Sharon Roling

CETA’s municipal implications “ringing alarm bells across the country” (Toronto Star)

An article in today’s Toronto Star warns that municipal procurement provisions in CETA are “ringing alarm bells across the country” and  that the proposed Canada-EU trade deal’s “effects on Toronto could be serious.”

The Star article quotes a recent City of Toronto staff report warning that CETA could impact Toronto’s hiring, local food procurement, strategic procurement and transit procurement policies, especially in regards to any requirements for local or Canadian content.

To read the full Toronto Star article, click here

To download the report on CETA from the City of Toronto’s general manager, click here

 

Gateway pipeline will hurt Canada’s economy says report

A new report says the Northern Gateway pipeline would boost crude oil prices $2 to $3 per barrel annually over the next 30 years, causing significant damage to consumers, businesses and the Canadian economy.

The economic assessment of the $5.5-billion project by former Insurance Corporation of British Columbia CEO Robyn Allan says the price shock will have “a negative and prolonged impact on the Canadian economy by reducing output, employment labour income and government revenues.”

To download Robyn Allan’s study, click here

Report on Leaked CETA Documents shows threat to Water Services

A briefing note on recently leaked CETA documents shows that Canada and the provinces are failing to protect drinking water and wastewater services from trade rules that would encourage and lock in privatization. In contrast, the EU’s CETA offer specifically protects it’s own water and wastewater services.

To read the full report from the Council of Canadians and Canadian Union of Public Employees, click here.

Climate change could cost Canada billions: report

Canada can expect to pay $5 billion per year by 2020 and between $21 billion and $43 billion each year by 2050 if it fails to come up with a domestic plan within a global agreement to tackle climate change, according to an assessment released by a federal advisory panel.

Other key findings from the report by the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy include:

  • Timber supply impacts could range from $2 billion to $17 billion per year, with high impacts in B.C.
  • Flooding damages to coastal dwellings could cost between $1 billion to $8 billion per year. 
  • Poorer air quality resulting from higher temperatures will result in millions of dollars in costs to local health care systems in Canada’s major cities.
  • The economic benefits of investing in adaptation outweigh the costs of simply letting rising climate impacts and costs occur

The full report and an executive summary can be downloaded here

Billionaire Warren Buffet says rich should pay more taxes

Multi-billionaire US investor Warren Buffet says that that wealthy people like himself are not paying their fair share of taxes and governments need to start collecting more revenue from the ‘super rich’.

To read Buffet’s New York Times op-ed, titled “Stop Coddling the Super Rich”, click here

Is it bad for cities to be in debt? Not necessarily

With all the talk of government debt recently — Toronto, $4.7 billion; Ontario, $240 billion; the U.S., $14.6 trillion — the spectacular figures and the concept of debt itself have become so abstract many people don’t even understand the conversation. The Toronto Star recently spoke with Dr. Enid Slack, director of the University of Toronto’s Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance, Ryerson urban planning professor and municipal finance expert David Amborski and senior staff in the City of Toronto’s finance department to answer the ABC’s of how municipal debt works.

To read the Star article, click here 

 

Poll: BC residents support using carbon tax to fund health care and education

Most British Columbians support carbon taxes, according to a recent poll by the Pembina Institute. The poll found that 69 per cent of respondents supported applying the carbon tax to all sources of greenhouse gas pollution, and 56 per cent supported using the tax revenue for health care and education.

Click here for the Pembina Institute’s press release and analysis of the poll results.

 

 

Wild weather hammers home case for green jobs

Written by Charley Beresford.
Read this story on The Tyee

Recent spring flooding across Canada, and the carnage wrought by tornadoes in the American Midwest, are terrifying reminders of the potential implications of climate change. Let’s face it, Mother Nature is mad as hell, and she’s not going to take it anymore. These dramatic climate events are a sign of what our planet is in for if we don’t clean up our act and dramatically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions — fast.

So-called “green jobs” are also top of mind for many politicians at every level of government, and for good reason. With fisheries in decline, oil and gas becoming harder and more expensive to extract, pine beetles on the offensive in B.C. forests and energy prices increasing every day, Canadians know we no longer rely on traditional resource industries alone to fuel our economy.

Last week, municipal representatives from across Canada met in Halifax for the annual Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) conference. Climate change — and how municipalities can prepare to deal with it — were a hot topic, and to help frame that conversation, the Columbia Institute released our study, This Green House — Building Fast Action on Climate Change and Green Jobs.

