politics

Ontario Slaps SLAPPs

- Adam Clare

A strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) is a lawsuit that has the goal of shutting down opponents. They tend to be used as a strategy to shut down poor NGOs or poor people who can’t afford to defend themselves in a lengthy legal battle. SLAPPs tie up the courts while shutting down debate – bad for democracy and bad for all of society.

Ontario has joined many other parts of the world in passing legislation to stop SLAPPs.

The new act, which will become law in Ontario upon Royal Assent, contains a number of elements that will reduce the risk of citizens being threatened with legal action when speaking out on matters of public interest, including:

  • A new fast-track review process that will allow the courts to quickly identify and deal with strategic lawsuits
  • New protections for individuals from defamation lawsuits when their concerns are reported to the public through a third party, such as a blogger or a reporter
  • Faster and less expensive procedures at boards and tribunals that will allow parties to make written submissions about legal costs instead of making submissions in person.

Read more.

Thanks to Delaney!

Keystone XL is Done, COP 21 Set to Start

- Adam Clare

You probably already heard the good news about the end of Keystone XL with Obama killing the proposal. This is a good symbolic step in ending the exploitation of the tar sands in Alberta, plus this comes just a few weeks before COP21.

COP21 is the upcoming United Nations climate change conference which is set to run from Nov. 30 to Dec.11. In the light of Keystone being killed it gives people hope that Obama will actually do something about climate change.

On the Canadian side of the border Prime Minster Trudeau (who loves pipelines, sigh) has cast Catherine McKenna as Canada’s minister of environment and climate change. A new title acknowledging that climate change is real and has to be dealt with – a step forward from the idiotic climate approach from the Conservatives previously in power.

Keystone XL being nixed may be just the thing North America needs to show up at COP21. With the pipeline project over, other countries may actually start respecting North America on environmental matters.

TransCanada first applied for Keystone permits in September 2008 — shortly before Obama was elected. As envisioned, Keystone would snake from Canada’s oilsands through Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska, then connect with existing pipelines to carry more than 800,000 barrels of crude oil a day to specialized refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast.

Democrats and environmental groups latched onto Keystone as emblematic of the type of dirty fossil fuels that must be phased out. Opponents chained themselves to construction equipment and the White House fence in protest, arguing that building the pipeline would be antithetical to Obama’s call for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

Read more.

Europe Meets 2020 Emissions Targets Early

- Adam Clare 1 Comment

Europe has already beat its 2020 gas emissions target and it’s only 2015! This is good news because we need to reduce our energy consumption and our global output of greenhouse gas emissions. This demonstrates to the rest of the world that not only is it economically feasible to reduce emissions it proves that it can be done quicker than climate change deniers claim.

A report by the EU’s environment agency on Tuesday said 2014 emissions were 23 percent lower than in 1990. The EU’s goal is to achieve 20 percent reductions by 2020, but the report said the bloc is headed for 24-25 percent cuts with current measures to fight climate change.

Read more.

Stephen Harper No Longer Prime Minister of Canada

- Adam Clare

Finally Canadians have vote out the Conservative party led by Stephen Harper. Their nine year rule saw Canada lose respect from around the world. Canada has earned a reputation of blocking climate change related international agreements and being a country that is swayed by horrible political manoeuvres. The country transformed from a place that supports collective freedoms to a country that won’t help refugees. The federal government, who passed drastic anti-terroist laws, said they won’t even investigate the murders of aboriginal women.

Canada became a shameful place. Regular readers of this blog would note that the only time Harper (or the Conservatives) were mentioned it was because organizations stood up to fight what Harper was doing. For example:
The Lancet Calls on Canada to be a Good Global Citizen
Canadians Want Science to be Free
Harper Shuns Democracy, Activists Decide to Cover Costs

So in a nutshell, it’s good to see that Canadians have finally said no to more of Harper’s politics. They did so in the highest voter turnout since 1993.

Now we hope that the winners of yesterday’s election (Liberal party) lead Canada down a new path. A path that will change Canada’s reputation from a place of archaic climate policy to environmentally friendly policy. From a country that bans freedoms to a country that supports them. From a country that treats complex moral issues as trite to a country that can engage in civil discourse.

Good luck to the Liberal party in turing Canada from a backward-looking country to a country that once again can have a positive influence on the world.

I hope that I will now be able to say that I’m Canadian with pride instead of shame.

Canada: Go Vote!

- Adam Clare

Today is election day in Canada and it’s a chance for Canadians to bring change to who runs the country. The hopefully soon to be ousted government has based laws which the courts say “constitutes cruel and unusual treatment“. The Conservative party has got to go.

Here’s John Oliver’s take on the sad state of Canadian federal politics.

You want to make Canada a good place? Go vote for change!

Elections Canada

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