He has presented at all the major Climate summits, including the Paris Accord and once worked with Al Gore. Being frustrated that no one was talking about the REAL causes of climate change he co-produced three films, including Cowspiracy and What the Health.
You can get more information from his website: Climate Healers
The search for spiritual awakening, the search for environmental sustainability and the search for social justice are all part of the same search for moral singularity, a state of being where we routinely experience the ultimate happiness that is already within us.
Free presentation and discussion with Dr. Sailesh Rao
Co-producer of Cowspiracy: The sustainability Secret
Sunday, November 4, 2018, 1:00pm
Grand River Unitarian Congregation Map
299 Sydney Street South, Kitchener
Parking available, close to transit
Refreshments will be served.
Back in 2015, 122 Ontario doctors pressed then Ontario Liberal Minister of Health Eric Hoskins to adopt Basic Income because income (or lack thereof) is a serious health issue. The Wynne Government took its sweet time about it, and I have no doubt at all their Basic Income Pilot was intended to result in re-election. Still, WRGreens own Stacey Danckert pointed out the last Liberal Budget provided no funding to do anything after the pilot would have ended.
During our recent provincial election campaign, the Liberal, NDP, Green, and Doug Ford’s PC Party all indicated they they would continue the Ontario Basic Income Pilot after the election.
Universal Basic Income
The idea of Universal Basic Income is actually an old one, dating back to the Fourteen Hundreds. Far from being a left wing, socialist or communist idea, the concept spans the political spectrum, no doubt in part because poverty does too. There are left (human dignity) and right (stop theft) arguments for such a system, particularly in capitalist nations like Canada that are already investing vast sums in a piecemeal social safety net that has not managed to make a dent in citizen poverty. In Canada politicians of every political stripe have agreed we need to eliminate child poverty, and yet poverty is still with us.
Even American Nobel Prize winning economist Milton Friedman advocated for a basic income alleviation of poverty.
"Suppose one accepts, as I do, this line of reasoning as justifying
governmental action to alleviate poverty; to set, as it were, a floor under the
standard of life of every person in the community."
In his role of economic adviser to Republican President Richard Nixon, Friedman supported a negative income tax as a means of creating that floor and eliminating poverty. Had Nixon’s government not fallen in scandal, such a regime may have even been implemented in the US.
The international resurgence of interest in the idea of a Universal Basic Income gathering steam in the early 21st Century is growing fast for a host of reasons, including the collapse of manufacturing due to so called “free trade” agreements combined with the rapidly approaching decimation of the job market by ever increasing loss of human jobs through automation.
All of this is why it was reasonable to take Premier Ford’s promise to continue the OLP’s Basic Income Pilot Project if his party came to power. Whether for or against the idea, it only makes sense for any government to complete a project that has already cost the taxpayers of Ontario so much to get the data at the end of the rainbow. Any decision to take the matter further or toss it out could then be made based on facts rather than partisan rhetoric.
Sadly it seems Mr Ford prefers rhetoric. Rather than forging sound public policy in order to govern “for the people,” his new Government has opted to cancel Ontario’s Basic Income Pilot.
More than 20,000 people have signed this change.org petition asking the Ford Government to Save the Ontario Basic Income Pilot Project. But the Ford Government isn’t listening to the people.
But all doesn’t need to be lost.
The Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction has appealed to the federal Liberal Government:
The Liberal Party of Canada has a long history with Basic Income, and in fact it was Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau’s Government that co-authored the 5 year Mincome Pilot in Dauphin Manitoba in the 1970’s. Unfortunately, as often happens with long term projects under short sighted FPTP voting, Mr Trudeau’s Government fell and the data from the just completed pilot project was shelved and buried, only emerging for consideration many decades later.
We believe there is tremendous national value in finishing this project. Every province is grappling with how to provide a strong social safety net that allows people to lead dignified lives without creating excessive administration. We are in desperate need of preventative approaches that will reduce the burden of poverty on our health care, education, and criminal justice systems.
Instead of starting their own Basic Income project from scratch, the Justin Trudeau Liberal Government need only spend $50 million dollars to complete the Ontario Basic Income Pilot project. That would be an incredible bargain basement price for data that would prove invaluable for making federal economic policy.
What can we do to help?
We can write our own letters to the Prime Minister and our own MP (and remember– physical letters travel postage free to the federal government.) But we can also sign every petition… like the one just begun by our friends at The Council of Canadians:
Join the groups and organizations that make up KWPeace for a midday meal and a conversation about Peace, Nonviolence, Social Justice and Climate Change.
Tamara Lorincz The guest speaker is Tamara Lorincz, who is completing her PhD studies in Global Governance at the Balsillie School of International Affairs. She will talk about Canada’s new defence and foreign policies and the environmental and social impacts such as climate, military spending, etc. The food for this event is provided by Kitchener Food Not Bombs, which picks up donated food from grocery stores, cooks fresh vegan meals, and serves these meals to the community for free! All groups and organizations working towards Peace, Nonviolence, Social Justice or Climate Change are invited to have an information table around the rotunda. Please register to reserve your place.
There is no charge for this event, but donations are gratefully accepted to offset the costs.
What: Perspectives On Peace — Where’s The Peace and Justice? Canada’s New Foreign and Defence Policies When: Saturday, 27 October 2018 from noon to 2:00pm Where: The Rotunda, Kitchener City Hall Location: 200 King Street West, Kitchener, Ontario Map
Cities and regions around the globe are taking the myriad threats of climate change VERY seriously, and many are taking active steps to ‘future proof’ their communities. We are already seeing the impacts in our own backyards – and we know that decisions will need to be made today to address tomorrow’s looming climate dangers. On behalf of Region residents and voters concerned with the devastating impacts of climate change felt right here in the Region of Waterloo and across our warming planet, we asked candidates seeking office in the Region of Waterloo to review and reply to a survey questions.