Financial innovations

The report examines the role Canadian municipalities can play in setting up financing programs for residential energy retrofits, whereby loans provided to homeowners by municipalities, financial institutions, utilities or other funders can be paid back gradually through small payments on property taxes or utility bills — removing a key financial barrier for many homeowners.

Loan payments can be made from energy bill savings, and because municipalities are providing loans — not grants — to homeowners, there is no net cost to municipalities and their ratepayers.

In 2008, heating, cooling and electricity use in buildings accounted for 28 per cent of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions from energy use. Our research shows that modest investments in energy conservation in homes can save Canadian homeowners thousands of dollars, and dramatically and rapidly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Canada. With energy efficiency retrofits, Canadian homeowners have earned average energy savings of between 26 and 35 per cent per home.

And that’s not all. Energy efficiency retrofits create 20 jobs — green jobs — for each $1 million invested, compared with the oil and gas industry in Canada, which creates only 5.2 jobs for each $1 million invested. Clearly, energy efficiency retrofits don’t just make good environmental sense — they make good economic sense, too.

Save money in the long run

So what’s the bottom line? At current energy prices, a homeowner can double their return — over $12,000 on an average $6,000 investment in energy efficiency over 25 years — by making simple changes like upgrading hot water tanks, home heating and cooling systems, and improving weatherization and insulation of homes. With energy prices going up every year, the savings to homeowners will increase even more over time.

A small investment in one’s home — supported with loans provided at the municipal level — will give homeowners significant energy savings that they can take to the bank. Successful programs in San Francisco, Portland and Colorado — along with similar projects underway Winnipeg and Halifax — show that these programs are both affordable and effective.

The concept of municipal financing of energy efficiency retrofits is gaining momentum across Canada — with support from city councillors like Andrea Reimer in Vancouver, Charlie Clark in Saskatoon and Shelley Carroll in Toronto. In fact, the Vancouver City Council just approved an energy efficiency retrofit pilot project for Vancouver homeowners last week.

The next step is getting the regulatory changes necessary to make these kinds of partnerships possible in communities across Canada — municipalities need the support of their provincial governments to establish municipal retrofit financing mechanisms

A modest investment in energy conservation will save homeowners thousands over time — and save the environment at the same time. The time for action is now.

DOWNLOAD FULL REPORT: This Green House: Building Fast Action for Climate Change and Green Jobs

Ontario’s child care system faces ‘catastrophic collapse’

The loss of $63.5 million in federal funding and launch of full-day kindergarten may cause the collapse of Ontario’s child care system. In the absence of federal funding, thousands of childcare subsidies will be cut and parent fees will rise. All other provinces managed to avoid cutting services. Read the full story in The Toronto Star.

Islands Trust Launches Food Security Project

The Islands Trust Council, a federation of local governments representing BC’s islands, has launched a project aimed at increased food security. The council aims to support food security by creating policies that relate to land-use planning, development, environmental conservation, and socio-economic sustainability. Read the full story at CivicInfo BC.

Richmond approves $60-million to buy Garden City lands

In a 7-2 vote, Richmond council approved setting aside $59.2 million for the purchase of the Garden City lands.

Although Mayor Malcolm Brodie didn’t like the terms of the deal, he said a deal’s been brokered with the Musqueam Indian Band and the Canada Lands Company, and it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to vote against it at this point.

But Brodie made his position clear during the special meeting of council Mionday, in which Coun. Sue Halsey-Brandt participated via conference call.

“It’s not the deal I would have made,” he said.

While council members shared slightly different opinions and concerns, they were united in their desire to obtain the 55-hectare (136.5-acre) site.

What divided them was the way to go about it.

“We all want a large urban park in the centre of Richmond,” said Coun. Greg Halsey-Brandt, shortly before registering his opposition. He said spending $59.2 million of taxpayers money simply to grow blueberries and cranberries is “irresponsible.”

At the heart of the concern raised by those in opposition to the deal is the uncertainty that lies in buying an expensive parcel of land controlled by a third party, in this case the Agricultural Land Commission.

About a half dozen members of the public spoke about the Garden City lands becoming Richmond’s answer to New York’s Central Park, but Coun. Evelina Halsey-Brandt, her husband Greg, and Mayor Brodie pointed out the flaws in that vision.

With the land commission twice having nixed plans for the lands, there’s no certainty that future bids to reshape the parcel to include sports fields or parks would be approved.

