Alberta’s Climate Plan: Game Changed

Ever have one of those days when all the assumptions you had about an issue turned upside down? Today (November 22^nd) is one of those days.

Addressing climate change in Canada has long been an intractable problem. This is because, despite the slowly transforming economies and declining carbon pollution emissions in Ontario, Quebec and B.C., Alberta’s emissions were growing at a breakneck pace and wiping out the reductions happening everywhere else. As a result Canadian governments were left with two options: deny or avoid the problem, or force change on Alberta.

Needless to say previous federal governments have consistently chosen door one.

But today’s climate change announcement in Alberta could change all that forever. The new plan will:

• Cap the carbon emissions from the tar sands at 100 MT and eventually force them to decline
• Close the fleet of coal electricity plants by 2030, drastically reducing both deadly local air pollution and also massive amounts of carbon emissions
• Increase the amount of renewable electricity on the grid to 30% by the same year
• See Alberta join with Ontario, Quebec and B.C. in putting a price on carbon pollution. Alberta’s price will start at $20/year in 2017, rise to $30 in 2018 and then rise annually. Money from the fee will be invested in programs to further reduce carbon emissions and help to ensure that price increases don’t harm citizens with limited income
• Significantly reduce waste methane emissions from oil and gas wells that are also important causes of climate change

This is a historic moment for Alberta and Canada. This is a commitment to tangible and aggressive climate action and we all should applaud Alberta for this huge change in direction.

Based on this announcement, Alberta’s carbon pollution should soon peak and start to decline. This is a fundamental pivot after years of uncontrolled carbon emissions growth and it removes one of the largest barriers to developing a meaningful Canadian climate strategy.

This announcement also sets Alberta on a path toward diversifying its economy and recognizing that a global transition away from fossil fuels is essential if the world as we know it is to survive. The money collected from a new price on carbon pollution can be invested in more energy efficient homes and businesses, new clean technology and renewable energy jobs.

With this move from Alberta, there is now nothing standing in the federal government’s way of developing a credible climate strategy and following Alberta’s lead by setting a limit on carbon pollution in Canada. Canada can now move ahead and fulfill its promise to cut carbon pollution in line with global science-based targets. 

Today’s announcement is very good news for Albertans and Canadians. It will help protect us all from dangerous climate change, set the scene for Canada to restore our good name, and places the country and the province in a solid position to harness the opportunities for growth in a clean economy.

This is the beginning of something new, folks. I am looking forward to a new Canada on the stage in Paris at the U.N. climate negotiations.

Guest blogger, Tim Gray, Executive Director of Environment Defence www.environmentaldefence.ca/

Youth as Problem Solvers

Last month at the Air Canada Center in Toronto I learned a very important lesson. I learned that together anyone can make a difference if WE believe that WE are powerful. I learned this at WE Day. WE Day is an event by invitation only. It's a gathering of famous people that help young people to be inspired to make a change in our world.

At WE Day we listened to a lot of empowering people.  My personal favourite was Craig Kielburger (the founder of Free the Children) precisely because of what he said, “We need to stop thinking that the youth are a problem that needs to be solved, and realize that they are the problem solvers!”

Craig Kielburger also reminded us (the audience) that as the next generation the future is in our hands. It gave me the confidence and courage I needed to believe that I too can make a difference.

During the school year our Social Justice Group is focusing on different issues. Currently, the Club at my school (St. Gabriel Catholic Elementary School, Windsor) is doing a campaign called WE Scare Hunger. What we did was to collect cans from October 15 to November 6 and we donated them to the Windsor Downtown Mission. Craig and many other speakers such as Demi Lovato and Henry Winkler gave us the confidence to beat our school record of over 4000 cans last year.

Youth guest blogger, Evan Bonyai 

For more information about this youth engagement movement can be found on We Day website at http://www.weday.com/what-is-we-day/our-story/

Photo: Evan's "Selfie" 

A Legacy of Resilience

As we witness the unfolding of the terrorist attacks in Paris this weekend, I am reminded of an excellent book I read earlier this year, The Nightingale set in France during the years of World War II. The story highlights the courage of the French people who were involved in the Resistance Movement during that time, but this is particularly the story of the courage of women – that of two sisters – who worked fearlessly, in different ways, to free or protect the citizens of France from the horror of the Nazi Regime.

