The first time I heard about the Working Centre’s CAB (Community Access Bike “bike share” was back in 2015 when I spotted the rank of bicycles in front of Kitchener City Hall.
Although we tend to view bikes as a recreational toy, the reality is that bikes make a lot of sense as a vehicle in urban settings. Riding a bike isn’t just environmentally friendly, it is great excercise, too. Owning and maintaining your own a bike is certainly more economical than owning a car, but joining a bike share program may suit your needs even better as you’re relieved of the hassle of maintenance, and you don’t need a place to store your bike, either.
Julia and Sam were the driving force behind the #WRGreens “Canada’s Voting System Is Changing” #ERRE Community Dialogue at Kitchener City Hall on September 17th, 2016
Fair Vote Waterloo Co-Chair Sharon Sommerville explained gave an explanation of the kinds of electoral systems on offer.
Waterloo (Stacey Danckert) and Kitchener Centre Greens were on hand to lead small discussion groups to discuss electoral reform issues and make group submissions to the ERRE Committee.
As well as participating th discussion, group members had the opportunity to cast ballots in mock elections for the different electoral systems. Long time Fair Vote members Bob Jonkman (Kitchener Conestoga) and David Weber (Kitchener-South Hespeler) Greens were on hand with expert advice.
On Sunday, October 2nd the The Brantford-Brant Women’s, Youth and Seniors’ Liberal Clubs hosted the multi-partisan Brantford-Brant Electoral Reform Community Forum in the Odeon Building at the Laurier Brantford campus.
[Note: the CPC MP attended and spoke at the LPC event, and of course Greens were there by invitation as well. Where was the NDP I wonder?]
Temara Brown described the six different electoral systems, a fairly difficult task, particularly when being challenged by unruly audience members at every turn. But she carried it off.
The event followed the usual Library of Parliament script for Community Dialogue suggested by ERRE.
The Brantford Expositor covered the event in Forum puts spotlight on electoral reform
Unfortunately there are some errors in the Expositor article. For instance, Michele Braniff was the 2015 GPC candidate. As well as being a GPO Candidate, Temara Brown is the GPO’s Shadow Cabinet member for the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change.
The article gives a capsule rundown of the 6 electoral Systems discussed, where the worst error in the article mischaracterizes the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system as “A variation of the preferential vote”. Electoral systems are complex, which is one of the many reasons why a referendum would be a bad idea at the best of times.
Historically, STV predates AV by a few decades, so it would be more correct to say AV is a variation of STV. But that’s just semantics. The real problem is that STV is perhaps the best system of Proportional Representation, while AV is a winner-take-all system much like our First Past The Post.
Even so, it was nice to see some balanced coverage of the ERRE event. For the most part, Canada’s Main Stream Media is making no bones about it’s desire to retain the status quo. That is perhaps the biggest reason Canadians are so woefully uninformed about electoral reform options. Instead of informing Canadians of our options, or even actually reporting on the ERRE consultation process, the media tables at ERRE consultation events are standing empty. So kudos to the Expositor for reporting the news!
Ken Burns (Brantford-Brant), Temara Brown (WRGreens Cambridge GPO Candidate), ________, ________, Jason Shaw (Fair Vote Canada) and Bob Jonkman (WRGreens Kitchener-Conestoga and Fair Vote Waterloo Co-Chair)
In spite of the Main Stream Media obstructionism, the process marches quietly on.
Get the facts and have your say at this Electoral Reform Forum!
This is a non-partisan event officially recognized by the government intended to discuss the issues surrounding electoral reform.
The federal Liberal government has set up a wide ranging consultation process to inform the all-party committee in Parliament which will be making recommendations to the government in December. A report will be submitted to the committee based on input received at this event.
WRGreens own Temara Brown (Cambridge GPO) will be giving the Green Party perspective on electoral reform at this event.
