Flip of the Coyne

Save Bill C-474 on April 14! Your new action can stop the biotech industry from defeating this Bill!

Dear Spencer,

Your actions are making a huge difference. The biotech industry has launched a heavy lobbying campaign to stop Bill C-474. Despite this industry pressure, the Liberals spoke in favour of Bill C-474 tonight – but their voice was not strong enough to drown out Conservative opposition, yet. The Conservatives voted against the Bill, but Bill C-474 is not dead yet. The official vote on Bill C-474 will happen on April 14!

Bill C-474 would require that “an analysis of potential harm to export markets be conducted before the sale of any new genetically engineered seed is permitted.” The Bill could stop GE alfalfa and GE wheat.

The industry association CropLife is so worried about the influence of your letters that they have copied CBAN’s campaign, asking their own public to write to MPs as well. (You can have a peek at the copy-cat campaign here: http://www.croplife.ca/web/english/biotechnology/Bill_C-474). We also know that key Liberal MPs have been under a lot of pressure from the biotech industry, including a steady stream of calls to their offices. But your voices are still being heard!

Here are some ways you can make a difference, today:

1. We have set up a new action. You can write an instant letter to Michael Ignatieff, Liberal Party leader from CBAN’s website http://cban.ca/liberalact474 Ask him to make sure all Liberal MPs are present on April 14 to vote in favour of Bill C-474. Tonight, the Liberal Party spoke in favour of a transparent debate on the Bill in the Agriculture Committee but will they vote for the Bill on April 14? (The NDP and Bloc support the Bill.)

2. You can also send your MP another letter from http://cban.ca/474action – Your continued pressure is important.

3. Below is an action alert that you can send around to your family, friends, and around your community. For more information and other action see http://cban.ca/474

4. Please consider supporting CBAN’s work with a financial contribution so we can continue this strong campaigning. CBAN is a small organization that is entirely funded by charitable donations and small project grants. CBAN has limited resources but is up against well-financed corporate giants like Monsanto. Donate online to keep this work going and to help us start our new campaign to stop the GE “Enviropig™” at http://cban.ca/donate

Please join us to stop GE crops from causing untold harm to Canadian farmers.

Thank you for your continued action and support, Best regards

Lucy Sharratt, Coordinator, Canadian Biotechnology Action Network

P.S. Contact me any time at 613 241 2267 ext.6 or coordinator@cban.ca

Published Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Vol. 61 Issue 6 Page A4

Inspect yourself. The Federal government has proposed that poultry processing plant employees would be responsible for policing themselves under the proposed “poultry rejection program.” The program would make processing plants responsible for monitoring the birds as they pass down the line, and according to veterinarians who monitor food safety, the plants would no longer have to publicize the reasons that the birds were rejected.

This is mind-boggling to me. We have an avian flu outbreak in the Fraser Valley, an ever growing peanut recall, and recalls on some products for listeria and our government has turned over the safety of our food system to someone who may have just started working in a processing plant making less than 12 dollars an hour. I just cannot wrap my head around it.

I have been talking about food security and the need for local, sustainable and safe food systems. I have begun to pay more attention to what is happening with our food systems and it is not good. All you need to do is turn on the evening news and you will hear of more health risks due to our factory farm system. Take the peanut recall; it now seems that the peanuts that contaminated the products being recalled were actually turned away at the Canadian border for being dirty and then taken to a plant in the US where they were processed and sent around North America. A handful of dirty peanuts have contaminated millions of dollars worth of products.

Food is a commodity because we trade it, but food is not like other commodities; we cannot live without food. We have allowed our governments to dismantle our agriculture in return for agribusiness. Agribusiness has centralized the means of production and has over processed our food stuffs to the point that when we have a small outbreak or contamination we end up with a large percentage of our system being compromised. Be it lack inspection or new unproven science or genetically modified seeds our food system is under attack twenty four hours a day seven days a week. Small family farms are swallowed up by larger ones that need to produce more to stay competitive and keep costs down so food processors can bring us the newest, cheapest and fastest way to make dinner.

Take a look at the products on the shelves at your local grocery store. How much of it is raw natural food? A bit of produce, some meat, and a bit of dairy and in some places there is natural flour. You can now buy a roast that you take out of your ice cream tub looking container put it in your slow cooker, add water and you’re done. It might have taken a couple extra minutes to add a couple spices and a potato, but a roast is a roast. The difference is the frozen one you buy has preservatives and has been prepared and frozen for you before packaging. I would wager the one you bought from the local rancher and some fresh vegetables would taste better and would only add five minutes to your cooking time. If we have fewer controls in these massive processing plants the chances of things going wrong shoot up drastically. So at a time when our food system is under siege our government has decided to take a page from Wall Street and let the processors police themselves.

