Call me a social conservative...

You've no doubt heard of this by now: Carelton University Students' Association decides to stop supporting Shinerama because Cystic Fibrosis (CF) affects only white people, and primarily males. This is untrue. For the purpose of this blog, and highlighting the naiivety of CUSA's decision, let us assume it is true. 

Forty years ago the life expectancy of an individual with CF was four years. Now it is 32 years. I'm a white male, and I understand that because of the culture we have, my life has been significantly easier than that of others. But if the logic that CUSA used  to draft their motion last week was used by student unions 40 years ago, we would be punishing infants on the basis of their sex and race. Barack Obama writes about his childhood in Dream's From My Father, saying "I was too young to know that I needed a race".  Talk about inheritance, talk about race. Forty years ago, no-one would have dared suggest that we should reconsider raising funds for CF if we knew that the disease only affected white males, given that most of those affected would have died well before reaching adulthood.  So why (since we are assuming CF does only affect whites, and primarily males) is this acceptable now? 

You're a female,  and I'm a male. We're on the bus together, you're standing and I'm sitting. I'm going to give you my seat. If you're a male, tough. But if you're a white man, or a black man, or an asian woman and you can't breathe because you've got CF, I'm going to make sure you're ok, and then go make a donation to Shinerama. What on earth would ever make it  right to punish someone because of their inherited race? Race is inherited, so is CF. Back to reality: yes more whites are affected by CF than other races - but as far as I know, not being able to breathe feels just as shitty if you're white as when you're black. 

***

When I graduated from high school, I was very fortunate to recieve the Bryan Lynk Memorial Scholarship. Bryan was a young musician from Cape Breton, the same age as myself.  Bryan was born with a twin, Brendan.  Both twins were born with CF. When they were five years old, Brendan passed away. Despite the fact that we socialized in many of  the same circles, I never had the opportunity to meet Bryan. Bryan lost his battle with CF at the young age of seventeen. Spending his last hours in the IWK hospital, a local radio station played one of his band's songs on the Halifax airwaves as he listened closely. His career as a musician drew quickly to an end. 

Bryan was white. Bryan was male. Bryan had a life ahead of him as a young musician, talented, smart and charming, so I'm told.  Would his cause be any more worthy if he had been black, female, gay, or a visible minority? No. He suffered,  just like everyone with CF suffers. Is a caucasion's suffering less worthy of relief simply on the basis that his ancestors have suffered less than someone elses? No. 

Each year, Bryan's friends and school teachers continue to  work to raise money for research into the disease that took Bryan too early. An annual all-day event call BRYSTOCK raises thousands of dollars for Bursaries and Shinerama in Bryan's name. Here is how: 

Thank goodnes CUSA is revisiting their decision to ditch Shinerama. My suggestion is a good primer in Roberts Rules for their entire council, and a requirement that all information contained in whereas clauses be cited in APA or MLA style.  

 

 

Shadow wasn't just a dog in homeward bound...

Opposition parties appointed their shadow cabinets this week. For politically innocent reading this blog, a shadow cabinet is a set of opposition MPs assigned to each Minister's portfolio to critique the work they do (or in some cases, the work they don't do). Shadow is probably not the right word for it at the federal level. Unrelenting acid rain cloud is probably the more appropriate term.



The department responsible for Post Secondary Education (Human Resources and Skills Development Canada) is under the ministry of Diane Finley.

Her critics:

Liberal MP Mike Savage (Dartmouth Cole Harbour)
NDP MP Tony Martin (Sault Ste. Marie)

The NDP critic is responsible for critiquing the minister based on NDP policy. The Liberal critic however, in addition to being the Liberal critic for the portfolio, is also deemed the official critic of the portfolio for all of Canada as a member of the official opposition. A great idea, keep the other guys in check, but realistically I'm not sold on the effectiveness of it.

Other interesting tidbits:

• Halifax MP Megan Leslie is now the NDP Critic for Post Secondary Education and Literacy, along with some deputy critic duties for the department of Justice and first nations (urban issues). A very fitting portfolio given the landscape of our riding here in Halifax. Puzzling, however is the NDP's choice in cabinet posts. The NDP caucus is one seat short of matching the size of Harper's cabinet, yet the NDP have chosen to have critics (such as critic for Post Secondary Education, Poverty, and Youth) for ministerial positions that don't yet exist.
  
• Harper has one of the largest cabinets in recent history (with 38 MPS) rivaled only by the cabinets of Brian Mulroney.
  
• Cabinet members get tonnes of perks. Namely, a $67 700 raise from their standard MP's salary of $155 400/year (which alone puts all MPs in the top two percent of income earners in Canada). And, don't forget the limo rides.
  

Dal student union criticizes Elections Canada effort

From my new favourite online publication, U-News.

To view the report, click here.

The Dalhousie Student Union has sent a report to Ottawa on what it calls Elections Canada’s lacklustre efforts to address the needs of student voters

Steven Woodhead
Last update: November 17, 2008 9:21 am AT

Just as Elections Canada conducts its regular post-election survey to assess its performance, the students union at Dalhousie University has sent a report to Elections Canada with concerns of a poorly done job.

The letter's primary author was Mark Coffin, vice-president (education) for the Dalhousie Student Union (DSU). The document was based upon a report that Coffin prepared for the student union meeting on Nov. 5, which identifies five main problems with the voting process in Halifax this year. According to Coffin, the process in Halifax was "very disorganized".

One of the recipients of the letter from the Dal student union was the Chief Electoral Officer for Elections Canada, who must make his report to Parliament within 90 days of the federal election.

Part of his report will include findings from the survey that Elections Canada is currently conducting. Elections Canada spokesman John Enright said the survey will cost somewhere in the neighbourhood of $900,000.

Related Websites

• VP Education Council Report
• “Elections Canada asks $1.3-million question: ‘How we doin’?’” (Canadian Press)

"What we're looking for specifically is to assess an elector's knowledge, awareness, attitudes and opinions on voting," said Enright. The survey will also have a special youth-based component, which Enright says will evaluate the difficulties that people aged 18 to 24 might have had in voting this year.