Sunday, October 2nd, 2016 Brantford-Brant Electoral Reform Event
1pm – 3pm
Laurier Brampton Campus
The Odeon Building
50 Market St. ~ Rm 110
Brantford, ON
(parking behind building)
The Electoral Reform consultation process wraps up Friday (October 7, 2016) so this may very well be your last chance to attend an event. Get the facts on electoral reform!
Submissions to the consultation can be made until midnight, October 7th, 2016. Then the process will take the next step up the ladder as the ERRE Special Committee on Electoral Reform studies the question.
Every Canadian who wants to should have a say to help shape what our system looks like for 2019! This is your chance!
The Peace and Social Justice organizations in Kitchener-Waterloo came together for a symposium and workshop on creating a positive change in our local community. The event began with Keynote Speaker Dr. Simon Dalby, CIGI chair, whose work focuses climate change, political ecology, geopolitics, global security, environmental change, militarization, and the spatial dimensions of governance. Then after the speaker we will have sharing by local groups about their goals and projects, and collaborative visioning for the future of our community.
As you know, peace and social justice issues are values important to the Green Party. Stacey Danckert (Waterloo GPO) spoke for the WRGreens.
A hearty vegan local seasonal meal was provided.
This event is put on by KW Peace, a collective of peace and social justice groups passionate about working together and finding ways to encourage collaboration in our community. Please visit our website at http://kwpeace.ca/, where we also have an event calendar that advertises events related to peace and social justice. This event is part of IDOPAN – International Days of Peace and Nonviolence.
The Odeon Building
50 Market St. ~ Rm 110
Brantford, ON
(parking behind building)
1-3pm
Temara Brown (Cambridge GPO) will be speaking on behalf of WRGreens at Wilfred Laurier University’s Brantford Campus. Have Your Say at the Electoral Reform Forum this Sunday!
Reykjavik’s city council voted last week to ban Israeli goods in a symbolic gesture to protest Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.
The city council of Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital, has voted to ban all Israeli-made goods in protest of the continuing “occupation of Palestinian territories” and Israel’s “policy of apartheid” against Palestinians. Concerns regarding Israel’s policies towards the Palestinians were renewed following Israel’s announcement in July that it would build Israeli homes in the contested West Bank, inciting violent protests.
Most countries consider these new settlements, as well as previous ones, illegal, and even the US State Department has expressed its concerns over Israeli settlement expansion. In the past, Reykjavik’s city council has been critical of Israel and has previously adopted resolutions that acknowledge Palestinian rights to independence and a sovereign nation. According to Iceland’s foreign ministry, the small island nation purchased $6 million of Israeli imports, most of which in the form of fruits and vegetables, equipment, and machinery.
Iceland’s national government said that the boycott would only be limited to the country’s capital and has tried to distance itself from the action of Reykjavik’s city council. Yet, as Iceland’s largest city and home to half its population, Reykjavik’s decision to boycott Israel will likely cause some economic impact though it is hard to say whether or not it will be significant. Israeli exports totaled $53.7 billion in 2014, meaning its exports to Iceland represent a meager 1.1% of its total annual exports.
Overall, it appears that Israel is much more concerned with the symbolic impact of the boycott as opposed to its economic effects as they have been actively fighting against several recent international boycotts in response to Israel’s treatment of the Palestinian people, most notably the BDS movement (Boycott, Divest, Sanctions).
Concerns about the growth of boycott movements have led Israel to pass legislation allowing for the deportation of foreign activists, to threaten the lives of BDS supporters, and to lobby for legislation in other countries to prevent future boycotts. They have even teamed up with Facebook to try and prevent criticism of Israel on social media.
Israel’s government responded to news of Reykjavik’s boycott with harsh criticism. Emmanuel Nahshon, Israel’s foreign minister, responded by saying:
“A volcano of hatred is erupting out of the city council building in Reykjavik. Without any reason or justification, other than pure hatred, we hear calls to boycott Israel. We hope someone in Iceland comes to their senses and stops the blindness and the one-sidedness that is directed at Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East.”
Some Icelanders were also critical of the boycott, including a local attorney who said the ban on Israeli goods violates the Icelandic constitution. It remains to be seen if Israel will take action against Iceland as a result of the new boycott.
