canada

Great Lakes get More Protection

- Adam Clare

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 also implies a reversal of the destructive anti-science policies that the Canadian government has had this past year.

The updated Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement binds both nations to continue a cleanup and restoration initiative begun when the freshwater seas were a symbol of ecological decay. Many of their beaches were littered with foul algae blooms and dead fish. The Cuyahoga River, which flows into Lake Erie in Cleveland, was so choked with oil and chemicals that flames erupted on its surface in 1969.

The pact calls for further action on problems that inspired the original agreement three years after the embarrassing river fire and a second version in 1987. It pledges to “restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity” of the five lakes and the portion of the St. Lawrence River on the U.S.-Canadian border.

Read more here.

Declaration of Internet Freedom

- Adam Clare

Around the world governments are trying to restrain the ability of people to freely share information across the internet. Bills like SOPA in the USA and Bill C-30 in Canada to the more recent TPP all focus on propping up old media monopolies and curtailing people’s privacy and communication rights. The most effective and extreme example of clamping down on the internet can be seen in the Great Firewall of China.

WIth the above in mind, it’s good to see that a group of people have taken up the challenge of creating a universal declaration of freedom for online access and participation!

The Preamble:

We believe that a free and open Internet can bring about a better world. To keep the Internet free and open, we call on communities, industries and countries to recognize these principles. We believe that they will help to bring about more creativity, more innovation and more open societies.

We are joining an international movement to defend our freedoms because we believe that they are worth fighting for.

Let’s discuss these principles — agree or disagree with them, debate them, translate them, make them your own and broaden the discussion with your community — as only the Internet can make possible.

Go to the Declaration of Internet Freedom.

Canadians please check out OpenMedia.

Canadians Black Out and Speak Out to Defend Democracy

- Adam Clare

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:

Ontario Chooses to Protect Old-Growth Forest

- Adam Clare

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.”

Read more at the Star.

Canadians Like the Occupy Movement

- Adam Clare 2 Comments

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.

Read the rest.

Still don’t know how to help? Here’s 10 simple ways to help the Occupy Movement.

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