BC’s Future Climate and Forest Types (video)

Anne Park Shannon at the Victoria Liberal AGM

Tonight I attended the Victoria Federal Liberal Riding Association’s Annual General Meeting and a new executive was elected. Anne Park Shannon said that as she was driving to the meeting this evening she became acutely aware that almost 3 months had passed since she was elected the Liberal Candidate for Victoria.

She described the time as passing in a whirlwind of activity, but one event that everyone expected didn’t come to pass. The anticipated Spring 2007 election was unexpectedly called off because the wheels started coming off the Harper bus. These “wheels” included the Quebec election, the blatantly obvious Con non-green plan or echo fraud, lack of accountability in Afghanistan, income trust anger, the business community’s deep concerns about Con budget errors on interest deductibility, missing student summer jobs, and Atlantic Canada’s outrage over breach of trust on the Atlantic accord.

Anne Park Shannon stated she never imagined Harper could get himself into this situation and the end result is the Cons are tanking in the polls. Some polls are now showing the Cons at 29%. What does this add up to? What does it mean for us? Well we don’t know for sure, but it might mean there won’t be an election until next fall, spring or even later.

Anne has assembled a 1^st rate campaign team and she really needs them because she is running against an NDP candidate who is well liked in the community. She has been getting out there, meeting lots of new wonderful people, shaking hands, attending lunches/dinners, knocking on doors, and generally trying to make herself as accessible as possible.

Many hands have made Anne’s efforts possible and it has been a team effort. Anne is grateful for all of the support she has received. She says all Liberals need to plug away by putting themselves out there to meet and talk to new people in the community. The winds of change are blowing, as noted in yesterday’s election of a Liberal in Calgary Elbow. It’s time for Liberals to get back David Anderson’s seat in Victoria.

I chatted briefly with Anne after her speech and she discussed her concerns around the NDP’s child care bill. This bill doesn’t actually have any teeth to provide new funding to child care, rather its focus is on criteria that should be in place if funding is ever implemented. Another lady came over to join us and she said to Anne “Well you will change that if you are elected”. Anne replied she would love to implement Ken Dryden’s plan, but the Cons are busily spending money hand over fist through free wheeling budgets and there may not be much left by the time the Liberals are elected to govern once again.

As this was an AGM, the Victoria riding association elected a new riding president, Mr. Jurgen Weyand. He announced some new goals for the new executive including more events, signing up more members, and focusing on issues important to local residents. Nothing is more important than taking the riding association into the next election and the riding association must strive to be as election ready as possible at all times. He hopes the new executive knows they signed up to work because there will be lots of work, but the association will also focus on working together and having fun.

Outgoing riding president, Russ Lazaruk said he felt pleased knowing he was leaving the riding association in the capable hands of Jurgen Weyand.

Jon Stewart Slams Nancy Grace (video)

I absolutely cannot stand Nancy Grace’s nightly non “news hour” shows on CNN so its nice to see Jon Stewart call this news drama queen on her ridiculous sensationalizing behaviours. I can understand one night a week…but 7? Come on now CNN guys/girls… have some mercy on your audience.

Reality Alert: Con Enviro Plan Won’t Meet the New G8 Targets Either

CanWest reports on a new analysis from CD Howe,

The Conservative government’s goal of slashing greenhouse gas pollution in half by 2050 would likely be out of reach by 2020, because of timid policies introduced in its new regulatory plan for large industries,

The CBC reports,

“The government is likely to miss its 2020 emissions target by almost 200 megatonnes. Moreover, because of this gap in 2020 between target and reality, it is unlikely that a future government would be able to achieve the ambitious 2050 target.”

Meanwhile the Canadian opposition’s revamped clean air bill C-288, which ensures Canada is adhering to our Kyoto targets is scheduled for a third reading. Apparently Baird is furiosly looking for a way out this opposition upset so the energy industry can continue to pollute unabated (e.g. oil sands). It looks like the Con game plan is going to be to try to ignore the new bill and continue the energy industry’s greenhouse gas free-for-all as planned through the Con Non-Enviro Plan. CanWest quotes Blidook,

“As the bill has already been reported in the Senate, I don’t think there is much else the government can do to stop it, short of having the government fall and calling an election,” Kelly Blidook

Balkenende: Keeping the Bread Buttered

A new poll by Decima research states the vast majority of Canadians want the troops home on schedule (h/t Canadian Observer) in 2009. The CBC reports,

The survey by Decima Research, released Monday to The Canadian Press, found that two-thirds of respondents want Canadian troops to come home when the current mandate from Parliament expires in February 2009.

Meanwhile the Dutch Prime Minister is now in Canada consulting with Harper on trade and keeping Dutch troops in Afghanistan. Coincidentally a majority of people in the Netherlands are also opposed to extending troop commitments past their current 2008 withdrawl date.

The CBC asked the Dutch prime minister if he is worried that a large majority of people in the Netherlands are opposed to having troops stay past their current withdrawal date. The Dutch Prime Minister responded that it doesn’t really matter what the polls say; what matters is that commitment in Afghanistan continue. Based on his excessive flattery of Canada, including a rather smarmy piece where he declares that “Canada is reminding Europe of our World War 2 heroics” and his facial expressions, I have a feeling both the Canadian and Dutch troops will be staying past 2009.

June 12th Update: If anyone is interested…. here is a newly published article in the Tyee on Royal Dutch Shell to go with the ones already linked within this post

Ron Paul Explains Blowback: GOP Debate 2 (video)

Ron Paul (video)

I had to blink twice and check again because I just couldn’t believe I was listening to a Republican. Go figure.

Biofuels and Ethanol (video)

Harper: Canada Needs the US to Hold our Hand Before We Can Cross the Street on Climate Change

CTV reports that Harper said Canada can’t fight climate change/rising greenhouse gases alone so we had to back out of our previous environmental commitments at the G8 summit (i.e. Kyoto). This is an ironic statement coming from a Prime Minister who says he believes it’s important that Canada be seen as a leader in the world (e.g. it’s role in Afghanistan). Overall I think this latest G8 performance shows Harper to be much more comfortable as a follower than a leader. Bush sure seemed happy by the end of that meeting. Can you blame him? Harper handed him just about everything he could have wanted.

It would be costly and difficult for Canada to meet greenhouse-gas targets unless the United States also signs an international emissions treaty, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Friday.

It seems to me that until the G8 conference arrived, Canada was not alone in being required to cut greenhouse gases. We were part of a real global agreement called Kyoto that required our country to cut emission’s along with many other countries that had signed on to the accord (including Russia). Many European countries have already begun to produce real reductions in emissions.

Just because the US did not join Kyoto does not mean we are not able to recognize a good thing for ourselves and go our own way. We didn’t go to Iraq either and look how right we were on that issue.

Since when do we need to have the US hold our hand before we can make decisions and take concrete positive action? When did we become a country that becomes immobilized by US inaction? Particularly on an issue as important to Canadians as the environment. I feel ashamed of our federal government’s saboteur role in this whole charade.

By 2100, one billion to three billion people worldwide are expected to suffer from water scarcity. Global warming will increase evaporation and severely reduce rainfall – by up to 20% in the Middle East and North Africa – with the amount of water available per person possibly halved by mid-century in these regions.

Thanks to Harper and Bush’s G8 wheeling and dealing, the Kyoto agreement/accord is dead replaced by some vague commitment to discuss another agreement at a meeting sometime in the future. Really sad.

G8 Deal on Climate Change and Wayword Future (videos)

View the G8 Climate Change video at this youtube link.

Also check out the Wayword Future video at: