Towards a New Canadian Society

2012-01-29T18:48:00.001-05:00

The Canadian Department of Peace Initiative has taken another big step forward in its quest to have the Canadian Government join other governments around the world and establish a Canadian Department of Peace. This is a private members bill co-sponsored by our leader Elizabeth May in non-partisan cooperation with the NDP and Liberals. I have worked with the CDPI here in Toronto in the past and represented the Green Party on panels sponsored by the CDPI. I've attached the flyer to this post for those who think they can make it to Hamilton on February 4th. There will be consultation meetings in Toronto coming up in the near future. You can find more information at www.departmentofpeace.ca.
Former NDP MP, Bill Siksay introduced a private members bill in the last Parliament and now it has new life here in this present session. I would like to thank Bill for bringing this forward in the previous government and also wish to thank our leader Elizabeth for joining the effort in Parliament. Thanks as well toLiberal MP Jim Karygiannis for his work on this. I shared the panel with Bill and Jim when we presented our parties, visions of what a DoP would look like.
This wouldn't be possible without the relentless efforts of the many volunteers who have worked with the CDPI chapters all across the country and I would especially like to thank Rob Acheson, co-chair of the Toronto Chapter for his personal lobbying efforts, meeting with MPs across all parties to share the value and necessity of creating this department. A Department of Peace has been Green Party policy for a long time and a constant, visible part of our platform.
I encourage all of us to take up this effort over the next few years to keep it in the minds of all MPs in the House of Commons.

2012-01-29T18:21:00.002-05:00

If this story proves to be true it proves yet another disturbing trend by democratic governments to attack their own civil society organizations. Civil society and the freedom to advocate and openly protest is one of the cornerstones of a democracy. It is one of the things we claim to build in countries we label 'failed states'.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/79228736/Whistleblower-s-Open-Letter-to-Canadians
"Today, I am taking the extraordinary step of risking my career, my reputation and mypersonal friendships, to act as a whistleblower and expose the undemocratic andpotentially illegal pressure the Harper government has apparently applied to silence critics..."

http://www.straight.com/article-590706/vancouver/andrew-franks-whistlebl...
"In an open letter issued this week, the former ForestEthics communications staffer alleged that the Prime Minister's Office tried to silence critics of the proposed Enbridge pipeline..."

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2011/02/201126123643463123.html
"And the Knesset is considering the creation of committees that will investigate the funding of left-wing civil and human rights organisations...SNIP... They also point out that such an investigation, which is the responsibility of the legal branch, would exceed the Knesset's power."

http://greenparty.ca/media-release/2009-12-03/politically-motivated-cuts...
“... So what we are seeing is a strong message to non-profits that they had better not speak out against government policies if they want any financial support. This muzzling of our non-profit groups is almost anti-Canadian,”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/jan/19/outlawing...
"In record time, Emanuel successfully exploited the fact that Chicago will host the upcoming G8 and Nato summit meetings to increase his police powers and extend police surveillance, to outsource city services and privatize financial gains, and to make permanent new limitations on political dissent. "

2012-01-28T12:52:00.003-05:00

Article by Jim Harris in the Huffington Post on the WorldEconomic Forum in Davos. http://huff.to/yvfW5Y
Two notable quotes from the article;""...Capitalism, in its current form, no longer fits the world."A statement from an occupy protester? No, it was uttered by WEF Founder KlausSchwab."

"...So if corporations want to attract and retain the best and brightestemployees as baby boomers begin retiring en masse, they will have to focus onthe social good to ensure their social license to operate. A large number ofthe participants at WEF are highly idealistic. One such group is the WEF'sYoung Global Leaders."
A similar sentiment was expressed by Ralph Naderback in Jan 2007 at the Engineers Without Borders National convention inMontreal. As I noted in my blog at thetime, http://stephenlafrenie.blogspot.com/2008/01/ralph-nader-address-to-engineers.html, as part of his key note address to the young delegates he stressed (in thecontext of international development aid) the fact that the corporate model isdominating and that this has to change. Academic science vs. corporate science/ Academic engineering vs. corporate engineering. He advised the people in theroom not to waste their talent and ability. Most young people in the room couldbecome very wealthy using the corporate model with very little effort or realthought. But what would they achieve? Young engineers should be guided by amoral obligation to use their knowledge for the greater good of humanity andnot as a tool to merely achieve wealth. In the article Jim states that he isn’tentirely pessimistic and, although this is good, the reality is that youngpeople emerging and establishing themselves in the corporate world have tochange the corporate model. One designedto achieve a parallel aspiration to balance the pursuit of wealth. It won'thappen with this generation of senior corporate players so, as they should withpoliticians, young people need to stop waiting and build their own corporatemodels with social responsibility as the counter weight to wealth. Then changecan happen.

Haiti update 03

2010-01-17T09:57:00.001-05:00

Update from Lamp for Haiti sent to me yesterday.

Lamp for Haiti has a project in Cite Soleil which is a medical and legal clinic. They also have school projects. We still have no word from our school project in Cite Soleil and so the volunteers from Lamp for Haiti are going to send us updates from Soleil and see if they can get info for us. This is an update from their organization. I met Dr. Jim Morgan, one of the medical clinic support doctors from New Jersey, last May when I was in Haiti. We shared several great conversations over a glass of good Canadian whiskey that I had bought at the Caribbean Market. (The market, an upscale supermarket in Petionville, is no longer standing.) Their clinic is built in a district called Bwa Nef in Cite Soleil and actually on the site of a former gang headquarters. Dr. Morgan is presently in the Dominican Republic waiting to travel to Haiti. The Dominican Republic is the alternative entry point since the bottleneck at the airport in Port au Prince is making entry very difficult. He will try and get to their clinic later today, Sunday. The clinic manager in Cite Soleil has reported that there is no water, food or any sign of emergency assistance in Cite Soleil. The security situation has dramatically deteriorated in the area.

Dr. Morgan is currently in the Dominican Republic waiting to travel to Haiti. I am waiting for updates which they will pass on to us. So far the clinic manager reported that there was no water, food or any sign of emergency assistance in cite Soleil. She also said that the security situation has dramatically deteriorated. The staff physician Dr. J. Benoit Prosper, Clinic Manager Myrlene “Mimi” Dominique and Nurse Ms. Flor survived the quake uninjured. Nurse Astrude Tabois has a badly injured ankle. Another colleague has remained out of contact and there is no word on his status.

Their clinic is still standing with the main buildings intact but damaged. This was one of the only free clinics in all of Cite Soleil, an area that houses almost a quarter of a million people. The surrounding fields are most likely filled with injured people with no other place to turn to. When Dr. Morgan arrives he will be one of the first non-military humanitarian assistance allowed to enter the country. The Ports are not operational making non-military shipping almost impossible at this point.

It is my personal hope that one of my updates will soon have some good news of our school project, friends and colleagues in Cite Soleil. There is now a new danger for them even if they have survived. Disease, lack of water, food, and despair as they see relief efforts elsewhere but none so far for them.

Haiti earthquake update 02

2010-01-14T21:53:00.000-05:00

January 14th update from Haiti. Update from our colleagues in Port au Prince. We've learned that one of our regular guides when in Haiti named Serge is safe. He was not in Port au Prince when the quake hit. We are still trying to find word on the others. We still don't have word from our project in Cite Soleil. This update comes from a location, Fermanthe a small community, which is about a 45 minute ride up the mountain outside of the city. There is a house called Wings of Hope that takes care of mentally and physically challenged children. It's part of St. Joseph's Home for Boys network.

Quote from update;

Day 2...is it really only Day 2. In 20 minutes will it really be that only 48 hours have passed since all our lives were turned (literally) upside-down. It seems like a lifetime ago.

Yesterday was shock and confusion. Today is mobilization. I went down to SJ for a few hours this morning and helped move stuff out of the main house and into the art center. The art center is damaged, but not anywhere near what St. Joseph's is like. There was a break-in there last night with people looking for food, so stripping the house was a priority. Michael and Walnes are still spending the night sleeping on the ground at a neighbors, like most of the neighborhood, but they are well.

Bill and TiPatrick are both out of the hospital and seem to be well, considering. They will return tomorrow for a check by some US doctors who were supposed to arrive today. No need now for evacuation for the states, for all those ready to try and arrange that.

Wings is crowded with all the Wings kids and now the SJ boys. Not a lot of space in the visitors dining room and the front of the house for 65+ people, but we are coping. Everyone is pitching in. KC and I moved things from our rooms that are the necessities for both our work and the kids today. The rest will be left. We are also starting to get the guys to move as many supplies from the storage rooms in the new part of the house as possible. Limited time is spent in the new part of the house, as we believe it is unstable and don't know if it will remain standing. There's a lot we don't know right now.

We were able to get a few toys out for the kids today and are trying to give them a sense of the "new" normal as we decide what to do next. There is a lot of organizing and planning to do.

PAP is a mess. There was a real difference in the feeling on the streets today too. People are more desperate for help, food, medical attention, a way out of the suffering and fear, etc.

The aftershocks continue. It is unnerving. I grew up in tornado-land and have been through several hurricanes in Haiti, but nothing is like an earthquake. At least with a tornado and hurricanes you can see them coming and know when they are gone, but with the earthquake there is a continued reminder that we don't know what is coming next and fear is rampent.

Lines of communication are getting better. I was able to talk to my Mom on the phone for a few minutes today. Thanks to all who have reached out to hear with your love and support. I just got word that the internet is working now at Wings (I'm at the Baptist Mission again), so that is good. The next step now is to get a source of power at Wings. The one plug we have is from an inverter and that probably won't last much longer. I gave the guys a bunch of money today to go and try to find a small generator for us. We don't want to run the big generators because of what the vibrations may do to the unstable house. We need one we can wheel outside when it is on, and secure inside when we are not using it. With everything closed down, shopping isn't easy, but they are resourceful!

If I can get online on my own computer I'll try to post some pictures, we'll see how the electricity and internet connection hold out. Thank you for all your love, support, prayers for all of us. We feel your presence.

end quoted update

Haiti earthquake

2010-01-14T21:49:00.001-05:00

I thought I would give a personalized update. Many have been devastated but I have been working in Haiti each year over the last five years. So to one small aspect to this story...

The guest house where our group stays is called St. Joseph's Home for Boys whose work involves rescuing street boys and others to escape abusive homes. It's work has been ongoing for 25 years and they just finished new renovations in celebrating this. It was a very structurally sound building in Petionville, part of the capital city. Communication is very difficult but our latest update from St. Joseph's U.S. network is that the house has completely collapsed. Bill Nathan, the young director there, was on the sixth floor when the house collapsed underneath him. Bill came to the house when he was eight and developed into a world class drummer and now in his early twenties took over the directorship of the house operations. He managed to jump to a neighbouring roof and is injured but stable. The other boys are safe and everyone has been accounted for. However most of the houses in the neigbouring community are built into the surrounding ravine with floors stacked on top of each other. One can only imagine what has happened to them.

We've no contact as yet with our school project in cite soleil and since the quake struck around 5:00pm the students would not have been there. We had just started investing in the second floor last May and the community there were carrying on construction as much as they could over this last year. We still plan to go in May this year and will continue building or re-build as necessary. The Haitian people have tremendous will and spirit and do not defeat easily. It is terrible that new reports are only reporting chaos in the streets when I know from experience that there are thousands of community members coming together to help each other since that is a common necessity of life in Haiti. Especially in Port au Prince. Relief will be slow which is the lesson we keep learning from other disasters. A lot of money promised for the tsunami in 2004 never arrived or was used for other purposes. Our charity has received offers of help but we can't ship large quantities of food, medicine or clothing. It is better to take time to reflect where help should go and how it is delivered.

It must be mentioned that this is a horrific blow to Haiti. Canada has contibuted to the suffering there having essentially backed the coup d'etat and helped install a dictatorship for two years. Canada has boasted that it has helped invest in disaster relief and prevention yet four years after Hurricane Jean in 2004 Gonaives, one of the largest cities, still had not recovered completely by 2009. If Canada's complicity in Haiti was off most media and Canadian's radar before then you can count on the fact that it will be knocked off forever after this. One of the great losses in this recent tragedy will be the truth of what happened five years ago. Canada now, and more repulsively, the conservative government will get to go in and play hero. It will be played up as just more Canadian compassion responding to disaster.

Canada is not a hero in Haiti. It owes Haiti every cent of recovery money and human effort. All Canadians who donate will do so out of genuine compassion but the Canadian government is not.

What's the difference between 50 years of war and genocide?

2009-10-18T23:36:00.001-04:00

Afghanistan and Iraq prove there are no short wars when it comes to intervention and imposing our will on other cultures. We have killed more Afghans than the former Taliban government could ever dream of, even if they were as barbaric as they were portrayed to be. We have intentionally manipulated ethnic tensions, colluded with warlords, created insurgent elements to achieve our own military, economic and cultural objectives. Prolonged war in Afghanistan is justified by phrases like, “the jobs not done”, “it takes time to build a nation”, “it’ll revert back to the way it was”, “an even bigger bloodbath will occur if we leave now”. These are all designed to ignore the real questions that needed to be asked.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/10/15/opinion/main5387410.shtml
Tom Hayden: An Influential Pentagon Strategist Advocates a Multi-Decade Counterinsurgency Campaign.

“Let us say, hypothetically, that American forces kill or capture Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar, enabling President Obama to declare victory and bring our troops home. Would he? Not according to the Pentagon's plan for a fifty-year "Long War" of counterinsurgency spanning Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Horn of Africa, the Philippines and beyond. “

We have the mechanisms we need to try and prevent wars such as the ones in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Darfur. These mechanisms require self examination. They require not only the concept behind doctrines like Responsibility to Protect (R2P) but more importantly, responsibility not to be complicit. So long as we refuse to acknowledge this truth there is no solution only duplicity. Why are we outraged by China in Northern Africa but not the U.S., Canada, and Britain over Iraq and Afghanistan? Canada was and remains complicit in Haiti. Why is it that the systematic killing, torture and abuse of political groups by allies, governments in good standing, remain exempt from our outrage? Why is it less horrendous than ethnic killing?

A lot of questions need to be asked and resolve to oppose unacceptable answers like; "Well we can't be everywhere." This has never been the point and never will be.

Responsibility not to be complicit. - Canada as a nation needs to withdraw from global economic and political exploitive strategies. Neutrality does not mean inaction or prevent Canada from joining an intervention on its own terms based on its own independent assessment of the crisis.

Responsibility to Protect. - The UN Security Council needs to be reformed first to remove veto power. A country can refuse to participate but cannot block an action. UN Security Council must be equipped to confront its own members and investigate when evidence of complicity or duplicity is presented.

Responsibility to Prevent (Article 3 of R2P doctrine) – International development aid is the major peace building mechanism but both liberal and conservative governments continue to abuse CIDA.

http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/acdi-cida/acdi-cida.nsf/eng/EMA-218132744-PPX

• Stop basing development aid on welfare models and so called 'bang for the buck' assessment programs. Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau and other countries threaten to slide back into violence but are not considered good development prospects.

• Make serious commitments to existing development aid structures and respect for sovereignty.

• Elimination of all political parties and self titled ‘democratic’ movements from development aid. The overthrow of Aristide in Haiti was in part financed under the disguise of democratic development and funding of opposition groups who were most likely a part of the coup d’état.

Redefine genocide as it pertains to outside military intervention and the manipulation of ethnic, national, and religious animosities in order to gain control over land, resources or to impose unwanted cultural values. http://www.hrweb.org/legal/genocide.html

Genocide as an immoral public relations exercise; The ‘selling’ of one genocide or intervention scenario over another to gain sympathy for intervention. This is where strong, neutral, independent diplomatic assessment is necessary.

Department of Peace takes a big step toward becoming a reality

2009-10-18T18:48:00.001-04:00

Bill C-447. An Act to establish the Department of Peace
http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=4116951&Language=e&Mode=1&File=33

The work of the Canadian Department of Peace Initiative took a major step forward recently with the Private Member’s bill C-447 tabled by NDP MP Bill Siskay and Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis. This is the result of years of work by advocates within the CDPI including Saul Arbess, Bill Bhaneja, Rob Acheson and many others. Rob Acheson, co-chair of the Toronto Chapter where I volunteer on the committee, has spent the last couple of years lobbying individual MPs gathering support for the effort. In most of Rob’s meetings he found initial scepticism but after listening to him many of the MPs cancelled upcoming meetings and ended up extending the meeting with Rob beyond the scheduled time.

I sat on a panel at the CDPI AGM this last April with both Bill Siskay and Jim Karygiannis where we shared our visions of what a department would look like. A department of peace has been Green Party policy for the last 20 years and both Elizabeth May and former GPC leader Jim Harris spoke about it in the last three elections. It remains a major part of our foreign policy election platform.

A department of peace is long overdue. Costa Rica recently joined other nations in forming a DofP and Congressman Dennis Kucinich continues his decade long campaign to form a US department of peace.

Bill C-447

Mission of Department

The work of the Department shall be dedicated to peace-building and the study of conditions that are conducive to both domestic and international peace and, in particular, the Department shall

(a) hold peace as an organizing principle in society, coordinating service to every level of Canadian society;
(b) endeavour to promote justice and democratic principles in order to expand human rights;
(c) strengthen non-military means of peacemaking;
(d) promote the development of human potential;
(e) work to create peace, prevent violence, divert from armed conflict, use field-tested programs and develop new structures for non-violent dispute resolution;
(f) take a proactive, strategic approach to the development of policies and programs that promote national and international conflict prevention, non-violent intervention, mediation, peaceful conflict resolution and structured mediation of conflict;
(g) address matters both domestic and international in scope;
(h) encourage the development of initiatives from local communities, religious groups and non-governmental organizations; and
(i) assume a leadership role among federal departments in addressing matters of peace, order and good government, and in carrying out the responsibility to protect Canadians from harm.

Rwandan Green Party struggles but receives help from Global Greens

2009-10-17T11:32:00.000-04:00

Frank Habineza the President of the newly formed Democratic Green Party of Rwanda and the President of the African Green Movement has consistently run into road blocks at the local level to register the party. All paper work has been in order and the legal framework in place yet officials are still reluctant to follow through. This caused the Rwandan Greens to cancel a major conference for a third time. This time on the eve of the conference itself. Rwanda has been progressing toward a more open democracy. The Rwandan Greens have wisely been upfront all along and worked with members of the government in order to assure them that this was not a dissident group but a legitimate political party.

In this latest frustrating chapter Frank Habineza put out an appeal to the Global Greens and received a tremendous response from all over the world, including Canada. My thanks to Silvaine Zimmermann who is our International Representative to the Global Greens and delegate to the Federation of Green Parties of the Americas (FPVA), for getting our response on track in a very time sensitive situation. Frank had wanted to be able to get some of the petitions into the Rwandan News which had been following the story. Although news agencies are not totally free from government interference they too are progressing.

Below is the Canadian statement presented to His Excellency President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and his government. We presented this statement to the Embassy in Ottawa and have sent it by email and fax although the fax number given us did not seem to work. This is one of many statements and petitions sent from various Green Party representatives from around the world.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

PETITION TO THE RWANDAN GOVERNMENT TO REGISTER DEMOCRATIC GREEN PARTY OF RWANDA

To His Excellency, The President of the Republic of Rwanda, H.E. Paul KAGAME

The Green Party of Canada wishes to convey our unequivocal support for founding President Mr. Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda and the President of the African Greens Movement. The Green Party of Canada also stands in solidarity with the aspirations of the peoples of the continent of Africa to have their nations and communities embrace and build democratic societies which can live free from violence and environmental degradation. We encourage the government of

Paul Kagame, the President of the Republic of Rwanda and all other government officials to continue its progression towards a fully democratic, inclusive and peaceful society. We recognize that Rwandan society can and should be among the leading societies on the African continent in the efforts to combat climate change and environmental degradation which remains the greater overall threat to the future of all Africans.

We are disturbed by the recent news that Mr. Habineza and the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda have been unable for a third time to officiate at the inaugural congress which had been scheduled on 2nd of October 2009 in Kigali. We remain aware that that the legal provisions of the Rwandan Law clearly provide for formation, establishment and registration of political parties;

We remain assured by the interim president that the members of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda [in formation] have complied with all legal requirements and will continue to do so as law abiding citizens. The Green Party of Canada respectfully petition His Excellency Paul Kagame, the President of the Republic of Rwanda and all other government officials concerned to do the following;

[a] To observe and respect all legal provisions relating to the formation and establishment of political parties;
[b] To remove all forms of obstacles, which may be legal, extra—legal, physical, political, institutional, infrastructural or otherwise so that the party is registered.
[c] To facilitate the party in formation by instructing and or advising the relevant officials concerned to do whatever they are required to do, so that the registration process is completed without undue delay;
[d] To do or perform any other act that is politically and legally conducive to the successful registration of the party;
[e] To continue to adhere to internationally accepted democratic principles so that the culture of multiparty democracy is entrenched in Rwandan society.

Respectfully
Elizabeth May, Leader

Silvaine Zimmermann, M.Sc.
International Representative to the Global Greens for the Green Party of Canada, Delegate to the Federation of Green Parties of the Americas (FPVA), Co-founder of the Green Party of Canada (1983)

Eric Walton, International Affairs portfolio, Stephen LaFrenie, International Cooperation/CIDA portfolio, Ellen Michelson, Peace and Security portfolio, Joe Foster, Human Rights portfolio.
Green Party of Canada

shared parenting and the divorce act

2008-11-21T13:07:00.000-05:00

I posted this to the Green Party candidate discussion site first to solicit opinions and received a few. I had intended to also put it here for the wider response. As it turns out I'm not the only candidate who encountered questions about this issue.
I talked with one of our constituents here in Toronto during theelection who wanted to know what our policy was on the divorce act.Specifically he wanted to know what we thought of the Senate reportprepared by Sen. Anne Cools back in 1998. That Senate report made 48recommendations for the ammendment of language in the divorce act toallow for new terms such as "shared parenting" as opposed to the terms'custody and access'. It is a very good report that I recommendeveryone read who hasn't and is interested. I only have a hard copylent to me by the voter and can't find one online in .pdf form. Iunderstand it can be ordered from Sen. Cools office.
The report went nowhere apparently in the House of Commons but this year Maurice Vellacott, MP in Saskatoon presented a motion to makesome ammendments in keeping with the spirit of the report. The aim ofthe recommendations is to take the use of children as 'weapons' out ofthe proceedings as much as possible. The aim of making theproceedings as child centred as possible in respect to sharedparenting was to ensure that an agreement be in place voluntarily and/or if one was not possible then the court had recourse to providingguidance and a procedure in obtaining one. The focus would be on theneed for both parents to have an equal relationship with their children despite their animosities. The divorce act should deal primarily with division of property and assets rather than focus onbattles over custody and access. I think it is also complicated bythe joint jurisdiction of family courts being provincial but thedivorce act being federal. The BQ in a dissenting opinion on thereport argues that the divorce act should be eliminated and the entire proceedings handled by provincial courts under provincial law.
When I looked at the policy as outlined in Vision Green it was vague and simply states that we would begin consultations with stakeholders etc. to examine revamping the Act. This frustrated the voter in question because he feels the issue has been examined and that we should refer to the reportitself. Also to have your opinions on the divorce act and shared parenting if you have them. There is more detail in the justice document prepared by Jared Giesbrecht our Justice critic on shadow cabinet.