"At this point, we're still evaluating the post-election material from the most recent election," said Enright. "Anecdotally, we know that there have been some complaints with respect to voter ID, for example, by not just students but by electors generally. We haven't had a chance to compile and analyze everything. We're doing that now."

A lack of consultation

Voter ID requirements are not the only problem voters encountered, according to the DSU.

Students unions in around the province are generally the go-to groups for ensuring that as many students vote as possible, with support from the office of the chief returning officers who represent Elections Canada. According to Coffin, there was a lack of co-ordination this year between Elections Canada and the DSU - the number one concern in the students union report.

The lack of consultation on issues such as how to best register students living in student neighbourhoods and how to equip the campus with the required number of polling stations is a major concern for the student union, said Coffin.

Elections Canada failed to meet many of the commitments it pledges to make every election year, as outlined in the Service Standards document it sent to the DSU, according to the report presented to Nova Scotia MPs.

The report from the Dalhousie Student Union breaks down as follows:

• Service standards for student electors were not upheld: Subsections reveal that there was not adequate consultation with the DSU prior to the election, nor were student housing areas targeted in such a way that would increase the student vote.
• Inadequate resources for on-campus polling stations: Polling stations were not set up in residence buildings, but rather in high-traffic areas of the Student Union Building. This lead to long line-ups and some students leaving without voting.
• Off-campus students trying to vote at on-campus stations: With no polling places on campus for off-campus students, it meant lengthy travel periods to polling locations during class time.
• Poor pre-election organization, and ID restrictions disadvantage student voters: There was insufficient paper literature made available to students that was clear and easy to understand about the voting process, and students found that the change in what is considered valid ID to be confusing.

Finding ways to reach out

In the meantime, Elections Canada is considering different approaches to ensure that youth are aware of how to vote.

The survey includes a web-based component that aims to reach out to 330 student and youth associations, including university and college student associations, youth community groups for those not enrolled in school, and other advocacy groups such as Apathy is Boring and Student Vote.

The survey will also measure the ways in which Elections Canada can use technology to make contact with potential student voters.

"We know that the 18 to 24 electors are very plugged in," said Enright. "So for us to be able to reach an elector with information on the voting process, it's important for us to understand how they are using those technologies so we can better inform them through those technologies."

Land of the (tax) free

In 2006, the province of Nova Scotia capped property tax assessments for homeowners at the rate of inflation (CPI) for the following year. Those who own single family residences, duplexes, condominiums, nursing homes, seasonal dwellings, manufactured homes, and even vacant land have their property tax assessments capped at CPI, so that year to year the amount they pay in taxes doesn't increase at a rate greater than the average rate of increase in costs for other goods or services.

Unfortunately, this half-thought peice of legislation neglected a significant and important part of the population: tenants of rental units. Rental units are the only type of residential property not covered under the property tax assessment cap. First glance from a layperson might suggest that this makes sense, since landlords are profit-makers, and ought to be paying out to government. But economic theory says that whatever taxes suppliers (landlords) are stuck with are passed along to buyers (in this case renters). Landlords do end up absorbing some of the costs, but will indeed pass some along to tenants through increases in monthly rent.

Still don't get it? Thankfully Killam Properties have enlisted the services of Halifax's own PicnicFace to explain it to folks like you and me:







In Halifax, the issue is particularly concerning because of the state of the housing market, with values of homes and apartment buildings increasing substantially over the past decade, and no sign of a decrease in demand any time soon.

A cap on property tax assessments is neccessary as a short-term step to stablize rent prices in Halifax. We don't have data on the average prices of rental housing for students in the HRM, but its clear that if property tax assessments continue to increase we will see a rise in rent costs for tenants. This is a first step, and a very small step down the path of solving the housing problems faced by the city of Halifax and the province of Nova Scotia.

Bob Dylan 24-7

The fight for 24-hour study space continues...

Here's a video from an email I recieved from a concerned student who wants somewhere to study.

Does Halifax need late night bus service?

The Halifax Student Alliance was successful in the municipal election in soliciting commitments from several elected candidates to support the implementation of a pilot service for late night transit. We were able to commit all three mayoral candidates to supporting late night transit during the election campaign.

U-News did a video streeter asking students about whether or not they think Halifax needs late night transit service.



It's important to remember that students contribute roughly 10% of the MetroTransit operating budget through their U-Pass fees. Its also important to consider the amount of money spent by students at institutions where there is no U-Pass offered and the amount of money spent during the summer months when U-Pass service is not offered. When you factor these numbers in, I would guess that the percentage rises to upwards of 15% of MT's operating budget.

Halifax Didn't Want Your Vote

Did you miss voting in the federal and municipal elections last week? Don't worry about it, the government didn't want your vote anyway. Ignoring the fact that voting is a constitutional and chartered right, students slip through the cracks of Canadian and Nova Scotian electoral law. Forget about democracy, the closest you'll get to that this year is casting your ballot in the DSU general elections in March of 2009.

On the day of the federal election I heard more complaints from students than in my entire term as Vice President Education for the DSU. Students were rightly riled about the new identification rules for voting that stop just short of asking for a DNA sample to prove your identity. During the last session of parliament the Harper Government brought forward several legislative changes to the way elections are run in Canada.

Unfortunately, the new regulations don't make any exceptions for highly transient students, many of whom change apartments on a yearly basis, and have difficulty proving their residency due to shared leases and bills that may not necessarily have their name on them. On Election Day, I asked the supervisor at the polling station in the SUB how many students they were forced to turn away. He consulted with his colleagues, and quickly informed me that at least sixty percent of students were being rejected.