There has been an uproar in Canada since our government passed a motion condemning the BDS movement, claiming that bringing such economic and political pressure to bear is anti-semitic.
Israel’s foreign minister, Emmanuel Nahshon’s claim that calls to boycott Israel are “Without any reason or justification, other than pure hatred” is patently absurd. BDS political and economic pressure aims to convince Israel to conform to International Law.
If Nations can blithely choose which parts of International Law they will deign to follow without any repercussion (as Israel does in flouting of International Law by encroaching on the what little Palestinian territory remains with new settlements), International Law is meaningless.
This summer the Green Party of Canada recently passed a motion to support the BDS and the right of Canadians to dissent, earning the distinction of being the first national Canadian political party to do so.
When Israel ceases breaking international law, calls for BDS would dissipate, but it seems its current government won’t even consider accepting this simple solution.
Waterloo Region Greens own Bob Jonkman will be presenting “Make every Vote Count” at the Elmira Branch of the Region of Waterloo Library, starting at 6:30pm, tomorrow night, Wednesday, September 21st, 2016. In his capacity as co-Chair, Bob helped develop the Fair Vote Waterloo presentation, which starts with our existing electoral system as well as Canada’s electoral reform options. There will be a question and answer session after the presentation.
Hope to see you there!
Next week there will be two more Information Sessions at the Region of Waterloo Libraries in New Hamburg and Ayr.
Wednesday, September 28th, 2016 ~ 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
“For the past month I’ve been traveling across Canada hearing from Canadians directly on the values and expectations they feel should be reflected in Canada’s electoral system.
At every stop, it is clear; Canadians expect greater inclusion, transparency, engagement and modernization from their public institutions.”
— The Hon. Maryam Monsef,
Minister of Democratic Institutions ~ Ottawa, ON, Sept. 15, 2016
Hundreds of Waterloo Region residents crowded into the Stanley Park Community Centre on Wednesday night for a chance to participate in the Federal Electoral Reform Consultation with the the Honourable Maryam Monsef, the Minister of Democratic Institutions. Ms. Monsef shared the stage with local LPC Mps, the Honourable Bardish Chagger, Bryan May, Marwan Tabbara and Kitchener Centre host, Raj Saini, But the evening’s main course was the small group dialogues where participants considered issues and shared their views. Each group came up with a series of conclusions, all of which were duly passed along for consideration in Ottawa. The Record‘s Luisa D’amato reports:
As I felt the unmistakable sense of optimism that comes when a powerful person asks your opinion, it occurred to me that we might have got it wrong all this time.
We’ve asked young people to vote, and shook our heads when they didn’t. “Don’t complain if you don’t vote,” we said.
Yet the rules by which we held the elections seemed designed to silence their choices.
Julia and Sam (Kitchener Centre Greens) are passionate about meaningful electoral reform. The shape of their future depends on it. They’re the driving force behind our Canada’s Voting System Is Changing event at Kitchener City Hall tomorrow.
Canada’s Voting System Is Changing poster ~ click to download larger size
The main goal of tomorrow’s event is to provide public information about our options.
Every MP in Canada has been asked to consult with their constituents about what they would like to see in terms of electoral reform. Although our evening with Ms. Monsef was excellent, it would have been nice to see 4 Liberal Town Halls. Knowing how long it took me to get my head around electoral reform, more events might make it easier for many citizens.
Sadly Kitchener-Conestoga residents don’t get any Town Hall at all. Our Conservative MP Harold Albrecht has declined to conduct a consultation. Fair Vote Waterloo will be putting on 3 more Library Information nights at Elmira Library, New Hamburg and the Ayr Public Libraries.
Earlier in the year the Waterloo NDP put on an information event with Fair Vote Waterloo, but now it’s our turn.
Proportional Representation is not a partisan issue; it is simply a way to better represent citizens in Parliament. This isn’t about parties, but about what is best for all of us, the voters. That’s why each of these events have worked hard to put partisanship aside in order to both inform and converse with the public.
