Environment . Human Rights . Politics . Atheism . Food . Toronto . Ontario . Canada
6.25.2011
6.24.2011
Pride Toronto Flag Raising at City Hall (sans Mayor)
Let's Make Pride History Together
Pride Toronto
&
Toronto City Hall
Cordially invites Everyone to the Flag Raising
&
Unveiling of the Painting
"Toronto City Hall"
By Artist George MacIntyre
Date: Mon. June 27, 2011
Time: 12 noon
Location: Toronto City Hall (Front Entrance)
Special Guests:
The Legendary Michelle Du Barry, Past Grand Marshall
&
Mrs. Phyllis (MacIntyre) Goldsmith
Sister of the artist from Moncton, New Brunswick
Have A Wonderful Happy Pride 2011
6.21.2011
Stop the Mega Quarry
Please take a few seconds to add your name to the I-petition to Stop the Mega Quarry that is proposed by a USA Hedge Fund for Central Ontario.
The mere size is boggling; a parcel of land covering 2,300 acres and dug 50 feet deeper than Niagara Falls will make this the second largest quarry in North America.
With 300 trucks hourly plus 20 tons of explosives daily, the potential for disaster on transportation corridors, water and the environment is enormous.
This destruction of our prime agricultural land and natural resources for foreign profit must be stopped.
6.14.2011
6.13.2011
6.10.2011
Toronto Centre NDP Provincial Nomination Meeting
Toronto Centre NDP
Provincial Nomination Meeting
Join us as we select our candidate for the 2011 Provincial Election!
Wednesday, June 22
Ryerson Student Centre
55 Gould St (at Church)
Room SCC 115
Ryerson Student Centre
55 Gould St (at Church)
Room SCC 115
- 5:45 PM - Registration
- 6:15 PM - Meeting Starts
Special Guest Speaker
Andrea Horwath
Leader, Ontario NDP
For more information, please email info@tcndp.ca
6.09.2011
Feeding Our Communities by Championing Stronger Family Farms
Our food system is experiencing significant challenges. Farm incomes are variable and negative for most sectors, food bank use is at an all-time high, and poor diets are contributing to rising health care costs. The number of farmers is declining, the age of farmers is rising and fewer youth are growing food. Ontario only has 7,000 farmers under the age of 35. We are losing too much farm land to urban sprawl. It’s time to make strengthening our food system a priority so that Ontario can feed itself and others.
Food connects us all. Green MPPs will advocate for a comprehensive Ontario Food and Farming Strategy that provides access to healthy food from Ontario’s farms. This begins with ensuring that our farmers and food processors have a stable, reliable income. It’s time to make healthy local food a priority.
Your Green MPPs will:
1. Provide access to healthy food for Ontarians.
a. Coordinate a comprehensive healthy school food program
b. Invest in community food programs that promote access to healthy food, community gardens, cooking and nutrition classes; provide tax credits for farmers and processors who donate to food security organizations
c. Set measurable Ontario food purchasing targets for all public institutions.
a. Establish an Ontario Food and Farming Policy Council to coordinate planning across ministries and consult diverse stakeholders on programs, regulations and legislation
b. Reward farmers for stewardship practices that provide environmental and community benefits such as clean water, habitat preservation and carbon storage
c. Invest in rural infrastructure, research and innovation, plant-based manufacturing products, distribution hubs, farmer co-ops, organic and specialty crops to support farm incomes.
a. End one-size-fits-all regulations for family farms and local food processors; implement smart regulations that recognize differences in the size of operations
b. Eliminate tax penalties and reduce zoning restrictions to facilitate local, on-farm food enterprises and innovative sources of farm income
c. Improve income stabilization programs so they are more accessible for family farms, cover a wider range of products and don’t penalize farmers who experience bad years.
Bells On Bloor; June 18th
Bells on Bloor is back - for the 5th time!! Ring out for bike lanes on Bloor! Each of the last 2 rides brought out 2000 cyclists! Don't miss it.
This fun and empowering ride is happening this year on:
Sat. June 18 meeting at High Park and proceeding again to Queen’s Park along Bloor street.
