Quebec on the verge of catastrophic climate change, expert says

By William MarsdenThe GazetteDecember 29, 2011 Richelieu River Flooding Record floods, melting permafrost, shoreline erosion and intense winds caused havoc for thousands of Quebecers as 2011 proved to be yet another year of higher than normal temperatures.These higher temperatures add to the credibility of climate models that have predicted the march of global warming will accelerate the more greenhouse ... [click title to continue]

Border Security Deal’s Ugly Twin Carries Major Energy and Environmental Implications for Canada

By Nelle Maxey  The Common Sense Canadian December 19, 2011  Harper's government officially announced in recent weeks a new Border Security deal with the US. However, little press space was given to the ugly twin of this deal - the Canada-United States Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC) and their "Joint Action Plan". The RCC was set up to "streamline" regulations in four economic sectors ... [click title to continue]

World’s poor pay for Harper’s policies

By Linda McQuaigTheStar.comDec 19 2011In a review last week of the year’s best and worst, Rex Murphy offered up his choice for the most overrated politician of the year: Stephen Harper.Speaking on the “At Issue” panel on CBC-TV’s The National, Murphy mused that the Prime Minister is not nearly as menacing a character as his enemies make him out to be: “He doesn’t have the power that they ... [click title to continue]

How To Save Our Great Lakes

By Maude BarlowHuffPostDecember 14, 2011There are huge and growing problems in the Great Lakes.Water use is growing at a rate double that of the population, and we now know that by 2030, global demand will outstrip supply by 40 per cent. Lack of access to clean water is the greatest killer of children by far.So we who live around the Great Lakes of North America have a very special responsibility to ... [click title to continue]

Hope in Resistance Conference

The Council of Canadians and a number of Québec and First Nations peoples, student and labour groups came together for a major conference in Montréal October 21-22.The conference explored how we can work together as civil society movements in Canada, Québec, and the First Nations to create positive alternatives to a system that makes profits more important than people and the planet.People ... [click title to continue]

Indigenous People: A Key to Environmental Rescue

An interview with Clayton Thomas-Muller Michael Welch  Canadian Dimension December 15th 2011 Michael Welsh: Clayton Thomas-Muller, you’re on staff with the Indigenous Environment Network and a founder of Defenders of the Land. What distinguishes them from other Indigenous organizations?Clayton Thomas-Muller: Defenders of the Land is a new initiative. It was created to provide a forum for the ... [click title to continue]

Why Harper’s Kyoto Pullout Is a Death Sentence for Many of World’s Most Vulnerable

By Mike Hudema Green Peace CanadaDecember 13, 2011 For a vulnerable country like Tuvalu, its an act of sabotage on our future.—Ian Fry, Tuvalu lead negotiator   Yesterday I commented that the Harper government pulling out of Kyoto is essentially a death sentence on vulnerable populations all over the world. Many people online and in press comments said that such a comment is "sensationalist" and ... [click title to continue]

Canada condemned at home and abroad for pulling out of Kyoto treaty

China calls Canada's decision 'preposterous', while Greenpeace says the country is protecting polluters instead of people Damian Carrington and Adam Vaughan guardian.co.uk13 December 2011Canada has been condemned at home and abroad as "irresponsible" and "reckless" for pulling out of the Kyoto climate treaty, just a day after committing to a future legally binding deal at a major UN climate summit."I ... [click title to continue]

A discussion on the term "ecosocialism"

Alliance VoicesDecember 2011 In the online newsletter of the Socialist Alliance in Australia, Adam Baker raised an issue of the concept and ideology of "ecosocialism", a term the Alliance has been adopting. Ian Angus from Canada defended the use of "ecosocialism" as it has been developed in the Belem Ecosocialist Declaration. These two articles are linked below as a contribution to the ongoing discussion ... [click title to continue]