“The cost of moving gas power plants for political reasons is more than financial. It erodes confidence in our government and our democracy. It leads to cynicism and turns people off politics.It’s a sad day for democracy when jokes are flying around Queen’s Park that the going rate for a Liberal seat is $40 million. Perhaps the Liberal party should repay the $200 plus million that this fiasco will cost taxpayers or ratepayers.” MIKE SCHREINER, GPO LEADER
The government must be held accountable for such a blatant and obvious example of putting partisan political interests ahead of the public’s interests.
Forgotten in all the talk of gas plants in Mississauga and Oakville is that the Holland Marsh Peaker plant proceeded against local opposition in a PC held riding.
York Enery Centre King Township Peaker Generating Station Construction Progress: 2011-04-21 photos: Greg Locke
That plant is located in Ontario’s protected Greenbelt, adjacent to prime farm land and sensitive wetlands. These compelling reasons and local opposition weren’t enough to stop the plant in a PC riding, yet days before an election local opposition was enough to stop a plant in a Liberal held riding.
Does this new gas plant development contradict Ontario’s 2005 Protecting the GreenBelt plan? check the link below
At a minimum the Premier should issue an unambiguous apology to the people of Ontario for the costs to our finances and democracy that have arisen from his government’s mishandling of siting of gas plants in Ontario.”
“For the Canadian government, the TPP offers cover for major reforms to supply management, the combination of tariffs, quotas and price supports that increase costs for dairy, eggs, chicken, turkey and broiler hatching eggs. The system has been politically untouchable for decades, but using a backdoor approach of mandating change through trade agreement might provide the mechanism to garner the necessary popular support.” University of Ottawa researcher Michael Geist image:20thCenturyFox
Egg and dairy farmers take note…..If you haven’t heard about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (aka TPP) you’re not alone. This major, multinational trade agreement, conducted in private closed-door meetings had already voted on several key issues even before President Obama invited Canada to join this spring.
The TPP now includes the United States, Australia, Brunei, Chili, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore , Vietnam, Mexico and now Canada. Some economists have argued that since Canada already has free trade agreements with 4/10 of the TPP members we are not likely to see much ‘return on our buck’.
So the question then: Why has our Federal government shown so much interest? Is there a chance that by signing on to TPP, Canada could use the agreement conditions to make sweeping regulator changes in our country? And if the media reports circulating are to be believed (enter “Canada joins TPP” into your fave search engine) it seems inevitable that Stephen Harper’s government will soon announce Canada’s membership.
Law Professor Michael Geist image:cybera.ca
This from an online feature by University of Ottawa researcher Michael Geist :
“With Canada already surrendering negotiation leverage and few important markets at stake, our participation is less about other TPP countries and much more about us. Business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce applauded Canada’s entry into the TPP, (http://www.uschamber.com/press/releases/2012/june/us-chamber-applauds-canada%E2%80%99s-entry-trans-pacific-partnership-negotiations) expressing the hope that it would force further changes to Canadian intellectual property laws less than 24 hours after Bill C-11 passed in the House of Commons.
[From 2011, NDP MP Andrew Cash points out concerns regarding Bill C-11 CP]
For the Canadian government, the TPP offers cover for major reforms to supply management, the combination of tariffs, quotas and price supports that increase costs for dairy, eggs, chicken, turkey and broiler hatching eggs. The system has been politically untouchable for decades, but using a backdoor approach of mandating change through trade agreement might provide the mechanism to garner the necessary popular support.
Come on, breastfeeding is not obscene. Breastmilk has evolved into an immune-building milk tailor-made for each child to protect infants and children from illnesses in their environment. There are over 400 ingredients in breastmilk whose reasons for being there are not fully known. There is a component in breastmilk which is only there to grow the baby’s brain. That’s it. It can’t be replicated. Saying a certain non-humanmilk-based formula is ‘closer to’ breastmilk is akin to saying Michigan is closer to Hawaii than Pennsylvania. True, but one wouldn’t be closer to Hawaii’s environment, would they?
Our September Print edition cover- It is western culture that has sexualized breasts to the point where seeing a mother breastfeeding her child is obscene. image: courtesy of the author
Did you know that if you leave a naked baby on mom’s chest right after birth, they have the knowledge and ability to crawl to the breast and nurse perfectly by themselves (especially if mom was un-medicated during the birth). It is a beautiful moment to watch. That instinct is there for 3-4 months.
Should breastfeeding ever hurt? No. Just because many women do have pain in breastfeeding, doesn’t make it ‘normal.’ Most pain in breastfeeding, in my 20-year experience, is from poor latching or lack of knowledge. There isn’t enough time in a full prenatal labour/birth class to give breastfeeding instruction the time it needs. Attending La Leche League (LLL) meetings while pregnant can help prepare you (www.LLLc.ca). Or, talk with an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant if you are nervous speaking in a group. Plus, partners may feel more comfortable speaking individually. IBCLC’s are listed here: http://www.americas.iblce.org/ibclc-registry. Both LLL and IBCLC’s are available before and after you have your baby and are a tremendous resource and support.
Maternite (Motherhood) by Maria Blanchard. Due to physical conditions that prevented Maria from ever being able to have children, she powered up her paintings with sentiment and substance. CP
The World Health Organization, and the Canadian Pediatric Society both say to exclusively nurse your baby for the first 6 months of life and to breastfeed for 2 years or more. That is the world standard. It is western culture that has sexualized breasts to the point where seeing a mother breastfeed her child is obscene. There is no food on earth which can replace the vitamins, minerals, and immunities which are found in human milk. How is seeing a baby nurse in public worse than seeing the lingerie models in the mall?
Dads should not be left out of baby’s life. But, if dads were meant to feed babies, they would lactate. Skin-to-skin bonding with dad/baby increases parenting hormones and normalizes baby’s temperature, heart, and breathing.
Public breastfeeding- what’s the big dealio? image: courtesy of the author
Dads, or other support people, may use a medicine cup (like what comes with children’s fever medicine) to feed the baby. In addition, baby’s tongue works similarly to breastfeeding, so feeding a baby with cup and at the breast should not cause nipple confusion.
There are documented risks to formula-feeding (increased risks for obesity, diabetes, and general colds/flus). Plus, moms may have an increased risk of breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes if she chooses formula feed. Breasts are part of our anatomy to feed our babies. Honour that.
For the Silo by Aboriginal midwife Stephanie MacDonald, IBCLC. Contact Stephanie on twitter @StephIBCLC
Supplemental- 30$ per scoop Ice cream made from human breastmilk on sale in London, England
