Wednesday, April 25 saw one of the more noteworthy economic debates we’ve seen in the current session of Parliament, as a former-PC-turned-Liberal raised the issue of income inequality to a noteworthy response from the Harper Cons.The Big IssueScott Br…

Wednesday, April 25 saw one of the more noteworthy economic debates we’ve seen in the current session of Parliament, as a former-PC-turned-Liberal raised the issue of income inequality to a noteworthy response from the Harper Cons. The Big Issue …

Tuesday, April 24 saw a day of debate focused on a relatively non-contentious piece of legislation: a citizen’s arrest bill which largely reflected Olivia Chow’s work after charges were laid against David Chen of the Lucky Moose. The Big I…

Tuesday, April 24 saw a day of debate focused on a relatively non-contentious piece of legislation: a citizen’s arrest bill which largely reflected Olivia Chow’s work after charges were laid against David Chen of the Lucky Moose. The Big IssueWhen it c…

A predatory northern snakehead fish, which eats almost anything and can even jump out of the water to attack small animals, has report…6 Zoom(s)

The Harper government is waging war on Canada’s freshwater.
We didn’t start with a strong record. Our national water laws are out-dated, we don’t properly enforce the ones we have and we chronically underfund source water and watershe…

OTTAWA – Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, MP Saanich-Gulf Islands, warned the Harper Conservatives not to move recklessly on expanding northern offshore drilling in the Beaufort Sea before more is known about the potential risks to this fragile ecos…

Monday, April 23 was the first day back in the House of Commons following the Easter break. And it featured some of the most lively and telling discussion we’ve seen yet on the Cons’ anti-refugee legislation as the second-reading debate reached its end…

On Saturday, May 26, Brigette DePape, the former parliamentary page who disrupted the 2011 Throne Speech, will speak on a panel discussing how we can make her two-word protest a reality. The panel also includes:• Tasha Peters, an Ottawa-based organiz…

Avaaz has a new petition out, which they’re calling “a new plan to save the planet”. I’m more than a tad skeptical about Avaaz petitions, but it only takes a click, it can’t hurt, and it’s worthwhile if only to see t…

Avaaz has a new petition out, which they’re calling “a new plan to save the planet”. I’m more than a tad skeptical about Avaaz petitions, but it only takes a click, it can’t hurt, and it’s worthwhile if only to see the vast numbers of people who agree….

The Spring of Sustainability is a three-month series of events that allows callers to interact directly with world-class visionaries by phone or webcast, for free.  Since the end of March, this amazing series has brought visionaries like Vandana Shiva…

In Grade 10 I read The Chrysalids, a John Wyndham science fiction that starts out describing an agrarian culture where they talk of God-like old people who could move the Earth into walls and hills. There were enough clues in the first chapter that I soon figured out that the book was describing the future, [...]

Ryan LeefMember of Parliament, YukonOpen Letter #13May, 2012
Dear Ryan,
Recently we watched a biography of Pete Seeger. We were aware of Seeger’s importance to folk song traditions and his social activism. But we were surprised to learn about his con…

The root of good, democratic government is the idea that the public are best served by having input into decisions that affect them. In a diverse, pluralistic society like Canada, with so many different regions, cultures, and industries, it’s even mo…

There has recently been a renewed interest in the question of whether the ecological crisis means we need to see (or plan for) a stabilization or even a decline in economic growth. This week there is a major conference on degrowth in Montreal. York Uni…

About this: “Ottawa to auction exploration rights in massive area in the North.” Looks like it’s go time in the Arctic: “…the sheer magnitude of what is on the block is a clear signal that some in the oil patch are contemp…

About this: “Ottawa to auction exploration rights in massive area in the North.” Looks like it’s go time in the Arctic: “…the sheer magnitude of what is on the block is a clear signal that some in the oil patch are contemplating a return north, becau…

By Richard K. BarryGreat to see Hawaii has become the first jurisdiction to impose a state-wide ban on plastic bags at the checkout counter. To make it happen, Honolulu County just joined the state’s three other counties.According to MSNBC, Pete Carlis…

Since my last article for Island Tides, Parliament has been dominated by the March 29 Budget and the April 26 budget implementation bill, Bill C-38. The first set out the fiscal plan with a heavy dose of promised laws to reduce/fast-track environmental…