M-483 reads as follows: --That, in the opinion of the House, thegovernment should propose amendments to the Divorce Act so that lawand practice ensure due process protection of rights and equality ofparents, and to ensure that children benefit from equal parenting fromboth their mother and their father, after separation or divorce.

M-483 was scheduled to be debated in Parliament this past October butthe election interrupted all that.

The North West Territories passed the motion (or rather a similar one)on June 19th, 2008. http://tinyurl.com/5kmkqe

False Stop Harper campaign

2008-10-08T15:46:00.000-04:00

Beware of the deception of the Stop Harper campaign.

There is a Liberal/Conservative consensus to be cautious about. Switching sides between the Liberals and Conservatives won't change anything. This election is a great opportunity to send a message to Ottawa that you want to change the way politics is done. You can’t strategically manufacture a minority government and we are risking a return to liberal majority rule that will return us to the days of Chretien/Martin. The liberals are not a reformed party and have no desire to be one. Paul Martin cynically called for an election less than two years into his mandate. Jean Chretien did the same thing after calling an unnecessary, snap election. Stephen Harper has called one before the end of his mandate. Think about it, if the liberals and conservatives don't want to govern. Don't let them.

Consider the following before returning the old-line parties to Ottawa:

Liberals - 0.7% foreign aid introduced 40 years ago; walked away from the commitment despite ruling unopposed for most of that time.
Liberals - Peacekeeping - Canada has ranked as low as 34th in the world before 2006. Under the liberals we fell from the original nation with the idea to 34th. The conservatives continued the liberal descent to 54th.
Liberals/Conservatives are committed to long-term presence in Afghanistan and a military buildup. The military build up began in 1998 with the liberal government.
Liberals - Committed to ending the Afghan mission in Feb. 2009; walked away from that commitment.
Liberals - Quietly allowed Canadian military personnel including soldiers to be used in Iraq and lied about it.
Liberals - Abandoned Omar Kadr to the U.S. & supported an interim dictatorship in Haiti guilty of documented, gross human rights violations. They introduced security certificates. Not the conservatives.
Liberals - Already quietly negotiating Security & Prosperity Partnership (SPP) with the Bush Administration before 2006 election; Conservatives have continued this work. The liberals will pick up where they leave off.
Liberals - No commitment to proportional representation (PR) or any significant electoral reform. Stephane Dion has publicly stated his opposition.
Liberals - Took carbon tax concept watered it down to make it ineffective and now show signs of walking away from their weaker version.
Liberals - Stephane Dion has made it clear there will be no coalition with anyone regardless of what Canadians decide on Oct. 14th. They are hunting for an unopposed majority government and it is clear they will accept nothing less despite the recent wishes of Canadians for more cooperative government.
The liberals formed a coalition with the conservatives over last two years because they didn’t want an election. The truth? They don’t actually disagree with any of the conservative law they helped pass and will do nothing to reverse it.
The liberal party is a relic of 20th century cynical political thinking. Consider that it may be time to ask whether it should surrender itself to history like the old PC party in 1993. It’s time to send new committed women and men to govern with new ideas and cooperative solutions in a proportionally represented parliament.

The NDP is not in a hurry to change the electoral system. After making consistent promises to make proportional representation a condition for cooperation, they were content to let Paul Martin's Lliberals file proportional representation in the 'will study the matter eventually' drawer. It doesn’t exist in any NDP provincial jurisdiction and there is no evidence that the federal party thinks any different. Question to ask is whether the NDP after gaining through FPTP one vote system will they really be in a hurry to change that system.
The NDP does not look at issues collectively and needs to frame everything in the old line 'us vs them' divisive mentality.
The NDP and Liberals have been more concerned about upstaging each other in parliament than creating cooperative opposition when necessary.
The NDP has not been able, even with the balance of power, to change the direction of the conservative/liberal agendas over the last 23 years.
The NDP abandoned Haiti and made no effort to stop Afghanistan when they formed a coalition with Paul Martin’s liberals. In the next parliament they will let Afghanistan run its course and you will see no flurry of confidence motions. The NDP will never bring down a government over Afghanistan, war crimes, human rights violations, free trade. Yet Jack Layton swears that a carbon tax will never see the light of day. Will they wait until an election is ready anyway and then pretend once again to act on principle?
The NDP more and more has to reach further and further into the past to evoke any real bold vision. The NDP of the 21st century is a mere shadow of the CCF/NDP. They don’t have a collective vision of what they want for Canada over the next 20 years. If they do then where is it?

So the question remains. Who are you stopping in this election? What really needs to change? Are you voting to change government or to merely postpone this same conversation until another election where you ask the same questions in the same frustrated voice? Worse, are your children going to be having this same conversation when they’re ready to vote?

Reminder of nuclear insanity - Hiroshima/Nagasaki Day ceremonies

2008-07-24T15:37:00.000-04:00

"The Toronto Hiroshima Day Coalition (THDC) cordially invites you to attend the unveiling of the powerful exhibition of photographs from the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the Rotunda inside Toronto City Hall on Wednesday, August 6th, 2008 at 5:30 pm.

THDC is honoured to announce that the City of Toronto has been selected to host the Hiroshima & Nagasaki Photo Exhibit to be held concurrently with 101 cities across the United States. THDC is also very pleased to present Setsuko Thurlow, Member of the Order of Canada and Hibakusha (Hiroshima survivor), who will introduce the exhibition.

Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba of Hiroshima will also offer a personal video greeting to the citizens of Toronto in mutual respect for the decades of work done by the citizens of Toronto and Hiroshima on global peacebuilding and the Mayors for Peace campaign pressing together in solidarity for the abolition of nuclear weapons. “Our goal is to create awareness of the destructive power of nuclear weapons,” says Setsuko Thurlow, “and the 25,000 armed nuclear weapons of which are still threatening humanity today.”

The Hiroshima & Nagasaki Photo Exhibit features pictures and educational facts about the devastation of nuclear war. The exhibit also displays dramatic drawings and paintings from dozens of Hibakusha survivors of their painful memories during the first moments on the ground after the 1945 atomic bombings in Japan with the urgent message “never again”.

The exhibit runs from August 6th -11th, 2008 in conjunction with the “Paths to Hope” Peace Commemoration and Lantern Ceremony on Saturday, August 9th, 2008 at the Toronto Peace Garden, Nathan Phillips Square beginning at 6:30 pm."

For more information on this event and what is happening in other cities please contact,

Anton Wagner: awagner-at-yorku.ca
Barbara Birkett, (Physicians for Global Survival): bbirkett-at-interlog.com www.pgs.ca

We know the argument about 'rogue' states but the main players have started to ratchet up the nuclear threat posturing. Two examples below.

A New Nuclear Weapons Doctrine 2008 Part Two
http://tinyurl.com/6kcgso
“If the recent words of four-star Gen. Yury Baluyevsky, the chief of the Russian General Staff, are heeded, Russia will have to equip all the services of its armed forces with permanently combat-ready nuclear weapons. Nobody can guess who will use them first. Speaking at a meeting of the Academy of Military Sciences in Moscow on Jan. 19, Baluyevsky declared that force should be used not only in the course of hostilities, but also to demonstrate the readiness of leaders to uphold their national interests.
"We are not going to attack anyone," he reassured his audience, "but we want all our partners to realize that Russia will use armed force to defend its own and its allies' sovereignty and territorial integrity. It may resort to a pre-emptive nuclear strike in cases specified by its doctrine."

Pre-Emptive Nuclear Strike a Key Option, NATO Told
by Ian Traynor --http://tinyurl.com/2n2x5b
"The west must be ready to resort to a pre-emptive nuclear attack to try to halt the "imminent" spread of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, according to a radical manifesto for a new NATO by five of the west's most senior military officers and strategists. Calling for root-and-branch reform of NATO and a new pact drawing the US, NATO and the European Union together in a "grand strategy" to tackle the challenges of an increasingly brutal world, the former armed forces chiefs from the US, Britain, Germany, France and the Netherlands insist that a "first strike" nuclear option remains an "indispensable instrument" since there is "simply no realistic prospect of a nuclear-free world".

The Green Party stands for sanity and peace.

Existing Green Party policy.

Vision Green

Press for the elimination of all nuclear weapons
According to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, and leading Canadian experts like former Ambassador for Disarmament, the Hon. Douglas Roche, the world has quietly entered a second nuclear age. On January 17, 2007, world scientists moved the hands on the “Doomsday Clock” two minutes closer to midnight in light of the dual threats of climate change and the increasing effort to build nuclear weapons, not in Korea or Iran, but by the United States. This year, the Bush Administration dedicated $6 billion to rebuilding its nuclear arsenal. Not since the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki has the world been closer to the threat of nuclear war. Canada has simply not been doing its part to stop the spread of nuclear weapons and to protest when allies violate the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Our Vision
The Green Party of Canada is aiming towards global disarmament, and towards contributing to the conversion of all military industries in Canada and worldwide into peaceful industries. We, at the Green Party, realize that it is difficult for a single country to disarm unilaterally under the threat of another arming state, and that disarmament can be best achieved multilaterally, in harmony and communion universally, and at a global level, notably through the UN.

Green Vision
Green Party MPs will:
* Declare Canada a nuclear free zone.
* End subsidies to AECL to promote over-seas reactor sales, refuse to finance such “sales” with tax dollars.
* Strengthen the role of the International Atomic Energy Agency to ensure nuclear reactor fuels never find their way into nuclear weapons.
* Press NATO allies to get out of the nuclear weapons business.

International Day of Peace September 21st.

2008-07-18T16:39:00.000-04:00

September 21, 2008 is International Day of Peace and the Canadian Department of Peace Initiative needs our help. This is an issue that we as Greens have been out in front of for 20 years and not given up on.

1988 Green Party policy on Peace and Security

B5- [The Canadian Greens] would establish a Ministry of Peace and Security. It would research and publicize peace programs; educate the public about non- violent social defense; conduct disarmament initiatives; and administer peace facilitation teams. The Ministry would work in close cooperation with appropriate United Nations' agencies.

From Vision Green
• Shift from a Department of Defence to a Department of Peace.

The Initiative needs help building new chapters and building relationships with new volunteers. We especially need help forming a chapter in Halifax and other east coast cities. There will be celebrations across Canada initiated by the CDPI and other peace advocates. I am on the organizing committee for our celebrations here in Toronto. Mayor David Miller has agreed to create a Proclamation declaring September 21st to be International Day of Peace and we are trying to steer through Toronto municipal council a resolution/motion declaring Toronto a city of peace and placing the International Day of Peace in the municipal calendar as an official municipal day of celebration. Montreal is way out in front on this and is celebrating their third year. The province of Quebec has also passed a resolution through the National Assembly declaring Quebec to be a province of peace. Toronto is also a member of Mayors for Peace which is an international organization of world mayors. http://www.mayorsforpeace.org/ 70 Canadian cities are members and you can check this link to see if your city is on the list. http://www.mayorsforpeace.org/english/membercity/northamerica.html

We have invited Mayor Miller to attend and read the Proclamation and are waiting to hear if he will attend. We have also applied for use of the grounds at Queen’s Park in Toronto for the celebration of unity with music, spoken word and a lot more. I would like to ask everyone to write their local city councilor and ask them to support or create a motion to recognize the International Day of Peace. This is a long standing Green issue and initiative and I think we should all embrace it.

To learn more about the Department of Peace initiative you can go to the national website here. Canadian Department of Peace Initiative - http://www.departmentofpeace.ca/

Join a Chapter
Below, please find the names of the members of the national board of the Society to Promote Departments of Peace (our legal name as a Society) who also act as chapter contacts. Contact the chapter nearest you for more information about meetings, local actions and events.
Victoria - Saul Arbess saul.arbess@departmentofpeace.ca
Vancouver - Deen Selwood deen.selwood@departmentofpeace.ca
Ottawa - Bill Bhaneja bill.bhaneja@departmentofpeace.ca / Theresa Dunn therdunn@sympatico.ca
Calgary - Sandi Smith sandi4smith@shaw.ca
London - Megan Walker mwalker@lawc.on.ca
Hamilton - Richard Preston prestonr@mcmaster.ca
Brampton - Anna Maria Bohus abohus460@rogers.com
Toronto - Rob Acheson robach@rogers.com
Montréal - Jean Trudel Citoyennnes pour un Ministère de la Paix / info@cmpaix.org
Edmonton - Zahra Ismail zismail3@gmail.com
Peter Stockdale (Ottawa) Our National Youth Coordinator globalbridge@rogers.com
Start a Chapter in Your Region

We encourage interested and motivated individuals to help expand our network by starting a chapter in your own city or town. Contact Saul Arbess.

No Stephane! Stand up for the right thing. Not the right wing.

2008-02-06T23:45:00.000-05:00

Bill C-3 still violates human rights but supported anyway by Liberals and Conservatives

DANIEL LEBLANC
http://tinyurl.com/3bar8g

From Tuesday's Globe and Mail February 5, 2008 at 4:21 AM EST

OTTAWA — The Conservatives and the Liberals joined forces last night in favour of new legislation on security certificates for terrorism suspects just before a Supreme Court deadline invalidates the old system later this month. In the House of Commons last night, the two biggest parties adopted, with a vote of 191 to 54, a committee report on Bill C-3, and the final vote on the legislation is expected to go through in the same way tonight or tomorrow.

The Bloc Québécois and the New Democratic Party oppose the rules that allow suspected terrorists to be deported without having full access to the evidence against them. However, the Liberals are ensuring the legislation's passage by insisting that it contains necessary safeguards, including blocking the use of evidence obtained under torture in another country.

"It's not our first choice," Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion said. "But we think with amendments ... it's improving the bill that the government wants to pass." end article quote

How long is it going to take Stephane Dion and the Liberals to start standing up for the right thing? They can't be trusted to do the right thing in Afghanistan, they can't be trusted to do the right thing on human rights and justice with Bill C-3. Voting against the bill would not defeat the government. Why are they acting as a coalition government with the conservatives? This bill is seriously flawed and does not address any of the real concerns that caused the Supreme Court to overturn security certificates a year ago.

The Green Party needs to speak out against this bill in my opinion if it hasn't already. Stephen Harper and the conservatives need to be opposed every step of the way. Demonizing Stephen Harper alone will not move the country forward. It doesn't matter if Dion wants to reform the liberal party. The liberal party doesn't want to be reformed.

The importance of Haiti to the Green Party

2008-01-21T14:04:00.000-05:00

From letter of support issued by Green Party and Elizabeth May to members of CHAN (Canadian Haiti Action Network)
– “On behalf of the Green Party of Canada, allow me to reaffirm our commitment to seek a resolution to the continuing political, social and economic crisis in Haiti and especially to speak out on how the international community, including Canada, dramatically failed the Haitian people in their time of greatest need.” –

From Vision Green 2007 – “The Green Party sees international law and its institutions as the roots of international justice and stability. Detainment without access to a fair trial and the use of torture in questioning suspects held in military detention centers contravenes international human rights treaties and institutions. Respect for international law and international conventions are not only the baseline for moral activity but are, in fact, the foundation of a just and sane world.

From the Preamble to the Charter of Global Greens - Canberra, Australia 2001 -

We, as citizens of the planet and members of the Global Greens, United in our awareness that we depend on the Earth’s vitality, diversity and beauty, and that it is our responsibility to pass them on, undiminished or even improved, to the next generation

Acknowledging that injustice, racism, poverty, ignorance, corruption, crime and violence, armed conflict and the search for maximum short term profit are causing widespread human suffering

Accepting that developed countries through their pursuit of economic and political goals have contributed to the degradation of the environment and of human dignity

Understanding that many of the world’s peoples and nations have been impoverished by the long centuries of colonization and exploitation, creating an ecological debt owed by the rich nations to those that have been impoverished

Committed to closing the gap between rich and poor and building a citizenship based on equal rights for all individuals in all spheres of social, economic, political and cultural life

Convinced that cooperation rather than competition is a pre-requisite for ensuring the guarantee of such human rights as nutritious food, comfortable shelter, health, education, fair labour, free speech, clean air, potable water and an unspoiled natural environment

When translating these ideals into Green Party policy it is important to understand that it is not only rogue states that are defying international standards but many of our own allies. In order to reinforce the rule of international law, strengthen the U.N. and expand it we not only have to stand up to states that are recognized as threats but also to some of our own allies.
In the fear and shock felt throughout North America following the events of September 2001 two distinct and divergent assessments took hold in the minds of North American citizens. One developed by the U.S. response was, and continues to be, increasing emphasis on the ‘folly’ of human rights protections, UN conventions and civil liberties domestically. These were replaced with the concept of the unquestioned authority of the state to rule as it sees fit based on the politics of fear.
The other assessment of September 2001 recognizes and emphasizes the vital need for strengthened human rights internationally, civil liberties domestically and reinforces the belief that the power of the state must be held in check. It brought about an awakening of the underlying causes for terrorism and began a period of questioning among the citizens of western nations. Two main questions being, “Why are we being attacked?” and “Why does the developing world not trust us?” There is a tremendous opportunity here to be lost or gained. Canadians will not keep asking these questions and will soon return to the comfort of our national mythology of the past which teaches us that Canada can do no harm. Environmental issues have taken hold in the Canadian consciousness. We have to persist in bringing out the truth about foreign aid by presenting truly alternative policies that reflect the Green Charter and work to have them take root in the consciousness of the Canadian people in the same manner as environmental issues.
In Canada the previous Liberal government reluctantly began to accept the first view, but accepted it none the less. The conservative government now boldly moves in this direction. It is imperative that the Green Party, with equal boldness, embrace the latter view by rejecting the politics of fear and unquestioned authority of the state. The Party must fully embrace these core philosophies of peace building, nation building, fair trade, human rights, and environmental responsibility and exemplify those ideals in well thought out policies that demonstrate a bold, compassionate, alternative vision of Canada and the world. Our policies in foreign aid development can achieve this by understanding the history and reality of our past policies.
Haiti encompasses the two divergent views because foreign aid has always been linked to the politics of fear rather than the ideals of development. Foreign aid developed around the old ‘us versus them’ struggle between western democracies and Soviet communism. Basing development aid on the first view, western governments supported dictatorships that showed a willingness to express anti-communist sentiments and allow western economic interests to have priority. (‘Papa’ Doc Duvalier was just this type of dictator and conned Washington into believing that he hated communism while also traveling to Cuba and saying the opposite.) These dictatorships were allowed to rule with unquestioned authority. It is now well known that western democracies even overthrew democratic governments that displayed even milder socialist desires out of fear that these governments would be used to undermine our economic and political system. The overthrow of the democratic government of Chile in 1973 is an example of this action.

Haiti is of immense importance to the Green Party because it symbolizes everything that is wrong with past approaches to the environment, economic trade and foreign policy. The deforestation there represents the ecological disaster that we have been warning against for the last twenty years as a political party.

Haiti can be a model of what our policies should be and the size of its population and economy make them viable and affordable options. It is a small country but an enormous symbol.

The role of the Haitian Diaspora in assisting development.

2008-01-21T13:57:00.000-05:00

International Crisis Group – “Most Haitians abroad live in the U.S. and Canada. Their remittances to family in Haiti reached an estimated $1.65 billion in 2006 and now account for 35 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). This direct subsidy to family incomes should not lessen the state’s willingness to develop sustainable financing for basic public services. Instead, its impact should be maximized through better access to credit and finance, and greater remittances literacy. Savings and other resources should also be leveraged through incentives programs, hometown associations (HTAs), professional organizations and diaspora investment funds. The Haitian government should facilitate greater coordination and partnerships to redirect some funds to local, departmental and national development initiatives.”
While this is true it is important to note one flaw in this proposed use of Diaspora family support. Haitian family members have a profound mistrust of government and its agencies. There is an underlying suspicion here that funds will be channeled into corporate, bureaucratic systems and not reach the target recipients, mainly the families of the Diaspora members. These funds will need to be directed into programs that facilitate grassroots development in areas where the Diaspora have family members. This is not as easy as it may seem. This money cannot be used to remove or replace the authority or responsibility of the Haitian state to provide programs, government policies, and infrastructure services. This is implied in the above quoted statement but a critical look at who makes up the membership of the International Crisis Group and its board should precipitate caution. However it could be used in Canada to supplement a reformed CIDA and NGO programs in areas directly affecting the lives of the Diaspora members and their families in Haiti.
A further note of caution on the cited report is the overall focus on a short timetable for the reforms. There is a suspicious emphasis on the need to have reforms in place by the end of President Preval’s term in 2011. It holds the danger of repeating the same mistakes of the past. The task is not to build Haiti in our image but to help Haiti build itself in its own image. This is the major blind spot of the International Crisis Group. It also makes recommendations and criticisms but at no time acknowledges the source of Haiti’s problems which are rooted in the interference of outside interests. In an excellent interview by Steve Paikin with Ariel Dorfman, a former advisor to President Allende of Chile in 1973, discussing not only the coup in Chile but also mistakes he feels the socialist revolution there made. The main one he believes was that the attempt to completely reverse the country’s direction was too fast and that they had succeeded first to scare the opposition and financial elite who were better armed. The main problem in Chile, as with similar situations, was the ability of the elite to control virtually all of the resources. The resources must be negotiated back firmly but non-violently. In the context of Haiti one can make a similar argument. Rapid transitions consistently prove disastrous and steps must be taken to allow decentralized control of resources from a tiny percentage of the population in a democratic and ‘organic’ manner. This cannot happen by 2011 and the notion that the international community will not continue to offer security against the return to political violence after causing it and allowing it to fester for the last three years is gravely disappointing.

International Crisis Group - http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm

TVO interview with Ariel Dorfman September 17th 2007 http://tinyurl.com/2e827z

Diplomacy and neutral partnerships in foreign aid.

2008-01-21T13:52:00.000-05:00

From Vision Green 2007 – “Canada’s foreign policy has been emblazoned with the label of 3-D approaches. The D’s are Diplomacy, Development and Defense.”
This is a difficult and tricky subject but political neutrality in foreign aid delivery is also essential to the strengthening of the recipient state. Many of the combined failures cited in previous sections are also triggered by competing political dogmas. The Conservative Government in Canada has a profound philosophical disagreement with Venezuela, Cuba, and Bolivia. The Conservatives in keeping with the politics of fear foster the belief that these countries pose a threat to regional stability and ignore their contributions in the region. Politically neutral foreign aid would also have an effect on our relationship with the United States and this is no small consideration but we must recognize that these other countries under the auspices of ALBA (Bolivarian Alternative for the People of Our America) have made solid commitments in Haiti. Some of these commitments reflect our own Green Party philosophies. They have made commitments in the areas of medicine, energy conservation, and fair trade. Haitian President Rene Preval has so far walked a successful line of diplomacy between Canadian/U.S. foreign aid and Venezuelan/Cuban foreign aid. The Green Party must have the courage to reject the politics of division and promote unity with these other donor countries and create viable, diplomatically neutral partnerships. ALBA is a growing force in the region and the Green Party should demonstrate that we have vision to recognize this. We should not be blinded by the propaganda war between Venezuela, Cuba and the U.S. or the cult of personality that surrounds President Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro. Diplomatic neutrality on foreign aid programs should not prevent us from being critical of these Governments in areas of concern. (Cuba’s human rights record is an example of this as is Hugo Chavez’s recent attempts to ‘bend’ the Venezuelan Constitution to satisfy his personal ego and ambition.) These are the kinds of distinctions that will separate us from the other Canadian political parties and our allies in the world. We will receive short term rebukes from allies and ridicule from the media but our gains in international stature and respect will be immense. Canada will become a true voice of reason and hope for many emerging countries as well as progressive political movements within the United States and other ally nations.

