Last year this Conservative government collected $424,418,000 in taxes to pay for carbon emissions. That same year Canadians used 38,208,346,000 litres of gasoline. Doing the quick math, Canadians paid 1.1¢ or $0.011 for every litre of gas they consumed in 2011. Now Canadians weren’t taxed at the pump, though it
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Accidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Tim Harper weighs in on the Cons’ latest campaign of coordinated lies, and notes that the NDP looks to have learned one important lesson in how to respond: The NDP may be here at the federal level for the first time, but they
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: The Conservative Carbon Tax
Emitting carbon has a cost to Canadians, whether we call it a carbon tax or not. Considering this Conservative government is spending money on increasing health care costs from respiratory damage due to pollution, that it is spending money on additional infrastructure because of climate change, and that it is
Continue readingSong of the Watermelon: A Taxing Debate
The gloves came off yesterday on Parliament’s first day back after its summer break, with Stephen Harper dealing the NDP what he evidently considers a fatal insult. Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition, according to the synchronized taunts of the Prime Minister and his Conservative minions, wants nothing more than to impose
Continue readingCanadian Progressive: Naomi Klein – Unacceptable risks in pipeline expansion to Vancouver
RELATED: Naomi Klein Debunks “Ethical Oil” Fiction AUDIO: On “A Sense of Justice”, disecting Enbridge and the Canadian tar sands On International Women’s Day, A Focus on Canada’s Gender Deficit
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: The Lime Kiln Technical Trail Will Never Be The Same
Today we finally had the opportunity to hike the Lime Kiln Technical Trail for the first time since the Lime Kiln area fire in the Stony Swamp Conservation Area. (click on map to enlarge) Things are looking pretty good for the first part of the trail, although you start to
Continue readingImpolitical: Putting the Progressive back in the Conservatives?
It’s September, the big back to school month, and Parliament resumes sitting this coming week. Interesting then to note some moves being made by the Harper government, perhaps designed to put a new coat of paint on their tired, right wing shtick. Noted in the past day or so… “Canada
Continue readingThings Are Good: Robots That Ride Waves for Science and Understanding
New surfboard sized robots are riding the waves and doing science! They’re autonomous robots called Wave Gliders and they are being used to monitor shipping and more importantly they are tracking information on the oceans that have traditionally been too costly to gather. Researchers are warming up to the technology
Continue readingCanadian Progressive: Massive Peaceful Tar Sands Protest Before B.C. Provincial Legislature Planned For October 22
Over 80 influential leaders from the business, First Nations, environmental, labour, academic, medical and artistic communities across Canada today announced an upcoming mass sit-in in front of the provincial legislature in Victoria, British Columbia on October 22. The sit-in will oppose tar sands pipelines and tankers and the threats they
Continue readingThings Are Good: Great Lakes get More Protection
In a demonstration of the usefulness of having an embassy in another country, Canada and the USA have renewed a pact to protect the Great Lakes. This is a good thing as the Great Lakes need more protection and better environmental care from both sides of the border. The pact
Continue readingPaul S. Graham: Video: Sustainable South Osborne
The Riverview Hoop House was one of the projects on display during a walking tour of urban agricultural projects organized by the Sustainable South Osborne Community Co-op in June in Winnipeg. Coordinator Scott Harrison explains how it works. Photo: Paul S. Graham Where does your food come from? If you’re
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Dr. Dawg tears into the National Post’s gratuitous union-bashing: (W)hen it comes to unions, a careless disregard for facts seems to affect journos like a disease. They fall back on their prejudices, cutting and pasting their ready-made anti-union copy in their sleep.… Unions
Continue readingCanadian Progressive: Opposition mounts as first tar sands mine in US gets a green light
Tar sands extraction, which has caused tremendous pollution and environmental degradation in Canada, has crossed the border to U.S. soil taken root in Utah.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On preordained outcomes
Joe Oliver is trying to pretend that the National Energy Board actually gets to determine whether the Northern Gateway pipeline gets approved: Oliver avoided directly answering a question as to whether Ottawa would ram through approval should the project get the thumbs down, but acknowledged the outcome is rarely negative.
Continue readingCanadian Progressive: Cry Wolf: A Canadian Unethical Oil Story
Cry Wolf: An Unethical Oil Story (via Desmogblog) Over the last several years, Alberta has killed more than 500 wolves using aerial sharpshooters and poisoned bait in order to conceal the impact of rapid industrial development on Canada’s iconic woodland caribou. Independent scientists say that declining caribou health stems chiefly
Continue readingPop The Stack: On The Benefits of Winning, In Canada
After reading this post on the future of the Liberal party from fellow DemReform blogger and every hopeful Liberal over at Curiosity Cat, I found my response turned into it’s own blog post. A snippet: Within a week or so of Trudeau`s announcement of his run, I expect opinion polls will show two major
Continue readingPop The Stack: On The Benefits of Winning, In Canada
After reading this post on the future of the Liberal party from fellow DemReform blogger and every hopeful Liberal over at Curiosity Cat, I found my response turned into it’s own blog post. A snippet: Within a week or so of Trudeau`s announcement of his run, I expect opinion polls will show two major
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
Assorted content for your Sunday reading. – Plenty of commentators are using the Labour Day weekend to discuss the place of workers in Canadian society. Sid Ryan notes that depressed wages are bad news for Canada’s economy generally. And Morna Ballantyne and Steven Staples point out the need for unions
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 readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: Martha Webber on the Destruction of the Beaver Pond Forest
Martha Webber, renowned Kanata/Ottawa botanist, naturalist and educator, wrote the following in response to the news of the final complete clear-cutting of the Beaver Pond Forest in the South March Highlands. It is posted here with her permission. Is there no way to end the destruction? This old growth forest
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