On top of stricter ID rules at the polls, the new regulations have eliminated the enumeration (or door-to-door registration) of voters during election time. But, exceptions were made for enumerations to continue in student neighborhoods. In fact, Elections Canada sent student unions across Canada a document promising that every off campus student would be visited at least twice to attempt an enumeration, and that student unions would be consulted before the process began. That was a promise that fell through. Across the country, returning officers gave students the same story - we want to help, but we have limited resources: not enough people, not enough money, not enough time. "Please file a written complaint after the election" we were told.

Across Canada citizens were denied the right to vote. Students, senior citizens, first nations peoples, rural citizens and the homeless were all victims of these new electoral regulations. The new electoral rules were introduced by the Conservatives, supported by the Liberals and opposed by New Democrats and Greens. Recently, Liberals have been distancing themselves from their initial support of the rules, and hinting that they may need to be reexamined before the next writ drop.

Voting in elections should be as easy and straightforward as possible. The government of Australia has gone the extra step and made voting in national elections mandatory. Most national elections boast a voter turnout of around 95%. Under Canada's new voter identification rules, we've seen national voter turnout drop to the lowest since confederation at 59.1%. Anyone following the food-fight of an election we just experienced knows that Stephen Harper has taken the lead from former Aussie PM John Howard, on more than one occasion, often without giving due credit. Perhaps our reaffirmed Prime Minister should secretly drop him a line and get some under-the-table advice on keeping voter turnout high.

Maybe you tried to cast a ballot in the Municipal Elections that happened on Saturday. Unless you are a married student from Nova Scotia or an out of province student who spent the summer here, your participation in our election is considered illegal under the outdated and archaic electoral law of Nova Scotia's Municipal Elections Act. The act is so outdated, that its prevention of single students from voting outside of the district of their family home is a spirited violation of the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of marital status or family status, but is worded ambiguously enough to prevent any legal action on our part.

During the summer the Halifax Student Alliance sent a formal request to the Minister of Municipal Relations, Jamie Muir, asking for the act to be amended to allow students who spend the majority of their year in Halifax the right to vote. We were told since the house of assembly wasn't in session; there wouldn't be time to make any amendments before October 18th. The house has been adjourned since May 27th, and will not reconvene until October 30th. While students were busy working to pay off student loans, studying, and not exercising their democratic rights, I'm inclined to wonder how Muir spent his recess.

In a landmark year for democracy, the provincial and federal governments appear to be doing all they can to discourage young Canadians from voting. The province of Nova Scotia decided to put over nine million dollars into the Democracy 250 project this year. A project aimed at celebrating democracy and intended to promote involvement in the political process, especially among youth and first time voters. You've probably seen the product of D250 around. With the amount of money they've spent on promotional swag, the entire province could be clothed in their inmate-style D250 sweatshirts (conveniently stitched in countries where democracy has yet to exist). Halitosis should never again be an issue for Haligonians; from what I've heard, province house has been overflowing with democracy mints since early spring.

Our governments need to stop sending mixed signals about youth involvement in democracy. If they genuinely believe that our votes and voices are important (which they are), then electoral law should be changed to reflect that. Until then, stop wasting our money on advertising campaigns that encourage us to do something we cannot legally and conveniently do!

Young voters and party-tinted beers at Dalhousie bar

SYLVIA COLE, METRO HALIFAX

October 15, 2008 05:00

Students and locals sipped red, blue, orange and green beer at Dalhousie University last night while they watched the results of the election unfold.

“Elections are really exciting. What’s better than watching the elections and having a couple of drinks?” asked Adam Reid, a third-year history student who nabbed a prime leather couch in front of a large screen TV at the Grawood campus bar.

Reid’s friend, Marion Waldron-Blain, a third-year student at NSCAD University, said she’d like to see either the NDP or the Liberals win.

“I go to art school and the Conservatives aren’t very pro-arts at all. I would like to have a job sometime in my life, so that’s most of my reason,” she said.

Reid said he’d like to see more help offered to students paying back student loans, and to making school more affordable.

Not everyone was against the Conservatives. Kevin Forbes, a non-student watching the elections at the Grawood, argued the Conservatives have done a pretty good job in the last two years they’ve been in power.

That said, Forbes didn’t necessarily vote Conservative.

“I sent all candidates an e-mail with a few questions and only one bothered to answer it, so I voted for that guy, because it said a lot about him and the campaign he wanted to run.”

Elections regulations unfair, unconstitutional

CBC interviewed me earlier today for an article concerning the new voting regulations that have been detrimental when it comes to enabling students to cast their ballots in federal elections. More to come on this later.

New ID rules cause confusion at polls

Voters across the country had difficulties casting their ballots in the federal election Tuesday.

According to an Elections Canada official, many people were unaware of a new rule that requires voters to present either one piece of identification showing their name and address or two pieces of ID, each of which shows their name and at least one of which shows their address.

Elections Canada official Dana Doiron said people have been turning up with passports or other pieces of ID that do not contain an address.

He said that in most cases, voters eventually got the proper paperwork or they were vouched for by someone else. (In lieu of proper ID, an elector can take an oath and be vouched for by another elector whose name is on the list of electors for the same polling division and who has the necessary ID.)

But voters across the country — from Nova Scotia to the Northwest Territories — have still been reporting problems.

At Dalhousie University in Halifax, almost two-thirds of the students showing up to cast ballots on campus were turned away because they didn't have the necessary signed form from their university residence stating their address or were off-campus students, said Mark Coffin, vice-president of education on the Dalhousie student council. The form is the only way for some students to prove they live in the area, as many of them have IDs with an address from another region.

He said he feared students who were turned away didn't go back to vote.

"You know, 1.4 million young Canadians didn't vote in the last election," Coffin said. "Well, these new rules aren't making it any easier for students to vote."

In Vancouver, polling station representative Pendra Wilson said she saw several voters turned away after they arrived without proper identification.

"I think every Canadian should be able to vote," Wilson told CBC News. "It made me sick to see so many conscientious Canadians not allowed to vote today."

People turned away in North

In the Yukon and Northwest Territories, election officials told CBC News Tuesday that they have had some problems with the new rules regarding proof of identity.