What to do with CIDA (Part 4) my perspective.

2008-01-21T13:44:00.000-05:00

The role of foreign aid and NGOs in weakening rather than strengthening the authority and independent sovereignty of a recipient state.
From letter of support issued by Green Party and Elizabeth May –
“We endorse the current democratically elected President Rene Preval’s efforts to build up his government, economy and peace without outside interference or manipulation. Haiti's renewal must be on Haitian terms.”
From Vision Green 2007 –
“The Green Party believes that Canada must meet its commitment to allocate 0.7% of GDP to ODA. This level of funding is essential to meet the most basic of goals: to make poverty history, cure disease, foster democracy, and support ecologically sustainable economies. This will make the world a better and safer place for everyone.”
“The Green Party supports fair trade that puts sovereignty, human rights, and the environment first and not trade agreements that put the rights of multi-national corporations first. We recognize that trade is an important component of a sustainable economy but that it cannot hamper or undermine sovereign efforts to protect and enhance local quality of life and build local economies.
In order to achieve these goals and prove to both the Canadian public and international community that we are serious is to recognize the role foreign aid relief NGOs play in weakening the governmental authority of the recipient state. Roger Annis of CHAN (Canadian Haiti Action Network) has explained the need for social, educational and infrastructure services to be operated and financed by the Haitian State. Barry Weisleder, of the NDP Socialist Caucus, in an email response to the Green Party letter of solidarity notes; “Please take note that Elizabeth May of the federal Green Party, in the statement below, does not call for the removal from Haiti of Canadian police and Canadian military personnel involved in the U.N. force of occupation. She does not call for the removal, nor even for an end to subsidies to Canadian NGOs which are playing a negative role in Haiti today.” Although it is not recommended that the Green Party adhere to this call it is imperative to understand that the reasoning behind this call is well founded. It proves the need to reform CIDA and our foreign aid policies.
It is the removal of this state responsibility in social infrastructure that directly undermines long term development and sovereign independence. An example of this can be found in the area of education projects including the building of schools. It is often conducted in a divided manner subject to the individual mandates of the various NGOs or religious organizations that fund them. Many of these education projects are not recognized by the Haitian government in terms of taking over responsibility for them and/or the government is prevented from participating due to privatization requirements and restrictive repayment regiments for foreign loans.
They also become ideologically driven in many cases with education linked directly to religious and/or political views. The state ends up with separate school systems without government oversight or a coordinated curriculum. These schools are not even subject to regional school boards. Although this inspires temporary independence and the illusion of self sufficiency it ultimately creates a ‘welfare’ state of mind that continues the reliance on foreign sources rather than domestic ones. As a result, individual projects collapse and fail at the whim of decisions made in foreign countries by boards of directors or committees and even worse, the sudden loss of interest or priority shifts of individual donors and project creators. The tsunami disaster in south Asia is an example of this. The media campaign and nation wide call for disaster relief to this single catastrophic event also created a withdrawal of support for programs in other countries. It created ‘donor fatigue’ lasting well beyond the end of the relief campaign. Even with this tremendous response on behalf of Canadians we now know that much of those funds have never reached the people who needed them.
Private enterprise works in much the same fashion with the emphasis from the foreign funding sources to continue the privatization of industry operating without government regulation or tax revenue. Profits continue to leave the recipient nation rather than being reinvested in the communities where they are based. “Free Trade Zones” are an excellent example of this insidious ability of private interests to bypass state authority and oversight. The collapse of the Aristide government is directly linked to this demand for privatization and his government’s refusal to surrender entirely to it.
This welfare state mentality and reliance on NGOs and religious organizations was a key to success for former dictator Papa Doc Duvalier. He set up soup kitchens all over the capital city of Port au Prince where poor people could come and get a meal. He also did not interfere directly with many relief agencies and allowed them to operate relatively unhindered providing they did not participate in political activity. It has been related by one such Canadian donor that he had less trouble shipping donations to Haiti under Duvalier’s regime than he has with the democratic governments of Aristide and Preval. This would lead some people to interpret that the democratic government is hindering recovery and relief but of course this is not true.
Yes it is imperative that relief efforts be allowed to flourish but must also have the clear intention of ending. This can only happen with coordinated foreign aid efforts that create projects at the grass roots level while the corresponding government Ministry is strengthened. Both should meet and integrate somewhere in the future variously within the long term and short term in order to facilitate a transfer of authority and oversight by the Haitian state. This will help create a viable social infrastructure and Canadian style ‘social safety net’. It is the lack of coordination and ideological interference that creates division, failure and a growing sense of hopelessness.
The Green Party must show the willingness to completely revamp CIDA methodology and change the procedures of NGOs working with Canadian government assistance to reflect our belief in the sovereignty of the recipient state.

http://www.haiti.org/Whatsnew/speech_1stlady_03-05-03.htm
Excerpt from Remarks by the Honorable Mildred T. Aristide, First Lady of the Republic of Haiti before the Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust
Washington, D.C., March 5, 2003
“A recent concrete example. Two Saturdays ago President Aristide inaugurated a health clinic constructed in downtown Port-au-Prince with the cooperation of the Canadian government. The Government of Haiti and the President expressed their great appreciation to the Canadian’s for this assistance with the construction, which cost approximately $400,000. But I know that this sentiment of appreciation was immediately followed by a great sense of concern and urgency: where will the government find the funds needed from the national treasury to staff this new clinic and buy the medications required to deliver the healthcare so urgently needed? In short, without access to additional funds, how do we expand desperately needed health coverage while we reduce the government budget?
Some argue that the gap can be filled and is indeed being filled by non-governmental organizations. Indeed, in Haiti’s Global Fund project on AIDS, the NGO community, working in partnership with the public sector, plays an important role. However, with the deep appreciation that I have for much of the important work performed by NGO’s, funding NGO’s exclusively is not the right strategy. As many NGO’s will tell you, the government’s role in the provision of social service is central and cannot be delegated. Only the Ministry of Health is mandated to provide national health coverage; Haiti’s highly privatized education system has failed to school 45% of the school age population, and only the Ministry of Public Works will build the roads linking our isolated countryside. The national infrastructure must be strengthened, if indeed the work of NGO’s is to have any impact. These are the responsibilities of the state, all states, rich and poor, because the right to healthcare and education are the human rights of all individuals and should not be treated like commodities for sale on the open market.”

Ralph Nader address to Engineers Without Borders conference

2008-01-21T13:18:00.000-05:00

Ralph Nader gave the end of the day key note address Friday afternoon which brought to a close an impressive, provocative day at the Engineers Without Borders conference. He made clear how impressed he was with the Canadian chapter of EWB because its youth membership not only deal with the practical aspects of development overseas but tackle the difficult questions of the philosophical and political ideologies that drive development aid.

His base argument and message was that social justice should form the basis of foreign aid and be its main motivator. “With more social justice you need less charity.” (This was also a message related by panel members in a previous session regarding CIDA reform.) The focus should not be on ‘pain syndromes’ but on systemic causes. He related the need to be aware of the increasing merger of economic powers and government against the greater ‘public good.’ The triumph of theory over fact. He stressed the fact that the corporate model is dominating and that this has to change.

Academic science vs. corporate science
Academic engineering vs. corporate engineering

He advised the people in the room not to waste their talent and ability. Most young people in the room could become very wealthy using the corporate model with very little effort or real thought. But what would they achieve? Young engineers should be guided by a moral obligation to use their knowledge for the greater good of humanity and not as a tool to merely achieve wealth. The corporate model of development aid doesn’t work. UN studies have reflected a reality that 40-50 billion dollars in targeted foreign aid could provide the basic needs of water, food, and health services in the developing world. That 40-50 billion dollars reflects the recent profits of just one or two major multi-national corporations in the last year, oil companies for example. The corporate model of development is wrong because it draws on the wrong expertise that demonstrates contempt for developing countries. Much of the real accomplishments and innovations have come from developing countries and not the western world. Micro credit in India, a very successful system used largely by women, soil houses and other construction in Egypt and elsewhere, indigenous cultures in Brazil and elsewhere who command an extensive, natural, scientific knowledge of the forest and natural world. This knowledge is largely ignored because it doesn’t meet the western standard of ‘double blind’ study. The same questions we are debating today on which models to use and what effectiveness they have on real development are the same questions that were being asked 40 years ago. Are we debating these questions still because we don’t know how to do it or we don’t like the truth behind the real answers?

“Freedom is participation in power” he said, quoting Cicero. “Civics skills courses should be taught…what is needed to make democracy work as opposed to simply civics courses, which is mostly memorization anyway.”

In response to questions surrounding how ‘to keep faith’ and stay motivated he advised that it was necessary to share the credit and that the function of leadership is to create more leaders. Nader stressed the importance of small victories as a preventative measure to combat ‘burn out’. The overwhelming task of transforming social conditions and attitudes within Canadian society encompassed in EWB’s focus on poverty reduction and the immensity of the task of overseas development can quickly lead to disillusionment and frustration. Small victories help to motivate and revitalize your energy and should never be dismissed even though the goal of course is always the higher ideal of transformation. He related that his father would ask him when he came home from school, “What did you learn in school today? Did you learn how to think or what to believe?” Belief without thought cannot change things. He mourned the loss of words and their meanings such as, Knowledge, Judgment, Wisdom, and Thrift. “These must be the loneliest words in the dictionary”, he quipped. He further stressed to the young audience not to trivialize their self worth. Self respect is essential to develop their character and motivate them into action. When confronted with the question of why a person should take action and how could they achieve anything he had this to say. “Look to your grandparents and what they achieved in the face of adversities and challenges that you don’t face. And they did it without technology…so you know…stop crying in your beer about it. What are you going to tell your grandchildren when they look around at the mess they’ve been left and they ask, “Where were you when all this was happening?” What are you going to tell them? That you were sitting at home watching the third re-run of Cheers on television? At the end of the session he quoted an old proverb.

“To know and not to act is not to know”.

What to do with CIDA (Part 3)

2008-01-21T13:17:00.000-05:00

Ian Smillie (Ian Smillie has 30 years of experience in the field of international development as a programmer, evaluator, and writer. He was a founder of the Canadian nongovernmental development organization, Inter Pares, and was director of one of Canada's largest NGOs, CUSO)

Mr. Smillie appeared to agree with the concept of closing CIDA and starting again with a new agency. His conclusions are that CIDA is too slow, confused, and bureaucratic. It cannot react quickly enough in its present form to the changes that are needed in international development. Its’ focus is too scattered. He also emphasizes the fact that although Canadian governments pride themselves on international leadership and development, the reality is that CIDA is not considered an important ministry. There is too much fear in CIDA now. It is paralyzed and too enveloped in “consultancies” that are designed to protect bureaucrats and the ministry from accusations of failure and incompetence. The concept of punishment and shame is dominating inside the ministry. (This was also intimated to me in another session with Sherrie Arnott from CHF.) He thinks that Canadians don’t really understand development and neither does the media in general. He referred to the fact that when Bev Oda was moved from the Heritage Ministry to CIDA it was considered by the press to be a demotion rather than a promotion. This despite the fact that she is in charge of a 4 billion dollar Ministry, supposedly linked directly to foreign policy and Canada’s place in the world. Mr. Smillie states that CIDA’s and the government’s desire to be the biggest foreign aid developer is impossible and that Canada is simply not big enough to ‘buy’ its way onto the world stage. The emphasis should be on being the best at what we choose to do. To this end he recommended that Canada place less emphasis on reducing geographical locations and more on ‘sector’ specialty. He recommends building civil society and the sectors that this would involve. Development and growth should not be the same thing. They work at cross purposes because development requires time. Development requires an element of risk and that you learn from mistakes. He agrees that the new agency, or a reformed CIDA, needs to decentralize and have more ‘life’ experience on the ground in the targeted countries. The emphasis on ‘growth’ and the narrow definition of what this actually means has created aid ‘orphans’. He used Sierra Leone as an example. The international community spent billions of dollars on peace keeping after the brutality of the war but since has spent almost nothing on development. CIDA’s contribution to Sierra Leone is 1/3 of what Luxembourg is contributing to the country. The emphasis on growth has pushed donor countries, NGO’s and corporate donors toward ‘high performance’ countries. This leaves countries that need time to develop out of the loop and forgotten. How can we spend billions of dollars on peace keeping in a country and almost nothing on assisting that country in preventing a renewal of violence? Blood diamonds are an issue but properly mined diamonds can be an asset in economic recovery. He concludes that we are constantly, quote, “F***ing up the endgame.”

What to do with CIDA (part 2)

2008-01-21T13:16:00.000-05:00

Rober Calderisi (Author. The Trouble with Africa: Why Foreign Aid Isn’t Working. He has had a thirty year career in international development primarily with the World Bank.)

The main message was a rejection of any call to dissolve CIDA but to place more emphasis on Human Rights and what can be done with existing money. More aid should be directed at public services and infrastructure with focus on fewer countries. Highway construction and maintenance, salaries for nurses, teachers etc. are examples he gave. Mr. Calderisi also believed that Afghanistan shouldn’t be the #1 focus in terms of foreign aid from Canada through CIDA. Economic indicators can be deceptive when assessing a country and he illustrated his point with the fact that the leading economic growth numbers from African nations are actually reflections of oil prices, copper etc. while in reality the majority of economic activity is still agricultural for the majority of poor economies. Our attention is being drawn in the wrong direction. I think this ties into what Ralph Nader said in his address that the corporate model of aid is not working.
One of the more provocative things he had to say was this. “Foreign aid is not a ‘right’”. It is not reparations for past colonialism but an investment in the future. African nations should begin to say no to the studies released and conducted by western authors, corporations, agencies etc. and become more independent. By rejecting the concept of ‘victimhood’ it would allow African governments to refuse aid projects and encourage investment in areas where they think the money should go. He pointed to Kenya’s ability to develop its economy to the extent that only 5% of its economy is foreign aid dependent compared to 40% in neighbouring countries.

What to do with CIDA (part 1)

2008-01-21T13:05:00.000-05:00

This last Friday on January 18, 2008 I had the pleasure of attending the national conference of Engineers Without Borders. I participated in a panel discussion on how young people can engage politicians on issues and influence party policies. On the panel as well were Alex McDonough (NDP) and John McKay (Liberal). The conference as a whole was very exciting because the Canadian chapter of EWB engage not only in the practical applications of poverty alleviation here in Canada and overseas but fearlessly tackle the political and philosophical ideologies of foreign aid and development. In the afternoon closing panel they conducted a discussion surrounding the theme of "What to do with CIDA". It was very provocative. In the next 3 or 4 parts I'm going to publish my notes taken at this session as well as the closing key note address by Ralph Nader.

The CIDA discussion panel consisted of, John Watson (Past President & CEO, CARE Canada), Rober Calderisi (Author. The Trouble with Africa: Why Foreign Aid Isn’t Working. He has had a thirty year career in international development primarily with the World Bank.), and Ian Smillie (Ian Smillie has 30 years of experience in the field of international development as a programmer, evaluator, and writer. He was a founder of the Canadian nongovernmental development organization, Inter Pares, and was director of one of Canada's largest NGOs, CUSO)

First here is John Watson.

The main message is that CIDA needs to be dissolved and started all over again with a different model. The underlying basis for this opinion appeared to be that bureaucratic institutions are incredibly hard to reform once their systems have become entrenched. Our approach to foreign aid has to change and CIDA, in its present form, can’t accomplish this change. The concept of ‘failed states’ is more an indictment of and representative of, first world countries rather than necessarily third world countries. Most developing nations in his opinion cannot afford the equivalent of Canada’s economic/social structure and system and this shouldn’t be the focus.
His recommendation in the context of the panel discussion, (What is the one change that needs to be made in order to make Canadian aid more effective?), was that CIDA should be broken up into two organizations with two different areas of focus. One would deal with incorporating private and/or individual funding initiatives, moving away from government funding dependency. It is estimated that $300 billion dollars flows to developing countries from the Diaspora, family members sending money home to support their families, in contrast to $100 billion dollars in foreign aid. The second to focus on globally related issues like Climate Change, Environment etc. (The criticism of a bureaucracy’s inability to change and reform was also indicated, in another panel I participated in, that often bureaucrats in the public service know they can often “out wait” a Minister. This is based on the reality that a Minister’s life expectancy in a particular portfolio is approx. 18 months maximum. Add this to the unfortunate reality that CIDA is not considered an important ministry.)

Pakistan at 'dangerous' juncture G&M article

2007-11-05T10:47:00.000-05:00

Globe & Mail Nov.3 -- http://tinyurl.com/2a7ysp

quote --ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — General Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan on Saturday, suspending the constitution, replacing the chief justice before a crucial Supreme Court ruling on his future as president, and plunging the country deeper into political turmoil. --end quote

quote-- A copy of the emergency order obtained by The Associated Press justified the declaration on the grounds that "some members of the judiciary are working at cross purposes with the executive" and "weakening the government's resolve" to fight terrorism. -- end quote

This is the 'monster' we continue to create by assisting the U.S. Administration in perpetuating the mythology of the 'war on terrorism'. We sent a clear signal to countries that fighting terrorism can be used as an excuse to perform any authoritarian action the government deems fit. All you have to do is drop the phrase and wrap yourself in the flag of 'ultimate good and domestic security.' The conservative government of Stephen Harper has no problem condemning this action while practicing our own version of security certificates, preventative arrests, no fly lists, and suspension of due process.

At the Peace and Security conference held in February by the Green Party Paul Heinbecker, former Canadian Ambassador to the UN, said it very accurately,
"There is no war on terrorism because you can't have a war on a tactic. We can fight terrorism by not fueling it in the first place."

Some Canadians believe that changing our tactics and positioning is one thing, but outright leaving from a situation, like Afghanistan, where people have come to depend on us could compromise our ability to engage in other peacekeeping missions.

Admitting failure and the fact that we are there for the wrong reasons will not endanger future peace keeping or even peace making missions. It will strengthen them by declaring that if the Canadians are coming it is for clear, right motivations and they will have a clear plan for repairing the damage they do through the use of violence. Southern Afghanistan does not have to be part of the greater country as we envision it.

We are one of the countries in the world that should understand the concept of confederation and how to live peacefully as a 'collection of regions' held together through ongoing negotiations. We ignited northern Pakistan by pushing the Taliban there and demanding that Pakistan disrupt the co-existence that was there between the Pakistani government and the semi-autonomous regions in the north. If we negotiated with the Taliban and gave the ground in Kandahar the Taliban would soon dissolve. They were already weak before the war and certainly had no solid ground in the following months after the beginning of the war. Afghanistan could have already been living in relative peace,(relative for that region), and co-existence four years ago! The Taliban could have already been pushed by Afghans themselves out of southern Afghanistan and into the Pushtun regions where they could live by their own code.

Continuing the lie that is Afghanistan, Iraq, Haiti, Africa, Central and South America, risks igniting larger regional wars. Wars which we, as a nation, will be powerless to stop. I wish more Greens who believe we should stay in Afghanstan would have the same long term vision of consequence when it comes to violent conflict as they do with climate change and the environment.

I am no longer a pacifist. Neither is the Green Party, nor the NDP for that matter. The Green Party has come to accept that violence is never good but sometimes required. The majority of Canadians believe in the nobility of peace keeping. Peace keeping requires the willingness to use violence and peace making certainly requires the use of violence. I have looked at the photos of Canadian, British, and U.S. soldiers who have died since 2001. Their youth, their families, their sacrifice hits home hard. Supporting and respecting these young women and men, the magnitude of the sacrifice they are willing to make and have made, demands that we never send them into violent conflict again based on lies, deception and false nobility.

Personal comment on letter of support from Green Party

2007-11-04T16:32:00.000-05:00

I wanted to the letter of support in the previous post to stand alone so I will comment here in a new post. I am proud that the Green Party has not forgotten Haiti and Canada's role in causing it so much misery. While the NDP have put Haiti on the back burner and outrageously endorsed CIDA aid funding without question, it is important to remember the situation in perspective. Canada is not helping Haiti. It continues to endorse, through its silence, international actions to intimidate and destroy a democratic movement. That movement is the Lavalas and Famni Lavalas political parties.
I encourage everyone to educate themselves on Canada' role in the events of February 2004 and the secretive Ottawa initiative of 2003. The Ottawa initiative was so secretive that no Haitian representatives were present or even invited. It is believed that at this meeting it was decided that the government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide had to go and foreign aid was withdrawn. This withdrawal of foreign aid helped destabilized the government and less than a year later a coup d'etat [disguised as a 'rebellion'] overthrew the democratically elected government of President Aristide. Canada refused to come to his aid yet within hours of his suspicious removal from Haiti in February 2004, 400 Canadian soldiers were at the ready and secured the Haitian airport. Within days an entire interim military security force of several thousand soldiers consisting of US, Canadian, French, and Chilean troops were on the ground 'securing' the country. Aristide was refused the right of return to his country to resume his Presidency by these four nations and the Lavalas government eventually fell completely. An undemocratically appointed interim government was put in charge under the non-elected Presidency of Gerard Latorture, sanctioned and supported by Canada. The government of M. Latorture then proceeded to eliminate the Lavalas Party as a legitimate political party all the way down to grass roots supporters. Anti-Lavalas criminal gangs were allowed to flourish under the very noses of UN MINISTAH forces while Lavalas supporters were unconstitutionally arrested, jailed without trial and many have been killed, fled, or disappeared. The human rights abuses and crimes against humanity that have occurred under Canada's watch is a national disgrace.
The conservative government of Stephen Harper should reverse the existing policy on Haiti and begin a process of true renewal in Haiti. This renewal should centre on full support of President Rene Preval and real grass roots development and aid. In addition, full and unconditional support for the democratic parties of both Lavalas and Famni Lavalas to participate within the Haitian political system in accordance with the Haitian Constitution. The Green Party calls upon Prime Minister Harper to call a full independent parliamentary inquiry into Canada's conduct in Haiti to expose any and all wrong doing. It is time for the NDP to renew the same call loud and clear in the House of Commons and stop letting CIDA's performance in Haiti slide.

Statement of support for Haiti activists from Green Party

2007-11-04T16:10:00.000-05:00

To members of Toronto Haiti Action Committee, Canadian Haiti Action Network and the Haitian community:

On behalf of the Green Party of Canada, allow me to reaffirm our commitment to seek a resolution to the continuing political, social and economic crisis in Haiti and especially to speak out on how the international community, including Canada, dramatically failed the Haitian people in their time of greatest need.

One day, hopefully sooner rather than later, the Canadian foreign policy fiasco that unfolded in Haiti over the last decade will be brought to the attention of all Canadians through a full and independent parliamentary inquiry. I believe most Canadians will be shocked and outraged that the Canadian government actively planned and participated in a regime-change exercise with U.S. and French authorities that led to the collapse of the democratically elected Aristide government. We then stood by and allowed the gross misuse of our foreign aid, and in particular our military and RCMP training assistance, by the undemocratic appointed government of Gérard Latortue.

