Posts

Stephen Harper and the NDP

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Act Up in Saskatchewan John W. Warnock    It is a year this week since the last federal election. Active members and supporters of the New Democratic Party (NDP) celebrate this event, for their party passed the Liberals to finally become Her Majesty's Official Opposition in the House of Commons. However, others, like myself, remember that day for the fact that Stephen Harper and his Canadian Alliance/Reform Party colleagues were able to squeeze out a majority of the seats in the House of Commons. For us, it was a day of mourning. Full story here.

Forest Fires on Rampage in Northern Ontario - is This Climate Change?

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Winnipeg Free Press  Timmons under state of emergency. Full story here.  (Christine Rosche/Ministry of Natural Resources/Canadian Press)

Stop the Pipeline - Join the Movement

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Greenpeace Canada

Local Paper Gives Editorial Support to Citizens in the Rural Municipality of Shell River

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Roblin, Manitoba - The Roblin Review in this west-central Manitoba town has come to the defense of citizens trying to get information about a new sewage lagoon their RM is planning. See editorial, below. Please also read Larry's letter-to-the-editor here.

Ottawa Appeals Court Declaration That Said it Broke Wheat Board Law

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By: Steve Rennie, The Canadian Press May 23  - '12   PLT photo OTTAWA - The latest chapter in the long and bitter saga of the Canadian Wheat Board played out Wednesday in the Federal Court of Appeal. Full story here.

What Cost, the War On Weeds?

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By Melody M. Bomgardner - Chemical and Engineering News PLT photo New crop traits that allow use of older herbicides may help farmers manage resistant weeds. Full story here.

Pollution in Thunderstorms is Warming the Atmosphere

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Planetsave PLT photo Summer thunderstorm clouds strengthened by pollution are warming the atmosphere, says a new study by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. Full story here.

The Play's the Thing to Catch Conscience of Parliament

Frances Russell - Winnipeg Free Press It's time for opposition brinksmanship in Ottawa; time for real drama to highlight Parliament's degradation. Full story here.

Scientists Lash Harper Government for Pulling Plug on Experimental Lakes Area

By: Mary Agnes Welch - Winnipeg Free Press Scientists from Harvard University, the Smithsonian Institute, and other elite research centres are condemning a decision by the Harper government to shut down a world-class freshwater research program. Details here.

Canada Asked to Address 'Reality' of Food Insecurity

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May 16'12 Manitoba Co-operator UN rapporteur flags poverty, obesity, Aboriginal issues . Details here. Customers line up at a farmers'  market in Regina. PLT photo.

A Rural Municipality in Manitoba Gets Served With Freedom of Information Papers

Dear Editor, I guess only time will tell whether my local government, the RM of Shell River, will opt to build another earthen sewage lagoon, this one in the country west of Roblin, or turn to more modern technology for the treatment of human waste.          (Read earlier story here.)       A Manitoba company called Blue Diamond Technologies, Ltd., briefed the Council last week on its own, more modern system which is already treating hog waste right here in this province. Three company officials presented details of their technology to the last RM meeting. They explained they are already testing their system on sewage in the Town of Carman. They maintain their way is not only more eco-friendly but likely cheaper than a lagoon, as well. The Reeve and Councillors gave them a fair hearing and asked questions to get more information. I've certainly read and heard enough to know, I think, that there are many drawbacks with the old-style lagoons. Given this fact, and based