"The new rules regarding addresses and address changes have created some difficulty with some electors," said Seann Springfield, a supervisor at a Whitehorse polling station. "Some people have been turned away."

Whitehorse resident Angel Hall said she was turned away because the identification she brought was not sufficient. Being turned away upset Hall, who said she works with young aboriginal people and had been trying to encourage people to vote.

"I was … really rallying people to come vote.… People who are, like, the toughest demographic to get to come out and vote," she said. "I had to come back and say, 'I can't vote!'"

The new rule was passed by Parliament last year but was highlighted in a $9.3 million advertising blitz during the 37-day election campaign.

Doiron said Elections Canada got a sense of how widespread the lack of awareness was at the advance polls when people failed to show up with the proper ID.

Other problems emerge at polls

Voters across Canada reported other problems at the polls as well. In Wild Rose riding in Alberta, Janice Tanton said she was turned away from her local polling station when she arrived at 7:25 p.m. local time.

"They weren't going to let us in, and I raised my voice that it wasn't 7:30 yet, and how were working families supposed to be able to exercise their right to vote in this country," Tanton wrote in an email to CBCNews.ca. "She let us in."

In Montreal, Beth Blackmore told CBCNews.ca that wait times were a major issue, saying she had to wait more than an hour to cast her vote in her riding of Outremont.

In Vanderhoof, B.C., Patricia Crosby said that confusion over the hours of her polling situation prevented her from voting. She told CBC News that she struggled to find a convenient polling station after she received a notice notifying her that the hours at her own local poll had changed.

"A country like Canada who send representatives to far-off lands to ensure foreigners' right to free elections would do well to safeguard their own country," Crosby wrote.

Predictions for Halifax

This is my guess for what will happen tonight:

Tony Seed (MLPC): 1%
Darryl Whetter (Green): 14%
Ted Larsen (Con): 18%
Catherine Meade (Lib): 30%
Megan Leslie (NDP): 36%

I know this is out of step with local pre-election polls, but I'm considering the fact that local polls don't include most university students in their phoning, and I'm factoring in what I've heard from students I've spoken with on the street today.

Yes, you are eligible to vote in Halifax!

I've run into so many people who are convinced they cannot vote in Halifax. So, if you are reading this, please pass the word along.

You are eligible to vote in Halifax if:

• You are a Canadian citizen and at least 18 years of age
• You have not cast a ballot for another riding (ie. mail-in or inperson ballots)
  

You DO NOT NEED TO BE REGISTERED OR ON THE VOTERS LIST IF YOU MEET THESE CRITERIA!

YOU MUST, HOWEVER

• Prove your identity and prove your address at the polling station (Click here to see how easy this is)
• Show up at the right polling station (enter your postal code here to find out where)

Please, please pass this information along to your friends and classmates.

Plays of the week(s)

Some videos I think are worthy of broadcast for this election season:


Rick Mercer on why students should vote:


Child size versions of party leaders: (The Elizabeth May one is uncanny)



I'm calling this one the Yes We Can of Canada... or maybe rather the "Oh no you don't!":


The bold, and the innocent:




A Model of Academic Integrity:

DSU says ABC if you care about education.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

October 9, 2008

STUDENTS DISAPPOINTED IN HARPER CONSERVATIVES

Halifax, NS – The Dalhousie Student Union (DSU) is encouraging voters who care about post-secondary education to strongly consider voting for anyone but the Conservatives in the upcoming federal election.

The Conservative platform was released on Tuesday, and besides a pledge to award completion grants for apprenticeships in the Red Seal Trades, there were no commitments to make any changes to the post-secondary education system in Canada.

“The Conservative platform is extremely discouraging,” explains Courtney Larkin, President of the DSU. “We try to stay impartial during election time, but there is no way we can stay quiet about what we feel is a slight to Canadian post-secondary students.”

Earlier this year, the Progressive Conservative government of Nova Scotia made several reforms to the post-secondary education system in Nova Scotia, including the implementation of a needs-based grants system, a tuition freeze, bursaries for Nova Scotia students and the extension of the cap on student loans available for professional students and students with dependants. At the federal level, the Liberals have pledged to commit over $25 billion towards access grants over the next twenty years, the NDP have committed to tabling a Post-Secondary Education Act and the Greens have pledged to relieve 50 per cent of student loan debt upon completion of a degree.

“All of the other parties have dedicated substantial portions of their platforms to post-secondary education issues,” says Larkin. “While we don’t endorse all of the party proposals, it is reassuring that they have recognized post-secondary education as an issue worthy of a platform plank.”

Students have been encouraging all parties running in this election to increase the accessibility and affordability of a post-secondary education through expansion of needs-based grants, Canada Student Loan System reform, increased tri-council funding for graduate students and a dedicated transfer for post-secondary education to the provinces.

“Stephen Harper and Conservative candidates across the country ought to follow the lead of the other party leaders and the Progressive Conservative premier of Nova Scotia,” encourages Larkin. “Increased funding for education is an investment, not an expense and Stephen Harper should recognize that in a period of economic uncertainty we need to focus on education.”

-30-

For more information, please contact:

Courtney Larkin Mark Coffin

President Vice President Education

(902) 494-1277 / (902) 499-5650 (cell) (902) 494-1275/ (902) 237-6275 (cell)

dsupres@dal.ca dsuvped@dal.ca

Anyone But Conservative

The conservative platform is out, and the party has unabashedly neglected students. I am extremely dissapointed in this. I've had my personal issues with many of the policies of the Conservative Party in the past, but this is reaching a new low.

The following exert is the only piece of platform that even remotely relates to students, and aside from being terrible policy, is nowhere near comprehensive enough:

"Enhance the Apprenticeship Incentive Grant with a $2,000 completion bonus for apprentices who complete their training in a nationally recognized Red Seal trade program." From CPC site

Really? That's it? Really?

In the last federal election the DSU and CASA chose the slogan "Vote, it's as easy as 1-23", since the election was on January 23rd (1/23/06). This time if you're concerned at all about the state of post secondary education in Canada, even an uneducated and illiterate bafoon could tell you what the DSU is telling you now: "Vote ABC."