Canada’s present Conservative government continues to try to sweep under the carpet the unpleasant truth about our foreign policy failure in Haiti. The Green Party denounces the human rights abuses, unlawful arrests and detention of Haitian citizens, and especially political murders conducted by the Haitian National Police.

We endorse the current democratically elected President Rene Preval’s efforts to build up his government, economy and peace without outside interference or manipulation. Haiti's renewal must be on Haitian terms.

We support efforts at peaceful grassroots economic development and, as a future Canadian government, we would be prepared to provide, if requested, the funding and logistical support for a large-scale ecological reforestation and forest stewardship initiative for Haiti. This would not only create significant new employment, it would rebuild the forest cover/biodiversity of Haiti, reduce risk of flooding and landslides, create new economic opportunities over time and act as an important new carbon sink for the region.

Finally, we applaud any proposals by Haitian activists that promote truth and the pursuit of justice and/or reconciliation that assists Haiti, according to Haitian desires, to begin a process of collective healing and emerge from the violence of the past to hope for the future.

Canada has a special relationship with Haiti and has welcomed to its shores many Haitian immigrants, one of which is our remarkable current Governor General. It is my sincere hope that a constructive and mature relationship can be built between Canada and Haiti in the very near future to replace the current dynamic.

I know that you will keep up the good fight for truth and justice for Haiti, and for that unwavering commitment and courage, I thank-you.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth May, O.C.
Leader
Green Party of Canada

Green Party press release on Haiti kidnappings

2007-11-04T16:03:00.000-05:00

Green Party says Canada should intervene in Haiti kidnapping
OTTAWA – November 1, 2007 -- Green Party leader Elizabeth May said today that the federal government should offer to mediate in an attempt to secure the release of kidnapped Haitian opposition leader Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine.

“Through its previous involvement in Haiti, the Canadian government has gained access to a range of political actors,” said Ms. May. “It could play a mediating role in securing the release of Mr. Pierre-Antoine. Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier has an opportunity to help. The question is, does he care and will he even try?"

Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine, a human rights campaigner and high profile member of ousted President Jean-Baptiste Aristide’s Lavalas Party, was kidnapped in August while touring the country with a human rights delegation that included representatives from the Canadian Haiti Action Network and Toronto Haiti Action Committee. Both have since returned safely to Canada.

Another Lavalas Party official, Dr. Maryse Narcisse, was abducted at gunpoint late last week, but was released unharmed this week after a ransom was paid.

“There is real concern among human rights activists in Haiti and elsewhere that these abductions are part of a renewed effort to intimidate members of the Lavalas Party in Haiti,” said Stephen LaFrenie, special advisor on Haiti to Green Party international affairs critic Eric Walton. “Lavalas is a legitimate political party which holds seats in the Haitian parliament.”

Pierre-Antoine had recently announced his intention to run as a Lavalas candidate in the next round of elections in Haiti and the party is gearing up for a convention in Port au Prince on December 16, the 17-year anniversary of Aristide’s election.

The Canadian government has been silent on human rights violations in Haiti since the overthrow of democratically elected President Aristide in February 2004. It has also apparently taken no action on reports of misuse of Canadian aid by the interim government of Gérard Latortue. The Canadian Rights Delegation is currently on a cross-country tour to investigate serious questions about the effectiveness of Canadian foreign aid and how and where it is being used.

Green Party human rights critic Joe Foster said that the government should be looking into these concerns and using its diplomatic influence to improve the human rights situation in Haiti. “Canada must promote the rule of law and respect for human rights as laid out in the UN Charter,” Mr. Foster said.

-30-

A personal note to publicly thank Elizabeth May our leader and Eric Walton, Joe Foster and everyone for the speed in which they reacted to this news and request for solidarity with Haiti. It is important for us not to forget women and men within CHAN (Canada Haiti Action Network) and all the related groups in various cities across Canada. They have worked dedicatedly and selflessly since the coup in Haiti only to have their work overshadowed by other conflicts. Haiti Solidarity groups continue to be ignored by the other parties in Ottawa including the NDP which seems to have placed the human suffering in Haiti in the "been there, done that" file. Haitian human rights groups continue to struggle against a wall of silence and continued violations of Haitian civil rights and wider human rights violations. Our government continues to ignore the fall out and damage it helped cause in Haiti by destabalizing the Aristide government prior to the coup.

I would like to encourage all of our candidates and Green supporters to educate themselves on the events of 2004 in Haiti and the continuing efforts of Canada, the US, and France to suppress and eventually wipe out the grass roots democratic movement of Lavalas. I will be happy to assist anyone who wants to learn more about this subject and Canada's role.

Tories will not oppose execution of Canadian in U.S. prison

2007-11-04T16:01:00.000-05:00

From part of the cbc article;

"The federal Conservatives will not intervene in the case of a Canadian on death row in the U.S., a move being blasted by some Opposition MPs as a government endorsement of capital punishment.

Ronald Smith is shown being interviewed in prison by CBC-TV.
(CBC) Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said he won't ask American authorities to hand over Ronald Allen Smith, an Alberta man who has been on death row in Montana for more than 20 years.

"We will not actively pursue bringing back to Canada murderers who have been tried in a democratic country that supports the rule of law," Day told the House of Commons on Thursday.

"It would send a wrong message. We want to preserve public safety here in Canada."

I would agree with the liberals and ndp quoted later in the article that this may indicate a willingness on the part of the Harper government to reopen the debate on the death penalty in Canada. First to be clear no one is asking for the release after 20 years of Ronald Allen Smith who was found guilty of a double murder in 1983. The government should be lobbying for clemency and a commute to life in prison rather than death. Canada must maintain its opposition to the death penalty and continue to lobby other nations to eliminate it elsewhere in the world.

"It would send a wrong message. We want to preserve public safety here in Canada." Stockwell Day.

I disagree. The right message is to pursue compassion and further evolve society. Stephen Truscott, David Millgaard and many others continue to prove that eye for an eye revenge justice is clearly wrong. While racism and social class distinctions still dominate our justice systems we cannot condone the death penalty as an act of justice anywhere.

over 100 Sri Lankan peacekeepers sent home for sexual abuse

2007-11-04T15:20:00.000-05:00

source -- http://tinyurl.com/39uhpl
"The United Nations will remove more than 100 Sri Lankan peacekeepers from Haiti after they were accused of sexual exploitation and abuse, said reports.

Of Sri Lanka's 950 soldiers in the impoverished Caribbean nation, 108 have been accused of paying for sex with Haitian prostitutes, including underaged girls, said Reuters and the BBC.

UN spokesperson Michele Montas told reporters in New York Friday the peacekeepers would be sent home Saturday. "The United Nations and the Sri Lankan government deeply regret any sexual exploitation and abuse that has occurred," Montas said.

He added that the government of Sri Lanka plans to take further action against the soldiers. "They are back under national jurisdiction. So far Sri Lanka has said … that they are going to be prosecuted in Sri Lanka."
The United Nations will remove more than 100 Sri Lankan peacekeepers from Haiti after they were accused of sexual exploitation and abuse, said reports."

end quote

The UN needs to do a lot more to curb and punish sexual predators among peace keeping troops. This is a sadly familiar story. Rape and sexual exploitation are insidious, horrific tools of war and are now considered serious war crimes. But how many peace keepers are charged and brought to justice?

"Rape is a serious war crime like any other," said Regan Ralph, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch's Women's Rights Division. "That's always been true on paper, but now international courts are finally acting on it." 1998 response to genocide charges in Rwanda. source - http://tinyurl.com/3yykc4

"U.N. Court, for First Time, Defines Rape as War Crime
By MARLISE SIMONS
Published: June 28, 1996
A United Nations tribunal announced today the indictment of eight Bosnian Serb military and police officers in connection with rapes of Muslim women in the Bosnian war, marking the first time sexual assault has been treated separately as a crime of war. The indictments were announced by the International Criminal Tribunal in the Hague after almost two years of investigations. Court officials said that although rape charges had been included in other cases, this indictment gave organized rape and other sexual offenses their due place in international law as crimes against humanity." source - http://tinyurl.com/39b5cy

Peace keepers who are presented to the population as 'saviours' and 'protectors' rather than enemy soldiers should not be exempt from war crimes in my opinion. Returning soldiers to their home countries does not always provide for justice. There should be a pursuit of justice through the Haitian justice system (in this case) or through the International Court of Justice as a war crime.

Was this the act of a particular nasty inhumane soldier? No. 108 soldiers sent home is not a random act. Was it an organized assault? I say yes. Do we really believe none of these soldiers shared their stories or communicated where they could find victims? How many violations were committed by a group of soldiers on the same victim? Since the UN appears to be satisfied that sending them home to face whatever justice they will in their home nations we will likely never know the details. That is equally a miscarriage of justice.

Are soldiers the only ones? No. When I was in Haiti in May one of our senior group volunteers talked with a young woman who offered sex which was declined. She regularly slept with foreign aid workers from various countries for $10.00 US. If the man didn't want to use a condom she charged him an extra $5.00. When asked if she was afraid of contracting HIV she replied, "...when your stomach is empty you don't think about AIDS."

Guaranteed Annual Income debate

2007-06-27T12:07:00.000-04:00

The concept of the Guaranteed Annual Income (GAI)

Social services and minimum wage standards are set independently by the provinces. Is there a way the Federal Government can assume these two responsibilities in order to stabilize the standard of minimum social assistance and labour standards? The main question is would the provinces really object to the federal government taking over these two responsibilities? The federal government could negotiate to take over these responsibilities and make the adjustments in the provincial transfer payments. The provincial share would be to maintain the health and drug benefits for recipients as in the present system. If the provinces do not agree to shift this responsibility then the federal side of the GAI would function as a "top up" on the provincial social assistance levels. The provinces would have to agree to eliminate "claw backs" and an agreement similar to the Canada Health Act would have to be negotiated. The provinces would also have to agree to freeze the levels of assistance and not lower them. They would also need to agree to bring them up to the highest present provincial level.
The concept of a guaranteed minimum/annual income is necessary. I think the GAI concept has been over intellectualized, spreading it throughout all income levels for no other reason than a semantic argument over equality and fairness. This has led to elaborate formulas associated with the Negative Income Tax which give a base amount to all Canadians and then tries to “claw it back”.
Canadians accept the concept of sharing tax wealth with the poorest within society so giving money to one group and not another is neither alien nor considered unfair. It also needs to be noted that Canada already has a GAI concept in effect expressed through the social assistance programs and basic personal tax exemption. Those who do not financially need a GAI paid benefit should not receive one unless circumstances cause their need to utilize the social safety net.
Given the climate of relations at the moment in most areas of jurisdiction the GAI requires an incredible leap of faith when it comes to fair negotiations between the provinces and federal government. There are also pit falls to avoid, the main one being the use of the GAI concept as a panacea replacing other vital support programs.

1) Relationship to the minimum wage.
Minimum wage and minimum social assistance are directly connected. Both are well below the poverty line making it difficult for people to decide between the two. There must be a difference between the two levels. Minimum wage should not represent the minimum to live. The GAI should do this, representing the minimum level to providing shelter, food, and clothing. A reasonable minimum wage should prevent someone from ending up on social assistance and present a clear step upward beyond survival.

2) Tax reform and fairness to working people.
The GAI level should reflect the personal exemption for both federal and provincial taxes. A standard incorporated into the agreement between the provinces and federal government as mentioned in the introduction above. The progressive tax structure then begins at the slightly higher minimum wage level. Parents who file jointly keep this as a separate credit as well meaning that a working family would keep the minimum level of income equal to both their GAI before the tax system kicks in. This might partially eliminate the concept of the GAI as "welfare" as it is a minimum benefit given to all Canadians in some form or another. (Tax exemption for working people and cash payments to those on the present social assistance systems.) A single parent with children would be allowed to keep the GAI plus the earnings (or equivalent child tax credit) from a single part-time job before the progressive tax system came into effect. I think this is where we could simplify the tax system at the lower end of the income and tax scale as opposed to a myriad of confusing tax credits and deductions that can easily be taken away within other sections of the tax system. The tax return of a low income family should be the most basic document of all.

3) Unemployment Insurance
Labour organizations, unions and the NDP are reluctant to engage in a serious GAI discussion for fear that it will be used as a means of eliminating the UI program. This is a legitimate fear. The UI program should stay intact only to be adjusted if benefits fall below the GAI levels. If you lose your job and qualify for UI benefits the GAI kicks in as a paid benefit and the UI program pays benefits over the GAI amount. The GAI does not have to replace the UI program only supplement it at the lower benefits level. Losing my $40,000/yr job should not force me to spiral down to the lower levels of the social safety net. We do not propose eliminating private accident insurance and shouldn’t back track on hard fought labour benefits. Employer and worker contributions would be lower as well, according to formula above the GAI level.

4) Injured worker’s compensation programs.
Like the UI program this is another hard fought labour accomplishment that should not be threatened with the concept of a GAI. Worker Compensation is an insurance program similar to any other accident insurance program. It should be supplemented by the GAI at the lower end of the benefits scale with benefits beginning above the GAI level. This too would lower the contributions of employers into the compensation program. Provinces could opt to keep separate worker compensation programs or they could be incorporated into the national agreement mentioned in the introduction above.

5) Provincial Disability Plans.
These plans could be folded into the national system as well with the provinces providing the support services or they could be topped up by federal contributions to the provincial program.

6) The GAI does not equal welfare.
The GAI is not welfare or charity. It is an intelligent investment in the social infrastructure of society. Education is an investment not a welfare program. Job training programs are not welfare. Pension plans are not welfare. Universal health care is not welfare. The focus of punishment permeates the present social assistance program throughout society. Social assistance clients are presented as a drain on society, lazy, not worth the effort. This allows conservative governments to prey on poor people caught in the shifting environment of a capitalist system. One of these punishments which I have witnessed is people who share households. I know two women who were struggling on social assistance so they moved in together. Social assistance was cut from their cheques for living communally. This cut was so drastic they had to move out because they were worse off than before. Consider that if two working people can move in together and share resources then why not those at the poorest levels. The idea of clawing back the earnings of someone on social assistance or disability pension serves as a deterrent to getting work. This is connected to the inadequate level of the minimum wage. This is a thought process we have to eliminate in order to advance in the 21st century.

7) The GAI cannot exist in isolation and must be established in context to the Green Party proposal of a national index of ‘well being’ or as I prefer to think of it, ‘Quality of Life Index’. The GAI must be set within the context of a national affordable housing program plus a national child care network. This is the biggest drawback to the debate over GAI programs. Inflated housing costs and child care costs are used as an excuse to either dismiss the feasibility of the GAI or reason to artificially inflate it to a point where it becomes economically destructive. It is a bogus argument.
Subsidized housing which allows, for the sake of argument, a formula of 25% of total household income can work in partnership with the GAI. A GAI will not work if a person is paying 40% - 50% of their income just on shelter with little security. I spoke with a person from the St. Felix centre in Toronto who told me about a program they were involved with in the past that obtained housing for their clients. It has been proven that securing housing for people goes a long way to reducing the stress in their lives and the demand on other social services.
Investment in the social framework that encompasses the basic needs of the individual is essential to making a GAI affordable. The concept is struggling due to a lack of real political will and dogmatic arguments. If the name gives you pause then change it. GMII (Guaranteed Minimum Income Investment), QOLI (Quality of Life Investment), BII (Basic Income Investment)

Make Poverty History

2007-06-27T12:05:00.000-04:00

Child poverty is family poverty and I encourage everyone to get involved with their local Make Poverty History campaigns. I am a member of the Trinity-Spadina Make Poverty History committee in downtown Toronto.

Child poverty is a vital issue and the solutions span both federal and provincial jurisdictions. It is imperative that both levels of government work cooperatively, setting aside dogmatic differences and dealing with the realities.
Social services and minimum wage standards are set independently by the provinces. The Federal government needs to lead in this area by setting fair minimum standards within its own jurisdictions and carrying that further by requiring all businesses receiving government funded contracts to adopt and abide by the same standards. That minimum standard on a federal level should match the highest cost of living environments within the country. Working people in the major cities need a fair $10.00/hr. minimum wage and that should be the federal standard as well. The Green Party and the Trinity-Spadina Greens support the campaign to raise the Ontario minimum wage to $10.00/hr. The minimum wage standard should also be directly linked to inflation and the cost of living and should automatically rise with it allowing working people the ability to keep pace.
Minimum wage and minimum social assistance are directly connected. The reason it is hard for people to decide between the two is because they are both well below the poverty line which doesn't actually help anyone. There must be a difference between the two levels of financial support. The concept of a guaranteed minimum/annual income is necessary and the Green Party continues to keep this important concept alive and believes that a version of this can still work and is necessary to our social safety net.
Penalizing the poor should also come to an end and this is one area where provincial/federal cooperation needs to strengthen. “Claw backs” should be eliminated and federal programs should not be used as an excuse to weaken provincial support systems or for cutbacks. The conservative government of Mike Harris and liberal government of Dalton McGuinty have both clawed back the child tax credit from low income families (in particular those families trying to survive on social assistance). Right now the provinces have this right within their jurisdictions. We need an enforceable agreement similar to the Canada Health Act with the provinces to allow for direct federal assistance.

From the 2006 platform

Child and Family Well-being

Of all of Canada's social problems, child poverty is probably the most shameful and humiliating. In 1989, the old-line political parties voted unanimously to end child poverty in Canada by the year 2000. Since then, the rate has remained unchanged at around 15 per cent, or 1 million children. As a result of short-sighted cuts to our social programs that stripped away basic income support for families, child poverty has been a Canadian reality for far too long. Canada now ranks a dismal 26th out of 29 'developed' countries in terms of child poverty rates. There's no single silver bullet to eradicate poverty. Simply stocking food banks cannot bridge growing disparities between wealthy and poor Canadians. Poverty is a systemic problem that reflects low minimum wages, a precarious job market, lack of commitment to social housing, changes to Employment Insurance benefits and cuts in social programs. Poverty rates are even higher among new Canadians, Aboriginals and single mothers.
We can eliminate child poverty by making a commitment to have a just society that is built on a progressive and fair social safety network. European countries, such as Denmark, Finland and Norway, who have made a similar commitment, have kept child poverty rates below 3.5 per cent. Unlike the old-line parties, the Green Party believes reducing child poverty is more important than hoarding wealth. The Green Party believes reducing child poverty starts with a stronger commitment to guaranteeing every family has an equal opportunity to provide for their children.

Green Party MPs will work to:
147. Create a "Comprehensive Anti-Poverty Strategy for Canada," which will:
- Toughen regulations to ensure fair treatment and better wage standards for all working Canadians.
- Raise benefit levels and increase eligibility under the Employment Insurance Act.
- Remove GST on education supplies and specific family products.
- Expand child tax credits and benefits.
148. Support provinces that adopt a basic income strategy to ensure the benefits of a living wage are available to every citizen through existing federal programs.
152. Implement a managed reduction in the standard workweek to thirty-five work hours per week.
157. Implement affordable housing programs.
158. Combat racism in hiring practices and give greater recognition to foreign qualifications.

Fair minimum wages + increased support for minimum income standards reduce the dependency on food banks by reducing the need to choose between which necessities of life they can afford.

Housing and the right to safe shelter is a vital component to fighting family poverty. The right to affordable & safe shelter should be incorporated into the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In many cases families are spending in excess of 50% of their income on shelter leaving them unable to feed or care for their children. This is a disgrace. Runaway housing prices and gentrification of neighbourhoods are contributing factors to this environment. Governments are not investing enough to create livable communities and affordable housing is still an elusive dream for many Canadians. The solutions are out there and the Green Party has listened to the voices of leaders and activists in the communities who have been fighting for years to bring this to the forefront of the political agenda. The Trinity-Spadina Greens acknowledge the work of housing activists and thank them for their years of work. Trinity-Spadina Greens also support the City of Toronto’s efforts to create more mixed income housing developments and neighbourhoods throughout the city, especially along the waterfront.

From the 2006 Platform

Affordable Housing and Community Services

Affordable housing and community services are an integral part of Canada's social safety network. When all the social programs and services in the network work together there is less pressure on other traditional fallback institutions such as health care and food banks. We can reestablish an efficient, open-minded network that includes affordable housing projects and community services that were scrapped by former governments. Affordable housing and community services play a major role in social inclusion of otherwise stigmatized and marginalized social groups. The Green Party understands that in the long run, investment in affordable housing and community services provides us with healthier communities with less social inequalities. This in turn leads to greater independence, reduction in poverty and a reduction in crime. With its short-term vision, the Liberal government seems unable or unwilling to make such connections.

Green Party MPs will work to:

159. Fund a national housing program to build energy-efficient co-ops and affordable housing units.
160. Reorient Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation programs to provide credit and loan guarantees to non-profit housing organizations and cooperatives for the building and restoration of quality, energy-efficient housing for seniors, people with special-needs, and low income families.
161. Expand R-2000 housing programs, ensure that new housing meets the standard, and offer tax incentives to owners who are willing to renovate existing housing to meet the standard.
162. Subsidize alterative heating systems including solar, geothermal, and high efficiency wood stoves.
163. Improve support for community based self-help groups, social service agencies, independent living centres and advocacy projects.
164. Introduce a Disabilities Act based on consultation with disabled Canadians.
165. Subsidize private developers to include a percentage of affordable housing in their housing projects to increase social inclusion and lessen gentrification of neighbourhoods.

Fair minimum wages + increased support for minimum income standards + affordable housing further reduce the need to choose between which necessities of life they can afford. It provides a stronger sense of security and greatly reduces the stress that lower income families are subjected to. Stress is the number one factor in general health. Reducing the sense of desperation that single parents, especially women, goes a long way to reducing health and social costs. It provides stable, safe environments for children to grow up in.
Affordable child care is crucial for working parents and parents looking for work. This is even of greater concern to single mothers who are caught in an insidious
catch-22 where they are unable to find day-care for their children and unable to accept employment where they want or pursue further education. The child care debate highlights the destructive side of the divisions in the political spectrum. Parents do not think or believe the same things in terms of their child and resent being dictated to by governments. Parents cover the full spectrum of Canadian society and need a full spectrum of choices reflecting their personal philosophies. The Finnish model allows for these choices by letting parents choose between larger, centralized institutional day care and localized, smaller, decentralized home care. We have to acknowledge that this is an issue which cannot be solved by one political party dogma alone. The debate sparked by the Harper conservatives has been very destructive because it caters to only one parental philosophy. The NDP proposal placed too much emphasis on larger institutional care with their tired, deceptive “private bad” “public good” philosophy. A single mother opening up a home day care is private day care and perfectly legitimate. It is this refusal on the part of the traditional parties to listen to ALL parents that prevents progress. Trinity-Spadina Greens support the creation of an affordable, accessible and flexible national childcare network.

Green Party MPs will work to:

151. Create tax incentives for businesses to implement flexible schedules and on-site childcare.
155. Boost funding for early childhood education and work with other governments to link local childcare and education centres into a national network.
156. Support child-focused programs that boost self-confidence and foster a love of learning.
154. Support a nation-wide healthy lunch and snacks program from Kindergarten through to Grade 12.

