Toronto’s “The Stop” is not a typical foodbank. In addition to giving groceries, it also provides meals prepared from local foods, a community garden for patrons, and important community connections. Read the article in The Tyee.
Centre for Civic Governance
The Centre for Civic Governance works to support community leadership meeting today’s social and environmental challenges: climate change, Canada’s increasing equity gap, and shifting social trends. At the Centre for Civic Governance, our goal is to strengthen Canadian communities through sharing best practices, providing tools for locally elected leaders, and progressive policy analysis. We strive to provide knowledge and information to make real and positive social change.
Humans Consuming Beyond the Earth’s Capacity
A new Living Planet report shows that humanity’s ecological footprint has more than doubled since 1966. In 2007 humans used "the equivalent of 1.5 earths in 2007 to support their activities." Find report and summary here.
Schools Looking Outside the Box to Increase Enrolement
An East Vancouver school on the verge of being shut down due to decreased enrollment is hoping to attract new students by introducing multicultural arts-based programs. Read article in Vancouver Sun.
Tax Hikes Popular in Calgary
The City of Calgary has just released a poll that shows the number of people who support an increase in property taxes to cover services has jumped from 48% in 2009 to 55% in 2010. The survey also showed that 94% of citizens thought the overall quality of services in Calgary is good. Read article in the Calgary Sun.
Vancouver-based Recollective and Design Nerds Launch Green Building Design Website
Members of Vancouver based Recollective and Design Nerds have launched an interactive data-sharing site that celebrates green buildings, strategies and companies. Check it out here.
Are We Working Too Much?
Distored work-life balance is a public health crisis and a has a negative impact on the economy. The stress of prioritizing responsibilities in the home and in the workplace has become a major issue for Canadian adults. Find out more information in the week-long series in The Globe and Mail.
CCPA Publishes a Report on Improving BC’s Food Systems.
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) has just released a report on Climate Justice and BC’s food system titled “Every Bite Counts”. The report suggests a new framework is in order for BC’s food system and that we can no longer rely on the market to deliver food that supports local economies or is nutritious or ecologically sound.
Private Members Bill Seeks to Ban Single-Use Plastic Bags Across Canada.
NDP MLA for London-Fanshawe, Irene Mathyssen, will be putting forth a private members bill today that seeks to ban single-use plastic bags across Canada. Canada takes home over 55 million plastic bags each week, 75% of which end up in landfills. Read more in CTV News.
A New Coalition—Business and Education Leaders, and the Mayor Make the Case for More Education Funding
Surrey business leaders, education leaders and Mayor Diane Watts have joined together to appeal for more education funding. Surrey has the largest public-school district in the province and the local board of trade has argued that education is a cornerstone of a stable economy.The Surrey board of trade recently released a paper titled Education Today, Productivity Tomorrow.
Read Janet Steffenhagen’s article in the Vancouver Sun.
Newly Elected Calgary Mayor Talks About the Youth Vote, Social Media and Encouraging Meaningful Dialogue on Civic Issues
Listen to newly elected Calgary Mayor, Naheed Nenshion, talk to Anna Maria Tremonti on CBC radio’s The Current, about pluralism, community diversity, and about his mayoral campaign that reached out to young voters, used social media and worked hard to engage citizens on civic issues.
OECD Report Recommends Taxing Polluting Industries to Help Fund Green Technologies
The OECD has released a report describing how taxes – a key policy tool– are being used to encourage local and global environmental goals. It draws on case studies from the UK, Israel, Sweden, Spain, Japan and others. Download the executive summary here.
United Nations Report Documents the Economic Benefits of Nature Conservation
The report, titled “Mainstreaming the Economics of Nature,” is written by Pavan Sukhdev, a banker who heads the UN’s green economy initiative, and describes the global tendency to take advantage of nature’s free services without applying economic value to them. The report points out that deforestation costs millions of dollars in flooding, greenhouse gas emissions, and water purification- more money than it provides to the world’s economy. Canada does a poor job of acknowledging the economic realities of environmental degradation and ranks 29th out of 33 countries in “creating economic incentives to reduce pollution and conserve nature.”