Published Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Vol. 61 Issue 5 Page A4

60,000 turkeys from one farm will be killed and disposed of by the time you read this and that number may rise before publication date.  Why are 60,000 turkeys being killed?  There has been another outbreak of Avian Flu (bird flu) at an Abbotsford farm and there are at least 23 other neighbouring farms under quarantine.

It is time that we as a society begin to re-examine our farming practices.  Factory farming has allowed us to mass produce our food, but at the same time, when you have outbreaks of disease you are also losing massive quantities of your food line and the possible spread and mutation of the disease can cause devastating results.  The 2004 outbreak of avian flu saw the destruction of 17 million birds.  17 million!  Of course, not all the birds culled were infected, but officials could not take the chance since bird flu can jump straight from birds to humans with devastating effects.

It seems that these types of outbreaks are becoming more and more common, be it avian flu or another salmonella contamination.  It has become clear that factory farming is failing us.  I will agree that a small local producer will have higher overhead, might not produce as much per acre, but I will argue that local production can meet local demand and can do it in a more ecologically sensitive manner.  This means that in the end the local farmers can feed their community in a way that is sustainable and at the end of the day will help create a stronger and healthier community.

The mass production of food is starting to endanger our food delivery system.  Just think back to last summer when the salmonella outbreak was thought to be from tomatoes.  The tomato supply was completely shut off and the industry was devastated as a result.  In the end it turned out to be something other than tomatoes.  There was also the California spinach incident.  This week it is peanut paste and peanut butter products.  In the end it doesn’t really matter what is infected.  It is that fact that it is happening more and more often and people are dying as a result that is unacceptable.

Our food is no longer local.  It comes from all across the world and we have very little control over quality or growing conditions.  When there is a disruption in the supply line or if there is a health risk our grocery chains’ shelves become bare and we run out of food.  When there are disease outbreaks in livestock we end up losing not only a few head of cattle or a couple flocks of chickens.  We lose a percentage of the entire national production and in many cases it causes shortages and puts the entire food system under stress.  We need to change in order to protect ourselves from disease or other food borne illness but also to protect ourselves from food shortages.  We need to change not only how we produce food but how we think of food.

Published Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Vol. 61 Issue 4 Page A4

It’s hard these days not to discuss President Barack Obama.  When I was thinking about what to write about, I was going to avoid talking about the topic because of the 24-hour coverage since the inauguration, but really, how can you not talk about what could be one of the most significant moments in history since the fall of Berlin Wall, Tiananmen Square and the end of the Soviet Union?  Obama has inspired a generation of Americans, not to mention all peoples around the world.  I personally have big hopes for Obama.

My hopes for Obama aren’t for him to bring an end to the war in Iraq, or to save the economy, although it would be nice to see both.  My hope is that Obama recognizes that urgent action needs to be taken to reign in green house gases.  Without real leadership, alternative energy will not grow out of its infancy and into the mainstream.

Obama needs to break America of its oil addiction.  If America does it, the world will follow.  Obama needs to look at the massive trade deficit with the rest of the world and get the American people back to work.  Again, if America does it, the world will follow.

Why do I want America to break the chains of oil and head back down the road to self-sufficiency, ultimately hurting the Canadian economy?  The answer is simple: if America changes its economy to a self-sufficient green economy, Canadian governments will follow suit, new markets will open up and new companies will rise to fill demand.

The green economy or eco-economy is the future and it will take some real leadership to make the change.  Nations, or more specifically, regions, will need to become more sufficient to make the new economy work.  With the current economic collapse, it is time to take advantage and begin the switch in earnest.

Our national government is slow to make any major changes in the way we do business.  Our government decided not to follow the Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty to which our nation had agreed.  This is where we need strong leadership from our southern neighbours.  Obama and his Democratic Congress and Senate can show the world that it needs to change, and with the stroke of a pen, they can make this happen.  Ottawa would have a hard time not signing onto a new economic plan when our largest trading partner no longer does business as usual.

It’s time for change.  Obama might just be the person who can make that change happen.  Now we need to have hope that he will do the right thing and make the change that he promised.

Published Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Vol. 60 Issue 52 Page A4

Can you correctly answer four simple questions about our government?

1. Who is the head of state?
2. How can Canada’s system of government best be described?
3. Do Canadians elect the prime minister directly?
4. Can the Governor General nix a prime minister’s request of a new election?

Write out your answers before you read further.

If you can answer those four questions correctly, you are smarter than the average Canadian. These questions were taken from a recent poll done by the Dominion Institute. The poll found that only 24% of Canadians could answer all the questions correctly! There are a couple of startling numbers to come out of this poll: 17% of Canadians said we live in a representative republic and 25% said a co-operative assembly, and maybe one of the most worrisome is that 51% of citizens polled said that we elect the prime minister directly! Also, a recent Ipsos Reid poll found that 75% of Canadians believe that the prime minister or Governor General is the head of state.