Green Party MPs will also work to create the option for parents to stay home and care for their children until age three. This can be done through innovative use of the U.I. program, expanding maternity/paternity leave and allowing the deduction of typical day care expenses from family income taxes for those who have one spouse stay at home either intentionally to care for children full time or operate home based businesses. Create affordable, flexible daycare spaces through either home care or not-for-profit institutional daycare.

Fair minimum wages + increased support for minimum income standards + affordable housing + affordable, flexible child care is an achievable foundation for alleviating child poverty and providing stable, safe environments for children to grow up in.

Nazi comparisons and partisan politics

2007-05-04T15:58:00.000-04:00

This is my response to the 'controversy' over Elizabeth May's recent statements.

This is just the beginning of some serious scrutiny and partisan attacks. Learn to enjoy it and try not to be so self righteous. We've made plenty of partisan attacks on the opposition parties and sitting government. I know I have. I feel strongly about where Canada should go. I've tried to keep my attacks within justifiable territory. This being said though, it will be harder and harder for us to maintain our stated desire for cooperative government and non-partisan politics. We have to make sure that our references are valid and justified. I want Elizabeth May to speak more often as she did at the Green Living Show in Toronto. There is nothing better than to hear a leader express and reflect your own anger and frustration, especially in the same room as other politicians who safely, and flatly deliver tried and true slogans and styles. This is why she received a standing ovation, even from me and I rarely stand for anyone. She will continue to resonate with Canadians if she can express this side of herself as well as have the collected calm I saw in her at the Sierra Club of Peel Region last week in Mississauga where she methodically and effectively deconstructed the Conservative plan. It's an effective strategy she and it is working.

Where we cross the line though needs to be recognized by us. All it takes is the simple acknowledgement. References to the Nazis of 60 plus years ago is distasteful, demeaning, and insulting. Just because Monbiot said it doesn't make it worthy. Just because Prince Charles said it, doesn't make it worthy. Jack Layton and Peter McKay saying it first doesn't justify it. There is plenty of evil in the world right now and well within the last 40 years to reference. I'm tired of people using the World War Two as the ultimate evil, the ultimate fight, the Nazis as the ultimate evil. I know it's convenient because it takes the focus off ourselves as developed nations and allows us to pretend nothing as bad has happened since. Certainly nothing we have been party to. The former Yugoslavia, Viet Nam, Rwanda, Latin & South America, Haiti, Cambodia, Indonesia, the systematic, intentional, starvation and oppression of the developing world for the sake of greed and economic domination, racial hatred. We have appeased many dictators and many evils over the last half century. We should be lowering the bar for tolerated, appeased atrocities, not raising it. This is what makes the Chamberlain reference offensive. We recently emphatically and rightly rejected the candidacy of a person who placed the symbolism of 9/11 above the actual deaths of 3,000 people. We went on record to state that such intellectualizing of human tragedy was completely at odds with Green values. The death of over 12 million people at the hands of Nazi Germany should garner the same respect and dilligence from Elizabeth May, the party leadership and ourselves as members.

Stick to the issues. Canadians are taking the climate crisis seriously. There is real anxiety over where we are going as a nation and society. Canadians want to look for new leadership and are thinking the Greens might represent this.

Paul Heinbecker, former Canadian Ambassador to the UN, had some great advice for us at the Peace and Security Conference last February. He said Canadians are listening to the Green Party and taking us seriously. He then warned us not to give them reason to stop.

Two bold moves in Foreign policy

2007-03-12T16:02:00.000-04:00

I think we should boldly declare that Canada establish itself as a nuclear weapons free zone and further challenge smaller emerging countries to follow us. This should be done through a speech in the UN General Assembly. We should actively pursue talks with China in having China follow suit. There have been indications that China wishes to reduce the amount of nuclear weapons in the world and we should renew that interest with vigor. As a result of this we would need to declare our disagreement with the NATO acknowledgement that nuclear weapons are necessary and endorsing their potential use.

I think we should take the Pearson concept of peace keeping to its next level with a UN sanctioned, funded, trained, international peace keeping force. Included with this an international treaty that allows private citizens to enlist in the UN armed force rather than their own domestic armed force. Canada and the Scandinavian countries should take the lead in training these soldiers. The requirements of these soldiers and military force should be;

1) Speak at least three common world languages representing the regions of the world. I base this on the pathetic and dangerous situation I witness in Haiti where UN MINISTAH forces do not speak any common language spoken in Haiti. Brazilian and Lebanese troops do not speak or understand Haitian Kreyol, French nor English making it impossible to communicate with local citizens.

2)The commanders must be versed on the domestic constitution and laws of the target country(ies). Operations must take these basic laws into consideration when formulating security plans. Again I base this on my experiences in Haiti where UN troops carry out operations in violation of the Haitian constitution.

3)Training will be in urban warfare which takes into account the local citizen population including medical back up units who will immediately treat civilian casualties. Again this is based on the horrific results of UN military operations that carry out massive attacks in densely populated areas of Port au Prince with no medical assistance given to wounded civilians.

4) Trained media liasons who will communicate with media and Human Rights observers, allowing Human Rights observers and media immediate access to the aftermath of any operation.

5) No domestic government may use this force in a manner that violates international law or human rights. Again this has been a massive failure in Haiti where the UN MINISTAH forces were used by the Interim Government to carry out operations that violated the Haitian constitution, laws, and human rights.

6) Any area in a 'conflict zone' declared by the UN force to be an international protected safe area for civilians during peace keeping operations shall be declared international territory for this purpose. Any attack on civilians within the "safe" zone will be deemed an attack on the UN forces themselves resulting in the immediate sanction of self protection and return fire by UN forces troops.

7) This force will receive all necessary equipment, military and otherwise, to carry out its mission. This includes heavy equipment for reconstruction and development which will take place under protection of the UN forces under the right of self defense listed in #6 above. An attack on development projects will be deemed an attack on the UN force itself.

8) This force may enter a conflict based on the majority verdict of the Security Council with no veto governance. Should veto holding nations refuse, I propose a separation of a new Peace Keeping Council and the Security Council. The Security Council will maintain the right to rule on aggressive actions by the UN participating countries, such as the first Gulf War, but the Peace Keeping force will be activated by the separately formed Peace Keeping council where no nation has veto power. This council will rotate members with Canada and the other training forces having a permanent seat. It will further be made up of countries representing both developed and developing nations and representing all major regions of the world.

9) This force will also consist of engineers and reconstruction crews drawing expertise from NGOs and other organizations. Reconstruction and development projects will take place under the protection of the UN Force which will work in cooperation with the domestic governments. Its overall aim will be to incorporate the local community directly benefiting from the development project including hiring local people directly and paying them directly. This will be used as a safe guard against corrupt government activities. All taxes and levies will be paid to the domestic nation but individual worker payrolls will be paid directly to the workers on site.

10) All development projects approved will hold to the highest possible standards of labour practice. All domestic labour will be paid fair wages in accordance to the necessary living standards of the nation in question. The UN will derive these standards independently according to the reality of the domestic situation and not 'Free Trade' 'Free zones' standards regardless of the domestic nation’s minimum labour standard or wage level.

This force will be made up of 'contributed soldiers' from UN nations and also be granted the right to accept independent, volunteer, enlisters from domestic nations. In other words a young woman or man from France may choose to enlist in the UN Armed Force rather than their own domestic armed forces.

Peace & Security Conference Feb. 17/07 Ottawa

2007-02-25T13:40:00.000-05:00

Peace and Security conference held in Ottawa on February 17/07 to help the Green Party update its Foreign policy.

These are my observations of the Peace and Security conference based on my notes taken during the presentations.

Dr. Paul Heinbecker, former Canadian Ambassador to the UN, had some very intriguing and challenging questions for the Green Party, some of which we took to task in the workshop on the concept of triple D. (Defense/Diplomacy/Development). He framed his opinions around seven basic concepts of Foreign policy.

Good policy is good politics.
Foreign policy is important if not vital.
Defense, Diplomacy and Development
American Relations
Multilateral Relations
International Law and Governance
Fighting Terrorism intelligently

Mr. Heinbecker thinks that it is vital for political leaders to have and state what their foreign policy is. It is something that is important to discuss during an election campaign and in particular to the Green Party it is vital in order for the Canadian people to see us as a potential government as opposed to a one issue party. If we are going to shake that myth then we have to demonstrate a well thought out policy on a wide range of issues confronting the world. International Law is a rock that we can firmly stand on and the continuing fight to uphold international agreements and forge others is vital to the stability of the world. He thinks that the U.N. is much maligned and in fact is betrayed by the member states themselves and the Security Council which have failed to live up to their obligations. He listed an impressive list of UN achievements over the decades, things that were not part of the original UN Charter upon its founding. Peace keeping, peace/nation building, counter terrorism, international court on war crimes, environmental agreements, 100 million people fed, observance of elections around the world, land mine treaty, etc.

He further described Diplomacy as an endangered species that has received less and less funding over the past years. We need to fight terrorism intelligently with the number one tool being prevention. “We can fight terrorism by not fueling it in the first place”. There is no war on terrorism because you can’t have a war on a tactic. He observed the lack of peace keeping around the world stating that there really isn’t any peace keeping happening in the world.

Douglas Roche, former Senator and Canadian Ambassador for Disarmament, had a very blunt warning for us. Canada needs to wake up and see what is happening in the world today. We are moving closer to a dangerous nuclear confrontation which poses a greater threat than that of terrorism. Nuclear weapons stockpiles remain alarmingly high with more and more countries seeking nuclear programs which could lead to weapons development. Six Arab states have recently begun seeking nuclear energy projects which may lead to weapons development and further destabilize the region. Twelve trillion dollars has been spent on nuclear weapons with a new focus on offensive use as opposed to defensive. The classic scenario of MAD (mutual assured destruction) is losing ground to the concept of a limited, winnable, nuclear confrontation. He thinks that the NPT (Non Proliferation Treaty) needs more teeth and remain under a strengthened IAEA to assure that peaceful nuclear energy projects cannot be used as weapons development through back door channels. We need to remember that India’s nuclear weapons capability was developed with the waste from Canadian CANDU reactor technology. He reminded us that Canadians think of Canada as a ‘nuclear free zone’ which is not true. Technically we do not house nuclear weapons but our NATO obligations place us in a contradictory position because NATO recognizes the need and superiority of nuclear weapons. So even though close to 83% of Canadians oppose nuclear weapons we support their existence and potential use throughout the world. He further observed that Lloyd Axworthy, the former External Affairs Minister, tried to alter this NATO policy but failed. There is support for the NPT and Nuclear Weapons Free Zones in Canada and all we need now is the political will to accomplish it. We need to work around the U.S. and its policies of winnable nuclear war and approach countries independently and bring them into the non-nuclear positions. Mr. Roche believes this is an area of foreign policy that is perfect for the Green Party and that we should lead the way in developing it.

Taylor Owen, Trudeau Scholar, University of Oxford, Genocide Studies Program, Yale University, posed some intriguing questions. He posed three questions for Canadians and the Green Party to consider.
1) What do we want the military to be?
2) Are we wasting development dollars?
3) Is our diplomatic voice being lost?

These questions are framed around the European Union pursuit of defining what their strategy should be. He observed that it is very close to what Canadian foreign policy was, or at least, was going. The concept of human/personal security and what constitutes a threat to that security. There is the wide application of this policy which includes all possible threats such as, lack of food/water, environmental threats, health/disease, and violence through war and/or oppression. The narrow focus would center on violent threats from exterior or interior and remaining within the military sphere, civil war, hostile invasion, genocide, etc. He further brought up a point that I liked very much which is the concept of democracy itself in relation to security. Democracy is not necessary for security. In other words we do not have to pursue the imposition of democracy in order to achieve security in a ‘failed state’ or state in the turmoil of military conflict. It is in fact the institutions that create the infrastructure and not elections that provide for security as we see evidenced in Afghanistan and Iraq. It has been largely the indiscriminate destruction of Iraq’s infrastructure and institutions that have created the worsening conditions in Iraq. The elections have largely brought no real security or improvement to Iraq.

Christine Jones was a good addition to the panel as she brought the point of view of an activist to the discussion. Her presentation involved a long series of facts surrounding the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq that point the economic rather than human rights aspects of the war. It is clear that anyone who looks seriously into both invasions that they have almost nothing to do with 9/11 except for the fact that 9/11 acted as a catalyst to bringing about plans already drawn up and in motion. The war in Afghanistan is largely over oil and natural gas line issues between the Taliban and American administrations. It needs to be realized that if the Taliban had not backtracked on a promise to go ahead with the pipeline, that the U.S. would not have invaded Afghanistan but pursued further ‘diplomatic’ means and/or covert operations with special forces. One of the first acts of the Karzai led government was to sign the pipeline deal. The Afghan government has further signed deals with U.S. corporations at higher costs than those available through other countries. It further has to be realized by Canadians that the Afghan government consists of many warlords guilty of oppression and attitudes held by the former Taliban regime. Things are not better for women in Afghanistan since the invasion. Does Canada have the courage to stand against its allies and for the truth? The liberal and conservative parties clearly do not. Canada was clearly lied to by its closest allies, Britain and the U.S. as to the reasons behind both wars. Canada has so far refused to acknowledge the illegality of both invasions by NATO led by the Americans. Our obligations under NATO do not oblige us to participate in deception and acts of war contrary to international law. There was no Security Council support for the war in Iraq.

Landon Pearson, Senator. Ms. Pearson dealt directly with the concerns of international children’s rights. 193 countries ratified the convention on child rights with the U.S. and Somalia refusing to sign. It is imperative that we include children’s rights within our foreign policy. The majority of the population in the developing world is under the age of eighteen. We must ask ourselves, ‘who are the workers in the global economy?’ and ‘who are the consumers of those produced goods?’ We need to further the movement on child soldiers and raising the age of recruitment. She points out that CIDA has contributed greatly to the education of young girls in developing countries. Studies have shown that with this rise in education, exploitation drops, fertility rates drop, and wages increase by a margin equally of 10% in each category. In short it is vital to address the education and opportunities of young girls in developing countries in order to help stem the flood of abuse and exploitation. It is imperative for parties to better engage young people in the political process. Strong institutions bring stability and foreign policy must reflect a respect for child rights through education and safe havens.

Global security = Human security= human rights= children’s rights = listening to children.

66 countries have child commissioners, Canada does not. We need to have visual, obvious representation by young people especially under 18. Further to this the youth caucus must be taken seriously with the ability to influence policy.

Here is a link to both the UN and UNICEF studies on violence against children.

http://www.violencestudy.org/r25
http://www.unicef.org/protection/index_armedconflict.html

Cite Soleil Kitchen Project 2005

2007-02-14T21:14:00.000-05:00

I posted the post project report on the school construction we are doing in Cite Soleil in the January blogs. I thought I would post the 2005 post project report from the kitchen construction as well.

In Port au Prince there is a large slum known as Cite Soleil. This is an extremely impoverished area, perhaps the worst in the Western Hemisphere. It is made up of two to three hundred thousand people living in a swamp area filled with garbage and open sewage. The people live in small hovels with little or no running water, no toilets, no jobs, and very few children can afford to go to school.

On the first trip to Haiti in 2003 we connected with a small school there run by an organization known as Action Chretienne pour Development. This organization is administered by three volunteers who run two schools in Cite Soleil with a total population of 440 students. The Administrators are Joel, Willy, and Jean-Marcel. We have brought school supplies for the children but we also undertook, in 2004 to assist in the rebuilding of a kitchen facility with the hopes of starting a regular meal program there. Most families in Cite Soleil eat only a few times a week and most, if not all, the children study without having eaten for days at a time. There is a woman who lives across from the School who cooks for the children but they must pay a small fee according to what they eat. 5 gourds for a small plate, 10 for a larger portion etc. Many children cannot afford even this meager fee and so do not eat. School costs money in Haiti and the slums are no exception. The school has no lighting except what little bleeds through the windows. There is a small dedicated group of teachers there doing what they can but they are dealing with worsening conditions. Teachers often go unpaid and as a result occasionally do not show up to teach because they have found temporary work elsewhere and cannot afford to turn it down. They return however when this work is done to continue teaching.
It was our goal to raise $30,000.00 (US) to build the kitchen, obtain a generator and begin the food program. Our first target was $4,000.00 (US) to build the kitchen facility itself. This figure was based on a budget supplied by our contacts in Port Au Prince. The actual expenses were higher and the total for the first target of building the facility was $6,618.34 (US). This includes materials, delivery fees, labour, lunches for the workers, "tap tap" transport to and from the work site and other incidentals.
Exchange rate changes depending on where you are and who you are dealing with. The general exchange rate used to make calculations for negotiations and transactions for the Kitchen Project is based on the local supermarket where we exchanged money. The rate was 7.6 Haitian dollars to the US dollar. The building supplier gave us a rate of 8 Haitian dollars to the US dollar for the building materials and we used this rate to negotiate the delivery charge.
There are 5 Gourd per Haitian dollar which needs to be noted as money is exchanged and quoted in Haitian dollars but paid in Gourd. Prices are stated in Haitian Dollars but paid in Gourd. There are 38 Gourd to the US dollar.
Total cost of the building materials - $4,406.97
Delivery fee - $375.00.
Note: The $375.00 delivery fee was higher than normally charged based on the fear factor of delivering to locations inside Cite Soleil. The original fee requested was $5,000.00 Haitian dollars (approx. $657.00 US dollars). We refused to pay such a fee. We consulted with the building supply manager who explained that the fear was well grounded because not only were materials stolen but sometimes the trucks themselves. He agreed to talk with the delivery guys and brought the price down to $3,000.00 which he said was a little high still but that we probably couldn’t get any lower. We used the building supplier rate of 8 Haitian dollars to the US dollar and paid him $375.00 to deliver the materials. We also took the additional precaution suggested by Willy and Joel, of delivering the materials in smaller amounts over a three day period and one of the School Administrators rode in the lead truck with the supplies each day. It should be noted that once the delivery guys realized that they had safe conduct into and out of Cite Soleil, the delivery charge of future materials dropped dramatically.
Negotiated salaries
Foreman - $200.00 H/day or $26.31 US/day
Labourers - $100.00 H/day for each worker or $13.15 US/day
Total cost of labour - $907.90 (US)
Note: These salaries were agreed to based on the suggested minimum wage we set for ourselves and based on our inquiries in 2004 as to what would be the minimum salary needed to survive in Port au Prince. We were told at that time that a wage of $200.00 (US) per month would allow a person to modestly feed their family pay modest rent and send their children to school. This is roughly $6.50 US per day. We had agreed to a minimum of $10.00 (US) per day among ourselves and the above wages which were requested by the Foreman were naturally deemed fair and agreed to without hesitation. These wages were generally higher than those paid on other projects in Cite Soleil.
We agreed to hire three workers in addition to the Foreman and his assistant for the first week with a further agreement to add on further workers if possible. The Foreman agreed to work with the deadline of May 20/05 to have the kitchen complete. Several people volunteered to help on site regularly and did so with no promise of compensation of any kind. We of course included these volunteers when we bought cokes and made sandwiches for lunch. Two workers worked the first week for food. One worked dedicatedly while the other slowly worked his way up. We paid the first worker for four days during the first week and put him on the payroll for the second week. We added the second worker onto the payroll for the second week. We paid $1,500.00 Gourd for additional Saturday workers or to be used as compensation for the week for volunteers at the discretion of Joel, the School Administrator. Many people wanted to work on the project as it developed but there simply wasn't enough work for everyone.
It was further agreed that all money exchanges would happen in private and that the School Administration would pay the workers or buy items within Cite Soleil. It was important to establish that we ourselves did not have any significant amounts of money with us or the authority to hire workers. Requests by local people to be involved or hired had to go through the School Administrators. This also created the further advantage of getting materials or services at fair rates rather than artificially inflated ones. An example of this were the doors for the kitchen and store room. The original price from the building supplier was $500.00 (US). Joel found an iron worker who agreed to do both doors, custom fitted for $260.00 (US). Joel told me that the iron worker would not have charged this if I had gone with him because when he saw me he would have artificially inflated the price.
Transportation - $445.51 (US)
Note: Tap-Taps are the local means of transportation in Port au Prince for the poor and working poor. These are essentially modified pick up trucks that charge 5 gourd, or thirteen cents (US). It was established by the School Administration that it was not safe for us to enter into Cite Soleil alone. Further to this it was very difficult to get a Tap Tap to enter Cite Soleil or find one inside Cite Soleil. There were often fire fights between rival gangs and/or UN troops near the entrance to Cite Soleil. They adamantly opposed our request to be met close to this area. They had an agreement with Dread Wilme a local gang leader in Cite Soleil that we could work on the project without harassment and go to and from the work site. We could not however walk around within Cite Soleil unescorted by one of the School Administrators. We agreed to be driven to and from the Cite Soleil worksite in a privately hired Tap-Tap. The first few days cost approx. $30.00 (US) each day and then a final price of $40.00 (US) per day was accepted with an agreement that the driver would then take our volunteers to all three sites within the area and take them back to St. Joseph's Guest House at the end of the work day. Volunteers were dropped off at 31 Delmas where they could get a single Tap-Tap to the Malnutrition Clinic, and another group to the Brother's Clinic in Simon Pele which was on the way to Cite Soleil.
Kitchen and food supplies - $300.00 (US)
Note: To celebrate the completion of the kitchen facility on Friday, May 20/05 we hired the woman who normally cooks for the children plus two assistants to prepare a meal for all 280 students of the nearest school. We could not arrange to include the additional 160 students from the other school. We purchased a charcoal stove from a local resident plus pots and pans to cook in. We further purchased the food for the ceremonial meal. Each student had a large plate of rice and beans with a piece of chicken and sauce. There was food left over and was served to the mothers and other local residents who had come to watch the children be served and the opening of the kitchen.
New challenges emerged while we were there. The original plan was to renovate an existing facility inside the present school. We were informed later that the kitchen would be built in another school and not the existing building. Knowing that Action Chretienne ran two schools it was mistakenly thought by us that the building would be built in another school. This turned out to not be the case. The Administration had explained that they did not want to build the kitchen in a rented building in case they were evicted after making the improvements. They went to the community and parents and collected the down payment on new piece of land half a block or so from the existing school. This new building is in desperate condition and not ready for the students. The Administrators told us that the landlord of the existing building had evicted them after demanding that they buy the existing school building for an extortionate price of $20,000.00 (US). This new building and land which you can see in the above photos cost according to them approx. $8,000.00 (US). They had asked us to contribute the money to renovate and build a second story onto the building. We had only raised enough money to build the kitchen and that had to remain the priority. They agreed. They will be sending us a new budget for rehabilitating the new school and we agreed to examine the possibility of doing so.
The challenge of the food program is to now find a way of getting food on a regular basis inside Cite Soleil to the school. There are problems with getting shipments into Haiti unless already run by larger agencies. Financially supporting the purchase of weekly food for the students is expensive but not impossible. We have been communicating with various agencies and continue to look for a solution.

