Tag: Brantford-Brant

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Celebrate Our Waters: A Family Event, Book Launch and Fundraiser

Our Green friends in Brantford—Brant have extended us an invitation to a multifaceted family event in support the Paris Pit Ministerial Appeal.

Snack on delicious desserts and enjoy fantastic live music with Madison Galloway and check out the live auction with Nick Maidment.  You’ll also have an opportunity to meet special guest Dr. Poh-Gek Forkert, a researcher and toxicologist who’s published more than eighty papers and book chapters on the metabolism of toxic chemicals. Her most recent work was on the Paris Pit case with the Concerned Citizens of Brant (CCOB).  She’ll also talk about her new book Fighting Dirty: How a Small Community Took on Big Trash, the story of one small group of farmers, small-town residents, and Indigenous people who took on the world’s largest waste disposal company to stop them from expanding a local dumpsite into a massive land fill.

“It struck me early on, though, that for all their deep roots in this land, community members didn’t have a voice in decisions about how that land was to be used. As a scientist, I was trained to be dispassionate, objective, logical, rational—and none of that changed. But for the first time in my personal life, I joined forces with a community of people as they fought to avert environmental catastrophe.”
— Dr. Poh-Gek Forkert

If you’ve already got your copy of “Fighting Dirty,” bring it along so Dr. Forkert can sign it; but if you haven’t, I expect you’ll be able to pick up a copy on Saturday.

Brantford-Brant Greens, the Grand River Environmental Network, OPAL Alliance and others have partnered with the CCOB in sharing our concern for this fragile watershed and supporting the precautionary measures that must be taken to protect our water.

Celebrate Our Waters: A Family Event, Book Launch and Fundraiser
Saturday, November 18the, 2017
2-5pm
St. Paul’s United Church
48 Broadway Street West,
Paris, Ontario, N3L 2S5

Check out the event’s Facebook Page

For background on the appeal visit:
http://www.cela.ca/publications/concerned-citizens-brant-reply

 

 

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WRGreens visit Brantford-Brant Greens #ERRE

Greens in Brantford ~ Ken Burns, Temara Brown, Jason Shaw, Bob Jonkman ~ ERRE Community Dialogue

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 explains electoral systems

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. Temara Brown, Cambridge GPO
The event followed the usual Library of Parliament script for Community Dialogue suggested by ERRE.
Small Group Discussions
The Brantford Expositor covered the event in Forum puts spotlight on electoral reform

Bob Jonkman chats with LPC Ray Wong
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.
Post Community Dialogue dialogue, with Jason Shaw (FVC) and Temara Brown (WRGreens Cambridge)
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 candidate), Temara Brown (WRGreens Cambridge GPO Candidate), Jason Shaw (Fair Vote Canada) and Bob Jonkman (WRGreens Kirchener-Copnestoga and Fair Vote Waterloo)
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.

And a good thing, too.

 

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Voting Reform in #Brantford-Brant Today! #ERRE #Q

Haven’t had your fill of electoral reform yet?   Come on out to the Brantford this afternoon for a multi-partisan look at Electoral Reform.

Brantford-Brant Electoral Reform Community Forum

womenSunday at Laurier

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.

temaraThe 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)

[You can Register if you like, but it is not required]

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 takes the next step up the ladder.
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!