I suppose shocking findings such as these explains some of the outrage and confusion over what is happening in Ottawa. When people do not understand how their own government works, how it is elected or how it represents them, it takes very little to persuade them that what is happening in the House of Commons is wrong.

That being said, you have to question the motives behind some who have tried to paint our duly and lawfully elected members of parliament as traitors. Not only are such allegations borderline slanderous, but they fan the flames of ignorance. I do not care what your party affiliations are, when you call a lawfully elected member of parliament a traitor you are walking on very thin ice, especially when the now prime minster has hinted at coalition governments in the past (press conference April 20, 2005). The proposed coalition government of the Liberal and NDP is not only a legitimate proposal, but it is also a constitutionally legal proposal.

What it all really boils down to is that the majority of Canadians do not have the basic knowledge to be able to participate fully within our democracy. I am worried about these findings. I am scared of what it means for the future of Canada. I urge our schools and educators to take a more active role in educating the next generation of citizens. I call upon elected officials to make the right choice and find a way to educate the electorate on how our system of government works. If we are to stay a democracy, we need an educated and active citizenry.

Here are the correct answers to the four questions:

1. the Queen
2. Constitutional Monarchy
3. No
4. Yes

Treason:

(a) uses force or violence for the purpose of overthrowing the government of Canada or a province; (b) without lawful authority, communicates or makes available to an agent of a state other than Canada, military or scientific information or any sketch, plan, model, article, note or document of a military or scientific character that he knows or ought to know may be used by that state for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or defence of Canada; (c) conspires with any person to commit high treason or to do anything mentioned in paragraph (a); (d) forms an intention to do anything that is high treason or that is mentioned in paragraph (a) and manifests that intention by an overt act; or (e) conspires with any person to do anything mentioned in paragraph (b) or forms an intention to do anything mentioned in paragraph (b) and manifests that intention by an overt act.

High Treason:

(a) kills or attempts to kill Her Majesty, or does her any bodily harm tending to death or destruction, maims or wounds her, or imprisons or restrains her; (b) levies war against Canada or does any act preparatory thereto; or (c) assists an enemy at war with Canada, or any armed forces against whom Canadian Forces are engaged in hostilities, whether or not a state of war exists between Canada and the country whose forces they are.

These are the legal definitions of treason in Canada. This is what members of the Conservative party and their supporters are accusing the Liberal and NDP parties of. I wonder if these people who want to claim that the lawfully elected Members of Parliament acting within the constraints of the Canadian Law know what Libel, Slander and Defamation are. If the opposition MPs are operating within the law, can it be called treasonous?

Defamation is a “written or spoken attack on a person or organization’s reputation.”

Libel is “the written act of defamation” for example writing letters to the editor.

Slander is “the oral act of defamation.” An example of this would be an interview.

If I was the government or even the supporters of the government I would tread lightly when accusing the opposition parties of treason. Treason is an exaggeration of what is happening in Ottawa. Those in opposition to the coalition might also want to take a look at their Prime Minister’s own words in of April 20^th, 2005 when he said “I would not want the Prime Minister to simply think he can simply fail in the House of Commons as a route to another general election. That is not the way our system works.” “Not how our system works.” He said this at a press conference when he discussed that there has been informal discussion about coalition governments and that he would hope that the Governor General would look to the opposition to form a new government if the present one fails. Hmm, can anyone say “hypocritical”? Maybe the conservative party supporters and members should think before they speak since their own leader at one time openly spoke of exactly what is happening today.

There have been a lot of fireworks in Ottawa this past week causing a lot of debate outside of Ottawa. Whether you like what’s happening or not you need to ask yourself if it is legal? The answer is yes.

It is legal, but the rhetoric from the Conservative party is that it is nothing less than a coup d’état, but this is just rhetoric. The thing about our system of governance is that we do not elect a Prime Minister, nor do we elect members of a party. There is no mention of parties in the Constitution, and unlike the United States, the Prime Minister is not an elected position. We do not vote for him/her directly.

What happens is that we are to elect a local candidate that will best represent our riding in Ottawa. Prime Minister is picked by the members of parliament. The Prime Minister must have the confidence of the House. The Governor General then appoints that person to lead the government. This person holds the position of Prime Minster (First Minister) until losing the confidence of the house or a general election is called. If the Prime Minister fails a confidence vote then the last government can be asked to form a government.

There is nothing undemocratic about what is happening in the house because all (and I must reiterate this) all the people who sit in the house were democratically elected and they all have the right to form a government. This is our system. Like it or not, this is how it works.

This is not a bad deal for Canada, though it might be a bad deal for conservatives. This collation talk is actually a good thing for Canada. It is within the letter of the law and it means that the majority of the house will work together. Imagine that: people working together in Ottawa.

To learn more read the constitution: http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/const/index.html