Dion may bar some male candidates

2007-02-09T17:10:00.000-05:00

From the Toronto Star
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/179948

Dion may bar some male candidates

"We're trying to find the techniques that are consistent with our democratic processes to the greatest extent possible," said Gerard Kennedy, Dion's special adviser on election readiness. Riding associations are being encouraged to find women to seek nominations. But, with an election possible as early as next month, Kennedy said the party doesn't have the luxury of a lengthy recruitment drive. Consequently, he said the party will have to use more drastic measures. "We're still studying and discussing some of the techniques that we might use, such as women-only contests or what have you. But I think those measures will be somewhat exceptional," he said."

There isn't time because the liberals have never thought about it seriously. There is no effort to create a level, welcoming environment for professional women to participate.

I think the reality is the problem with men only voting for men regardless of qualification. Women candidates, both those who have been successful and those who haven't, have proven time and time again that they are more than qualified. The problem is men who refuse to vote for women. So to provoke change I don't have a problem with forcing men out of the race until the attitude shifts to one of fair judgment.

I think a step to help level the field would be altering the nomination process itself. The nomination contest should not be on par with the actual election campaign. It shouldn't be a, ‘dog eat dog’ fight (which I suppose is the appeal to men in the first place). It shouldn't be based on who can spend the most money getting members' attention. The riding association should have a budget that can promote the nomination field equally giving each candidate equal time/space on literature and then present themselves on the day of the contest. It should involve the riding association presenting to the membership a full qualified field of candidates and letting the membership decide.

I think the problem remains that even qualified women feel they can't compete financially and on a level of aggression that men seem to thrive on. You'll never convince me that parties can't find 308 women among its membership nation wide that aren't qualified to run as candidates. Activists, community leaders, professional women, advocates, etc. The playing field needs to be less hostile and more welcoming. Save the real fundraising and fight for the election campaign.

I think the Green Party should take advantage and present a real alternative to how nomination contests are run. The 'last man standing' method is not always necessarily produce the most qualified or best representative. This is an area where we can stand out from the other traditional parties.

Progressive traps #6

2007-02-06T21:42:00.000-05:00

Progressive traps #5

2007-02-06T21:39:00.000-05:00

Progressive traps #4

2007-02-06T21:37:00.000-05:00

Taken from the article by Dr. Lakoff’s entitled "Thinking Points". I plan to address them one at a time in order to make each entry short and specific.

http://www.policyalternatives.ca/MonitorIssues/2006/12/MonitorIssue1518/

or here for the whole article which can be downloaded for free and is well worth the read. http://www.rockridgeinstitute.org/

4. The Rationalism Trap. There is a commonplace—and false—theory that reason is completely conscious, literal (applies directly to the objective world), logical, universal, and unemotional.
Cognitive science has shown that every one of these assumptions is false. These assumptions lead progressives into other traps: assuming that hard facts will persuade voters, that voters are rational” and vote in their self-interest and on the issues, and that negating a frame is an effective way to argue against it.

I have framed my response to this trap in the context of the separation of Church and State. Millions of Canadians are spiritual and moral human beings. Their morals are not guided by statistics and empirical data or rational afterthought. Our morals are guided by gut feelings, our emotions and life experiences. We are guided by that voice deep inside ourselves that tells us clearly what is right and wrong. For some that voice connects us to life, some to God, and some to the Universe. Some of us don’t see a difference in these three. We have mistakenly tried to dismiss human spirituality based on achieving religious equality by banning it from public view, as if we were trying to push it underground, into a back alley like we do prostitution, drug dealing and a myriad of other social dilemmas. We have a rightful separation of Church and State but we cannot separate God and State because we cannot separate God from a person of faith. We need to see the difference between preventing one religion or religious sect from dominating the public view and preventing the expression of spiritual faith itself. There is nothing stopping a person from praying in a public place and shouldn’t be. There is however something wrong with requiring everyone around you to stop and listen. There is no need to prevent the expression of faith and prayer in the House of Commons or at the beginning of a school day. This can be done with a dedicated moment of silent meditation and building a quiet, private meditation room within schools and other public buildings. You can’t open the day with a prayer from each and every religious sect even on a rotating basis but you could honour all faiths by allowing that moment of observation. In many Peel District Schools in Ontario there is allowance for Muslim students to congregate in a private room to observe Friday prayers. This was a simple solution to a simple problem. As far back as 1994 while I was a visiting artist in the schools I can recall seeing Muslim students in High Schools kneeling in alcoves, under stairwells, anywhere they could find because again you can’t separate Faith from Human Being. I once observed a man walking in a hurry down the street. He stopped and looked at the sky and since it was sundown he stopped, took off his jacket and laid it on the ground and knelt to say prayers. When Christian organizations argue that God is no longer in the schools it is a deceptive argument in many cases because they tend to argue the recitation of Christian prayer over the loudspeaker. This is not honouring religious observation, this is evangelism and that is where society should draw the line.
We don’t have labour justice in Canada because people sat around and deciphered data. We have labour law in Canada because people were being mistreated and reacted. It was fought for. Fought for with blood and emotion. We have a social safety net and equal rights for the same reasons. Dr. Martin Luther King did not separate his faith in God from his struggle for human rights. Tommy Douglas did not separate his faith either and gave many speeches as sermons. Secularism cannot solve everything and it is this feeling of spiritual abandonment that affects how people are reacting politically. That is the success of conservative agendas and republican agendas. They address and express respect for the spiritual needs of voters. True this is predominately Christian based versions of morality but it has an effect across the spectrum. We are seeing this conflict in regions of the world with Muslim populations. People of other faiths within Canada feel they do not see themselves reflected anywhere and this is a mistake. We need to sidestep the trap of sectarianism but not back away from understanding that spiritual faith plays a major role in the lives of millions of Canadians. We have to define a moral right and wrong course of action based on an understanding from where Canadians derive these moral directions and reflect the commonality of spiritual expression. Instead we have become lost in ‘spiritual semantics’ of sectarianism to the point of denying the very relevance of faith itself as a solution. Religious and/or Spiritual, depending on how you personally view it, is not a recreational activity to be shunted to the weekends. It is central to the lives of millions of Canadians. This is most prevalent within the NDP which in my opinion is weighed down by the animosity of many of its core supporters to religious expression.

Progressive traps #2 & #3

2007-02-06T21:30:00.000-05:00

Progressive traps to avoid. #1

2007-02-06T21:28:00.000-05:00

CBC and CRTC regulation

2007-01-25T12:33:00.000-05:00

What should we regulate? Rather than not allowing private conglomerates to buy out each others entertainment crap we should reserve access to alternative voices. Who is really dedicated to alternative media? I think there are millions of people in Canada who would respond to alternative media if it were accessible.

I think the Green Party (and NDP) is on the right track when it desires to provide stable funding for the CBC and eliminate commercials. Perhaps not eliminating all commercials but allowing the use of ads for charitable and non-profit organizations. A national broadcaster should not be competing with commercial entities forcing it to appeal to the lowest common denominator. It is there to give voice to people who don't have access through commercial entities.

People need to have access to alternative voices and so the CRTC could reserve signal space for multiple use by several organizations rather than one or an umbrella organization that gives air time to multiple sources of media and entertainment. I'm not crazy about the Green Party's past desire to demand that the CBC provide educational and relevant material because the government should not be dictating what this means. Better to appoint people from the grassroots and journalistic level to a shared managing level decision making process rather than a traditional top down corporate structure. Better to have the CBC provide airtime for alternative media, joint broadcasts, for instance the CBC could broadcast programs from TVO, Knowledge Channel in B.C., televised voice to alternative writers at Rabble.ca. Co-produce children's and arts entertainment programs. To give alternative Canadian voices prime time access to the Canadian public.

Require corporate media to prominently display their ownership tree after a certain level of growth. A newspaper or magazine would have to dedicate a page or half page to listing its ownership relationships. Rogers Cable would have to display its ownership tree on its programming guide page. Other broadcasters would have to run 30 second ads throughout the day displaying its ownership tree.

Awareness is the key. The government trying to force me to watch crap I don't want to is a recipe for disaster. Especially in a world where I have so many sources coming from outside the country.

A final thought for now would be this. I remember listening to CBC radio to a recording of Mordecai Richler's "Jacob Two Two and the Dinosaur". After the program kids phoned in their reactions to the story. As I listened to kids from the Yukon to Newfoundland talk I had a clear image of all these children sitting down, all over the country, listening at once and it gave me such a great image of unity and connection that I sat there for awhile afterwards and just kept imagining. Commercial radio can't accomplish this.

It would be a sin to lose that connection rather than foster it.

We have to change how we think about power/energy

2007-01-25T11:41:00.000-05:00

Alternative off-grid and non-grid reliant building methods using passive solar, thermal mass construction combined with solar/wind power and common sense conservation can greatly reduce the pressure on existing grid structures. It will also go a long way to creating independent and sustainable northern and rural communities. Stronger, independent but smaller communities can significantly lessen the migration to large centres reducing the impact and demand for power sources. One of our major mistakes is the centralization of everything. One grid. One power source. One button. One important city. One big solution. Alternative construction methods also incorporate alternative water treatment, recycling gray water from black water reducing the pressure on sewage and water treatment plants. These technologies and methods of construction are available now and only require the political will of both government and the public to realize it.

There is debate as to whether residential/commercial power demand contributes more to green house gasses and pollution than industry. This argument misses the point. Everything has to change. The change has to happen with people in order for political change to take place and continue into the next generation. When people prove it to themselves then they begin to question the products they buy and how they are made. We need to work in all areas at the same time. As one small personal example we have cut our power consumption by over 50% from an average of 10,000 kwh per year three years ago to 4,000 kwh this last year in 2006. We are paying less on our hydro bill now in 2006 on average than we were in 2002/03 even with various price increases and adjustments. We accomplished this by changing our habits and not by sacrificing our lifestyle. I live with a friend and his daughter; we have two televisions, three vcr/dvd players, several radios, and three computers. We also have a fish tank that runs 24/7 and an outdoor pond that runs 24 hours, 8 months out of the year plus two of the rooms in the new extension to the house use electric heat. It was his daughter who caught on the fastest. She constantly reminds us when we become lazy about our habits. With this I still get to sit in front of a flat screen tv, and either watch world saving documentaries or drink whiskey, (bought with the money I saved on hydro) and watch things blow up. It really hasn't changed my life that much.

An incredible amount of the demand on the grid system is pure WASTE. A lot of the commercial/industrial power is used to make JUNK! JUNK we don't need. If each household would make similar changes to habits and cut their power consumption by a half or even a quarter we could make an incredible dent in the demand on the grid within a year. Now put that attitude into the small/medium business community while at the same time making the legislative adjustments to make industry run cleaner and with less demand where possible. Now on top of that add investment into solar and wind power for local, small independent commercial and residential use and we are well on our way to meeting Kyoto targets while further researching and developing technologies for industry. It is more a question of will than anything else. I just watched the documentary, "End of Suburbia" for the second time. The one thing that struck me again as it did the first time is the building of 2 million homes within a two to three year stretch after WW2. Simply because there was the political will to do it. 2 million children live in poverty today in Canada. In the time span of a single government term we could build 2 million alternative, affordable houses that have 50% - 70% less power demand and half the impact on municipal infrastructure. It's all connected but we view problems apart from each other.

Liberal and conservative governments don’t have this political will. In Ontario the liberal government is looking for ways to SUSTAIN our level of WASTE rather than reduce it, placing our future in the hands of unnecessary nuclear power. The arguments I read about nuclear vs wind vs solar vs coal vs farts vs whatever else is out there is not the real issue. It is not a question of whether nuclear is clean, safe or cheap, which are all obviously debatable. It is simply not necessary. The amount of money they plan to spend on nuclear power over the next decade in Ontario could and should be placed into other alternative solutions, multi-level solutions coming from across the spectrum of society.
We have to change how government and society thinks and since the liberals and conservatives have demonstrated that they can’t change their way of thinking then we have to change government. Canada and Ontario need the Green Party. We need Green Party voices in government.

We're running like lemmings to the edge of a cliff and all we are doing is arguing about how much more efficiently and quickly we can reach that edge. The result's the same.

Minority governments are necessary.

2007-01-24T18:06:00.000-05:00

Why do we need 'no confidence' votes in the first place? Why not allow a minority government to run its full course? Simply replace the no-confidence vote with a mandated law that requires the budget bill to be passed by a free vote by a certain date. That way on an important issue like the budget you would not have party discipline rules forcing MPs to vote against their better judgment. In other words it goes through debate and if defeated by the parliament it gets re-written. This would force minority governments to form coalitions to achieve compromise. The liberals/NDP/Bloq could be writing progressive legislation right now but aren't. Everyone is maneuvering to place themselves for the next election. Canadians vote for minority situations to force government to work together. It’s a sign that we 1) don’t trust any one party with an unopposed majority and 2) we want them to cooperate to find the common ground between Canadians reflecting a true image of Canada. A minority government represents diversity within the Canadian public, not indecision. Right now minority governments don't work because there is no law or legislation that forces it to try. The party in power can always manufacture a defeat in the house and thus only seek cooperation on one or two bills while looking for the ‘right’ mood to spark an election. The illusion is that we need majority governments to get things done but the liberals have proven over the last 13 years that this is simply not true.

We need to reduce the dictatorial powers of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister should not be allowed to determine what constitutes a vote of confidence thus forcing MPs to vote against their better judgment. The PM should not be allowed to call 'snap' elections. I don't necessarily agree with fixed election dates but instead allow Parliament to determine when an election should be held at the end of the mandate, again by free vote. The Conservative government will soon try to manufacture its own downfall betraying the cynical style of politics in Ottawa. Liberal governments did this as well. The tactic is clear. Frustrate the Canadian public by frequently sending them to the polls without even trying to make the government work and hope that they will give one of them a majority government. Canadians need to stand firm, resist and continue to vote their conscience. We can break the deadlock and cynicism by voting for either, the Green Party or the NDP to form the next minority government. Then we will achieve real progress in Parliamentary reform. The Liberals and Conservatives just don’t get it and can’t help themselves. In 1993 we sent the Conservatives to the political wilderness. They have come back to say, “We thought about it for 13 years and we don’t understand what the problem was.” It’s time to send them back to the wasteland and for the first time have them joined by the liberals. Majority governments with unopposed power are a dinosaur of the 20th century. A new century requires new thinking and only cooperative, minority/coalition governments that represent the rich, cultural diversities that make up modern Canada can do this. Until now there was no alternative to the liberals or the conservatives. Canadians clearly do not want an NDP majority government. Now there is an alternative party that can speak for those Canadians the NDP doesn’t speak for, the Green Party. If Canadians vote for a majority Liberal or Conservative government in the next election we will not lose five years. We will lose the next ten years. Why? It will take the first few years of the subsequent government to correct or react to the inactivity, indecision and damage done by the previous majority. The dishonest, corrupt, cynical, manipulative governments of Jean Chretien have proven this beyond any shadow of a doubt.

Conservative law and order/social agendas. Part 2

2007-01-20T13:34:00.000-05:00

Supervised injection and alcohol intake sites

When my brother was on the street as a psychiatric person, it was the network of people, shelters, soup kitchens, and social services that allowed him to eventually seek the help he needed. He is now taking medication faithfully and receives a disability pension. He is able to hold a part time job and is living in a communal home with other psychiatrics. Without this social network I am convinced he would still be on the streets or worse, wrongly in jail.

Supervised injection sites are needed in order to compassionately assist people in dealing with and eventually ending drug addiction. Forcing addicts into a back alley or derelict buildings increases the sense of hopelessness and despair. Addiction to alcohol and drugs is a condition that needs to be treated in the same manner, not traumatized further. These sites cut down on HIV infections, overdoses, and a host of other related problems. Supervised injection sites treat addicts. They are not hang outs for casual users. The same idea is being used for hard core alcoholics. This has led to fewer hospital visits and treatment by emergency services. They should be continued, made legal, and expand to include other chronic, dangerous addictions. People become well when they have support systems available to them and addiction is no exception. We cannot be a socially progressive party or society and not advocate for this. To his temporary credit Health Minister Tony Clement did not go through with the reprehensible election promise to shut down these programs. However he hasn’t endorsed them either and is merely extended the program another year for further consideration.

During the 2006 election I remember seeing Stephen Harper standing in front of a supervised injection site, vowing to shut them down and end the program. The problem with the ‘Regressive’ Conservative Party of Stephen Harper is that they can’t help but impose judgment followed by punishment on the poor and disadvantaged. Their societal goals are based on maintaining and enforcing a winner vs loser mentality. Drug addicts and alcoholics are losers, deserving every nasty thing that happens to them. They should be tossed aside until ‘divine intervention’ gives them the sign. The same applies to poverty with the poor as losers while the materially wealthy are winners. No matter how hard they try they just keep spinning their wheels, eventually moving backwards. This is why, even with the numbers crunched showing that these programs reduce the cost of police and emergency services, they can’t help themselves. The need to invoke moral judgment and punishment is too great.

InSite (Vancouver) http://www.vch.ca/sis/docs/insite_brochure.pdf
http://www.vch.ca/sis/

"Improving Access to Care
Drug users who live on the margins may have difficulty accessing health care. And without this care, the chances of improving health outcomes are slim. By visiting insite and being exposed to health care professionals in a non-threatening environment, many
clients willingly ask for referrals to other health and social services. Over a one-year period, insite made more than 2,000 referrals to other services, with about 40 percent of the referrals to addiction counseling. People using insite are more likely to enter withdrawal management (detox) programs, and people using insite who also talk with addiction counselors are even more likely to enter detox. In fact, one in five regular visitors to insite began a detox program, showing that insite is a proven entry-point for the Downtown Eastside’s highestrisk injection drug users. Detox programs are an important marker of addiction treatment system use, as most addiction treatment programs first require people to complete a detox program. Researchers also compared the rate of detox program use among people using insite – before and after insite opened – with the rate of detox use going up substantially after people had been using the facility. Research results show that insite is playing an important role in managing overdoses that occur at the site – overdoses that would, in all likelihood, be occurring on the streets if the facility didn’t exist, and could result in death. Overdoses have been common at insite, with almost 500 occurring over a two-year period, but none
resulted in a fatality. In fact, insite staff managed the majority of overdoses on their own, with only four in 10 needing ambulance support, and fewer than one in 10 resulting in a transfer to hospital."

Link to report on controlled alcohol distribution for chronic alcoholics. http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/abstract/174/1/45

"The client care workers interviewed all noted improved hygiene and nutrition for all participants during the program. Compliance with medication, defined as taking it as prescribed at least 80% of the time, was noted for 88% of subjects. The majority were reported to attend scheduled medical appointments. A cost analysis was performed (results not shown). Mean monthly direct cost of the program was $771 per client, with estimated per-client reductions in the costs of ED services of $96; hospital care, $150; and police services, $201.
Interpretation
This article describes the effect of providing supportive shelter for a subset of chronically homeless people with alcoholism and providing them with institutionally administered alcohol as a harm-reduction measure. The 17 participants enrolled in MAP drank heavily and had long drinking histories. They were regular users of nonbeverage alcohols such as mouthwash, had significant medical and psychiatric comorbidities, and were frequent users of emergency, hospital and police services. Within MAP they received housing, health care and treatment of their alcoholism with doses of alcohol that were modest in comparison with their previous levels of consumption. Police encounters decreased by 51% and ED visits by 36%, which, given the associated “unit encounter” costs ($93 and $270, respectively), offset a portion of the costs of MAP.
Finally, the option to detoxify from alcohol is always presented; once stabilized in the program, a few participants have successfully been medically detoxified and received housing, a formidable accomplishment considering the severity of an on-average 35-year addiction in which subjects drank daily to unconsciousness. This appears attributable to tempering alcohol consumption in a safe environment, which makes alterations of behaviour, including detoxification, possible."

The net cost of this program is actually $324.00 per client not $771.00. You can further reduce this net cost evaluation by adding into the equation the future opportunity of successfully detoxified clients obtaining jobs and paying taxes. The reduced cost to victims of any criminal activity related to client behaviour such as damage to property, assault, plus the increased ability of emergency and police services to respond to other incidences. For example, during the years I lived on Queen Street West in Toronto I regularly found old men lying on the street as the result of being drunk and falling. Often they would have head wounds as a result. When I called to report these incidents the response almost always included the arrival of ambulance, fire department and police. So even if you are motivated more by social cost factors than pure compassion these programs still make superior sense and produce better results than the present approach.

Social conservatives though don’t see this and will go to unintelligent, sometimes absurd lengths to argue against these programs. I watched a televised session at Toronto City Hall discussing the possibility of exploring these types of programs in the city. The study was presented and defended by Mayor David Miller and Councilor Kyle Rae. This was just the discussion of exploration not implementation. To my dismay both Councilors Ford and Nunziata stood to counter the proposal with ridiculous arguments. Councilor Rob Ford argued and interrogated Councilor Rae about whether he supported prostitution in the city. A line of questioning that had nothing to do with the subject. Councilor Nunziata started out on subject but waved pamphlets supplied by CAMH on safe use of drugs, stating that they were teaching people how to do drugs and was this what we wanted to do in Toronto. Teach young people how to do drugs. She also linked the program with endorsing prostitution basing it on the fact that junkies often use prostitution to pay for drugs. They are too morally blind to the realities of these problems. The need to judge and punish again supercedes the need to deal with and solve the problems of chronic addictions.

Child poverty is of course family poverty

2007-01-19T16:47:00.000-05:00

Children are poor because the parents are poor and I know this is obvious to everyone. Child poverty is a vital issue but many of the cures lie in provincial jurisdictions. Social services and minimum wage standards are set independently by the provinces. Is there a way the Federal Government can assume these two responsibilities in order to stabilize the standard of minimum social assistance and labour standards? So we help children by helping parents on a national level. The main question that feeds this line of thinking is this. Would the Provinces really object to the Federal Government taking over these two responsibilities? The Federal government takes over these payments and makes the adjustments in the provincial transfer payments.

Minimum wage and minimum social assistance are directly connected. The reason it is hard for people to decide between the two is because they are both well below the poverty line which doesn't actually help anyone. There must be a difference between the two levels. The concept of a guaranteed minimum/annual income is necessary. I think the Guaranteed Annual Income concept has been over intellectualized, spreading it throughout all income levels for no other reason than a pale, semantic argument over equality and fairness. Canadians accept the concept of sharing tax wealth with the poorest within society. So giving money to one group and not another is neither alien nor considered unfair.

To this end I think we should seek a way of leveling the playing field nationwide. Minimum wage should not be based on the minimum to live. It should be based on a reasonable minimum wage to prevent someone from not ending up on social assistance. So we should determine the minimum standard of living and work up from there. For example let's agree for the sake of argument that the minimum level to providing shelter, food, and clothing for oneself is $10,000.00 per year. The provincial share would be the health and drug benefits for recipients as in the present system. Now it may be easier to live in one community in Canada on $10,000.00 than another but this should not result in penalizing the poor. The difference is actually marginal and may even help stop the exodus from smaller communities to larger cities. Keep in mind the other Green Party policies on strengthening smaller communities so we can't look at this solution in complete isolation. We can make this a fair distribution by making it the minimum tax level as well. This becomes your guaranteed minimum personal income tax exemption level for working people. Everyone keeps the first $10,000.00 of income they earn. The progressive tax structure begins at the minimum wage level.

