Tag Archives: canada

Canada Climate Week Xchange

wind turbine
One way to fight climate change is to get corporations to only invest in renewable options and celebrate success in the green economy, and that’s one of the goals of the Canada Climate Week Xchange. Happening this week are tons of events from coast to coast all about finance and the growing green economy. More than ever, Canada needs o push an economy that is forward looking and embraces renewable energy and sustainable investments. In order to deal with the threats coming from the USA Canada ought to focus on shifting it’s economy into a future mindset opposed to one clinging to the 20th century economy.

Mission
Support Canada’s commitment of a significant GHG reduction by 2030 through the creation and promotion of a time and space where cross-collaboration on Canada’s climate-related challenges can drive solutions and opportunities.

Goal
Attract, curate, and promote a variety of accessible, action-oriented events that focus on Canada’s unique perspective and situation on climate-related issues.
?

Check it out and find an event to attend.

Civic Searchlight: A Tool to Fight Disinformation

Picture of Vancouver City Hall

Canada’s National Observer as seen that journalists are feeling the years of budgets cuts and the lack of institutional supports and decided to do something about it. The National Observer has released a fantastic new tool to help Canadian journalists research and identify issues in municipalities throughout the country. The tool known as Civic Searchlight makes it easy to track issues and find what’s being discussed at the local level across Canada, and they are adding more towns and cities!

In at least one municipality — Cochrane, Alta. — reporting based on Civic Searchlighthas been instrumental in providing the council with the information it needed to stay in the net-zero program the town had been part of for more than 20 years. Canada’s National Observer’s reporting was the deciding factor in the town remaining in the program — that’s according to the group that targeted Cochrane with climate misinformation to try to convince it to leave. “We would have won in Cochrane if that hadn’t happened,” the group’s organizer said in a meeting.

Read more.

Canada Does Something About The Housing Crisis

construction

The housing supply in Canada, like many other places, has been negatively impacted by the financialisation of housing. Companies like AirBnB and private equity have removed housing from the market which have increased the price of shelter for everyone, but benefiting only a few. This has led to a crisis of affordable housing for individuals and families alike. Thankfully the federal government of Canada has launched the Build Canada Homes initiative to increase housing supply while not giving into fickle market trends. The new housing will be built with an environmental lens and make use of local resources as best as possible. Let’s get building.

A central feature of Build Canada Homes is its focus on affordable and social housing rather than relying solely on market supply. The agency is mandated to build and preserve units that remain permanently affordable, including supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness, rentals for low and moderate income households, and mixed income communities that reduce stigma by serving a broad spectrum of Canadians. This emphasis has important implications. By expanding the non-market stock, the program builds a foundation of housing insulated from speculative pressures, stabilizing communities over the long term. Inclusion of mixed income developments, as seen in successful models in Vienna, ensures political support and better integration into cities. It also shifts the federal role from merely enabling private developers to directly shaping housing outcomes, embedding affordability as a permanent feature of the housing landscape.

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.

A New Guide to Science Advocacy

Scientists used to think that sharing the facts and evidence of an issue was enough to sway policy makers and the general public. Unfortunately, with many issues facing us today there are vested interests looking to derail civil discourse around topics like climate change and vaccines. Today Evidence for Democracy launched a toolkit for scientists to better advocate for evidence based policy decisions. The idea now is to provide scientists with guides on how to share facts and evidence so that the general public can benefit from their research and not be manipulated by lobbying campaigns and the like.

Whether you want to dip your toes into advocacy for the first time, or are looking to fine-tune your skills, this guide will help you expand your toolbox of advocacy strategies, and build and nurture relationships with decision-makers.

Fostering a better relationship between scientists and policy-makers is not just about enabling ground-breaking discoveries or strengthening the economy. It’s also about how science can serve the collective good — for a healthier, more prosperous, and just society.

Within the guide, you will also find firsthand experiences from parliamentarians reflecting on their experiences interacting with the science community. Personally, I’m still thinking about this quote:

“Conversations around science are frequently centered around funding. They are less often about how [the] government can make better evidence informed decisions using the research that is being produced by the stakeholders I meet with.” — Member of Parliament

Read more.