I am attending Canada at 150:Rising to the Challenge this weekend in Montreal where Canadians of all political stripes and backgrounds are meeting in a non-partisan setting to take on big issues and challenges that will shape our nation's direction.
I am attending as part of the discussion and will provide my feedback into the Reboot Alberta community, I encourage us all to post our insights on how we can address the challenges that face our country as we head to our 150th birthday in 2017.
There are lots of ways to get involved. You can RSVP to the live webcast where you will be able to submit questions during the sessions, by attending one the events being hosted or hosting your own. There is a lot of info on how to here: http://can150.ca/participate-online/ You can sign up for the live webcast of the event here as well.
If you can’t participate over March 26-28, you can submit your thoughts on the challenges for Canada that are going to be addressed now at http://can150.ca/about/ by linking on each heading:
• Jobs Today and Tomorrow: the Productive Society of 2017
• Real life issues for Canadian families: How do we care?
• The Creative and Competitive economy
• Energy, Environment, Economy: Growth and Responsibility in 2017
• A strong presence in the world of 2017: Commerce, values, and relationships
If any readers have comments on any of these topics and want to share them now, I welcome the input as comments. I will be posting from the event on this blog and on Twitter as well. You can follow the event on Twitter at #can150. I encourage everyone to follow this event. I'm thinking it will be historic.
BTW my business partner Satya Das and Green Oil author is speaking on panel about Clean Energy and Canada's Potential in the Low Carbon World: What's Missing.
Regarding the environment and sustainability, I urge you to read the new draft Federal Sustainable Development Strategy at
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ec.gc.ca/dd-sd/9E362EF7-74F6-4189-8AAF-B966EB2F9157/Planning_for_a_Sustainable_Future_a_Federal_Sustainable_Development_Strategy_for_Canada.pdf
>…Your comments on the doc be provided by email to sdo-bdd@ec.gc.ca by July 12, 2010….
I see a lot of good elements in this document. If fully implemented, it could help protect the physical environment and put us on the path to sustainability in a number of areas. However, I am concerned by the weak targets and continued delays in addressing climate change. The government’s track record on this file (including the “wait for U.S.” approach and the scant appropriations in the recent budget) is not reassuring. The pine beetle infestation and arctic warming are clear evidence of the urgent need for action and leadership. Merely listing the minutiae of steps taken will not suffice. Especially on the climate file, I am very skeptical about the adequacy of this strategy, and I am concerned it could just become another screen to hide government inaction.
One welcome thrust, if actually carried out, is in the area of public education. The Canadian public is woefully ill-informed about the environmental consequences of the choices they make – where to live and work, how and where to travel, what to buy, and yes, who to elect – and desperately needs objective, credible sources of information. Somehow we have to get beyond “spin” in fields such as energy use and conservation, climate science, waste reduction, water use and resources, health and safety, transportation, architecture and urban design. In the field of biological diversity, Canada should be developing something similar to the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute; we need far better understanding of the real “human footprint” on our territory and the globe.
The fundamental flaw in the paper is that it addresses only the environment, without integrating economic and social sustainability. A fully integrated strategy would include measures such as appropriate pricing of environmental goods and services, public health and safety, Aboriginal issues, affordable housing, sustainable transportation, to name a few.
These are my first reactions. I may add more later.
To respond to the email on this topic "...comments on the blog about Alberta's role in Canada", Alberta's role will likely not change in the next half century.
ReplyDeleteIt will be the model for selling out to multi-national corporate interests, particularly US ones. The rest of the country, bit by bit will either grow a pair and stand alone for its people like Quebec, or collapse into a collection of English-speaking Puerto Ricos.
Alberta is Canada's grasshopper.
How about we stop all this climate change nonsense now that REAL science ie atmospheric physics has repeatedly shown CO2 induced warming in peer reviewed literature to be complete nonsense.
ReplyDeleteGoogle Richard Lindzen, Alfred P Sloan Professor at MIT and a myriad of others for more info.
Let's focus our energy and limited dollars on real problems not doomer nonsense and lets responsibly grow Alberta's carbon economy.
Albertans ought to quit simultaneously whining on the one hand, and on the other trying to convince ourselves and the rest of Canada that we're the place and people to emulate. Alberta has a martyr complex! I am embarrassed and humiliated,
ReplyDeleteIt worries me that government money is being diverted from professional jobs within the government to construction workers and other blue collar workers. Also, various governments have to realize their job is primarily to protect citizens from exploitation by corporations that don't care about environment or local citizens. The govt's job is not to divert taxpayer money to corporation bottom line.
ReplyDeleteDavid,
ReplyDeleteNot sure if you are being facetious or not. But government money that goes to so called professionals does not necessarily create the same level of economic output as dollars that stimulate construction and blue collar jobs that you seem to sniff at.
Construction results in a much broader "spin-off" as designs are drawn up, materials are purchased, services are procured, infrastructure is built and subsequent economic values are created as that infrastructure earns revenues.
A government professional who writes a report achieves almost nothing.
What we want is regulatory and tax policy that stimulates capital formation and deployment in Alberta in a way that maximizes private capital, minimizes tax payer dollars and ultimately creates jobs for people and sends a revenue stream of taxes back to the government that will hopefully be wisely spent.
Isn't this the Liberal Party's policy fest sans MPs?
ReplyDeleteIf so, please be transparent.
Given your involvement in Alberta Reboot and the Alberta Party, your non-disclosure sullies the names of both of those orgs.
Ken, you and everyone else who plan on attending Canada at 150, should as a 'primer', view the following video so that you all can then deal with the root cause of our malaise, rather than the symptoms only:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60F2bpWQrP8
What we need is stronger protection allowing parents to pull their kids out of freak science and social studies like sex education. It's ridiculous how the unions indotrinate our students.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous at 11:55 a.m.
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed organised by the Liberal Party. The speakers, however, are not picked for partisan affiliations.
One of the spekers, for example is Derek Burney: he implemented free trade as a diplomat, served as Prime Minister Mulroney's chief of staff; and led Prime Minister Harper's transition team in 2006. Not really a "Liberal," wouldn't you say?
A number of "anonymous' posters on Ken's Blogs.
ReplyDeleteCowards.
I do completely agree with the one Anonymous poster above, though. Perhaps Ken you and Satya could get up to speed on the overwhelming evidence that AGW is a hoax and use this forum you are at to at least straighten the rest of the Lib Warmists. Time to get into this new decade by tossing out the old crap "settled science" of the past.
Hey - are some of the guys in the 'States actually planning on charging Al Gore under RICO (Racketeering) statutes for defrauding the Government and investors on climate change revenue.