The minimum wage could then be $10.00/hr. With this amount you are still earning more than on social assistance even with a part-time job and so the incentive to find a job is there. We balance the extra wage requirements on small business employers by reducing the level of federal payroll taxes. We might even reduce these payroll taxes further and require employers to provide benefit packages. At present employers do not have to pay benefits on part time staff. So their expenses may stay roughly the same but the overall benefit to workers and society is greater. Part time jobs are becoming more and more frequent and we should always be looking at creating the environment for secure full time jobs but we have to deal with the present reality.

Let’s consider single parent families. Remove the concept of punishment presently practiced by the provincial governments. Rather than clawing back the money earned on a part-time minimum wage job, which keeps them at a social assistance level we allow them to keep it. This means single parents with one child on social assistance and one part-time job have an annual income of around $23,000.00. They are paying minimum taxes on $13,000.00 depending on what other tax deductions/credits reduce this down. Their social assistance ends with them finding another part-time job or a full-time job. This would also create the ability of a single parent family choosing to remain in a smaller community rather than having to leave to a larger center because with this system it would be possible to live decently and provide minimum care. Removing this stress allows them to consider their future clearly rather than out of fear and desperation. Stress is the number one factor in general health. Reducing the sense of desperation that single parents, especially women, goes a long way to reducing health and social costs. It also provides for more stable, safe environments for children to grow up in. No one wants to stay at low wages, especially with a family, so they will always be looking for better jobs. The myth of a ‘free loader’ culture has already been busted and I think we need to fight it. No one is going to quit a $30,000.00 job to live at the poverty level.

We also remove the punishment of deducting from the social assistance cheques of people who share households. When my two sisters were on social assistance in Ontario they couldn't survive with their kids on their own so they moved in together. Social assistance was cut from their cheques for living communally. This cut was so drastic they had to move out because they were worse off than before. This was punishment for punishment sake and a reprehensible attitude on the part of the Provincial government. Consider that if two working people can move in together and share resources then why not those at the poorest levels. Again there is relief in people doing this not an upgrade to a life of leisure. I'll give you another reason for this rationale of leveling the playing field nationally. When I was younger living in Vancouver around 1977 or 78 the government changed to the Social Credit who vowed as Harris did in '95 to cut social assistance. I had a friend who had a little boy. She told me that she was leaving BC to move back to her hometown because she felt she wouldn't be able to make it in Vancouver on the lower level of assistance because she was barely making it on the present level. She had to give up her home and leave the province. I thought this was shameful. Poor people need to be protected from the likes of Mike Harris and his ilk. A Canadian citizen should have the right to live anywhere in Canada they choose. Income and social status should never be a consideration that prevents the freedom of movement within the country.

Right now the Provinces have the right within their jurisdictions to claw back any benefits the federal government gives to families. The Ontario provincial liberals proved they were not above this tactic. This renders any discussion moot without achieving an enforceable agreement similar to the Health Act with the provinces to allow for direct federal assistance. Otherwise the Green Party is just spinning its wheels.

A national dental and drug plan for children is a good idea. We are committed to fiscal responsibility as well. Green policies need to be introduced in a responsible manner and focusing on children is the right starting point. We are not going to get an argument from parents on this. Investing heavily in children now with a dental plan that gives them coverage up to age 16 saves us a lot of expense further down the road as we expand the program to full universality. By that time, 15 or 20 years, the children (now adults) have benefited from childhood care and have a lot less expensive needs. They may also have fewer general health problems caused by poor dental health. Remember in this particular discussion we are dealing with child poverty and ways we can alleviate the burden on working parents. Other health initiatives are complicated by provincial jurisdiction but the federal government can step into areas not covered by provincial health plans. A universal drug plan can help immensely as well. Providing drugs for children now while improving other social arenas in line with our prevention policies gives us the same relief down the line as a national dental plan. We need healthy adults down the line to carry on the work. When children and youth grow up to realize the living benefits to our policies they will push on with the reforms needed for us to have a sustainable society. The Green Party has to admit that there may not be enough money right now in the system to do everything our policies propose so we have to introduce them in accordance with our commitment to fiscal responsibility and allowing time to see how tax shifting and changes in the tax system affect government revenues. Canada geographically, population wise, and its relationship to the U.S. economy cannot make radical transitions in every arena. We have to pick and choose our immediate battles while presenting the vision of Canada we see in the future.

Electoral and senate reform ideas

2007-01-18T19:51:00.000-05:00

Utilizing the fact that we have two federal houses we could incorporate two aspects of proportional representation one using MMP (mixed member) and the other STV (single transferable vote)

The lower house of 308 members can maintain the concept of FPP with the requirement of the candidate achieving 50 + 1. Each voter allowed to decide on a second choice candidate should their first choice not make it in the same sense as a party leadership contest. If a political party requires a leader to achieve 50 + 1 then why should the Canadian voter not have the same opportunity when deciding their M.P. In the Senate model below, second place or even third place candidates in the lower house elections would be eligible for senate seats by being included on party lists and appointed to the senate by the party. In this manner a closely divided riding could achieve almost complete representation in the government.

The Senate consists of 105 seats. Rather than having a separate election for them, we could use an MMP model based on the popular vote in the general election. Senators would then be selected from Party lists. The parties themselves can decide on issues of gender balance and visual minority representation. This would include adding candidates that lost in lower house elections but had strong support in the popular vote.Based on the popular vote in the 2006 election the Senate would, I think, look roughly like this.

CON – 38 LIB – 31 BLOQ – 11 NDP – 18. Greens –4. The spare seats would go to either independents (somehow) or be divided among the parties.

2006 Federal election results. Party Seats Pop. Vote/ CON 124 /36.3 LIB 103/ 30.2 BLOQ 51 /10.5 NDP 29 /17.5 GREEN 0/4.5

One party would not be able to control the Senate, forcing more cooperation in order to pass final approval on legislation. I believe the Senate should be a place of sober second thought and have as much independence as possible (including more free voting) to reject legislation when needed. I think that a term of 8-10 years is acceptable so that the Senate can remain stable as the proportional representative body. So I would propose that the Senate change seats based on the popular vote of every second general election. Moving to either fixed term elections and removing the right of the Prime Minister to call snap elections would help stabilize the process. The parties themselves would decide who loses the seat should the popular vote reduce the number of seats held by a party.

I would further add 15 seats dedicated to First Nations, one seat for each province and territory with two extra seats to represent the larger populations wherever they exist in greater number. First Nations would determine who would represent them in the Senate. I also advocate this because I think it is inevitable that First Nations will eventually win rightful recognition and reform models presented should reflect this in some manner. So whether First Nations achieve Territorial/Provincial status or Sovereignty they will be represented separately in the Canadian Government.

I agree that the Senate should be based on a PR system and elected. I disagree on the need to have separate elections for them. This eliminates the expensive need for two elections. The Canadian voter can decide the make up of both houses at the same time.

The Provincial role is a concern and can be answered by requiring the parties to select on a provincially proportionate basis. The party must reflect provincial balance in their selections along with a requirement that the chosen representative have established residence in the province they represent. If the role of the province is to choose or decide senate seats based on the opinions of the provincial government then I don't think I can agree. Most provinces like Alberta promised to have elections to determine Senators so they do not necessarily want direct input. My reasoning for the alternate election dates was more for stability so that senators were not immediately concerned with losing their seats every four years. Legislation and committee work could still continue on important matters even though an election was in process that would bring changes in the make up of the lower house. The government may lose some seats but retain power and ministers would change but the senate would not immediately change. Work on bills already in the senate could continue. Canadians have not necessarily made radical changes election to election but every ten years or so the Canadian people have wanted to make major changes. So stability is more my motivation rather than anything else.

I don't think that the Senate should be a rubber stamp of approval for the sitting government in the lower house. I think cooperation is needed and should be pursued. The possibility that stalemates may occur but I think free voting and a sense of independence by Senators may actually break more stalemates than the invocation of party discipline would. More independence in the Senate would allow NDP senators from the same province as conservatives, liberals or greens etc. to cooperate with each other in the interest of the region where an individual bill may have more adverse effects than in other regions. Their concern can address the regional impact of legislation rather than simply aping the ideological party line of the lower house.

Liberal/conservative governments have consistently betrayed our trust and Canadian values. They are dysfunctional. Replacing the liberal/conservative parties with the Green/NDP parties is the only way to move Canada forward.

Affordable housing ideas

2007-01-18T18:51:00.000-05:00

Here is another concept that I have always been curious about. For years I lived on Queen Street West in Toronto. I lived above a store front on the second floor. One day the owner offered to sell to myself and my partner at the time the building for $100,000. We couldn't afford it so we said no. In later years while living just a few doors down I moved into the top floor above a hair salon. The young owner of the salon was going crazy trying to rent out the two apartments. We moved out and I witnessed him on many occasions quite frankly begging people to take the apartment. Most people didn't because they couldn't afford the rent he needed to charge in order to cover the mortgage on the building and run his business. My question is this. Why did these buildings have to be sold and maintained as a single unit? In many cases the utilities can be separated. So in the first example above where we were offered the building the overall asking price was $100,000. Why could he not have sold us the apartment for let's say $30,000.00 and then the business below to someone else for $70,000.00? Why did the young salon keeper have to become a landlord just to operate a hair salon? To this end I have witnessed the complete disappearance of perfectly good potentially affordable housing along Queen Street West as the result of corporations being the only viable purchasers of the land and subsequently evicting tenants and then converting the housing space into other uses. Thus Queen Street West has degraded (in my opinion) from a once vibrant arts section with alternative young business people and artist/youth tenants into a sterile corporate strip mall. A Starbucks and Pizza Pizza on every block does nothing to enhance business diversity or the economy because these are minimum wage employers. We have to think more innovatively than that.

I performed in Spain during the Universal Expo in Sevilla in 1992. I recall asking friends, as we walked along the streets, if the business owners on the ground level had anything to do with the apartments above. These friends looked at me with bewilderment and said no. Why would they? So you have in Sevilla and other European settings I'm sure, small bars, boutiques that thrive because I imagine the commercial space was affordable. So the question also relates not only to affordable housing but also to affordable small/mirco businesses as well. Commercial space at the bottom of Condos is not necessarily affordable. It too is often only accessible to corporate chains and not young business people. If there are municipal laws preventing building owners from dividing the space between the residents in the apartments and the businesses below I think this needs to be revisited.

One final thought. I think we also need to return to the day when a person could also live in the back of his/her store. At present in many jurisdictions this is still illegal. When I was looking for a studio in Toronto in the early days it was difficult because as an artist it was extremely difficult and next to impossible for me to maintain the rent on two spaces. I imagine it to be the same for young entreprenuers in other fields.

Homelessness and affordable housing

2007-01-18T17:55:00.000-05:00

First and foremost it is imperative that the right to safe shelter be included in the Canadian constitution. Access to the security of a permanent residence, a home, is a human right not a reward to be handed out through financial speculation. Anyone who works deserves to own a home if they choose.

We have to bust the myth held by those in society, our neighbourhoods as to what a homeless person looks like. Most people think only of the person sleeping over a sewer cover or begging on the street. Regardless of prejudices within society it is the moral duty of the state to provide safe shelter when it is needed. The Federal government can play a strong role in providing these spaces where the Provincial and municipal governments are either unable or unwilling. I think there is ample possibility for the federal government to step in and show leadership through the purchase of delinquent housing, converting it into safe haven dormitories and affordable housing without there being a big outcry from the cities or communities. There is a dysfunctional attitude within the three levels of government that includes buck passing and misinformation. This has to stop and that is where leadership comes in. If a Provincial government were to lead the way then the Federal Government’s job would be to follow and provide support where needed. If a municipality leads the way then both provincial and federal levels should follow in suit. Where the provincial and municipalities either shirk their responsibilities or don’t have the funding then the federal government must step in and show leadership by breaking the dysfunctional chain. The homeless people we don’t talk enough about are not so visible. They are working people who still cannot afford decent shelter despite having jobs. This is reprehensible and a mark of failure in Canadian society.

We need to expand the number of and capacity of emergency shelters within our communities as a priority in the short term. We don't have to build more but instead expand and support the present cooperation between churches, community centers, schools, etc. Local churches of all denominations can and do designate certain churches located within the areas where homeless people have quickest access. Local government can do the same with community centres and education boards can do the same with school facilities which would be used in extreme weather conditions. This would accommodate persons who have psychiatric conditions or issues of trust that prevent them from seeking regular shelter as we cannot force people into shelters on a semi-permanent basis so this allows for them to seek protection when the need is greatest. Past government proposals to place homeless people under arrest is a disgusting marker of how dysfunctional we have become in this area. Another short term measure, (while the larger dilemma of homelessness is being worked on), is the building of or conversion of existing buildings as safe dormitory hostels where homeless people can register and have access to a bed without having to return every night to claim an empty one. My brother lived on the streets for years and for years while staying at a Salvation Army shelter, could not come home at Christmas or any other time for that matter because he was afraid of losing his bed. He had to return every night by 11:00 pm. or he would be out on the street. This is wrong.

In the medium and long term we can address the problem of homelessness with affordable housing which both the Green and NDP parties have superior policies to that of the other parties. Real estate speculation fuels the homeless rate by artificially inflating the price of land and homes. Banks contribute to homelessness with policies that discriminate against middle and lower income families. The house I live in was originally bought by my roommate. He and his partner at the time had a household income over $25,000.00 but barely qualified for a mortgage to buy a dilapidated old workhouse. He was informed by a new bank manager that if it had been up to him my roommate would never have qualified despite the fact that the mortgage was lower than the rent he and his partner had been paying for years and they had no problem with the down payment. The government needs to step in to secure and reserve land within municipalities dedicated to affordable houses. Where banks deny mortgages based on arbitrary numbers the government is free to step in and offer financing at lower mortgage rates and/or without down payment requirements. After all a down payment is an artificial concept to satisfy the narrow parameters of the bank and does not truly reflect the ability of a person to maintain mortgage payments.

Some of the Green party resolutions passed at the 2006 convention.

G06-p35: National Affordable Housing ProgramBE IT RESOLVED THAT the Green Party of Canada will advocate a NationalAffordable Housing Program to include:
- Capital grants to make possible the production of 20,000 new and 10,000 rehabilitated affordable units per year for ten years; changes in tax and mortgage insurance regulations to increase the level of private and non-profit sector housing construction;
- Programs of rent supplements or shelter assistance for an additional 40,000 low income households per year, for ten years;
- Reorienting Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation programs to provide credit and loan guarantees to non-profit housing organizations and cooperatives for the building and restoration of quality, energy-efficient housing for seniors, people with special-needs, and low-income families;
- Acting to support communities directly where provinces are unable to participatein expanding the housing supply;
- Dedicating funding to the co-operative housing sector within all new affordable housing plans;
- Supporting energy audits and education around energy efficiency as a priority, so that low-income households will have the tools they need to reduce their energy consumption and contribute to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- Amending Section 38 of the Income Tax Act by extending the Act’s provisions to include gifts of lands, or of land and buildings, to community land trusts as 14 charities whose sole and lasting purpose is to provide affordable housing to families and individuals in need;
- Encouraging innovative projects where people do things like organize their own equity co-ops and co-housing, including the rehabilitation of old buildings.
- Expanding the R-4000 housing programs to ensure that all new housing meets that standard, and offer support to those owners willing to revamp existing housing to meet the same standard;
- Subsidizing alternative heating systems including solar, geothermal, and high efficiency wood stoves.
- Improving support for community based self-help groups, social service agencies, independent living centers and advocacy projects.
- Subsidizing private developers to include a percentage of affordable housing in their housing projects.

You may disagree with individual elements of these resolutions but as a whole combined with proposals by the NDP form the necessary basis to correct a grave dysfunction in Canadian society.

Liberal/conservative governments have consistently betrayed our trust and Canadian values. They are dysfunctional. Replacing the liberal/conservative parties with the Green/NDP parties is the only way to move Canada forward.

The Conservative law and order/social agendas. Part 1

2007-01-18T16:42:00.000-05:00

I am tired of Conservative law and order and social order campaigns being predicated on finding the poorest and most defenseless in society and promising to kick their guts out. This may appeal to some narrow minded middle and upper class citizens who live in denial but it solves nothing. One thing I respect about the GPC (and NDP) for that matter is the steadfast belief that we should look at problems holistically. So to this end I disagree with the "three strikes your out" rule proposed by Minister Toews because it simply doesn't work. It doesn't address the violent nature of particular crimes. I’m not sure that Paul Bernardo would have qualified under the Conservative government’s "three strikes" rule. However the Dangerous Offender legislation does address the nature of a violent crime and the person committing it. If the Dangerous Offender legislation needs to be strengthened then that is something we should look into.

There is justification for minimum and time added sentences because the intent behind using a weapon to commit a crime is different. There is a tangible difference between conducting a crime without a weapon and bringing one into the situation. Your willingness in a crime to use lethal force and violence to make it succeed should be considered in the sentencing upon conviction. There is also justification for allowing judges to consider past convictions when sentencing someone. Past convictions cannot be used during the trial and this is right. A person must be convicted on the evidence presented in a fair trial concerning the crime only, not past history. However after being convicted on the merits of the case a judge should be able to consider prior history, circumstance and distinct patterns when considering sentencing. This must be left up to the judge and cannot be dictated according to arbitrary formula by the government.Three strikes your out concepts also don’t take into account the circumstance surrounding the individual events, treatment for addictions, etc. It is prejudicial towards lower income people who are more readily convicted than wealthier people with the ability to evade conviction on a violent crime by arguing down to a lesser non-violent crime.

Minimum sentences or time added sentences can work only if we also look at the nature of the prison system. I believe we need prison reform and to this end believe that minimum sentences and time added sentences won't work because the prison system does not address fully the potential of rehabilitation. It makes no sense to me to take a young man out of a street gang environment and throw him into a prison gang environment and throw away the key. Investment is needed into the "quality" of society and the "quality" of prison rehabilitation

Parole eligibility should be based on educational advancement and not just good behavior. I would accept a reworking of the young offenders act if youth prison reform was advanced. I could accept longer sentences for violent crime if this were the case. When I was working on a project for the Portage School for Young Offenders one of the philosophies of the program was that none of the young people sentenced to be there could ever ‘feel’ comfortable. They were there to confront the problems and reasons for their choices. The choices that brought them into the system whether it was alcohol/drug abuse, anger, etc. There was no condemnation but there was no blame shifting either. The program was constantly challenging which helped produce real changes in many young offenders.

Liberal/conservative governments have consistently betrayed our trust and Canadian values. They are dysfunctional. Replacing the liberal/conservative parties with the Green/NDP parties is the only way to move Canada forward.

Gun control

2007-01-18T13:57:00.000-05:00

It is important to maintain perspective on the issue of gun control. Farmers and rural people are not going on rampages and killing people. Hunting and protecting livestock is a legitimate activity so let's be reasonable. Farmers and hunters could have simply been asked to register their weapon with the local police force, a simple form, simple procedure, which would be entered into their local data base. There was never a need for some bureaucrat in Ottawa to know who had a gun somewhere out in B.C. or Newfoundland. Law enforcement in rural areas should know who owns a gun and what type it is. To this end I would suggest,
1) Restrict the number of guns a hunter can personally own. If a gun needs to be replaced then the weapon can be handed in to local law enforcement for disposal.
2) All automatic and semi-automatic weapons should be banned with the exception of legitimate gun collectors. All weapons should be maintained and stored at a registered gun club with storage at private residences and businesses to be forbidden.
3) Continuation of the ban on hand guns except for legitimate collectors subject to the restrictions set out above.
4) A complete ban on buying weapons over the internet. All imported weapons for the purpose of collections to be ordered through the gun club and delivered directly to the gun club.
5) All gun clubs to be required to maintain up to date lists and inventories subject to scrutiny by local law enforcement with all deliveries of imports to be reported to local law enforcement upon arrival.
6) Tighten the regulations for obtaining a gun license and yes a waiting period should always be in effect. I suggest a minimum of one month. If you want to have a gun for hunting season then apply early in the off season.

There is no legitimate reason to maintain a fire arm in your home in an urban setting and the above regulations I think would help this. There is no need to give police wider powers than already exist and our fear and/or loathing of guns should not result in a police state environment. Dealing with illegal guns and smuggled guns is a law enforcement issue and should be addressed in a law enforcement manner. Gangs and members of organized crime will get their hands on guns no matter what but better law enforcement resources joined by social investment is always the solution. Arming citizens is not the solution.

We are talking about controlling a weapon that is easier to use than other weapons. A gun has the capacity to kill as many people as the number of bullets placed in it. It can kill from a distance and I would argue that there is a direct correlation between physical distance and emotional distance. Guns don't kill people. People kill people. This is why we need gun control. Gun control controls people not guns. All laws are designed to control human behavior. Easy, uncontrolled access to guns causes an increase in accidental deaths and multiple deaths when used to commit crime. The same cannot be said for other weapons of choice. Policy discussion should answer the underlying question. Would unrestricted, uncontrolled access to guns increase the potential of physical harm in Canadian society? If the answer is yes then the policy should address the method of control and to this end I still stand by my suggestions above. The Green Party is not saying that you can't own a gun. It is saying that there should be reasonable restrictions on how, when, and where you can use them.

Why I joined the Green Party

2007-01-18T13:38:00.000-05:00

I joined the Green Party just prior to the 2006 election in December ‘05 and worked as a volunteer in Trinity-Spadina. I have recently joined the new executive here and sit as membership chair. I am also seeking the nomination this February 27, 2007 which is when we are holding the nomination contest meeting.I voted Liberal as a young person and then NDP for the last couple of decades. I did not leave the NDP because I was disillusioned with their ideals. I left because as I get older I grow wearier of the ever increasingly deceptive left/right designations. I don’t believe that just because I’m devoted to social justice and equality that I can’t be a private business person. I don’t believe that it is wrong to become rich or even wanting to become rich as a business person. I believe there are moral ways and immoral ways to achieve it. To achieve it through exploitation and violence is immoral and therefore I see a great need for labour justice and the right to unionize when needed. I just don’t believe everything needs to be unionized.

My work in Jamaica and Haiti has shown me the dark, hypocritical side to our foreign and economic policies. I see no value in building our economy on the backs of women and children in sweat shops and ‘free zones’ outside of Canada. I see no value in a free trade system built on the systematic destruction of developing nations and their ability to feed and educate themselves. I see no value in sending women and men to their deaths in Afghanistan on the false claim of human rights defense while at the same time destabilizing a defenseless nation like Haiti so that we can maintain sweatshops there.

There is no such thing as ‘free’ trade when all the markets are controlled by multinational corporations who owe nothing to ethics or national sovereignty. The only ‘free’ trade is fair trade which honours human rights no matter where the product is produced or sold.

I don’t believe the government can solve everything or pay for everything. That is one of the reasons I shifted away from the NDP. I disagree with their mechanics of how to solve problems. I believe private business and government partnerships can work. It just takes political will to make them successful and accountable. They fail because the government fails to oversee them properly and allows private companies to dance around the ethics of the partnership.