The Liberals, Greens and NDP all have weaknesses in their plans for PSE, but they all have plans. They have recognized the importance of sitting down and saying "Hey, we need a policy on PSE." I wish this posting was a critique of the PSE plank of the Conservative Party Platform, but it can't be, because it doesn't exist. Shame. For shame.

Liveblogging the Mayoral Candidates Forum on the Environment

So, David Boyd, Sheila Fougere, and Peter Kelly are just about to enter the ring, and I have managed to get wireless internet, so you're getting a liveblog! If you are reading this as I write, you can also tune into the debate at Haligonia.ca.

10:06 Drawing for Opening Comments: Sheila, David, Peter

10:08: Fougere's Opening Statements: Talking about her achievements and efforts on council: Bike Lanes, Natural Step Framework, Anti-Idling Programs, Emissions Reductions... the list goes on. She's reading straight from her notes, so far unengaging.

10:10: Boyd's Opening Statements: David Boyd has actually read Silent Spring, and it turns out he was involved in starting the Earth Day movement. Impressive. Also reading from notes though. He's talking about the clean air act; I think he may be at the wrong debate. He gets cut off.

10:13: Kelly's opening statements: He's talking about his mid-summer dip in the harbour. Kelly is also reading from his notes. Seriously? All I want is a mayoral candidate who can speak without paper. Kelly admits the active transportation initiative in HRM needs work.

10:16: Uranium Mining - Do you support a bylaw to reccomend to the government banning uranium mining for the government of Nova Scotia?

Kelly: Yes, but we should be going towards geothermal.

Fougere: Taking issue with the question, but supports the bylaw reccomending a ban.

Boyd: Yes.

10:18: Top three steps to reduce GHGs.

Boyd: 1) Public Consultation 2) Make it Law
Fougere: 1) 2)Fleet Refits to city vehicles 3) Promote Energy Efficiency in Buildings
Kelly: 1) Geothermal 2) Fleet refits 3) LEED building design

10:21

David Boyd hasn't seen the Metro Transit five-year-plan

Peter Kelly just said Halifax has 196 commuters.


10:22 Road Pricing - What leadership will you show during your term to implement road pricing (congestion taxing)?

Boyd: It will be very hard to implement it, so public consultation is the route. People first he says. People pay too much taxes he says. Wants to have road construction work paid for by sponsorship.

Kelly: Tolls aren't the way to go.

Fougere: Likes the idea of road pricing and tolls. Doesn't feel bridge tolls are much of a deterrent, reminds the audience of 3 Million bridge crossings a year in Halifax. Would consider putting tolls on new road construction.

10:25 Do you support a late night bus?
Kelly: I whole heartedly support that approach. Ideally using the free (FRED) shuttles

Fougere: Yes.

Boyd: Yes, until about 2 or 3 in the morning.

10:28 Affordable Housing

Fougere: U-Pass has allowed students to live further out, and find lower provinces. Wants to partner with landlords on a user pay program to help ensure housing is affordable.

Boyd: Wants rent controls. Is concerned about quality of affordable housing.

Kelly: Wants to allot certain portions of housing to affordable housing.

10:32 First Audience Question: How can we make Halifax self sustaining (with respect to food security)?

Kelly: Community gardens are good. Lets maximize the use of local agricultural fields.

Fougere: Community gardens are good for her too. Is talking about wind energy, and public transit for some reason, not really answering the question.

Boyd: Launch a buy local campaign. Rooftop gardens.

10:36 Second Audience Question: How will the active transportation program be implemented (particularly around elementary schools)?

Fougere: Make sure adequate money is there to implement it.

Boyd: Proper Funding.


I apologize for not carrying this posting throughout the whole debate, I got in line to ask a question, and spent the last 45 minutes of the debate in line. More to come later.

The Debate for Halifax - Opening Remarks

Facebook readers click here to view the videos of candidates opening remarks.

Liveblogs

Thanks to all who came out to the debate tonight.

An especially great thanks to the dedicated bloggers, who liveblogged the event. The digital democracy revolution is on its way.

Here are the two Blogs:

http://keithtorrie.blogspot.com/

http://strongwinds.blogspot.com/

I will also have youtube videos of most of the debate uploaded by sometime tomorrow. Some are up already at the DSUtube channel , and hopefully the rest will be up later on. A few questions got cut out because we had to stop recording to unload the memory, but we captured the first and last 45 minutes.

Game Night

Tonight is the night. All of the candidates in the Halifax riding will meet to debate the issues that are important to Haligonians.

• Date and Time: Monday October 6th, 7 PM (Doors open @ 6:30)
  
• Location: McInnes Room, Dalhousie Student Union Building, 6136 University Avenue
  
• Moderator: Costas Halavrezos from CBC Radio Noon

What can you expect? With over 1.5 hours of debate planned for audience questions, anything is on the table. Ask your candidates about their platform: Education, the Economy, The Environment, Elector Reform, and other words that start with E. Everything is on the table.

I encourage you to attend, bring your friends, bring your questions, bring some popcorn, and lock yourselves in for what is sure to be the highlight of the local campaign in Halifax.

Is Dalhousie about to make The Green Shift?

Original Blog Posting

The Dalhousie University Senate recently approved the creation of a College of Sustainability, which will offer a degree in Environment, Sustainability and Society.

Here is a promo video for the new program:


An awesome video, I must say. Props to Jared and the ESS team for putting together such an awesome program, and great marketing.

Now here is the Liberal Green Shift Video:



Does the music sound similar to anyone? You've got to wait to 0:08 in the Green Shift video to hear it, but it's there.

