BlackOutSpeakOut is an online protest running in Canada today about the omnibus budget bill that the anti-democratic Conservative government is trying to force through parliament without debate. This is bad and you should care.
Find out why Canadians are concerned here.
Sign an online petition:
In northern Ontario there is a region called Temagami and it is absolutely stunning as it holds Ontario’s oldest old-growth forest and is the home to a diverse wildlife. In a tradition of profiteering, some people want to destroy the area and plans were set in motion in place to permit that – until now. The province has decided to commit to protecting the area from destruction.
Check the video below to see the region:
Wolf Lake from Rob Nelson on Vimeo.
The decision is a victory for the 300-year-old red pine trees, said Ontario’s environment commissioner, Gord Miller. He said the plan would have allowed logging of the ecologically treasured trees if the mining intensified.
“The essence of the ecological dispute in that area is whether or not we should preserve the red pine old-growth system,†Miller said.
“The trees are the key issue. The government has reconsidered and that means the trees stay, which is critical in the long term.â€
Even the right-leaning Canadian press can’t disagree that the Occupy Movement is a positive thing in and of itself. A new poll reveals that almost 60% of Canadians view the movement in a positive light, while some others tend to have problems because it is “leaderless”.
It’s great to see Canadians (who have not suffered as much as their neighbours to the south) talking about the concerns that the Occupy Movement has brought up. Issues like subsidies to big oil, the problems with current financial markets, joblessness, and even democratic accountability are all being discussed in the mainstream media.
Without the Occupy Movement these issues would in all likely hood not have been brought up. You should go to your locally occupied park and see what you can do to help.
Can’t get to a local occupy camp? Here’s what you can do online.
From the Globe and Mail:
Occupy activists have pitched tents in at least eight Canadian cities, building on a protest movement that started in New York’s financial district nearly two months ago. Participants have no official demands, but are advocating for a variety of social justice and economic issues, including nationalizing Canadian banks, closing tax loopholes for the wealthy and increasing the minimum wage. Most say they are frustrated that a small number of people control most of the world’s wealth.
“For many Canadians, they might not necessarily agree with those views, but they think that they are valid. Those are legitimate concerns that are being raised about our democratic and financial system,†Mr. Nanos said.
The most significant demographic that views the Occupy movement favourably is people who are between 18 and 29 years of age, the poll found, which may be reflective of a tough job market for new workers. Nearly 73 per cent of people under 30 said they have a favourable or somewhat favourable impression of the protests.
Still don’t know how to help? Here’s 10 simple ways to help the Occupy Movement.
The Afghanistan war that has been going for 10 years(!) has caused a lot of horrible things to happen to all the belligerents. The American forces have been accused of torture and other horrible actions to Afghanis, and in Canada a few years ago there was accusations that Canadian forces let people be tortured as well. Unlike the American government, the Canadian government has been found by the UN to actually stop torture form happening!
“For those arrested by Canadians, two NDS officials were allocated for further interrogation and those interrogated by them never complained about ill-treatment by NDS officials.”
Between 2009 and 2010, Canadian and British forces reportedly handed over some 2,000 detainees to Afghan authorities, according to the report, with caveats and monitoring in place to ensure they were not tortured.
The treatment of Afghan detainees became a political issue for the federal government after allegations of abuse and mistreatment first arose five years ago.
Thanks Janet!
Insite is a safe injection site for drug users which has had proven health benefits for individuals and the community. Through their work Insite has been able to help many addicts stay safe and secure while consuming drugs, this is in stark contrast to doing drugs on the streets which is way more dangerous.
In the past, Insite had to defend itself against the British Columbia Supreme Court and won, and today Insite won in the Supreme Court of Canada. This is a blow to the anti-safety, anti-drug, pro-prison campaign of the ruling Progressive Conservative Party of Canada and will hopefully mark a turning point in how Canadians support drug addicts.
This is a huge victory for results-based and preventative health care and for people who are unfortunately addicted to drugs.
If Insite wasn’t allowed to operate it would prevent injection drug users from accessing the health services offered at the facility, threatening their health and their lives, the ruling said. Withdrawing the exemption would even undermine the purpose of the federal drug law, which includes public health and safety, the court said.
…Health groups, including the Canadian Medical Association and the Canadian Public Health Association, also applauded the decision.
The Supreme Court said that if the health minister, currently Leona Aglukkaq, receives applications for more exemptions, she must continue to exercise her discretion and aim to strike a balance between Charter rights and protecting public health and safety.
Read more coverage and see the full court report at the CBC.
Remember don’t consume dangerous drugs!