Let’s End Gas Subsidies

For some strange reason countries like Canada keep giving tax money to ultra wealthy oil and gas companies even though they keep killing all life on the planet. Let’s stop this. The team at Solar Share hosted a good information session on how we can reduce government money going to oil and gas, and of course, channeling that money to renewables. It’s worth a watch.

On February 12, over 30 participants joined us for our webinar about ending gas subsidies in Ontario, featuring Kent Elson (Elson Advocacy) and Jessica Hamilton (former political candidate and staffer).

We discussed the Ford government’s plan to overrule the Ontario Energy Board’s decision on gas subsidies, what “natural” methane gas is, and how to effectively engage with our elected representatives in Ontario.

There were some excellent questions and comments, and you can watch the recording here!

Norway Gamed Oil to Get Rich and Go Green

Norway figured out how to make money from its oil while going green, and other countries should learn this nifty trick. Yes, oil is bad and we need to stop using it right away to avoid climate collapse. What Norway has done is take their bad oil and export it to other countries and used the money to turn their economy to a renewable powerhouse. Many years ago Norway created the Sovereign Wealth Fund to manage their oil revenue and is now worth 1.2 trillion dollars. All of that money is being used to improve life in the country. And, as their economy gets more green they basically get to run their country for free and profit from everything they export. Other countries, like Canada, with oil can do the same thing – so why don’t they.

Plus, recent discoveries of valuable minerals such as titanium and vanadium in southern Norway have significantly bolstered the country’s economic prospects, with estimates indicating reserves of up to 70 billion tons of economically recoverable phosphate. These resources are crucial for various industries, including aerospace, electronics, and renewable energy technology — positioning it as a global economic powerhouse for generations.

Paris Triples Parking Fees for SUVs

Paris is undergoing a transportation revolution that champions the movement of people over the movement of vehicles and the most recent change was put to the people of the city. Citizens of Paris have voted to triple parking fees for heavy, road destroying, SUVs that take up more space than comparable vehicles. The increase in fees makes sense due to the harm caused by the large machines in urban settings. Hopefully other cities will copy Paris and make road users pay for the share of the road they consume.

City hall has further pointed to safety concerns about taller, heavier SUVs, which it says are “twice as deadly for pedestrians as a standard car” in an accident. The vehicles are also singled out for taking up more public space – whether on the road or while parked – than others. Paris officials say the average car has put on 250 kilograms (550 pounds) since 1990. Hidalgo, whose city will host the 2024 Olympics this summer, rarely misses a chance to boast of the environmental credentials of the town hall and its drive to drastically reduce car use in the center.

Read more.

Canada Now Requires Companies to Disclose Who Benefits

Following similar legislation in other countries Canada has finally introduced a beneficial ownership requirement on Canadian companies. Federally registered companies will have to disclose who owns them, which means it’ll be harder to commit tax fraud. Plus, by having companies reveal who benefits from their existence it will be easier for authorities to track criminal behaviour and efforts around snow washing.

In 2017, an investigation by the Toronto Star and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, based on ICIJ’s Panama Papers dataset, revealed how Canada had emerged as a popular tax haven, touted by corporate service providers as a “reputable” destination to hide wealth.

Transparency advocates welcomed the landmark reforms, which passed into law on Nov. 2 under an amendment to the Canada Business Corporations Act, following a years-long push for a legislative means to tackle money laundering and tax evasion.

Read more.

To Increase Equality Tell People the Rich Don’t Have to Work


The rich keep getting richer because we think they work for it. The thing is, they don’t work for their wealth that separates the wealthy from everyone else. What allows the rich to keep increasing their wealth is capital gains instead of money earned though labour. Most of us have to work to ensure we can pay rent and buy food; however, people born into wealth don’t need to work nearly as much since they can earn money from money. If we want a more equitable society where everyone needs to work to get wealthy then we need to tell people that the rich don’t need to work.

In this paper, Oscar Barrera-Rodriguez and Emmanuel Chávez examine the impact of providing information on the source of income of the top 1% earners on attitudes towards this group. Based on a randomized online survey of 2000 French respondents, they find that:

  • Simply presenting information about the amount of money the rich make is insufficient to change attitudes toward top earners.
  • Information about other aspects of income at the top, especially the sources of income (capital versus labor), does produce a shift.
  • Individuals most responsive to the treatments vote for left-wing candidates and have egalitarian notions of justice.

Read more.

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