Harper Knows Best

Stephen Harper was back in Atlantic Canada today. In Yarmouth. At first I thought this was odd, as anyone who knows Nova Scotia (or has ever looked at a map of the East Coast) will also know that Yarmouth isn't on the way to anywhere (in Canada), and just barely has an airport. So I checked out the results of the 2006 election:

• Robert Thibault (L): 17 734 Votes
• Greg Kerr (C) 17 222
• Arthur Bull (ND) 8512 Votes
• Matt Granger (G)1040
• Ken Griffiths (I) 682

512 votes is not a big win. Its the difference of a couple dozen lawn signs, as the Toby from the West Wing would say. The math geek in me also really wants to make sure everyone knows that 512=2^9, but that's beside the point. This was the closest riding in Nova Scotia in the 2006 election. Both Thibault and Kerr are running again, but Thibault may be weakened by some bad press he earned from a few ageist and sexist remarks.

So, the point is, Harper is incredibly smart, and incredibly tactical. He knows another campaign stop in Halifax isn't worth his time. Not to say the other leaders aren't operating the same way, but its easier to disguise it when your not travelling to the Middle of Nowheres, NS.

Change Jack Can Believe In

There's nothing that makes me want to support NDP more than bands that sound like Coldplay.

New Democrats from across Nova Scotia gathered in Halifax for a rally this afternoon. The place was full of interesting sorts, including old men in Obama T-Shirts, several Dalhousie professors, Canadian Autoworkers and disgruntled airline stewardesses.

I arrived just at noon, and was a bit thrown off by the awkward setup of the room. The podium was setup facing the cameras, with the crowd seating on the opposite side. I wasn't seated for more than two minutes when several NDP staffers tried to convince me to come stand in the crowd.

"Come down and stand around Jack, we need a big crowd" they said.

"I'm just here to watch," I said while pointing at my CASA sweater.

"But you need a sign!" they insisted. I held my ground. They eventually gave up. Only later would I realize that they were only asking young people to come down, and weren't paying much attention to the grey heads next to me.

Darryl Dexter introduced Layton, reminding us that there was only one leader standing up against big oil companies, fighting for public health care, and working families. This is frustrating to me, because I know its simply not true! Whether or not you agree that we should be standing up against big oil, privatization of health care, and the like, anyone with half a brain knows that the NDP share a similar position with other opposition parties on many of these issues.

Jack Layton is targetting Harper almost exclusively now. He has limited his criticism of Dion, simply calling Dion the Leader who supported Harper by abstaining on 43 confidence motions. He says the NDP is appealling to Canadians who would otherwise vote Liberal, who are thinking about voting Green, and who used to vote for the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. "If you want to stop Stephen Harper, only New Democrats can do it," he said at today's rally, "the choice is between Jack Layton and Stephen Harper."

For the (small g) Greens in the crowd, it may interest you to know that Jack flew from Iqualuit to Halifax last night. Not the most efficient route of travel. He also claimed that his plane flew through the Northern Lights. Sorry Jack, but the Northern Lights happen in the Ionosphere, at least 50 kilometers above sea level, which is 40 kilometers above cruising altitude.

The NDP Plan

Smilin' Jack announced his plan for Post Secondary Education about a week ago, but I didn't blog on it because of the monster flu that had my spirits low.

Today Jack is back in town for a Rally for Change with local New Democrats. They're targeting youth hard, draggin along Mount A rockers, In-Flight Safety and taking out not one, but TWO ads in Dalhousie's Gazette this week. As Keith Torrie points out there's not a whole lot to change here in Halifax. We've been solid socialist orange in Halifax for the past 11 years, with the former leader of the party also being the MP for Halifax for much of that time. Speaking of which, Keith I'm glad you brought this up. The New Democratic Party of Canada is actually 47 years old. I digress.

More importantly, if elected to government, the NDP will make the following changes for students:

Enact the Post Secondary Education Act as introduced by the NDP in the last Parliament.

Ensure that students don't have crippling debts when they graduate:

• Provide a $1,000 grant to all undergraduate or equivalent students who qualify for student loans, paid at the beginning of the school year.
• Support students and post-secondary education in Quebec and the Northern Territories with financing equivalent to their government's student access and post-secondary development programs.

Keep tuition fees affordable and improve opportunities in post-secondary education by negotiating with provinces and territories improved, dedicated funding to support and enrich publicly funded and administered post-secondary institutions. This will include new initiatives to increase financial support for in-demand professionals, such as doctors and nurses, linked to them serving in areas where there are shortages.

Reform the Canada Student Loans system, including interest relief, so students are not forced to start repaying their student loans while they are still completing their education through internship, co-op or placement programs.

Encourage the best young minds to stay here in Canada by increasing funding for university and college-based research, and for graduate and post-graduate studies.

Its not bad. The $1000 grant is very similar to the Liberal plan. This plan has something the liberal plan doesn't, which is a commitment to work cooperatively with the provinces. It also committs to a dedicated transfer to the provinces through the proposed PSE act, which is good, and hopefully it is allocated on a per-student basis, but there is no mention of that here.

The Liberal plan has something that the NDP plan doesn't, which is a firm list of details. I like that the Liberals know exactly how much money they will spend on PSE, but the NDP seem to be lacking on this front. Details on promises to graduates are scarce, which is troubling as well. The liberals committed to increasing graduate funding by a third of current levels at the tri-council level, while the NDP have simply committed to increasing grad and post-grad research funding.

To here more about the NDP's Post Secondary Education Act, watch this video:

Down with Downtown

Halifax Downtown Council Candidates met tonight to debate in front of an audience of mostly fine arts students from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. The student union SUNSCAD organized the debate. For those of you who live on the peninsula, this district encompasses most of the downtown area between Robie and the waterfront.

I managed to snag a few (shaky) videos of the debate while the candidates were discussing development in the downtown. I will warn you, its a good thing I forgot my tripod, and needed two hands to steady the camera, because if I'd had a free hand while some of the candidates were speaking, there's a good chance I would have been grasping for something sharp to stab myself in the eye. If any candidates should happen to read this blog, I assure you I'm talking about one of the others.

I am happy to report that every single one of these candidates supports at least a trial run of a late night bus service servicing the downtown and feeder areas. Crime and safety, transportation
and affordable housing are all central issues that repeatedly popped up over the course of the evenening.

