Harper Disgraces Us All Once Again!

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Thanks! - Larry

                                                                                                      

Dear Editor,

Well, it looks as if Prime Minister Harper and his government are once again taking Canada's world reputation on a race to the bottom.

Many Canadians were already shaking their heads in disbelief when Mr. Harper disgraced this country's good name by turning his back on a binding international agreement to limit greenhouse gases which cause global warming.

Now, its asbestos. 
A Cdn. asbestos mine.
The Prime Minister's newly-minted government has brazenly refused to sign another international treaty which would simply have warned of its dangers. Asbestos causes deadly diseases including lung cancer. 

 (r.) This 58-year-old Canadian died in 2004 from mesothelioma, a cancer associated with asbestos exposure. (Courtesy Scotland on Sunday.)

Yet Ottawa continues to spin this indisputable fact because of the money it brings to the province of Quebec, where it is mined and exported abroad, often to developing countries. There, regulations are often lax, and those who are exposed to it have little knowledge of its deadly effects.

My own MP, Robert Sopuck (Conservative, Dauphin-Swan River-Marquette, l.), suggests there is confusion over the fact that there is more than one kind of such fibre in the world. 
Bob Sopuck, Honourable Member for "Asbestos East"
In an email to me, he points to "scientific reviews" which show the risks posed by the kind which Canada mines and exports "can be managed if adequate controls are put in place."  He doesn't spell out what scientific reviews he is referring to. 

According to the Canadian Cancer Society, Canada's asbestos exports contribute to cancer epidemics which kill 90,000 people, yearly! Not much room for confusion there, Mr. Sopuck!

Yet he refuses to admit that it is the Canadian kind that's responsible. He claims health problems showing up today are a result of "poor handling methods and high exposure levels, which were abandoned in the late '70s!"
 

I watched a TV documentary just a few months ago (not 3 decades), showing workers in India handling raw asbestos with their bare hands and nothing more than a kerchief over their faces! 

Courtesy, the Sierra Club

Are these the safe handling methods Mr. Sopuck implies are in use today?

His heroic attempts to divert attention from his government's outrageous behaviour simply do not fly with me. Nor will they, I trust, with many of my fellow Canadians.  Besides, if there are ways to handle asbestos safely, why didn't his government just sign the agreement so these could be included on the labels?                    

Sadly, that's not all.

Two years ago, according to the Ottawa Citizen, the government Mr. Sopuck now represents, covered up evidence from credible Health Canada scientists, tying asbestos to lung cancer. In the words of the newspaper, "It appears the government employs a variety of measures to suppress information on the threat to health posed by Canada’s asbestos."

Then, there's a final irony. Canada has, for years, been diligently removing asbestos from our own public buildings and even the Prime Minister's residence, because of the dangers it poses. If Mr. Harper is so convinced of its safety, why did he not simply leave it where it was?

Another disturbing aspect of all of this is the aura of environmentalism Mr. Sopuck has chosen to cloak himself in, while running for office and since. 

He regularly points out he was once a member of the National Round table for the Environment and Economy. Since his election, he has been chosen to serve on the Standing Commons Committee for the Environment and Sustainable Development.

Call me crazy. But would you not expect someone with his credentials, rather than defending such obvious affronts to anyone with a reasonable, environmental conscience, to be speaking out against them, instead?

Could it be that Canada is now a henhouse, firmly in the control of a strong, stable, national majority of Conservative foxes?

Larry Powell
Roblin, Manitoba
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References: "Canada's Asbestos Shame"
"Asbestos & Canada's Shame"

Manitoba Crop Report: Things Turn Hot & Dry

08/19/11 Manitoba CO-OPERATOR

After several months of cool wet weather, Manitoba has turned hot and dry... Details here.

Around Rosetown, Sask., 

farmers say they're worried 

the worst drought in decades 
could be underway. (CBC)

Please also read: Parched Prairies: Latest Drought a Sign of Things to Come? A university of Regina professor calls it climate change!

Climatologist Dave Phillips Blames Climate Change for Destructive Storms

The Canadian Press - Jul 19-11

OTTAWA - The freak windstorm that toppled the main stage at the Ottawa Bluesfest may be a sign of weather to come, warns a top climatologist. Details here.
PLT: I'd like to applaud Mr. Phillips for finally using the term "climate change," publicly. More and more scientists such as himself are moving away from the old line that "you can not link climate change to any particularly freak weather event." These freak events are becoming so common and widespread, only the most hidebound of "climate-denier" can any longer argue with any credibility against the fact that climate change is real, it is happening now and is very ominous, indeed.

Lions Could Be Extinct in 10-15 Years

Jul 16 - '11 PlanetSave

Lions, these wonderful big cats — I think there isn’t anybody who has ever avoided their charm — could be extinct in just 15 years. Details here.

Driving Energy-Efficient Cars Just Got Cheaper - for Winnipeggers

The City of Winnipeg offers incentive to buy hybrid cars. Details here.

The Use of a Herbicide has Taken Away a Home for Monarch Butterflies.

