada. He has 35 years experience studying energy resources for the Geological Survey of Canada, the government of Canada and the private sector. He will be talking about the future of energy in Canada.

The Future of Energy
Tuesday, 2007 September 11, 7 pm
City Hall, Council Chambers
at Bay and Queen streets
free     Read more »

I spent much of the summer in Central Nova, helping Elizabeth out in her New Glasgow office and staying at her home.  I’m completely convinced she’s going to be the next MP from Central Nova.     Read more »