Friends of the Lower Island News I Have Noticed a Problem of Identifying Identify Them As Candidates
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Lower Island NEWS An Independent Democratic Socialist Newspaper Serving the Lower Island Area for 27 Years Volume 28 Issue #5-6 November/December, 2011 Victoria, BC Eight candidates in race for NDP leadership Robert Chisholm Nathan Cullen Paul Dewar Thomas Mulcair Peggy Nash Romeo Saganash Martin Singh Brian Topp The New Demcratic Party of Canada will hold a Leadership Convention on Friday, Martin Singh, businessman and pharmacist, Nova Scotia; March 23, and Saturday, March 24, at the Allstream Centre in Toronto,Onatario. The Brian Topp, executive director of ACTRA Toronto (the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, leadership convention was made necessary by the death earlier this year of former NDP Television and Radio Artists), Ontario. leader Jack Layton. The rules at a glance include: To date, eight candidates have registerd for the campaign, including: • One member, one vote Robert Chisholm, MP for Dartmouth-Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia; • Spending limit: $500,000 Nathan Cullen, MP for Skeena-Bulkley Valley, BC; • Registration Fee for candidates: $15,000 Paul Dewar, MP for Ottawa Cntre, Ontario; The campaign started officially September 15, and all candidates must be registered Thomas Mulcair, MP for Outremont, Quebec; by January 24, 2012, while February 15, 2012 is the cut off date for membership signups Peggy Nash, MP for Parkdale-High Park, Ontario; eligible to vote. Romeo Saganash, MP for Abitibi-Baie-James-Nunavic-Eeyou, Quebec; Interested readers can find the regulations governing the 2012 leadership campaign at http//xfer.ndp.ca/leadership2012. The Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria (otherwise known as Occupy Victoria) is taking place in Centennial Square, Municipal and school board elections beside Victoria City Hall. For more photos by Heather Tufts, turn to page 23. will be held on Saturday, November 19. DON’T FORGET TO VOTE! Wishing all our readers The Best of the Holiday Season and A Happy and Peaceful New Year InsideMore this letteIs issue Canadian Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement # 40008124 2011 Right Livelihood Awards 2 HST just one example 14 Return to: The Lower Island News Occupy the NDP 3 Keep the momentum going 15 Box 311-2750 Quadra Street Editorial and op/ed 4 Victoria, BC V8T 4E8 Scary clowns, trick or treat? 16 Letters to the editor 5 Say no to smart meters 17 More letters and op/eds 6 $177,000 investment 18 CETA is the wrong deal 7 Hempcrete paves the way 19 Federal news 8-9 Is something happening? 20 Provincial news 9-10 Books of interest 22 Speaking out for teachers 12 Coming events calendar 23 What are school trustees? 13 Directory 24 Page 2 November/December 2011 The Lower Island NEWS 2011 Right Livelihood Awards announced The Right Livelihood Award for outstand- and Peace), the Right Livelihood Award has ing vision and work on behalf of our planet no categories. It recognizes that, in striving and its people was established in 1980 to to meet the human challenges of today’s honour and support those “offering practical world, the most inspiring and remarkable and exemplary answers to the most urgent work often defies any standard classifica- challenges facing us today”. tion. For example, people who start out It has become widely known as the with an environmental goal frequently find “Alternative Nobel Prize” and there are now themselves drawn into issues of health, hu- 145 Laureates from 61 countries. man rights and/or social justice. Their work Presented annually in Stockholm at a becomes a holistic response to community ceremony in the Swedish Parliament, the needs, so that sectoral categories lose their Right Livelihood Award is usually shared by meaning. four recipients, but not all Laureates receive a cash award. Often an Honorary Award is given to a person or group whose work the Jury wishes to recognize but who is not primarily in need of monetary support. The prize money in 2011 was 150,000 €. The prize money is for ongoing successful work, never for personal use. The Prize’s impact The Right Livelihood Award is widely recognized as the world’s premier award for personal courage and social transformation. Jacqueline Moudeina (Chad) was award- The Jury recognized Ina May Gaskin (USA) Besides the financial support, it enables its ed “for her tireless efforts at great personal “for her whole-life’s work teaching and recipients to reach out to an international risk to win justice for the victims of the advocating safe, woman-centred childbirth audience that otherwise might not have former dictatorship in Chad and to increase methods that best promote the physical and heard of them. Often, the Award also gives awareness and observance of human rights mental health of mother and child“. crucial protection against repression. For in Africa”. the Laureates, the Award has opened many For more information about the Right Livelihood doors, including prison doors. Awards, visit