"We have spread our city too thin," Candidate James Stuewe said, "Transit works when you have density... The rest of the world is moving forward on transit, and we seem to be stuck."

Incumbent Dawn Sloane who is defending her seat spent much of her time defending the decisions of council. She boasted of the new "FRED on steroids" plan her council pushed through; six hybrid buses giving free service to the downtown areas, and indicated that if reelected she would advocate to have these buses run late-night routes as well.

The candidates stumbled on questions about the arts. "Halifax is strong, we survived an explosion, we're not going anywhere," candidate Jerome Downey said. He also spoke of the need to provide opportunities for citizens to be able to pursue carreers that they are "passionate" about.

Cameron Ells said a fair new tax-reform plan is something that could benefitting the arts community.

Candidates Stuewe and Downey seem to have very similar ideas, and have similar appeal. Both young, both bright, and both first time candidates (as far as I'm aware). They'll eat away at one another's voter base, which is unfortunate for both of them.

Videos coming soon

Video: Candidate Introductions




Video: Dawn Sloane, Jerome Downey Discuss Development



Video: Cameron Ells Discusses Development



Video: James Stuewe Discusses Development

The Great Debate

Original Blog Posting

So, the fab five have flaunted their fluencies in both official languages. Last night we had a showing of the english debate at the Grawood and I was thoroughly impressed with the turnout from students. Our bar manager was less impressed with the fact that they weren't spending as much on booze as the Trivia crowd on the other side of the bar.

Unfortunately, there was essentially no mention of Post Secondary Education issues. Layton mentioned his plan for relieving family doctor debt during a discussion on health care, but otherwise there was no allotted time for discussion on access to Post Secondary Education or the projected deficit of a skilled and educated workforce with the impending labour shortage in eastern and central Canada. With the Canadian economy destined to follow the path of our southern neighbours it really suprises me that these issues never came up for discussion.

I was unimpressed that Harper went on the attack so early in the debate. Harper spoke first during the debate, and within his first minute of speaking he attacked Dion's economic plan. Its no wonder people get frustrated with the political process when smart, talented individuals like our Prime Minister stoop to this level of discussion so early in a debate, when in reality it should be them defending their plan. The other leaders are guilty of this as well, but Harper was full of criticisms and low on solutions (I'm not saying his solutions are bad ones, I'm saying he simply hasn't shown us what his solution is). Layton laid it down good, "Where’s the platform, under the sweater?"

Dion took the high-road, and it may have earned him some cred, Nanos polls have him closing in on Harper with a five point margin. Back in minority territory.

Over 100 Dal students surveyed on the university website were asked who they felt won the debate:

• 35% picked Captain Planet - Elizabeth May
  
• 23 % went for Smilin' Jack Layton
  
• 16% chose Stephen "I still haven't announced a PSE platform" Harper
• 16% said Stephane "Arts are Fun" Dion
• 9% were watching the wrong debate
• 1% liked the seperatist
  

May got several good one liners in against Harper last night, and did a good job at explaining Dion's carbon tax for him. Unfortunately we didn't hear much about what seperates the Greens from the Liberals and the NDP, which I think was a question on many viewers minds, including my own.

A lot of people were flicking channels last night. The Biden-Palin debate across the way was the most watched debate in history. Canadians were torn, not a big surprise given that 15% of us would give up our chartered right to vote in Canada, in order to vote for Obama or McCain this November.

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We're still waiting on an announcement from the Conservatives on Post-Secondary Education. They gave us a teaser announcement on apprenticeships today, which takes the form of a $2000 completion bonus. Let's hope they put more thought into their university related announcements, because this program is not targeted, nor is the grant provided up front. This means that it does relatively little for removing barriers to individuals wishing to pursue apprenticeships. What it does do is provide financial relief to individuals already enrolled in an apprenticeship program.

Voices

So, I was browsing around on the Halifax federal candidates' websites, and noticed a frustrating trend.

Here is the summary:

From Ted Larsen's Website: "I believe our city needs a strong voice in the Government of Canada"

From Catherine Meade's website: "Her enthusiasm for her local community is unparalleled and she will be more than a voice in Ottawa, she will motivate action for change."

From Megan Leslie's website: "In this election, we need to ensure Halifax residents continue to have a strong voice in Ottawa."

Personally, I value listening skills. But yes, in a parliament of 308 members, I'm sure if you do your voice exercises before QP, someone is bound to pay attention to us.

I promise I'll have some better updates tomorrow.

Vlog Void

I chose not to blog about it when it happened, but because of the prolonged buzz around the supposed rogue NDP supporter and vlogger, I figure I'll take a stab at it.

In case you were living in a hole for the past week, a youtube video and facebook page appeared on the internet Monday evening. The video featured audio sound bites of NDP candidate Megan Leslie talking at a protest in front of Nova Scotia Power Inc. (NSPI), while showing pictures of an Atlantica Protest staged by the Halifax Coalition Against Poverty (HCAP), and essentially claimed the Leslie was a radical that endorsed the disruptive HCAP style protests featured in the images displayed. The video claimed to be made by and NDP supporter, Jess MacDonald, a supposed NDP supporter, who also felt strongly that Halifax had nominated the wrong candidate, and that electing Alexis MacDonald would have ensured Halifax a spot in Jack Layton's cabinet. Right. I know quite a few dippers, many of them good friends, and I know very few that are that optimistic about Laytons odds.

The Coast has targeted Keith Torrie, and is hinting that he himself was behind the crafting of the video. It seems like The Coast hasn't been following the blogosphere as closely as I. Given the performance of the Young Conservatives at the NDP nomination meeting I would have suspected them before the young liberals. If you also compare the line about having a cabinet member in Jack Layton's government to every Conservative Candidate's stump line "[Atlantic Canada] needs a member of government", I think the suspicion gets even stronger.