“I just don’t want the public to be misled. This vision of Stanley Park just doesn’t fit,” Greg Halsey-Brandt said, noting that Stanley Park has a whole host of family-focused activities that might never appear at the Garden City lands.

Even sports fields and parks would require the commission to grant an exemption to the land.

Evelina Halsey-Brandt said there was no pressure on council to hammer out a deal now, and said there was no reason to keep the deal-making hidden from public scrutiny.

She’d rather have seen the public be given the right to vote on the deal, through a referendum.

The land sale won’t be approved until a second council vote at an upcoming public meeting.

Garden City lands advocate Jim Wright expressed his view that council really has no choice.

“This can never possibly happen again. We cannot waste this opportunity,” Wright said.

Richmond Food Security Society co-ordinator Arzeena Hamir said even if the land is used solely for farming, the expenditure of $59.2 million is worth it.

“This is an urban agriculture site,” Hamir said, noting the possibility that people living in the downtown core of Richmond will be able to walk across the street and do their own gardening. Buying a massive amount of farmland in the eastern half of the city simply wouldn’t be the same.

She also pointed to the city’s purchase of the Terra Nova lands.

“I think the Terra Nova investment has been well worth it.”

School trustee Carol Day said learning of the news about the proposed deal “is the best news I’ve read in a very long time.”

“It’s a good deal for Richmond. It’s a good deal for the Musqueam. It’s a good deal for the Canada Lands Company.”

Coun. Ken Johnston said debating the use of the land before actually owning it isn’t prudent.

“Ownership is job one,” he said.

Coun. Harold Steves said Monday afternoon’s debate sounded just like the debate of two decades ago, when councillors questioned the merits of buying Terra Nova.

He said about 34 hectares (85 acres) of the Garden City lands parcel comprises top quality soil for farming, while the remaining 21 hectares (51 acres) is damaged, and might require the addition of clay topsoil, thereby allowing for the creation of playing fields.

He said the land commission allowed for the building of churches and places of worship on No. 5 Road-Richmond’s so-called Highway to Heaven-and other proposals that would benefit farmland would be dealt with in the same fashion, he suggested.

The city’s offer-revealed for the first time in a late Friday afternoon notice of a special council meeting at 4 p.m. on Monday, March 8-has already been accepted by the Musqueam Indian Band and the Canada Lands Company.

The agreement is unconditional and needs to be completed before March 31, 2010.

“It’s a dream come true,” Richmond Coun. Bill McNulty said Monday morning. “It’s something the sporting community has been working on for 35 years…I couldn’t be more happy.”

McNulty said he believed the proposal will pass easily.

“Some may make political speeches (but) this is not a political item, this is a need for the community.”

Before Monday’s meeting, Coun. Evelina Halsey-Brandt said she voted against the plan during a meeting held behind closed doors, and that Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie and former mayor and current councillor Greg Halsey-Brandt also objected.

“It’s an absolute farce of the public process,” Evelina Halsey-Brandt said. “I am absolutely appalled that the public was left out, when there’s no need for them to be left out.”

There was no need to rush into spending nearly $60 million on a parcel of land that wasn’t going to be developed any time soon, after the Agricultural Land Commission twice nixed plans for the land put forward by the city and the Musqueam Indian Band, she said.

At the very least, the public should have been brought into the decision making process through a referendum, she added.

What’s doubly troubling is that the city has no real plans for the land, which prompts her to wonder why the rush to do this in such a secretive manner. Placing playing fields, or even a coach house, would still require the lands commission to grant an exclusion.

The offer of $59.17 million taps into the Community Legacy and Land Replacement Reserve created from the sale and lease of lands surrounding the Richmond Olympic Oval.

The city had expected to sell the oval lands for $43 million, but instead Aspac Developments came forward with a $141 million bid that generated a $98 million reserve for future land acquisition.

If approved by council, the deal would mean the entire Garden City site would become the property of the City of Richmond, while remaining part of the Agricultural Land Reserve and bound by those land-use restrictions.

The city’s offer works out to about $433,000 an acre, which lands advocate JIm Wright noted is far less than the $2.5 million per acre that the city’s spent on park land in recent years.

McNulty said he believes the city should next set its sights on the Department of National Defence lands, a 59.2-hectare (146.3-acre) site bounded by Alderbridge Way, No. 4 Road, Westminster Highway and Shell Road.

That would allow a contiguous green strip to connect the Garden City lands-as McNulty called it, Richmond’s version of New York’s famed Central Park-and Richmond Nature Park.

By Martin van den Hemel – Richmond Review  March 9, 2010