http://www.rightlivelihood.org/ In 2008, Monika Hauser received the home.html Right Livelihood Award for her work with women who have experienced sexualised violence. In the six months that followed the Irresponsible BC Jobs Plan Award’s announcement, Hauser’s organi- would be a climate disaster zation medica mondiale received twice as VANCOUVER -- “The new jobs plan for much in donations than in the same time BC that Premier Clark announced yesterday period the year before. The public attention is fundamentally irresponsible; it reads like was also enormous. a blueprint on how BC can produce the Hauser said, “The Prize certainly played 2011 Right Livelihood Awards include: most carbon emissions possible,” said Ben a major role in this jump in donations. So West, climate campaigner for the Wilderness the Award’s value is not only about the prize Huang Ming (China) received the 2011 The Jury awarded GRAIN (International) Committee. money itself, it goes far beyond that.” Honorary Award “for his outstanding suc- “for their worldwide work to protect the live- The announced plan calls for doubling cess in the development and mass-de- lihoods and rights of farming communities natural gas production, through dangerous From Peace to Spirituality and Agricul- ployment of cutting-edge technologies for and to expose the massive purchases of practices such as fracking, and opening up ture harnessing solar energy, thereby showing farmland in developing countries by foreign eight new mines by 2015, many of which Unlike the Nobel Prizes (for Physics, how dynamic emerging economies can financial interests”. will be coal mines. In addition there will be Physiology/Medicine, Chemistry, Literature, contribute to resolving the global crisis of heavy investment in export facilities, and anthropogenic climate change“. a streamlining of “red tape” regulating the mining industry. “For years we have been saying that we Chief Marilyn Baptiste wins award for her need to move away from exporting raw logs and other raw materials and move towards value added manufacturing. Well now BC spirited defence of the environment seems to have a plan for a made in BC VANCOUVER – The Wilderness Com- the province on behalf of the Tsilhqot’in Na- Baptiste remained a clear and passionate product -- unfortunately that product is global mittee announced October 22 that Chief tion to explain the importance of Teztan Biny voice for the protection of Teztan Biny (Fish warming,” said West. Marilyn Baptiste, of Xeni Gwet’in, was (Fish Lake) to the Tsilhqot’in people and to Lake) and the surrounding environment it “This plan has one clear statement: given the 2011 Eugene Rogers Environ- call for the cancellation of plans to destroy sustains,” said Joe Foy, national campaign in BC it’s open season for extractive in- mental Award for her work on behalf of the the lake in order to put in a huge open-pit director of the Wilderness Committee. “We dustries, regardless of the impacts on the Tsilhqot’in Nation to protect Teztan Biny copper and gold mine. are proud to give this award to such a strong environment, and regardless of our commit- (Fish Lake) from being destroyed by the The proposed mine was named “Pros- voice for the protection of the environment,” ments to reducing climate change causing proposed Prosperity Mine. perity” by the mining company Taseko Ltd said Foy. greenhouse gasses,” said Tria Donaldson, The Eugene Rogers Award has been that holds the claim. Taseko Mines Ltd. is now proposing to Pacific Coast campaigner for the Wilderness given out once a year since 1992 by the Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) is home to an turn neighbouring Little Fish Lake into a toxic Committee. Wilderness Committee at its Annual Gen- estimated 80,000 rainbow trout and would tailings pond and is asking the federal gov- The jobs plan claims that BC “is, and will eral Meeting to a person who has made an have been used as a toxic tailings pond ernment of Canada to reconsider their mine remain, a climate change leader”. “Perhaps outstanding contribution to environmental had the mine gone ahead. In November of proposal. Chief Baptiste and the Tsilhqot’in they meant we would be a leader in causing protection. The award comes with a $1,000 2010, the federal government of Canada Nation remain opposed to the company’s climate change, because presenting this prize. turned down the project, citing unacceptable mine plans. plan and then calling it climate leadership Chief Baptiste is the elected leader of environmental impacts, even though the BC Eleven environmental groups, including is insulting to the intelligence of the people Xeni Gwet’in, one of the communities of the government had earlier green-lighted the the Wilderness Committee, have recently of BC,” said Donaldson. Tsilhqot’in Nation, whose territory largely lies proposed mine. said that a gold and copper mine at Little “This jobs plan relies on doubling down to the west of the Fraser River and Williams “Through all the drama of the BC govern- Fish Lake would be even more of an en- on the oldest, dirtiest sectors of the econo- Lake, BC.