The sisters, of very different temperament and ability to act, are forced to deal with the turmoil and despair of war, each with immense courage in whatever way they are able. Kristin Hannah’s writing is well researched, even to mentioning the Sisters of St. Joseph and the original six women!  (I couldn’t believe it when reading the book!). She portrays the harrowing days with clarity, but moments of light, love and kindnesses emerge through the darkness.

This well researched epic novel is set for the most part in a small town in France during the occupation but it also gives a good picture of how Paris might have been during the years following 1941 when the Germans marched into Paris, till the end of the war in 1945. The ending will surprise you - the story goes further than 1945, but I will leave you to find that out.

There are many other good historical novels about the Resistance Movement in Europe during World War II – such as Villa Triste by Lucretia Grindle set in Florence (five stars) and All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr – these can be for another day. And we can be sure that the resilience of the French people will emerge again today, as it has over the centuries in facing such injustices.

Guest Blogger: Margaret Magee

Bringing human rights into the divisive niqab debate

From a human rights perspective a particularly troubling side of the recent federal election was the heated discussion that arose about the niqab.  Now that the election is over it is time to put the ugliness of that divisive and toxic debate behind us and ensure that we move forward with messages and an approach that are inclusive, respectful and grounded in rights.

The debate arose because one woman who has chosen to wear the niqab challenged a policy brought in by former Minister of Immigration Jason Kenney which would have required her to remove her niqab face covering during her citizenship ceremony.  Zunera Ishaq did not object to being required to reveal her face privately to female officials in advance of the ceremony, to verify her identity.  But she felt that being required to remove the veil in public during the subsequent ceremony ran contrary to her religious beliefs.

In February 2015 the Federal Court ruled in Ms. Ishaq’s favour, overturning the government’s policy.  The government appealed to the Federal Court of Appeal.  The appeal was heard and judgement rendered on the spot on September 15^th in the midst of the election campaign. The three judge appeal  panel unanimously and immediately sided with Ms. Ishaq; that is how clear the legal issues are in the case. 

The government announced a further appeal attempt, on to the Supreme Court of Canada.  Recognizing that the appeal would not be heard before Election Day government lawyers were instructed to ask the Federal Court of Appeal to puts its ruling on hold until the matter was dealt with by the Supreme Court.  The Federal Court of Appeal refused to do so, recognizing that Ms. Ishaq’s need to obtain citizenship in time to vote was of fundamental importance and there was no countervailing and compelling government interest in delay.

What was so deeply troubling was the extent to which Ms. Ishaq’s case was then used for poisonous political advantage.  Politicians, particularly in Quebec, used it directly and indirectly to fan flames of xenophobia, including in the leaders debate.  And with that move, a group that already faces considerable marginalization and disenfranchisement suddenly faced even greater stigmatisation and derision.

The niqab is a form of dress adopted by some Muslim women which includes a face veil which only leaves an opening for a woman’s eyes.  In some parts of the world governments and religious authorities force women to wear the niqab and refusal to comply can be met with severe penalties.

The human rights response to the niqab is clear.  No government anywhere is allowed to impose laws or poliicies requiring women and girls to wear it (or any other mandated dress code that has no legitimate basis in health or safety).  But similarly no government is allowed to prohibit women and girls from wearing the niqab (or ban other forms of dress, again absent security or safety concerns).  The human rights side of this debate is so clear it is no surprise that court rulings have been quick, unanimous and always in Ms. Ishaq’s favour.  Important rights to free expression, freedom of religion and women’s equality are on the line.

Clearly many Canadians are troubled by and feel uncomfortable with the niqab. Many see it as a symbol of women’s oppression.  But that discomfort or personal perceptions about the niqab do not change the fundamental human rights equation:  governments are not allowed to force or prohibit any particular form of dress.   

