Why People Don't Believe in Climate Science, or "It's OK to be Smart!" (Video)

Tarsands Leak Fouls Aquifer In Alberta, Canada. Is it an Isolated Incident?

Winnipeg Free Press

A Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. tarsands operation that has contaminated a groundwater aquifer is renewing questions about a technology that has already been linked to another serious leak in northern Alberta. Story here. 

Fracking Dealt Another Setback by Quebec Report

THE GLOBE & MAIL

Quebec’s environmental bureau has dealt a setback to companies that want to use hydraulic fracturing techniques to develop the province's promising shale gas deposits, saying it appears the economic benefits would not outweigh the environmental costs. Story here.

Related: "Free Trade - Path to Prosperity or Back Road to Corporatism?"

More Good News for Canada's Embattled, World-Class Experimental Lakes Area.

New charitable status will allow Experimental Lakes Area to realize full fundraising potential.

WINNIPEG—The International Institute for Sustainable Development-Experimental Lakes Area (IISD-ELA) is pleased to announce that it has now been granted full charitable status from the Canada Revenue Agency. This is a crucial step in allowing the world-class freshwater research facility to reach its full fundraising potential and to realize its research, educational and operational goals.

Overgrowth

By George Monbiot

Every child should visit an abattoir. If you disagree, ask yourself why. Story here.

Related: "Saving the Planet, One Meal at aTime."

Concerns About Roundup Ready Alfalfa Raised at National Forage Meeting in Canada

Manitoba Co-Operator

Many forage and forage seed importers have zero tolerance for GM crops, including alfalfa. Story here.

Out to Pasture.

National Farmers Union (NFU) Urges Western Provincial Governments to Purchase Canadian Wheat Board Assets

National Farmers Union

Bringing in the wheat. Larry Powell PinP photo.

(Deleau, MB) - The NFU is urging the governments of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and BC to become actively engaged in the federal government’s plan to dispose of the farmer-paid Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) assets. Story here.

The Murder of Women (Femicide): A Humanitarian Crisis in Central America, and a Growing Problem Worldwide

La Via Campesina

El Salvador has had the highest rate of femicide in the world, with 2, 250 between 2010 and 2013. Guatemala has the third and Honduras the seventh highest rate of femicides.   In Guatemala, only 2% of murdered women's cases were investigated in 2013 and likewise in Honduras less than 2% were investigated.  For cases that somehow make it to court in Guatemala, 90% of defendants are not convicted. It is much the same in El Salvador.  In 2014 alone, between January and October, over 300  bodies of young women between the ages of 12 and 18 years old have been found in unmarked common  graves.

Another 5,000 Farms Disappear Under Conservatives

New Democratic Party

OTTAWA – New numbers from Statistics 

Canada reveal that the number of farms in 

Canada continues to decline.  

 “In just one year, almost 5,000 farms of all sizes disappeared from the Canadian landscape. We need to act now to help farming families and protect our local food system,” said Agriculture critic Malcom Allen (Welland), “With food prices going up, the last thing we need is less security in our food supply.”

 Earlier this year, New Democrats raised the alarm that less than a tenth of farms are operated by an owner under the age of 40.  

 “Conservatives are turning a blind eye as our rural economies suffer. We need to give our family farms the support they need before they disappear,” added deputy critic Ruth Ellen Brosseau (Berthier – Maskinongé).

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For more information, please contact:

Véronique Breton, Press Secretary, (613) 408-1483 or veroniqu...@parl.gc.ca

 http://www.ndp.ca/news/another-5000-farms-dissappear-under-conservatives

Why so Many Canadian Farmers Miss the Wheat Board

The Globe and Mail

An historic row of wooden grain elevators, restored to their past glory in Inglis, Manitoba - for tourists. Larry Powell PinP photo.

Exhilaration soon turned to dismay as farmers tried to capitalize on their good fortune. Canada produces the best wheat in the world, and the 2013 harvest was potentially worth between $6 billion and $9 billion on the open market. But when it came to buying the wheat and delivering it overseas, the privatized marketing chain seemed paralyzed with incompetence. Story here.