I believe in the social safety net. I was raised in the sixties on welfare but I believe it is exactly that, a safety net. It is there to break your fall, not keep you artificially and hopelessly in the air. It is up to the individual to climb back up. The government should practice less interference in our lives and instead set the parameters within which we can develop and prosper. It should set and enforce the rules, based on equality, social justice, fair trade, and then get out of the way and let communities and people themselves solve their problems in a manner that works for them. To this end I believe in multiple solutions to problems. The Green Party is dedicated to these ideals. It is dedicated to changing how government works. I have long since lost any hope that the Conservatives and liberals believe in these ideals. I believe the Conservative and Liberal parties to be actually one in the same. Two branches of the same tree with corrupt roots.This is why I joined the Green Party. This is what I want to work for. Quality of life not quantity of material wealth.

Liberal/conservative governments have consistently betrayed our trust and Canadian values. They are dysfunctional. Replacing the liberal/conservative parties with the Green/NDP parties is the only way to move Canada forward.

Reflections from Jamaica

2007-01-13T21:18:00.000-05:00

Riverton City 1996, assisting at two schools.

Lesson 1

Located at Three-mile round-about is an eerily deserted side of the intersection where you catch the bus going in the direction of Spanish Town on Spanish Town road which will drop you off at Riverton City. Riverton carries with it a reputation of being a very dangerous shanty town. It is said that the police will not enter it without an Army escort. There is a police station in the area of Three mile round-about which is apparently, as the story goes, routinely shot at by local residents. “There”, says the man pointing in the direction of the deserted opposite corner. He has been kind enough to get off the bus with us and take us to where we catch the bus. “There?” I ask pointing in the same direction. “Yes. God bless.” he says as he turns and leaves. I watch him leave and continue the conversation in my head, “You’re kidding right? Please turn around and tell me you’re kidding.” In my mind’s eye he turns around laughing and tells me he is in fact kidding and that the bus is really located where he is standing with all the other people who will gladly leap in front of any bullet heading in my direction. Ah the wonderful world of fantasy. Is there anything else like it when you’re scared and too stupid, or arrogant, to admit it? Well, onward. I mentally inflate my chest and begin striding across the street with the others in the group.
Riverton City has developed and grown around a huge garbage dump and now holds, I am told, approx. 20,000 people. For some people the dump is the only source of food. John told me of witnessing a man fight a large pig for some lettuce on one of his earlier trips. Children go swimming in the fetid water around the garbage heaps. The smell is indescribable and must be experienced in order to be truly appreciated. The school though is not within sight or smell of the garbage dump. It is not that far from the road. When I first arrived at the school I thought all the kids there were so cute in their school uniforms. The uniforms were dirty and some were mismatched but the kids looked adorable anyway. The Principal came over to say hello and ask us what we were doing there. I said we were sent to do whatever he needed to be done. He said, “All right good. Take this class outside and teach them about travel. We are learning about travel this week.” I said, “Sure no problem”, not realising that I was about to jump from the pan into the fire. He told the class to go with me outside. I took the class outside and looked for a place to sit. The Principal said to sit in the shade and tear up newspaper for them to sit down on so they wouldn’t get their uniforms dirty. The children began running around with the paper and taking it from each other. They would then run up to me and ask for more, shouting, “Me want one! Me want one!” I would give them one or say, “You already have one.” They’d respond to this by throwing it away and shouting again, “Me want one!” The Principal comes out and yells at the students and they fall silent and sit down. Great now we’re getting somewhere. He leaves. Twenty little explosions! “Me want one! Me want one!” A handful of students sit patiently watching me frantically tear newspaper while shouting, “Sit down! Don’t do that! Hey get back here! Put that down! Stop hitting her! Stop pinching him!” After awhile these few patient ones come to the conclusion that this white guy’s lost it and they too begin throwing newspaper and scream, hit, pinch, and run around. A voice deep inside me begins to push its way up into my brain, as I look in terror at the scene around me and cries, “I don’t want to be here! Why can’t I simply be washing lepers, shaving and feeding old, sick, dying people! That would be easy compared to this. At this point I was hot and tired. The Principal came out to say it is time for their snack break. What? What do mean their break? We’ve just started. Alas no. Apparently I have been tearing newspaper, yelling and staring reality straight in the face for 45 minutes. I haven’t taught a single thing.

Riverton City

Lesson 2

The next day I was more prepared for the onslaught at Riverton. When the teacher assigned me a class to help with writing skills I knew I was only going to get through to a few children or perhaps even one. They all at first gathered around and wanted a pencil. "Me want one!" "Me want one" "You have one man!" I would say in the worst Jamaican accent you ever heard. "I gave you a pencil" Some of their pencils needed sharpening and so I sharpened each one as needed. Some didn’t need sharpening and I would tell the students this and so with that most wonderful, absurd logic that only kids can express, they would run to their desks and break the points of their pencils deliberately and come running back to me with a huge smile and show me the broken pencil. After a couple of times I stopped and started with the lesson. Some kids would leave but the ones I could make direct eye contact with stayed and tried to write. At one point I was writing with both my right and left hand. "You make a ‘C’ and you make a ‘D’ and on and on until lunchtime. We sat and had lunch with the teachers, Principal and the students. That’s when they came, the kids who didn't attend the school. They would be able to eat whatever leftovers there were. Some bigger kids come into the school and begin circling the kindergarten kids like sharks. Moving in and eating their food. I watched one little girl about 4 years old quietly place her bowl inside her desk and sneak spoonful amounts into her mouth while watching them, regularly stopping and pretending like she had already finished. The afternoon class was dedicated as usual to singing songs involving positive affirmations in the same way as the morning begins. One of the sayings is this. "I look in the mirror and what do I see. I see I am smart and beautiful, and there is no one else exactly like me."

Riverton City

Lesson 3

I took the whole class outside and read to them. The book is a cool one which has been donated to the school. It is the story of Puss 'n' Boots but there are little pictures which replace the names of the characters or even a few objects. The task is for them to identify the picture with the written word for the object or character. More of the children were paying attention to me now. They would bump and push each other out of the way so that they could see the book and even sometimes break into all out fights. As I read the story to them I notice that other kids from Riverton City began to come around and listen in. One of them was an older boy of maybe 12 or so. He had no clothes except for dirty, torn, underwear. This of course meant nothing to me as I had already seen kids without clothes playing barefoot among the garbage and glass. No it was not that which caught my attention but the long, wide, jagged scar which ran down his stomach. It looked like it had been done with a bottle opener or broken bottle, something like that. He muscled his way through the kids pushing them aside regardless of their size. They looked at him with resentment but were too afraid and he was clearly too big to fight with. As I read the story and asked questions he answered them and looked at me for approval, (which I gave), with a wide, broken, shy smile. I didn’t want to exclude anyone. I kept glancing at the scar and asking myself how it happened. Was it a fight with a broken bottle? Was it a gang attack? How long ago? When he was the age of these other school children? The other kids started telling him to move and tried to push him away. He pushed back saying, "Get away! Him teach'n me how to read." Then Kenwa cames to the group. Kenwa is also about 12 or 13 and works at the school helping with the children and preparing meals. He is bright and articulate. I can define his attitude for you by telling you that at lunchtime the day before when we were serving the kids, Wendy, (one of the girls on the trip with us), asked him to sit down and eat while she finished serving and he looked at her and smiled saying, "It's not my turn yet miss.", and finished serving the younger children. He was now telling the boy with the scar to leave. "You don't go to school". "You are trouble." "No man, I no make trouble. Him teach'n me how to read." said the boy with the scar. "You go away now or I'll tell matron." They argued back and forth with the scarred boy getting angrier and fiercer and Kenwa standing his ground, matching him glare for glare. Finally Kenwa said, "Alright I'm going to get Matron". He turned and called for the matron who looks after cleaning the school. The scarred boy suddenly said, "No. Don't. I'll go." Right there and then standing in front of me was a sad, scared, hurt, child who just wanted a moment of kind attention and a chance to learn something. He apologized and moved to the back and helped the smaller children to the front making sure they could see the book. He looked at me and said, "No trouble. I stand here."

Riverton City

Lesson 4

One thing kept striking me at both these Riverton City schools. The kids fought for attention but never over money. Kids would drop money on the floor and others would pick it up and give it back to them. I could send any one of them to go and buy me a drink from the local vendor and they would always bring back the change and share whatever they had bought for themselves, (I would always buy them something in return for running the errand), with other children. Their frustrations were real though and could be deadly. They could be smiling one second and then explode without warning. I watched a young girl get punished and being upset she turned around and surveyed the room. She spotted a younger girl who was sitting very content and quiet and walked over to her, pinched and bit her arm until the younger one began to cry and became just as miserable as she was. The children were not the only ones who could explode violently without warning. Corporal punishment is used in many Jamaican schools. I witnessed one class that was especially unruly and the teacher exploded, moving through the room with a belt indiscriminately and fiercely whipping everyone in reach. Kids took cover under desks or behind smaller kids. This morning the teacher and students were singing the morning hymn. One child refused. The teacher demanded that he sing and brought out the belt and began to beat him while still singing herself. She stopped and glared at the boy. “You think you can rule me boy like you rule your parents? No, I don’t think so. Your parent’s job is to go to work and your job is to go to school. Now sing!” It was a song about Jesus’ love coming down from heaven. He remained defiant and she continued to sing lines of the hymn while beating him into submission with the belt. He took the beating for about five minutes before breaking down. The teacher was shaking and holding the belt over her head she became overcome with frustration. She closed her eyes and began to pray for strength. She asked Jesus to give her the strength to get through to the children. “Jesus come down and touch these children. Make them understand.” As she prayed her hand slowly came down from above her head and she stood there praying. The boy she had just finished beating slowly moved over to her and hugged her. She dropped the belt and gently brought his head to her side. The other children slowly moved in to hug her as she continued to pray. It was 9:00 a.m. Four hours to go.

Reaching out to Immigrants and Refugees

2007-01-12T15:12:00.000-05:00

One of the questions I have begun to ask myself is how can we reach out to refugees and immigrants when it is our own foreign policies and economic policies that have created the conditions from which they are fleeing. Liberal and Conservative governments have acted over the last 35 years as if Canada has been a solution and not the cause. This is like setting someone’s house on fire and then presenting yourself as a generous hero by opening up your own home. Letting them know they can come live in your basement and return your generosity by doing a few things like look after your kids, clean the house, you know generally help out. From time to time you would lend them some money so they could buy a few things and of course there would be a separate entrance at the back of the house so they wouldn’t have to walk through the front of the house to get to the basement, you know in front of all the neighbours. Canadians need to take a hard look at the reality of Canada's role internationally.
Look at three essential elements to building a nation such as public funding of infrastructure, education, and agriculture. These elements cannot be left to the private sector alone. Corporations do not build nations. So it is no surprise that the IMF, WTO, and the World Bank, supported by Canada, specifically discourage and actively interfere with all three of these elements in developing nations while Canadians guard it tenaciously within our own borders. We pay lip service to education by funding 'education initiatives' but will never assist a developing nation to fund a comprehensive, national public education system. In Jamaica in 1972 the government of Michael Manley realized the need for strong education and developed an expanded and comprehensive public education system. This made him a pariah in the eyes of the U.S. and international community.
Does food need to be included in ‘free trade’? I would argue that it doesn’t. A nation must be able to feed itself and we have systematically destroyed the capabilities of developing nations to do this. Western nations have instead made them dependent on importing food and regularly use them as ‘dumping’ grounds for our agricultural products. Rice, bananas and milk are just two of many examples of domestic industries that have been destroyed in Jamaica and Haiti due to this policy. From an article on People’s Weekly World web site. http://www.pww.org/article/view/7056/1/259/

“There is little international solidarity on issues of direct relevance to Caribbean SIDS, (Small Island Developing States), such as the World Trade Organization ruling that ended preferential treatment for Caribbean bananas in the European market. U.S. corporate banana interests (particularly the strong U.S. Chiquita lobby) forced the European Union to end this preference and pitted Caribbean growers against their counterparts in Central America, where U.S. transnational corporations have market control. The banana industry feeds most families in the Caribbean islands of Dominica, St. Vincent and St. Lucia. Among the world’s developing nations, SIDS have special disadvantages. Like others, they are being hampered by capitalist globalization but they are also constrained by their limited size and population. Many SIDS find their quests for self-determination in trade or environmental protection thwarted as their interests come into conflict with those of developed countries.”

Former European colonizers owed it to their former colonies to help them develop independence rather than merely recognize it. The fallacy of ‘free’ trade has systematically dismantled any notion of this concept. The moral question surrounding the concept of ‘free’ trade is what constitutes ‘free’ trade. At present the practice of human rights is held separate from trade. Tariffs and duties are considered unfair but a country’s use of military and law enforcement to kill union organizers and activists, and force their citizens to work in dehumanizing environments such as ‘free zones’ is not considered in the equation. This leads to a nation with a strong respect for human and labour rights to be incapable of competing with nations that don’t. Corporations are not required to consider these elements in their ability to compete therefore a Corporation that respects human and labour rights is also unable to compete globally. Canada needs to stand up for and fight for fair trade based on the recognition of human and labour rights as an essential element in trade. Canada must develop the political will to recognize and lead the right of any nation to impose either trade sanctions or tariffs against any product, corporation, nation that does not practice human rights and an internationally recognized labour standard and make this a part of WTO standards. If necessary develop a parallel trade system with developing nations on its own based on fair trade. In Canada we are moving towards an agricultural disaster. Climate change will dramatically alter what food we grow and where. Family farms are vanishing and more and more of our food is being grown and supplied by corporate farms. We have to move toward a global society that doesn’t view food as a ‘free market’ commodity. Each nation must be able to sustain its own agriculture and food supply free from the dominance and control of multi-national corporations that have no moral or sovereign guidance.
Infrastructure works the same way. Countries need to subsidize the infrastructure in order to grow. Corporations do not build societies or nations. All countries need to be able to freely establish alternatives to fossil fuels. Caribbean nations especially can build independent electrical and power infrastructures through solar and wind technologies. Again we have used developing nations as dumping grounds for old technologies. We don’t recognize innovation and instead insist on systems that are failing in our own country. Canada should not only aggressively develop wind and solar but export these technologies to developing nations. To be a leader in development by not imposing our systems and ways of thinking on developing nations but instead give them the technology and freedom to develop it as they see fit. In our work in Haiti, in Cite Soleil, we see very dangerous pirating of electricity from an already poor and overworked grid system. Each community can be developed to power itself. Homes, schools, small businesses can all develop independently. Solar technology is there but it is unnecessarily expensive and only trickles through the nations thinking and our thinking as well. Canada has to have the political will to aggressively pursue alternative development as opposed to simply subsidizing existing Canadian businesses. Foreign aid largely goes to domestic businesses and corrupt practices in the developing country and rarely makes a significant impact on the ground in developing communities. We would not have to raise our foreign aid budget significantly if we would only rethink and reallocate where we focus it. How does all of this relate to my original statement in reference to refugees and immigrants? My personal experiences over the last ten years have been largely in Jamaica and Haiti. Both are beautiful countries yet Haiti lies devastated by foreign interference and greed caused by the concepts of ‘free’ trade and globalization. When I was last in Jamaica in 2002 there was a poll taken which revealed that an alarming number of Jamaicans would leave if they had the chance. Meanwhile we flock to Jamaica as a tropical paradise. We need to ask ourselves why so many of us want to go there and so many of them want to leave. If the Caribbean nations had the ability to feed themselves and develop independently they could provide a quality of life, small as they are, that would easily rival our own. All we have to do is have the moral courage and political will to stop contributing to their destruction and dependence. Then Canada could hold its head up on the international stage. New Canadians would come not in desperation but desire. This would change many things.

Liberal/conservative governments have consistently betrayed our trust and Canadian values. They are dysfunctional. Replacing the liberal/conservative parties with the Green/NDP parties is the only way to move Canada forward.

School project in Cite Soleil 2006

2007-01-12T12:21:00.000-05:00

I sit on the board of directors for a Canadian Charity called Third World Awareness. www.twawareness.org This is an excerpt from one of our post project reports. Feel free to visit the web site and explore further. There will be more stories based on Haiti to come.

In Port au Prince there is a large slum known as Cite Soleil. This is an extremely impoverished area, perhaps the worst in the Western Hemisphere. It is made up of two to three hundred thousand people living in a swamp area filled with garbage and open sewage. The people live in small hovels with little or no running water, no toilets, no jobs, and very few children can afford to go to school.
On the first trip to Haiti in 2003 we connected with a small school there run by an organization known as Action Chretienne pour Development. This organization is administered by three volunteers who run two schools in Cite Soleil with a total population of 440 students. The Administrators are Joel, Willy, and Jean-Marcel. We have brought school supplies for the children but we also undertook, in 2004 to assist in the rebuilding of a kitchen facility with the hopes of starting a regular meal program there. Most families in Cite Soleil eat only a few times a week and most, if not all, the children study without having eaten for days at a time. There is a woman who lives across from the School who cooks for the children but they must pay a small fee according to what they eat. 5 gourds for a small plate, 10 for a larger portion etc. Many children cannot afford even this meager fee and so do not eat. School costs money in Haiti and the slums are no exception. The Haitian government will tell you that school is free and mandatory and technically this is true. The problem is they don't have enough schools and they don't provide teaching materials. Students pay for their books, uniforms, food, everything. There is no real infrastructure to pay teachers so many schools rely on volunteers. The school has no lighting except what little bleeds through the windows. There is a small dedicated group of teachers there doing what they can but they are dealing with worsening conditions. Teachers often go unpaid and as a result occasionally do not show up to teach because they have found temporary work elsewhere and cannot afford to turn it down. They return however when this work is done to continue teaching. After completing the kitchen in 2005 we undertook to expand the project and help renovate the existing building on the new land so that the school could leave the rented facility they were presently in. The original plan was to renovate an existing kitchen facility inside what was then a rented building. We were informed later that the kitchen would be built in another school and not the existing building. The Administration had explained that they did not want to build the kitchen in a rented building in case they were evicted after making the improvements. They went to the community and parents and collected the down payment on a new piece of land half a block or so from the rented school. The Administrators told us that the landlord of the existing building had evicted them after demanding that they buy the existing school building for an extortionate price of $20,000.00 (US). This purchase was impossible and the building is not worth that price. A deal was struck between the landlord and the Administration which allowed the students to stay in the rented school until we could renovate the new facility. The building still has mortgage remaining with a deadline of December 2006 to complete the purchase. The challenge of the food program remains as the Administration has decided that it is more important to have their own facility owned by the community which will allow them to dedicate future resources to the children and a future food program. They would no longer be at the mercy and whim of landlords and outside influences. This was not an easy choice to make. We do not have the funds to accomplish both at this time and they have no other sponsors within the Haitian or International community. They do not have the "connections" needed to gain access to international food aid. The school community continues to struggle in near isolation.
We all know of the violence in Cite Soleil but there is more to the community than this. Something that main stream media and other sources do not report on and we would be unjust to not include it here in our report. Third World Awareness has local gang permission to work at the school site and we are safe from harassment so long as we are with the school administrators and remain within the school neighbourhood while we are inside Cite Soleil. The head Administrator, Joel Janeus is a respected and well known community leader and commands the respect of local gang leaders. Our group members visiting or working at the site in Cite Soleil on any given day could add up to fifteen people. Mixed religions and races. With the exception of May'05 when we were asked not to walk around unescorted we have moved freely within Cite Soleil and neighbouring Simon Pele. We have seen the evidence of violence, bullet ridden schools, destroyed buildings etc. including the sound of gun battles going on in other sections of the community.
This year we continued the construction of the school compound and hired the same work crew as the year before with a few extras. The exception to this was Jimmy who worked with us the year before after working only for food until we found enough money to put him on the payroll. This year though he didn't show up on the first day and no one knew where he was. He did not show up on the second day and the school administrators had to decide what to do. It was decided that he would have to be replaced. I was approached by two young men appealing for a job. We do not interfere with the hiring and it is the Forman's job and the administrators job to hire the crew. I was moved though by what one of the young men said to me. He explained that it was time for the killing to stop and that he wanted to work and not pick up a gun. It was time to start building he said. I wanted to hire him right then and there but couldn't. Two friends competing for one position. All I could do was suggest that they talk to Joel the lead administrator for the school. As it turned out Joel hired the young man and his friend offered to volunteer. We have always had several volunteers from the community who come to work on the project. We pay a fair wage by Haitian standards, $100.00 Haitian/day for crew, $150.00/day for brick layers and $200.00/day for the foreman. This was not our suggestion but their request. We could have hired more for less but we would rather hire only seven guys and pay something worth while rather than 20 guys and pay them essentially nothing.
The next day we ran into Jimmy outside the school. I asked him what had happened and that we had a job for him but couldn't wait. It was explained that he was with his father who had been sick in his home town and couldn't make it before now. We talked with Joel but there simply wasn't enough money in the payroll to hire him and we couldn't take the job away from the young man we had hired the day before. When this was explained to Jimmy he didn't miss a beat. He said he wanted to volunteer anyway and took his shirt off and went to work immediately. Laurent is another of the volunteers who had helped on the kitchen the year before. He has no fingers on one hand. He explained that his home had been invaded a few years before by gang members who threatened to kill his family if he didn't give them money. He had none so in frustration one of them cut off his fingers with a machete. This did not stop him from working with us carrying buckets of cement, rubble, climbing ladders and so on throughout the two weeks we were there. Anytime he saw someone tire he would jump in and relieve them. Toward the end of our two weeks there he approached me and explained that he wanted to go to high school. Scholarships are part of our mandate and this we could do for him so this year he is going to high school. Not because of generosity or charity on our part. This man earned every cent of it and more. Another young man named Leger is about 23 years old. He not only worked dedicatedly as part of the paid crew but then after a full day’s work volunteered for the school helping the students and administrators. He is a regular volunteer throughout the year.
The teachers at the school work for next to nothing and volunteer when the teacher's pay runs out which happens regularly. The administrators work completely for free. A Teacher’s salary, when available, is $600.00 Haitian dollars per month which is about $80.00 US. On the last day we sponsored a meal for all the 280 students at the school with money raised by two of our Canadian volunteers, Anneka and Grant who have a group called "For the Love of Haiti's Children". Local women came out to help prepare and serve it with only a request that we consider one of their children for sponsorship to go to school. We also had a basketball challenge. The school put together a team of young men who played our Canadian basketball enthusiasts. We walked from the school to a local basketball court about ten or fifteen minutes away. People came out from the community and we had about two hundred people watching as Cite Soleil beat our asses decisively 26 - 16. No one hassled us, no one asked us for money. Cite Soleil was relatively calm for the whole time we were there. Everyone came out and had a good time. The young men on the Soleil team have recently sent us a message that we are welcome to return and have our asses kicked anytime in any sport of our choice. In the end it is important to keep perspective. We didn't build anything. The people of Cite Soleil did. We didn't feed anyone. The school community did. We just financed it and stayed out of the way. As for the gangs, well after talking to Joel and seeing that he and the other administrators were not getting paid decided that we were free to continue working. In point of fact I don't think I've ever seen a gang member come by the site but maybe I'm just blind to it. So let no one tell you either in the main stream media or any other source that Cite Soleil is a lost cause full of gangs and political violence, that there are no hard working people in Cite Soleil. There is a sleeping giant of prosperity and creativity in Cite Soleil waiting and longing to be set free.