The Hon. Maryam Monsef, Minister of Democratic Institutions speaks to a packed house in Waterloo Region. September 14th, 2016
So many other countries have adopted meaningful electoral reform that there’s a lot of information out there. And yet, Canadians have heard almost nothing about the alternatives before us.
That’s why Fair Vote Waterloo co-chair Sharon Sommerville will give an introductory talk about Proportional Representation. Then we’ll break into small group discussions, much like Maryam Monsef’s National Electoral Reform Community Dialogue Tour the other night. We have decided to have two kinds of groups; one to help those of us just beginning to learn about Proportional Representation, and another for those who have an idea of what kind of reform they would like to see. The latter will be able to discuss the issue as a group in order to make a group submission we can forward on to the ERRE Committee.
Even if you have a pretty good handle on Electoral Reform, we look forward to seeing you in Carl Zehr Square. It is always a lot more fun to work on a submission together, and it is amazing how much discussion can help clarify the things we’re fuzzy on. The more Canadians participate in this electoral reform process, the better the outcome will be.
This is a perfect opportunity to help your friends and neighbors get the facts about electoral reform. We hope to see you there!
Canada’s Voting System Is Changing: Community Dialogue
Saturday September 17th, 2016
3:00pm – 4:30pm
Carl Zehr Square, in front of Kitchener City Hall
200 King St W, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada map
Waterloo Region Monsef Federal Electoral Reform Community Dialogue Tour poster ~ print ~ Click for more sizes ~
If Waterloo Region had a GPC Member of Parliament, we could look forward to having our own Green Electoral Reform Town Hall. Instead, Waterloo Region has 4 Liberal MPs and 1 Conservative MP. All 5 Waterloo Region MPs managed to attend the Climate Change Town Hall. Unfortunately we won’t see the same for Electoral Reform.
All 5 Waterloo Region MPs attended the Climate Change Town Hall
Although the ERRE Special Committee on Electoral Reform is conducting a Canada wide tour, apparently it will only effect a single stop in the most populous province in the land. And that won’t be in Northern Ontario, but rather in the most populous city, Toronto, leaving the rest of the province out of the loop. The Minister of Democratic Institutions is trying to augment the Committee’s limited itinerary with a complimentary tour of her own, which will visit many more spots.
Every MP in Parliament has been is tasked with hosting a Town Hall to consult with their constituents about electoral reform. Unfortunately, Kitchener-Conestoga MP has chosen to mail out a form letter questionaire (read: advertisement) encouraging citizens who have no idea of the alternatives to rally around a referendum (the CPC strategy intended to derail our long overdue electoral reform).
As I understand it, instead of 4 Liberal Town Hall consultations in Waterloo Region, the 4 LPC MPs will join the Honourable Maryam Monsef in one big Town Hall event on Wednesday Night.
This will be our only official ERRE Event, so though the event is being put on by Liberal MPs for a Liberal Government, everyone who can attend should attend to support Proportional Representation in the only opportunity we’ll have for face to face Government engagement on this most important reform.
Federal Electoral Reform Community Dialogue Tour
Wednesday, 14 September 14th, 2016
7:00pm — 9:00pm
at the Stanley Park Community Centre
505 Franklin Street North, Kitchener (~ MAP~) Please RSVP online or call +1-519-741-2001
This is a must attend event for electoral reform supporters.
There are plenty ofreasons for the Green Party to support Proportional Representation, the chief being that the disproportional power the winner-take-all party gets comes at the expense of smaller parties like the GPC. There are things we can do to help Canada along the path to truly representative government:
You might find the electoral reform series I’m writing to help demystify Proportional Representation useful. If you don’t have time for the whole thing, probably the most useful articles are:
Do you know anyone who needs their own poster in other parts of Canada?
Share the DIY posters below: all they have to do is fill in the event details!
