April Reign

Speak your mind even if your voice shakes

Debra

Shades of Green

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I saw this quote in a CTV article about Kyoto rallies and it exemplified perfectly my thoughts regarding the environmental debates and plans.

At the Montreal rally, McInnis said she’s noticed the many little ways governments discourage people from putting the environment first, since her family decided to go without a car.

The price of using Montreal’s subway system has steadily rose while she discovered how inaccessible the subway is. Each trip she must drag her stroller and 15-kilogram baby up and down dozens of stairs.

“It’s disgusting,” she said. “It’s bad with a stroller, imagine if you’re elderly or in a wheelchair.

“When you make environmentalism a priority in your life, that’s when you begin to see how the government puts up barriers.”

Yes we need governments to actually and properly regulate business to ensure they are taking responsible efforts to use less energy and create less pollution, but we also need real incentives to allow and encourage the average citizen to make better environmental choices.

Regulating light bulbs is all very well, but creating greater access to transit, planning “self contained” communities, keeping community hospitals (instead of expecting people to drive hundreds of miles to a hospital which has been chosen to specialize in a procedure) creating bike lanes, helping low income home owners and renters to make homes more energy efficient, creating more accessible recycling facilities for toxic waste products, creating community gardens and composting areas, these are the types of things that help divert from landfill, use less energy and make everyday choices which are environmentally friendly.

It is easy to talk about light bulbs, and carbon credits and targets and goals most people don’t really understand, it is another thing to actually implement programs that make a real difference, have real life consequences and allow the voter to see clearly where their tax dollars are being spent.

Earth Day

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earth.jpgI remember when Earth Day was quite an event, even here in nowheresville. The local conservation area handed out little trees, there were school events it was written up in what passes for a local paper.

Now it is pretty much a non event. The trees have long since ceased to be handed out, the schools seemed to have missed it, you would think that things have improved.

I personally marked Earth Day by buying reusable shopping bags and more earth friendly cleaning products. I don’t have a car so I’m already doing my part year round that way. I recycle, garden organically, and try to be energy conscious.

Funny how none of those things will net me any tax credits or other forms of bribery that seem to be the only weapons in the environmental arsenal at the moment.

Lots of good info including this video at Earth Day Canada

Visual DNA

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Saw this at Unrepentant Old Hippie and thought I’d try it out. The write up after sounded quite a bit like me, except the touchy feely part, that I am not.

Some questions too are hard to answer, really it depends on the day.

It’s fun though.

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Happy Anniversary

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CharterWho’s afraid of the big bad charter?

The rights and freedoms enshrined in the Charter include:

fundamental freedoms (section 2), namely freedom of conscience, freedom of religion, freedom of thought, freedom of belief, freedom of expression, freedom of the press and of other media of communication, freedom of peaceful assembly, and freedom of association.
democratic rights: generally, the right to participate in political activities and the right to a democratic form of government:

Section 3: the right to vote and to be eligible to serve as member of a legislature.
Section 4: a maximum duration of legislatures is set at five years.
Section 5: an annual sitting of legislatures is required as a minimum.

mobility rights: (section 6): the right to enter and leave Canada, and to move to and take up residence in any province, or to reside outside Canada.
legal rights: rights of people in dealing with the justice system and law enforcement, namely:

Section 7: right to life, liberty, and security of the person.
Section 8: right from unreasonable search and seizure (only if the authorities believe someone is a threat to another, to society or to themselves, is such a search justified).
Section 9: freedom from arbitrary detainment or imprisonment.
Section 10: right to be informed of reasons for arrest including the right to retain counsel upon arrest.
Section 11: rights in criminal and penal matters such as the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Section 12: Right not to be subject to cruel and unusual punishment.
Section 13: rights against self-incrimination (this is most seen during plea bargains between the accused and the crown)
Section 14: rights to an interpreter in a court proceeding.

equality rights: (section 15): equal treatment before and under the law, and equal protection and benefit of the law without discrimination.
language rights: generally, the right to use either the English or French language in communications with Canada’s federal government and certain provincial governments. Specifically, the language laws enshrined in the Charter include:

Section 16: English and French are the official languages of Canada and New Brunswick.
Section 16.1: the English and French-speaking communities of New Brunswick have equal rights to educational and cultural institutions.
Section 17: the right to use either official language in Parliament or the New Brunswick legislature.
Section 18: the statutes and proceedings of Parliament and the New Brunswick legislature are to be printed in both official languages.
Section 19: both official languages may be used in federal and New Brunswick courts.
Section 20: the right to communicate with and be served by the federal and New Brunswick governments in either official language.
Section 21: other constitutional language rights outside the Charter regarding English and French are sustained.
Section 22: existing rights to use languages besides English and French are not affected by the fact that only English and French have language rights in the Charter. (Hence, if there are any rights to use Aboriginal languages anywhere they would continue to exist, though they would have no direct protection under the Charter.)

minority language education rights: (Section 23): rights for certain citizens belonging to French or English-speaking minority communities to be educated in their own language.

Harper it would seem.

However, the Charter has often been the subject of intense debate. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has indicated in the past his concern about the power of the Charter. Soon after he became prime minister, he suggested that judges should “apply the law, not make it.”

The current Conservative government has no plans to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Charter.

Regardless of the fact that our New Canadian Government™ does not support rights and freedoms for all of Canada’s citizens, A Very Happy Charter Day to you all!

Have a good day a school, don’t die.

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These stories are hard to take as a parent. You worry about a lot of things when you send your kids to school. Will they have friends, get good grades, have a good teacher. One thing you don’t generally think about is will they die.

All levels of school have been targeted, and the “reasons” have varied.

Some are blaming video games, but then before video games were so popular they blamed D&D, or bad parenting or………

Some have rushed in to protect the guns as if they were an endangered species, even going so far as to recommend that all students be armed.

How can you watch the trauma on these young peoples’ faces and in their voices, think of the parents and friends and families of the students and professors killed and rush in to champion more death? What kind of mindset is that?

What a lovely picture your local school also now the setting for the showdown at the ok corral.

Another aspect of this that has me wondering is the constant reference to we thought it was “just a domestic incident”. Just???? Just two people dead, nothing to see here folks.

If “domestic violence” were taken more seriously perhaps a greater effort may have been put into dealing with the situation and other lives may have been spared.

My thoughts go out to those who have lost someone, and those who went through the ordeal.

May we all find the ability to rise above the petty and mundane and treasure each other.

June Callwood

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Canadians lost another important voice this morning. June Callwood passed away at the age of 82.

It is only April of 2007 and we have already lost two very special, strong, dignified and inspirational voices. At a time when the same fights these women fought are being revived we can only wonder at the statements of some politicians that equality has already been won.

Callwood
June Callwood 1924-2007

CBC

Star