I, like The Coast bloggers, don't have any sure answers as to who is actually behind the mask of JMcDonaldNDP2008, but I felt the need to balance the debate of the blogosphere, with what seemed to be unrealistic (though entertaining) suspicions.

In other news, check out this great video of Garth Turner getting interviewed live on CPAC, while he doesn't seem to realize he is on air.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5l5q-wspXo

Liberals Make Big Promises

Original Blog Posting

So, if you haven't yet had a chance to check out the Liberal Party announcement on PSE, check it out. Or, if you just want the basics, keep on reading this blog!

A Liberal government promises to make the following investments in Post Secondary Education through a 20 year education endowment fund:

• 200,000 needs-based bursaries of up to $3,500 per year
• 100,000 access grants of up to $4,000 per year for groups under-represented in post-secondary education
• Guaranteed student loans of $5,000, regardless of parental income
• Expansion of the post-graduation student loan interest free repayment period from six months to two years
• Reducing the student loan interest rate to prime
  
• A guaranteed universal education grant of $1000 for each full-time student in Canada each year - to replace the Harper tax credits program
  
• Increase tricouncil research funding by more than a third of its current value
  

These are just the highlights from the liberal plan. The cost, over 20 years, is estimated around $25 Billion. This is a big step up from the 50-50 plan announced by the Liberals in the 2006 election. It is clear that much more thought was put into this proposal than the last.

So, before getting too much into the criticisms of this platform, I must say that what they've promised is good. I wouldn't take away anything that is here. Obviously, the more money we can put into these programs, the better. This plan will increase access opportunities for Canadian youth who currently aren't participating in our PSE system. Unlike the Green Party plan , the Liberals have put forward a system of grants that is fully costed. We don't know the specifics of how the plan will be administered, or what the exact criteria will be for qualification for grants, and likely won't hear much about it until (if ever) the plan is implemented.

What's missing?

There is no significant mention of how the Liberals would work with the provinces to deliver this program. Aside from working with the provinces to ensure fairer provincial student loan practises and increasing aboriginal representation in the PSE system, we don't hear much at all. The responsibility for education has long been in the jurisdiction of the province, based on the understanding that each province has specific needs, and that blanket approaches don't neccessarily work nationwide. A dedicated transfer to the provinces for post secondary education is really what is needed.

Nova Scotia, in particular, desperately needs reform to the Canadian Social Transfer, the funding formula for transfering funding to the province for Post Secondary Education. The problem with the formula, is that it doesn't credit provinces like Nova Scotia for taking students from other provinces. Essentially, students from out of province make up about one third of our student population, but their tax dollars don't follow them to Nova Scotia.

Another critical element missing from the Liberal platform is Early Outreach. We know from the great research that the Millenium Canadian Scholarship Foundation has done that certain demographics of our population need early outreach programs like Pathways to ensure that they are aware of the educational oppotunities available to them after high school, and to ensure they are prepared for university once they arrive. No matter how many new programs we introduce, we need to pursue early outreach programs to ensure the opportunities available to Canadians are equally clear to all demographics.

The liberals made an announcement on childcare and early learning later in the day, but it's not clear exactly what the early learning programs will incorporate.

CASA and CFS have both responded to the announcement differently. “Tuition fee increases eat away at the value of any student grant, and we were disappointed that there was no commitment to work with the provinces to cap and reduce tuition fees,” Katherine Giroux-Bougard, National Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students. “Increased federal transfers are key to protecting families from future tuition fee increases." I'm with her on this one.

“CASA believes the measures proposed by the Liberal Party will help students and families cope with the accelerated costs of education,” said Zach Churchill, National Director of the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations. “The proposed plan, if implemented, can significantly enhance access to post-secondary education system, by providing funding to students who need it the most, while helping to lower the epidemic growth of student debt in this country.”

And thus my dissatisfaction with federal advocacy groups. The CFS response was too teethy, and the CASA response wasn't teethy enough.

Liberal Announcement on Education

Liberals announce education platform Analysis to follow...

Liberal support for students and research will build 21st-century economy

LONDON – A new Liberal government will significantly increase support for students and increase investments to support research to help more Canadians succeed in the 21st-century knowledge economy, Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion announced today.

“We have to increase support for students to make sure university and college is accessible to all Canadians. The future productivity and economic success of Canada depends on the investments we make in research and development today,” said Mr. Dion.

To that end, a new Liberal government will make post-secondary education more accessible by:

• simplifying support measures for students by replacing complicated and often irrelevant tax credits that don’t benefit students with an education grant that will be delivered four times a year, putting money in the hands of students when they need it most;

• providing 200,000 needs-based bursaries of up to $3,500 per year by the fourth year of our plan to help reduce the number of Canadians for whom cost remains an insurmountable barrier to education;

• providing 100,000 access grants of up to $4,000 per year by the fourth year of our plan for those who are members of groups that are traditionally under-represented in post-secondary education;

• ensuring that every student is eligible for a $5,000 student loan regardless of parental income; and

• guaranteeing a lower interest rate for all student loans, extending the grace period on repayment post graduation from six months to two years, making that grace period interest-free and extending the time that individuals have to repay their student loans.

“Innovation, new ideas and processes are key components of productivity and ultimately, future economic growth. The direct and indirect funds we invest in research and development today will drive the economy of the future,” said Mr. Dion. “It is also important to support projects that reach beyond the barriers of their discipline.”

A new Liberal government will increase research and development support by:

• increasing support for the indirect costs of university-based research by more than 60 per cent to $500 million a year;

• enhancing support for Canada’s three granting councils by 34 per cent;

• creating an Interdisciplinary Sustainability Fund of $100 million to enable scientists, researchers and graduate students to undertake projects that extend beyond the barrier of their disciplines; and

• extending the tax credit for private sector research and development so that even companies who are not currently making a profit will have an incentive to invest in research and development.

“Support for learning has been a long-standing Liberal value and under a new Liberal government we will make the investments in the post-secondary education and research needed to ensure Canada can compete in the 21st century,” said Mr. Dion.