WRegion Monsef Tour ~ online version ~ Click for more sizes ~DIY Monsef Tour ~ online version ~ Click for more sizes ~DIY Monsef Tour ~ print version ~ Click for more sizes ~
Print & Share our WRGreens
Canada’s Voting System Is Changing
Community Dialogue Poster too!
Can you imagine a better way to celebrate Democracy Week?
Canada’s Voting System Is Changing ~ click for larger size ~ Print & post WRGreens Community DialogueYou can also print and post posters for the Waterloo Region Library Fair Vote Events ~ click for large size ~
The Wellington Water Watchers say the permit for Nestlé Waters in Aberfoyle, Ontario expired on July 31, but an automatic extension was granted without consulting local residents, and so continues to extract water from a local well even in the midst of a severe drought.
“Although our permit expired on July 31, 2016, we have received confirmation from the MOECC that during this application phase, under the Ontario Waters Resources Act, Section 34.1 (6), the existing Permit to Take Water remains intact until the MOECC moves forward on a decision. We will continue to operate as usual….
“Our factory in Aberfoyle has operated for the last 15 years sustainably and Nestlé Waters is not asking to increase the permitted water taking limit – Nestlé Waters is applying to maintain the current permit level over a 10 year period. “
Nestlé’s permits allow the company to take millions of litres each day.
How much does water cost?
There was a sale on Nestlé water at my local grocery store a few weeks back. 6 litres of water packaged in 12 plastic bottles for 99 cents. Twelve 500 ml bottles, that’s 6 litres of water. It works out to 16.5 cents per litre. That’s a pretty good deal, right?
Until you consider what your water bill would look like if you had to pay 16.5 cents per litre. In Guelph the rate is $1.59 for a cubic metre of water.Footnote That’s works out to $0.00159 per litre for tap water at home. If it cost 16.5 cents a litre, a cubic metre of water would cost us $165.00. So, okay, it stands to reason, we’re paying a lot more for a bottle of water because companies are in business to make money. We’re paying extra for the convenience of getting that water in a bottle. Everything is relative.
If Nestlé paid $1.59 for 1000 litres of tap water (like we do), then charged us 99 cents for it, the company would make a handsome profit. But it doesn’t.
The reality is that citizens bear the cost of building and operating the infrastructure that supplies and treats water that Nestlé so profitably puts in bottles.
“For every million litres of water, Ontario charges companies $3.71 after paying a permit fee of $750 for low or medium-risk water takings, or $3,000 for those considered high risk.
“The amount these companies pay for taking out water represents 1.2 per cent of the government’s total water-quantity management costs. A number of people, including former environmental commissioner Ellen Schwartzel, have criticized the ministry for not raising the amount to take such large quantities of water.”
To put it into perspective, while Nestlé pays $3.71 for every million litres of water, at $1.59 per cubic metre, the same amount of water would cost a Guelph citizen $1,590.00.
Meanwhile in Guelph, “The average residential annual bill (based on 180 cubic metres consumption, the estimated annual volume consumed by a family of three) will go up by $31 or 4.0%.”
“If residents and businesses weren’t using water wisely, rate increases would be higher than they are today. For example, from 2006 to 2014 the City’s $8.6 million investment in water conservation and efficiency programs has reclaimed over 7.1 million litres of water and wastewater servicing capacity per day. The cost to build and operate infrastructure to supply and treat this much water would be approximately $35.6 million in capital costs, and $460,000 in annual operating costs.”
Maybe there is a time to subsidize a rich corporation’s pursuit of profit. If money were all that was at stake, maybe such an arrangement could be considered a good deal.
It gets worse
Wellington Water Watchers also has serious concerns about Nestlés proposed expansion of its Ontario Water Taking operations.
“Nestlé has issued a letter of intent to purchase a third well in Wellington County – the Middlebrook well, for an additional 1.6 million litres per day (300 gallons per minute). If Nestlé’s permit is approved for 1.6 million litres of water per day, the corporation will pay $3.71 per million litres (or $5.93 per day).