The answers from all 4 candidates seeking Regional Chair position are posted HERE.
Athough this is not a Green Party event, this event was conceived and inspired by our friend Michael Purves-Smith, so it’s a very GREEN event! Hope to see you there!
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a special report today on the impacts of global warming of 1.5℃ above pre-industrial levels.
The report outlines the considerable challenges of meeting the Paris Agreement’s more ambitious goal of limiting warming to 1.5℃, the global effort needed to achieve the target, and the consequences of not.
Correction: A previous version of this article stated that the Australian Labor Party had a goal of reaching 50% renewable energy by 2050. But the ALP hope to achieve the 50% target via an emissions intensity scheme by 2030.
Hi WR Greens: Did you know that voters in Cambridge have a referendum question on Ranked Ballots this municipal election:
Are you in favour of the City of Cambridge using a ranked ballot voting system for the 2022 municipal election?
The Yes! Cambridge advocacy group is holding an informational Town Hall Meeting on Thursday, 11 October 2018 at 7:00pm for anyone who wants to know more about how Ranked Ballots could work, and what the effects might be on campaigns and elections.
Note that this is not a Green Party event, but since electoral reform is a fundamental Green Party policy I expect it’s of interest, especially for those people living and voting in Cambridge.
What: Yes! Cambridge Town Hall Meeting on Ranked Ballots When: Thursday, 11 October 2018 from 7:00pm to 8:30pm Where: Wesley United Church Location: 6 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, Ontario Map
Although I have issues with the colonial origins of our “Thanksgiving” tradition, the idea of expressing public thanks for that for which we are truly thankful is a good one. It is especially easy to forget such things when so many negative things are ongoing, but to be able to continue to work for a sustainable workable future, it is important not to allow despair to prevail. We can draw strength from reminding ourselves that there is still plenty of good in the world, and by harnessing that good, we can build the future we need for our children, and generations to follow.
In 2018 Canada, I am thankful so many of us have come to understand the necessity of adopting a proportional representation voting system, in spite of Mr. Trudeaus’s attempt to shut the idea of a truly representative democracy back in the closet, as his predecessors have done throughout Canadian history.
So I am very thankful that, instead of allowing this to happen:
the Provinces of BC and PEI are holding electoral reform referenda
the Yukon Territory has undertaken a study of electoral reform
a new government has been elected in Quebec after all opposition parties made a public pact to enact Proportional Representation no matter which formed new government
Ontario struggles under an FPTP extremist government which strips its most populous city in the country of almost half its (already) inadequate municipal representation
New Brunswick again suffers an electoral outcome like that which triggered its previous electoral reform process
Alberta looks down the barrel at the prospect of right wing populism in its already toxic atmosphere of polarization
Canadian provinces are pitted against each other by the federal government
PEI political polling suggests the PEI Greens may form the first Green led government in Canada
As an Ontarian, I don’t care who’s first but we can’t afford not to change. Defenders Of The Status Quo fight so hard because once any jurisdiction in Canada adopts Proportional Representation and the sky doesn’t fall, the rest of us will be able to see with our own eyes that the myths they’ve frightened generations of Canadians with have always been pure misinformation. Once that happens, the rest of the country will fall into Proportional Representation like dominoes. We are surely at a Proportional Representation tipping point.
Even in the unlikely event PR is staved off a little longer, at least Canadians are beginning to understand that even with our existing grotesquely inequitable voting system, we need to stop being bullied into voting ‘strategically’ for lesser evils but instead vote for what we want.
I am thankful that all five Waterloo Region Greens ranked in the top 20% of Ontario Green Party candidates in the 2018 provincial election.
I am thankful that, in spite of staggering odds against, and in the face of the Broadcast Consortium’s exclusion from the Ontario Leadership debates, Mike Schreiner made history this year by winning election as our first Ontario Greens Member of Provincial Parliament.
Bravo Mike!
WRGreens are thankful for our estimable federal and provincial representatives: Mike Schreiner and Elizabeth May.
And so I would like to wish us all a Happy Thanksgiving from everyone at WRgreens!
WRGreens Meetup: Kitchener Centre Candidate Stacey Danckert and Teresa Cornwell host GPC Deputy Leader Jo-Ann Roberts and GPO orrganizer Maureen Balsillie at our DTK Office
During the 2018 Election the WRGreens were able to host a conversation in our Downtown Kitchener Office with Green Party of Canada Deputy Leader Jo-Ann Roberts. It wasn’t just an election pep talk, it was also a terrific opportunity to discuss all manner of things Green, including the way forward.
In this era of knee-jerk partisanship and decision-based evidence making, the currency of actual ideas has become sadly devalued in Canadian politics. Veteran broadcaster (and Green Party Deputy Leader) Jo-Ann Roberts is changing all that with the new podcast *People, Politics and Planet*, a wide-ranging audio journey through some fascinating political terrain where you’ll meet some of the country’s most thought-provoking policy innovators.
Sure, they mostly lean towards Green — but, as Jo-Ann finds out, that’s where the all interesting stuff is happening.
Kitchener-Waterloo Climate Save
Grand River Unitarian Social Action Committee
Download the poster (.PDF, 2 MBytes)
CC BY-ND
Yes! Cambridge
https://rss.simplecast.com/podcasts/7692/rss