This month, Canada’s Liberal government is faced with what might be an existential decision. Vancouver-based mining giant Teck Resources needs federal cabinet’s approval for a new open-pit bitumen mine in Northern Alberta which is expected to generate 6 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually until the year 2067 (see:
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Sudbury Steve May: No New Airport in Pickering In a Time of Climate Crisis
Could 2020 be the year that the federal government decides once and for all that building a new airport northeast of Toronto is simply not compatible with achieving Canada’s climate targets? The Pickering airport has long been a political football, punted down the road by every government of the day since
Continue readingSudbury Steve May: Implementing UNDRIP will Fundamentally Change Canada For the Better
What we call “Canada” is about to change. In the recent speech from the Throne, Prime Minister Trudeau’s government promised to introduce legislation to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) (see: “Liberals promise to table UNDRIP law within one year,” the Nunatsiaq News, December 6,
Continue readingSudbury Steve May: Community Energy and Emissions Plan Sets Sudbury on Course for Transformative Change
What will be called one of the most important and visionary plans to guide change in the City of Greater Sudbury received preliminary approval from Council earlier this month. The Community Energy and Emissions Plan (CEEP) is a comprehensive strategy to reduce the use of fossil fuels. With a net-zero
Continue readingSudbury Steve May: OK Greens, Where Do We Go From Here?
“Greens might take some solace in seeing Elizabeth May returned to the House accompanied by two new B.C.-based MP’s (and having had a few other candidates show strong second-place finishes in B.C. and New Brunswick). But 3 MP’s will prove a disappointment for a Party that sees Green fortunes rising
Continue readingSudbury Steve May: Losing the Initiative: A Deflationary Tale of the Green Party of Canada, 2019-20
“We just lost the initiative.” “It is said that the attacking force, going into a fight, generally has the initiative…But once it becomes a defensive action, then you’re literally giving…over to the enemy and allowing them to determine the tempo of the fight.” -Mark Bergman, F-16 Crew Chief, “What does Major
Continue readingSudbury Steve May: Who Will Be The Next Leader of the Green Party?
I started writing this blogpost last week, figuring I had a lot of time before Elizabeth May announced that she’d be stepping down from her position as leader of the Green Party – hopefully as a result of her being elected Speaker of the House by her parliamentary peers. But
Continue readingSudbury Steve May: Voters Opt for Status Quo on the Climate Crisis
Climate crisis, what climate crisis? Voters went to the ballot box on Monday and opted for more of the same, returning Justin Trudeau’s Liberals to government – albeit in a minority form. Job one now, according to the Prime Minister, will be to hustle along the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion
Continue readingSudbury Steve May: May 27 2019: The Day the Green Party of Canada Lost the Election
Dateline – May 27, 2019. The seeds for the Green Party’s eventual poor showing in tonight’s election were sown on the day that the Green Party of Canada found itself at the height of their power and influence. On that day, Paul Manly was sworn in as the newly-elected Member
Continue readingSudbury Steve May: Crystal Ball Gazing: #Elxn43 Predictions
At the outset of the election campaign, I made a prediction – that Canadians would be electing a Conservative majority government on October 21. There were several things which informed this assessment, but largely it ultimately boiled down to the following: -That this election would be fought on one primary
Continue readingSudbury Steve May: Nickel Belt West Nipissing Chamber of Commerce Debate Highlights
I attended a really interesting debate last night that, unfortunately, meant almost nothing to anyone. Hosted by the West Nipissing Chamber of Commerce, Nickel Belt party candidates gathered in Sturgeon Falls to face off against one another in front of an overwhelmingly partisan crowd, including a large contingent of “Team
Continue readingSudbury Steve May: Sea Levels are Rising – and so are Global Youth
“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”This quote, not lacking in power despite it being often misattributed to Mahatma Ghandhi, was surely on the minds of those following the character assassination Greta Thunberg by People’s Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier.
Continue readingSudbury Steve May: Motions on Council’s Agenda a Microcosm of Conflicting Vision for Our Future
They sit together, side by side, on the agenda for the upcoming August 13, 2019 meeting of the Council of the City of Greater Sudbury. Two motions that represent a microcosm of the cultural divide that we find ourselves in at the end of the Oil Age.The first motion, M-3,
Continue readingSudbury Steve May: Humanity is Beginning to Face Up to Global Environmental Breakdown
Earlier this week, I walked with my kids down to the main beach at Bell Park, so that they could splash around in the water. Although the sun was sinking below the horizon, the evening remained hot, and the lake was pleasantly cool. It was just about as perfect a
Continue readingSudbury Steve May: Liberal Hubris + The Rising Tide Calling for Action on the Climate Crisis = #ClimateScam
“If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging,” – Will RogersPerhaps Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party was bouyed this week by the headlines like “Liberal bleeding after SNC-Lavalin affair seems to have stopped: Leger poll,” (CTV News, June 14 2019), “POLL: Trudeau Liberals Appear To Have Stopped Bleeding Support But
Continue readingSudbury Steve May: The Changing Climate Conversation
“Adults keep saying we owe it to the young people, to give them hope. But I don’t want your hope. I don’t want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. I want you to act. I want
Continue readingSudbury Steve May: Is the Green Party Ready to Capitalize on the Liberal Party’s Collapse?
Are Greens ready to capitalize on the imminent collapse of the Liberal Party?Say what? “The imminent collapse of the Liberal Party”? How is that a thing? Didn’t the Liberals just “survive” LavScam? Isn’t Justin Trudeau’s Party currently polling in a statistical tie with Andrew Scheer’s Conservatives? Why on earth would
Continue readingSudbury Steve May: The Kingsway Cases at the LPAT: An (Unrepresented) Party’s Observations, Part 10: Shenanigans
In my April 30, 2019 blogpost, “The Kingsway Cases at the LPAT: An (Unrepresented) Party’s Observations, Part 9: Going Through the Motions,” I updated readers on the KED cases at the LPAT – and specifically on a number of motions that were filed by some of the parties back before
Continue readingSudbury Steve May: Ring of Fire Bungling Jeopardizes Green Economic Prosperity for Northern Communities
Buried beneath the feet of Northern Ontarians are the materials that will drive the green economy. Nickel, copper, cobalt and lithium are needed in abundance for batteries that will store electric energy (see: “Enabling Clean Energy Applications, Information Bulletin,” Natural Resources Canada, March 2017). The world is already shifting from
Continue readingSudbury Steve May: Is This All That Stands in the Way of NDP-Green Electoral Co-operation?
Canada’s political ground is shifting – and the upheaval is largely as a result of Canadians’ growing awareness of, and concerns over climate change. Here’s what I’m seeing: Greens recently won big in PEI, and took an important by-election in Nanaimo-Ladysmith – a riding previously held by the NDP. Elizabeth
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