“100% of the water captured under this permit would be removed at the source and also be trucked 24/7 to Aberfoyle. A 100% consumptive permit is a permit where every drop of water that is pumped, or in this case captured as this is upwelling artesian water, is removed from the local watershed and never returned. The Middlebrook well will be similar to Nestle’s Hillsburgh well, where the water is transported by bulk tanker truck to the Aberfoyle packaging facility.”
We can get an idea of the scope of the problem by looking at the province’s interactive Map: Permits to take water. Seeing the water-taking locations linked to active permits across Ontario is an eye-opener. Ontario may be water-rich just now, but water is a finite resource. Every bottle of water shipped out of Ontario is another bottle of water that won’t make it back to our aquifers.
“We will be requesting no more than a two year permit in Aberfoyle in order to assist a phase out of this permit and will also will be requesting no new well at Middlebrook.
“Our technical advisor, Dr. Hugh Whiteley has observed that the most recent Annual Report showed that the average water level in the Middle Gasport aquifer that supplies the Nestlé production well has declined about 1.5 m from 2011 to 2015 while Nestlé’s water taking increased 33 % over the same period. This decline in water level is suggestive of a disturbance of the equilibrium between aquifer recharge and water discharge from the aquifer.”
Guelph City Councillor James Gordon will be bringing a motion to get city to advise the province not to renew Nestlé’s expired water taking permit in Aberfoyle. If you support Councillor James Gordon’s proposed motion regarding Nestlé’s permit to take water, you can come out to the Council meeting at 6:30 at Guelph City Hall (map) on September 26th, 2016.
“The motion comes before a meeting of City Council’s planning meeting but won’t be debated until council’s regular meeting on Sept. 26.
“Gordon’s motion reads:
“That Council, with support from Intergovernmental Relations, Policy and Open Government staff, submit comments through the Ontario Environmental Registry process in relation to the recent Nestlé Water permit to take water and express Council’s concern that the permit to take water is not in the best interest of the City of Guelph and the watershed shared by the City of Guelph.”
“It asks that council send a letter by the Sept. 30 deadline.”
To add punctuation to the proceeding, a community gathering is being organized for Monday, Sept 26, around 5 – 6 pm, outside City Hall in support of to support James Gordon’s motion to honour and protect our watershed.
Better stewardship of Ontario’s resources, including Water Taking has long been of concern for the Green Party of Ontario. That’s why the GPO has set up it’s own email writing tool to help Ontario residents make our feelings known to the Hon. Glen Murray, Ontario’s Environment Minister. You can use the letter provided edit it to better reflect your thoughts on the issue. Either way, it has been a long, hot summer filled with drought and water restrictions. Even if we can’t get to Guelph, we can speak up about our water supply.
“In the small community of Aberfoyle just outside of Guelph, Nestlé is taking millions of litres of water to bottle, ship to other places and then sell back to us.
“Worse yet, we are subsidizing Nestlé’s water taking. The Liberals set the water taking fee so low that it does not even cover the cost of administering the program.
“Nestlé pays only $9.27 for the amount of water it would take to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool. You read that right. Nine dollars and twenty-seven cents. That’s just $3.71 per million litres.
“Let’s tell the Minister of Environment to stop giving away our water.
Footnote: I pay a $1.71 per cubic metre of water in Woolwich. The ground water is unsafe to drink here since pollution from a local chemical company rendered the water in our local aquifer undrinkable, so we pay a premium to pipe in water from Waterloo.Ref
Sunday at Laurier
The federal Liberal government has set up a wide ranging consultation process to inform the all-party committee in Parliament which will be making recommendations to the government in December. A report will be submitted to the committee based on input received at this event.
“For the past month I’ve been traveling across Canada hearing from Canadians directly on the values and expectations they feel should be reflected in Canada’s electoral system.
Julia and Sam (Kitchener Centre Greens) are passionate about meaningful electoral reform. The shape of their future depends on it. They’re the driving force behind our Canada’s Voting System Is Changing event at Kitchener City Hall tomorrow.
How much does water cost?