New York Times. Jul 15'11 
As recently as a decade ago, farms in the Midwest were commonly marred — at least as a farmer would view it — by unruly patches of milkweed. Details here.

Stop the Tar Sands Pipeline!

Natural Resources Defense Council - 07/15/11 

The proposed Keystone XL pipeline would carry
dirty tar sands oil from Canada’s Boreal forest to refineries in Texas, destroying songbird habitat, fueling global warming and threatening drinking water for millions of Americans.


Take action now.

US Opens Canada to GM Grass Contamination

Press Release: July 13, 2011, Canadian Biotechnology Action Network

 US Department of Agriculture will not regulate genetically modified bluegrass, decision could be applied to future GM crops

Ottawa. Canadian environmental groups today expressed new concerns about a serious threat of contamination from genetically modified (GM) plants across the U.S. border after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) decided last week not to regulate a GM herbicide-tolerant grass, potentially opening the door to similar decisions on future GM crops.

U.S. company Scotts Miracle Gro is now free to sell its herbicide-tolerant “Roundup Ready” Kentucky bluegrass in the U.S., without regulatory oversight. In an exchange of letters with Scotts, the USDA declared that it lacked authority over the new GM bluegrass because Scotts did not use a certain “plant pest” in the process of genetically engineering.

Superweed rendering by Paul Hoppe
“GM grass is a nightmare scenario for contamination into Canada,” said Lucy Sharratt of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, “GM plants do not stop at our border. To make matters worse, the grass is engineered to be tolerant to Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup, so the GM grass will add to the spread of superweeds. Herbicide tolerant weeds are already a major problem for U.S. farmers.”

“This is a transparent effort to avoid any government oversight,” said George Kimbrell of the Center for Food Safety, a U.S. sustainable agriculture non-profit. “USDA’s rubberstamp here illustrates a larger regulatory disfunction: the placing of biotech profit above protection of the environment and public.”

“Its unacceptable that corporations are being given the green light to contaminate our environment with genetically modified plants, and for what? Weed-free lawns and golf courses?” said Sharon Labchuk of EarthAction PEI.

“Genetically modified alfalfa plantings in the US are already a profound contamination concern for Canadian farmers, although we know GM alfalfa is under legal challenge,” stated Maureen Bostock of the Ecological Farmers of Ontario, “Because grasses and alfalfa are perennial, their contamination will just keep spreading year after year.”

“In the case of this GM grass, US regulation has gone from weak to nonexistent,” said Eric Darier of Greenpeace, “The stage is now set for the testing and commercial release of GM crops in the U.S. without any oversight whatsoever.”

Scotts licensed the “Roundup Ready” GM herbicide-tolerant technology from Monsanto which markets the brand-name Roundup herbicide. The GM Kentucky bluegrass is intended for lawns while Scotts also has a GM creeping bentgrass, intended for use on golf courses, that has been on the list for commercialization since 2002. Scotts was fined $500,000 in 2007 after its GM bentgrass spread from from field tests in Oregon.

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For more information: Lucy Sharratt, Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, 613 241 2267 ext 25; George Kimbrell, Center for Food Safety, 415 826 2770; Sharon Labchuk, EarthAction PEI, 902 621 0719; Maureen Bostock, Ecological Farmers of Ontario, 613 259 5757; Eric Darier, Greenpeace, cell 514 605 6497.

The Great American Carbon Bomb

Jul 14 '11 TomDispatch.com

These days, even ostriches suffer from heat waves. Details here.

CBAN Clarifies Canada's Position on GM Food Labelling.

On July 11th, PLT reported that regulators from more than 100 countries had agreed on guidance on the labelling of GM foods. Read: "Consumer Rights Victory as US Ends Opposition to GM Labelling Guidelines"

I then asked Lucy Sharratt of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network to clarify what Canada's position is on this old and contentious issue. Here is her response.  (Emphasis mine.)
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Dear Larry,

Thank you for your question.

Canada allowed the Codex agreement to be finalized, after trying to stop it and/or sabotage it in various ways over the years.

So, officially Canada has agreed to the Codex labelling guidance which, according to the Codex press office: "World food standard body, the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission has stated that governments are free to decide on whether and how to label foods derived from modern biotechnology, including foods containing genetically-modified organisms. The labelling should be done in conformity with the text approved by the Codex Commission, to avoid potential trade barrier. The decision, which will help inform consumers' choices regarding genetically-modified foodstuffs, was taken at the 34th Session of the Commission, held inGeneva from 4-9 July 2011.  More than 600 delegates from 145 of the 184 member countries, UN, inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations attended."

As you know, however, the Canadian government does not support mandatory labelling in Canada.

The Codex guidance is not mandatory so no country is compelled to label.

Please let me know if you would like further information or clarity. Thanks, Best, Lucy

Happy 100th Birthday Parks Canada!

Nature Canada - The Parks Canada Agency, the World's oldest parks service, is reaching an important milestone: 100 yrs. of overseeing one of the most extensive, best-managed & highly-respected parks systems in the world. Details here.

In or near Jasper National Park. 
All photos by PLT.