Join a large throng of young and old cyclists for a joy ride along Bloor in support of Bloor bike lanes. A police escort makes it safe for children. Please join us, and bring friends - the more the merrier.
If High Park is too far, join us en route at:
- SE Bloor@ Dundas St. W.
- South side of Bloor@ Gladstone
- South side of Bloor@ Christie Pits
New feature this year: Ward 13 TCU will be leading a ride back to the High Park Area (Runnymede PS), with drop off points along the way.
Arranged by Bells on Bloor, Take the Tooker, Ward 13 Bikes/TCU
For more info: bloorbikeride@gmail.com
www.bellsonbloor.ca
www.takethetooker.ca
Here's the video my husband made of last years ride;
6.08.2011
Harnessing safe, affordable energy to power our communities.
Rising energy prices are affecting individuals, families and businesses across Ontario. Mismanagement and a lack of planning have left us scrambling with an energy system that doesn’t meet our needs.
It’s time for a new approach.
Ontario has important choices to make – right now – that will affect our sources of energy for generations. We can repeat past mistakes by locking ourselves into big, inflexible, expensive new nuclear plants—even while we are still paying the decades-old debt from the last round on every electricity bill. Or we can embrace a new energy era that invests in the future.
The only way to generate long-term, sustainable savings on our energy bills is to eliminate waste and prioritize efficiency and conservation. Transitioning to flexible, decentralized and community-based energy production makes sense. We need to focus on local ownership, local decision-making and local benefits to stimulate job creation in communities across the province.
We also need a strategy to tackle rising transportation costs caused by traffic congestion and high fuel prices. Smart planning and strategic investments in efficient transportation systems can reduce gridlock, save us time and money, and reduce fuel consumption and pollution.
The Green Party’s energy plan is focused on sensible solutions that will reduce our province’s carbon footprint, make our economy more efficient and save us money today, tomorrow and years from now.
Your Green MPPs will:
1. Prioritize energy efficiency and conservation to reduce Ontario’s energy consumption
a. Save you money and create jobs by reinstating and expanding the home energy savings program as part of a comprehensive Green Building Program
b. Capture waste heat from chimneys in large buildings and turn it into electrical energy by increasing generation targets for combined heat and power
c. Remove barriers so entrepreneurs can save us money with innovative technologies in conservation, efficiency and a new smart grid
2. Pursue a secure and financially responsible energy supply
a. Require local participation in energy projects; support micro-generation and community-based renewables that generate local benefits
b. Negotiate agreements to purchase inexpensive hydroelectricity from neighbouring provinces and increase hydro generation in Ontario
c. Protect our pocketbooks by opposing construction of new nuclear plants and prohibiting cost overruns for nuclear projects from being passed to rate-payers and tax-payers
3. Implement a sustainable transportation plan to reduce gridlock and lessen the impact of rising fuel prices
a. Promote efficient, liveable communities where streets and roads are safe for all users
b. Reduce commuting costs by supporting transit and affordable commuter benefits including incentives for ride-sharing, more high-occupancy vehicle lanes, and tax credits for public transit users
c. Increase incentives for low-emission, fuel-efficient and electric vehicles
For more information on the Green Party's energy plan for Ontario, find more information here, http://gpo.ca/issues
6.07.2011
Rainbows banned at Mississauga Catholic school
Rainbows banned at Mississauga Catholic school
After reading this story I am left feeling enraged, saddened and extremely disappointed in our provincial government (which by the way is lead by the Catholic McGuinty who is allowing this discrimination to continue) the Dufferin-Peel Catholic School board and St. Joesephs in Mississauga.
The heros in this story are the kids who are trying to make their school a more tolerant and accepting place for a minority of students.
The Catholic school board would do well to look at their own history. It is because they, as a minority, were given funding in the first place.
I strongly encourage you to support a move to one publicly funded school system and to contact the following officials to let them know this intolerant and discriminatory behavior is unacceptable.
Dalton McGuinty; https://correspondence.
