Once again the Regional Council voted 16 to 12 in favour of building and operating an incinerator in our region and I can only shake my head in disbelief. Aside from the possibility of health and environmental disasters, the cost of this project is unbelievable and that money could be put to much better use. The incinerator will cost about $250 million to build, that is if there are no cost overruns or price increases and we all know how likely that is. And then there is the cost of running this thing every year. The company chosen to build and run the project has a very poor track record in labour relations and in meeting the emissions standards set out by the state where they currently operate, they don’t operate anywhere in Canada though they have tried. And so our next step is to petition the Ministry of the Environment. Join us at the Green Party tent at Lakeview Park on Canada Day and sign our petition.
Lets Create Jobs in Canada!
There are so many ways the government could spend “bailout” money, and the creation of high speed rail lines is a big one. Thousands of jobs would be created through this one initiative, providing summer jobs for students, construction jobs, steel production jobs, train cars to be built, rail lines to be manufactured and the jobs to maintain and operate these lines. With this one initiative the government could pull Canada out of recession quickly and easily. We don’t want jobs that will employ a few hundred until the snow flies. A high speed rail system would employ thousands for generations.
Incinerator, What Incinerator?
I just got back from the Durham Region Headquarters, where I spent most of the day today sitting through the marathon Regional Council “Committee of the Whole” meeting. While I was not present to hear all delegations – there were 80 or so scheduled – those I did have the chance to listen to speak were thoughtful, insightful and presented clear and in my humble opinion, unequivocal evidence against the construction of the proposed incinerator. On the Council side, it was embarrassing to witness the lack of respect some members chose to show to the very citizens that helped elect them in the first place! On the lighter side of things, Councilor Rick Johnson of Pickering managed to catch forty winks on several occasions while delegates were speaking.
To those concerned, the final vote by Council is to take place a week Wednesday on 24 June. It is not too late, if you are opposed sent your message to the Councillors in your area. Let them know how you feel. You can visit Durham Environment Watch to find e-mail addresses of your Councillors. If your are thinking to yourself, “What incinerator?” or are still not quite convinced, there is plenty of research to be found from various sources on the internet, I encourage you to do your due diligence.
Celebrate Canada Day at Lakeview Park
Oshawa has a new candidate for the Green Party, Gail Bates. Have a question, concern or idea you would like to share with her? Well come out July 1st and help Gail and the Oshawa Greens celebrate Canada Day at Lakeview Park. The booth will be running from noon until 5pm. Check out our tent, sit and chat for awhile, just make sure you say hello! Gail Bates looks forward to meeting everyone as we unite in celebration of this great country we call home.
Happy Canada Day Everyone!!!!!!!
Celebrating Durham Pride
Gail Bates and other members of the Oshawa Green Party were glad to attend the Durham Pride event held at Heydenshore Park and Pavilion in Whitby yesterday. Working alongside Green members from the Durham and Whitby-Oshawa ridings they helped man a table that brought attention to issues that residents of Oshawa are currently concerned about, predominately the impending vote on the incinerator. Gail Bates was happy to be able to meet voters of the LGBT community and to show her support that Oshawa remains a community that not only embraces diversity but also celebrates it.
Greens’ Five Point Plan for the GM Bailout
Now that we all own a failed automaker, we must make better decisions looking forward. Trying to push more cars into an over-saturated market will only compound GMs woes and make life harder for the other automakers. Instead, we need to begin transforming our transportation and manufacturing to something suited for a greener 21st century. The Green Party proposes a 5-point plan for best use of this new public asset.
- Phase out all standard auto manufacture; shift current auto production to cutting edge technology for the cars of the future.
- Create a government tender for all future fleet purchases to be electric, hybrid or alternate fuels to create guaranteed market demand.
- Re-tool idle plants for production of high-efficiency, hybrid or electric buses for growing public transit systems.
- Re-start TrentonWorks under GM ownership to build electric and high-speed rail cars and stimulate the Canadian steel industry with new rail lines.
- Re-assign idle auto plants for manufacture of solar panels and wind turbine generators to meet growing domestic and world demand.
Government fleets can jump-start demand for domestic hybrid and electric vehicles, which have a bright future in the global market. The new owners of Opel (GM Europe), Magna Corp., have announced they want to build and sell an electric car in Canada, so there is already private-sector interest in this direction.
The renewed interest (and funding) for high speed rail in the United States indicates a market for rolling stock which Canadians have already shown an ability to build. Smart Canadian governments will follow the American example and create high-speed rail in Canada, meaning more production jobs right here.
“CAW workers already staff VIA trains, so they can close the circle on jobs in rail, while stimulating the Canadian steel industry, by building the rails as well,” Elizabeth May noted. “Furthermore, support for sustainable technologies has already created 300,000 jobs in Germany, more than we face losing in the Canadian auto industry.”
In general, we should turn away from trying to re-start a stalled business model selling American cars people don’t want, and instead aim ourselves at meeting growing demand for cleaner, greener technology like wind, solar, and rail. The growing North American market for greener transportation can offset the weakness in the car market, which contributed to GMs fall, and protect the value of our reluctant investment.
Press Release, 21-May-2009
