Governance News & Views

“You’ve just got to find new ways to do things.” 

BC MLA Finder - Alphabetical list

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July 1, 2009
Office of the Premier
Ministry of Environment
B.C. APPLAUDS MOVE BY OBAMA ON CALIFORNIA STANDARDS
VICTORIA – Premier Gordon Campbell is welcoming the Obama administration’s decision to grant
California its waiver to regulate greenhouse gases from motor vehicles.

ITO Commentary

That is the good news for BC; but, the bad news is that BC has not yet taken definitive action on rapid rail options for interurban and urban mass transit (beyond Canada Line) and provincial freight movement, or for the licensing of electric vehicles in all applications.

Of course, complementary steps will have to be taken by the BC Government to achieve self-sufficiency and sustainability of renewable energy sources for the electrical demands of a society that can no longer afford nor tolerate fossil fuel emissions.

Land Use and Community Planning

Markham Ontario Shows How

Having started in 2005, click here to see the progress to date, June 2009!

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Calgary Street Planning - likewise, a model of forward projections for creating a truly livable city and clearly showing the advantages of each style of community within the city.

http://www.calgary.ca/planit

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Farmers rally to save local food
by JACK KNOX Times Colonist 18 April 2009 jknox@tc.canwest.com

(Click on the title above to read the whole story)

This is one of the reasons that ITO supports revised land use legislation AND appropriate transportation options to get their products to Victoria and anywhere on the island by rapid rail services.

And here is another warning about why we must Save Farming !!

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Report on City Governance - Victoria Dec 2008

United Nations Climate Change Conference

Alex Steffan on “Copenhagen and the War for the Future” – 17 Nov 09

That which is unsustainable cannot go on. Unsustainable things that are propped up too long snap and collapse suddenly. Our way of life is unsustainable. The sooner we transform our economy into one that can generate sustainable prosperity, the better off we’ll be, and with every passing day, the risks of catastrophe grow larger and more certain. We need change now.

Quotes from George Marshall of “Climate Change” – 1 Dec 09

People are best motivated to start a journey by a positive vision of their destination—in this case by understanding the real and personal benefits that could come from a low-carbon world. However, it is not enough to prepare a slide show and glossy report vision that just creates more distance and plays to the dominant prejudice against environmental fantasists. People must see the necessary change being made all around them: buildings in entire neighborhoods being insulated and remodeled, electric cars in the driveway, and everywhere the physical adaptations we need to manage for the new weather conditions. If the U.S. government has one strategy, it should be to create such a ubiquity of visible change that the transition is not just desirable but inevitable. We need to emphasize that this is not some distant and intractable global warming, but a very local and rapid climate change, and we need to proclaim it from every solar-panel-clad rooftop.

The Impact of HST Implementation, July 2010

TC Article - 9 August 2009

The Need for Tax Incentives to Promote Higher Density Living

Avi Icovich in TC - 9 August 2009

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