Dufferin-Peel Catholic School Board Authorities:
Equity & Diversity
Les Storey
Principal of Equity, Diversity and Inclusive Education
(905) 890-0708 ext. 24405les.storey@dpcdsb.org
Others at Dufferin-Peel
Bruce Campbell, General Manager
(905) 890-0708 ext. 24466bruce.campbell@dpcdsb.org
Julia Seeratan
Communications Officer
(905) 890-0708 ext. 24278julia.seeratan@dpcdsb.org
Donna Reed
Board and Committee Information Officer
(905) 890-0708 ext. 24433donna.reed@dpcdsb.org
After reading this story I am left feeling enraged, saddened and extremely disappointed in our provincial government (which by the way is lead by the Catholic McGuinty who is allowing this discrimination to continue) the Dufferin-Peel Catholic School board and St. Joesephs in Mississauga.
The heros in this story are the kids who are trying to make their school a more tolerant and accepting place for a minority of students.
The Catholic school board would do well to look at their own history. It is because they, as a minority, were given funding in the first place.
I strongly encourage you to support a move to one publicly funded school system and to contact the following officials to let them know this intolerant and discriminatory behavior is unacceptable.
Dalton McGuinty; https://correspondence.
Dufferin-Peel Catholic School Board Authorities:
Equity & Diversity
Les Storey
Principal of Equity, Diversity and Inclusive Education
(905) 890-0708 ext. 24405les.storey@dpcdsb.org
Others at Dufferin-Peel
Bruce Campbell, General Manager
(905) 890-0708 ext. 24466bruce.campbell@dpcdsb.org
Julia Seeratan
Communications Officer
(905) 890-0708 ext. 24278julia.seeratan@dpcdsb.org
Donna Reed
Board and Committee Information Officer
(905) 890-0708 ext. 24433donna.reed@dpcdsb.org
Creating Jobs For a Twenty - First Century Economy It's Time
Ontario has lost 300,000 manufacturing jobs in the past decade. We have become a have-not province with a record budget deficit. The global recession, a high Canadian dollar and rising world energy prices have hit our wallets particularly hard.
It’s time to address these challenges head-on with policies that promote prosperity in a low-carbon global economy.
The Green Party has a plan to secure Ontario’s future, not lock us in the past. We envision a future where Ontario builds on its diverse strengths to become a confident leader in the global economy. We will focus on creating sustainable, long-term jobs, and stop burdening our children with today’s debts.
We can only achieve this future by unleashing and nurturing the creativity and innovation of our entrepreneurs and workers to build strong local economies. The Green Party is committed to responsible stewardship of our natural and financial resources and will promote policies that ensure we live within our means.
Your Green MPPs will:
1. Fight for good jobs and a fiscally responsible government
a. Lower income taxes on families and local businesses to stimulate job creation
b. Reward efficient use of resources and responsibly balance our finances with a revenue neutral tax on waste, pollution and carbon emissions
c. Balance the budget by 2015, saving billions in debt and ensuring our tax dollars are spent on public services instead of interest payments
2. Support entrepreneurs, innovation and strong local economies
a. Reduce red tape for small and medium-sized businesses so they continue to create jobs that support our communities
b. Support research and development in jobs that will power our economy in the coming decades, including clean technology and knowledge-based services
c. Improve high-speed internet access for all areas of Ontario
3. Develop youth employment opportunities by updating and strengthening our education system
a. Freeze tuition for the 2012-13 school year while maintaining university and college budgets; index tuition increases to the rate of inflation from 2013-15
b. Expand training and certification programs in job growth areas such as green buildings, biomedical technology, renewable energy and sustainable transportation
c. Increase investments in apprenticeship, co-operative and mentorship programs
For more information on the Green Party's economic plan for Ontario, find more information here, http://gpo.ca/issues
6.06.2011
Mike Schreiner Introduces the Green Party of Ontario Platform
All this week I'll be highlighting our 5-point plan for a better Ontario.
- Creating jobs for a 21st-century economy;
- Harnessing safe, affordable energy to power our communities;
- Promoting access to quality, sustainable health care close to home;
- Feeding our communities by championing local farms; and
- Delivering government that works for people.
Find my and other candidate pages at: http://gpo.ca/candidates
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