Salmon Confidential is a new film on the government cover up of what is killing BC’s wild salmon. When biologist Alexandra Morton discovers BC’s wild salmon are testing positive for dangerous European salmon viruses associated with salmon farming worldwide, a chain of events is set off by government to suppress the findings. Tracking viruses, Morton moves from courtrooms, into British Columbia’s most remote rivers, Vancouver grocery stores and sushi restaurants. The film documents Morton’s journey as she attempts to overcome government and industry roadblocks thrown in her path and works to bring critical information to the public in time to save BC’s wild salmon.
The film provides surprising insight into the inner workings of government agencies, as well as rare footage of the bureaucrats tasked with managing our fish and the safety of our food supply.
Days after industrial waste spilled into the Athabasca River from an oil-sands project, the Alberta government has revealed toxic water flowed into the river from the same site for three days in 2011.
Alberta’s Department of Environment and Sustainable Resource Development on Thursday issued an environmental order against Suncor Energy Inc. for an industrial waste-water release in March, 2011, discovered after fish died in a monthly experiment that uses them to test the toxicity of industrial waste water from the oil-sands site. It is unclear why the investigation took two years….
Prime Minister Harper’s administration has once more shocked the community of nations by withdrawing from an environmental treaty. This time it is the 1994 United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. This is only the second time in Canadian history we have withdrawn from a treaty. The first time was the Kyoto Protocol.
“We do not see Harper withdrawing from trade deals. The treaties he views as of no importance are those designed to protect the environment. What message does it send to African nations that in the same week we eliminate CIDA, we withdraw from a treaty to stop the advance of deserts?” said Green Leader Elizabeth May, Member of Parliament for Saanich-Gulf Islands.
The UN and the nations of the world are losing faith in Canada. Our 2010 failure to get elected to the Security Council was a stark signal of our declining credibility,” said John Streiker, Green Critic for Northern Affairs.
Canada pulls out of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. Read more: http://ow.ly/jyJDw
The Journey of Nishiyuu arrives in Ottawa today — the completion of an epic journey of Indigenous youth that started in the community of Whapmagoostui on Hudson Bay in northern Quebec.
Hundreds of supporters, Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike, will be on hand today in Ottawa to greet them. Members of the labour movement and other civil society groups will be there to show their support. Some Members of Parliament, from opposition parties, will be there when the group arrives on Parliament Hill shortly after 1p.m. EST today.
rabble.ca’s parliamentary reporter Karl Nerenberg will be there on the Hill to report on this historic event.
Stephen Harper, meanwhile, will be in Toronto, rolling out the right carpet for two pandas arriving on loan to Canadian zoos from China.
In other words, on this historic day where Indigenous issues should have the full attention of the national media and politicians, Harper has skipped town, in order to preside over the carefully scripted culmination of his “panda diplomacy” with the government of China….
read full article here… rabble.ca
The image of Canada as a peacemaking nation has been tarnished by the war in Afghanistan. But many people would still be shocked to find out the extent to which Canada exports armaments. Richard Sanders is with the Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade. He details Canada’s role in the production and sale of weapons. Richard Sanders speaks with Redeye host Jane Williams.
As the world prepares to mark International Women’s Day tomorrow, March 8, the Green Party is celebrating the valuable role of women in Canadian society. It also notes their worsening status and living conditions under the Harper Conservatives.
“Canadian women in a wide variety of roles, jobs, and lifestyles across the country deserve to be recognized for their courage, determination, and sacrifices,” said Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, MP Saanich-Gulf Islands.
The list of changes affecting women negatively since the Harper Conservatives came into power in 2006 includes:
- In 2006, Stephen Harper’s first policy announcement as prime minister was to cut Canada’s year-old, $5-billion national child-care plan, supported by all provincial governments, despite protests from child-care advocates and the provinces.
- In 2006, Status of Women Canada (SWC) funding was temporarily cut by $5 million, forcing the closure of 12 of its 16 regional offices; changing the SWC Women’s Program mandate to exclude “gender equality and political justice;” redrafting funding criteria so that advocacy groups and women’s service providers, such as rape crisis centres, are ineligible for funding.
- In 2007, offices for the National Association of Women and the Law, a well-respected organization that had made valuable contributions to improving women’s human rights in Canada, were closed. Funding was also eliminated for other women’s organizations like the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (CRIAW).
- In 2009, the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act allowed public sector employers to consider “market demand” when setting compensation levels – preserving the policy of paying men more than women for equal work
- In 2010-2011, Status of Women Canada spent just over $10 million on violence against women – an inadequate response to a serious problem which directly affects an estimated one in six Canadians and costs the economy nearly $7 billion dollars a year in missed work, medical, policing, and justice expenses. Advocates have called on the federal government to work with the provinces and territories to develop a national strategy and action plan to combat violence against women.
- The challenges facing First Nations women are particularly worrying. Sisters in Spirit, supported by the Green Party and others, have demanded an open, public inquiry into the alarmingly high rates of murdered and missing aboriginal women – without success.
“Not only have key programs and organizations been cut or eliminated in recent years, but there has been little or no progress in reducing violence against women and girls across Canada,” said Rebecca Harrison, Green Party Women’s Issues Critic. “There have been few initiatives to deal with other issues facing women, including poverty, poor health, inadequate housing, and too few full-time jobs.”
In its October, 2012, gender gap ranking, the World Economic Forum revealed that Canada had slipped three spots compared to 135 other countries in terms of gender equality. In fact, we have dropped from the world’s Top 20 countries mainly because of low female representation in politics. Canada is now 21st – behind the Philippines, Latvia, Cuba and Nicaragua.
“As we celebrate the women of today, we should also confront the fact that, with cuts to Old Age Security and Employment Insurance, for example, women of the future will know even greater insecurity,” said May. “Our best gift to them is to fight to protect and restore our social programs and create a more egalitarian society.”
The outcome of this case should be a landmark decision as to whether the federal government has been acting illegally by permitting the use of lakes as dumpsites for metal mining companies in Canada…
Postcards addressed to Canadian PM Harper.
Over 600 indigenous women and girls have disappeared or been murdered since the 1970s and numbers are growing.
We call for a national plan of action to end violence against indigenous women and girls.
