Assorted content to end your weekend. – For those wondering where progressive leaders are going with their policy proposals, the last week offered a couple of noteworthy examples. At home, Tom Mulcair’s Canadian Club speech commented on the importance of real roles for the government and the public in making
Continue readingTag: agriculture
News flash—U.S. corn growers oppose subsidy
American farm policy has been described as “a bi-partisan pork-barrel boondoggle.” Critics claim that massive subsidies reward mainly corporate farms (through 1995 to 2010, the top 10 per cent of farmers collected 74 per cent of all subsidies) while undermining farmers in the Third World. For example, NAFTA allowed cheap,
Continue readingCanadian Progressive: World Forest Area Still on the Decline
World Forest Area Still on the Decline (via sustainablog) By Emily E. Adams Forests provide many important goods, such as timber and paper. They also supply essential services—for example, they filter water, control water runoff, protect soil, regulate climate, cycle and store nutrients, and provide habitat for countless animal species
Continue readingAlberta Diary: U.S. grain and seed ports will kill a few more Canadian jobs – with a little help from Stephen Harper
Bunge’s $200-million US grain port at Longview, Wash. Below, U.S. police and strikers scuffle at the port. Back in 2009, when the destruction of the Canadian Wheat Board was still just a twinkle in Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s eye, work started on a $200-million US grain-handling terminal in the port
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Tales from the political root cellar: Alberta’s liberal War on Spuds and the Harper election strategy
David Swann in Alberta’s political root cellar, contemplating all those potatoes. Actual Alberta politicians may not be exactly as illustrated. Below: The real David Swann, Alberta’s likely reaction to his quixotic efforts. Perhaps it’s just as well that Dr. David Swann, former leader of the Alberta Liberals still toiling away
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Pure milk or pure ideology? Alberta MP attacks supply management
Milking it for all that it’s worth – not how it’s done any more. Below: Edmonton-St. Albert MP Brent Rathgeber. ST. ALBERT, Alberta Brent Rathgeber, Member of Parliament for Edmonton St. Albert, has launched a third “attack” on the policies of the Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. But
Continue reading350 or bust: Hope Is A Verb With Its Sleeves Rolled Up
Sometimes it feels like the forces working against a sustainable future for humanity – vested interests like Big Oil, Coal, & Gas, and the politicians they’ve bought, as well as an overall apathy among the general population – are too formidable to be overcome. We are so close to losing
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review – April 26, 2012
Thursday, April 26 saw ample discussion of private members’ business – and if the Cons are now cracking down on such debate, the results of the day’s proceedings might give us some clues as to why. The Big Issue While it didn’t receive as much media attention as another issue
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your long weekend reading. – While some of us may recognize that there’s little reason to lend much credence to the talking points spewed out by any Con spokespuppet, others have tried to give the benefit of the doubt as long as possible. But Lawrence Martin notes
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Is the British Potato in Peril?
It is estimated that the people of the United Kingdom consume their way through their country’s annual agricultural production by about Easter each year. Overall, therefore, Brits rely on imports for about two-thirds of their foodstuffs. Put another way, for two-thirds of the year, Brits eat other peoples’ food. In
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Alison nicely debunks the Cons’ latest Robocon talking points. Paula Boutis offers her own suggestions to strengthen Elections Canada in investigating vote suppression. And Glen McGregor and Stephen Maher report that the Cons have been working on funneling federal money through a
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – William Black suggests that we consider applying the “broken windows” theory to the financial sector – particularly since the signs of a severely damaged system are still obvious. – Jim Stanford proposes one way to make sure that resource extraction actually does benefit
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on how the Cons are taking away the real choice currently enjoyed by Western grain producers thanks to the Canadians Wheat Board. The data on grain production within the column is drawn from Statistics Canada. And see CBC’s report on the total lack of planning by the Cons in
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament In Review: October 20, 2011
The main topic of debate on Thursday, October 20 was the Canadian Wheat Board – with extensive discussion in Parliament of both the Cons’ steps to shut down debate, and the substance of what should happen with the Wheat Board.The Big IssueThe passage o…
Continue reading350 or bust: Kitikaanikamik, “Where People Come To Grow”
Kitikaanikamik is an Ojibway word that means “the place where things grow”. The Local Foods Initiative (RLLFI) in the northern Ontario town that I live in has applied to the Aviva Community Fund for “seed” money to get our s…
Continue readingThe Liberal Scarf: "Thanks for the jobs"
That’s what one man who worked for the solar company next to the Ontario Liberal tent told me today at the International Plowing Fest. From providing the way forward to tomorrow’s economy with the Green Energy Act to protecting and growing Ontario’s ag…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Conservative democracy at work
Shorter Gerry Ritz:The only fair vote is one where I get to revise the results after the fact to reflect my preferred outcome.
Continue readingMolly'sBlog: Molly’sBlog 2011-07-24 21:25:00
HUMOUR:THE WAY IT GOES:Another winner from the pen of Stephanie McMillan.
Continue reading350 or bust: Does Life Get Better Than Fresh Strawberry Pie?
It’s strawberry season in Canada, although here in our corner of the Canadian Shield there are no strawberry farms within 200 kilometres, and no organic ones within 500 kilometres. But, thanks to Mark’s lovely parents, who visited us from M…
Continue reading350 or bust: How Our Food System Is Making Us Sick: Former Food Industry Analyst
Robyn O’Brian, author of “The Unhealthy Truth: How Our Food Is Making Us Sick and What We Can Do About It” shares her personal story and how it inspired her current path as a “Real Food” evangelist. Grounded in a successfu…
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