What also came out during the recent debate is the degree to which misunderstandings and stereotypes about the women who wear the niqab prevail, largely on the basis of assumptions.  Ms. Ishaq herself made it clear that wearing it was her own personal choice and that both her father and her husband had in fact discouraged or questioned her decision.  What that reminds us is that clearly the motivation and personal experiences of the women behind the veil differ considerably. Some feel forced and with no choice.  Others compelled to follow a sense of duty.  Some see it as tradition.  Others may feel more comfortable and at ease when they wear it.

A remarkable group of over 500 Canadian women leaders from such fields as law, politics, business, the arts, civil society and religious life came forward during the final days of the recent election and released a statement calling for respect and rights to prevail in the niqab debate. That statement noted with concern that the discussion to date has been marked by talking about the women most directly implicated and that it was time, instead, to talk with them.   How true that is.  It is quite astounding that the majority of the loudest voices in recent weeks, on both sides of the debate, have been men.  Women, let alone women who wear or who have made the decision not to wear the niqab, have been relegated to the sidelines.

This debate is not over.  For instance, there is proposed provincial legislation pending in Quebec which might prohibit women wearing the niqab from working as public servants.

We cannot and should not shut down that debate. But we can work to ensure that it takes on a tone of inclusion, not exclusion; builds understanding, not misconceptions; and is focused on rights, not punishment.

Guest Blogger:

Alex Neve
Secretary General
Amnesty International Canada

Still comfortable?

While keeping watch at the bedside of a dying friend, the nurse’s question, “is she still comfortable?” rings out at intervals. Though obviously well intended, oddly, this question jars my soul. How can there be anything 'comfortable' about dying, I ask myself. Like a persistent earworm, I cannot quell the question. 'Still comfortable?' gnaws at my heart.

Caring family and friends surround this woman we love, offering each other comfort during this painful time. There it is again, ‘comfort’. It brings to mind the profound question Paula D'Arcy recently posed during her Kings College lecture, Divine Love in Challenging Times. "What if you can meet pain and find it is a doorway to the real God?"

That is the question, “what if you can?” Life is often not comfortable. We all experience heart wrenching pain and loss at some time in our lives. We all grieve. As Paula reminded us, "grief puts you into a new universe”. What sustains you and me in this new, not very comfortable universe? Do those times of darkness offer hidden treasure? They do, if we let them. When we slow down, our eyes open to look at life, to really see and pay attention to what is there. We will become aware that pain teaches us, that it is a doorway. When we step through it, we will discover that if we really know and walk with God, nothing can defeat us. We will find that divine love surrounds us in those challenging times.

Have you ever used one of those trusty Singer sewing machines? If you did, you will have vivid memories of the intricacy of threading your machine. According to Paula, threading a sewing machine is a great analogy for learning how to thread the machine of our lives. As a young child she was eager to learn how to sew a dress. One day, fabric and pattern in hand, off she went to a teacher in the hope of sewing that dress. Yes, you guessed it. The entire first lesson was devoted to learning the intricacies of threading the machine. It was not comfortable. However, that lesson many years ago proved to be a life lesson on the importance of threading the machine of life with love and compassion. If we thread it carefully with an abundance of love and compassion for ourselves and others, then when the thread on the spool of our life comes to its end, we will cross the threshold with a measure of comfort.    

So here we are, friends gathered at the bedside of a woman we cherish. She is about to cross the threshold into a new life. Over the past eighty years, she has threaded the machine of her life with great love and care. Now she is painfully stitching the last threads of her life’s tapestry. As I watch the slender oxygen tube which makes my friend’s final breaths more comfortable, I am reminded of the thread of her life so intricately interwoven with ours. All is peaceful. There is nothing to fear.

Inspired by the life my friend has lived, I recall a question the great poet Mary Oliver posed, “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” Will you thread the machine of your life with love and tenderness? When we do, on that final day, we will find comfort.  

Guest Blogger: Sr. Magdalena Vogt, cps