Canada, with a population of only 33 million, is known for its vast natural resources, socialized health care, and for fiercely protecting its local culture. Recently Canada’s banking system has become the envy of the world; the 2008 World Economic Forum ranked Canada's banking system as the healthiest in the world. Canada though has been impacted by the global economic crisis, due to lower demand for energy commodities and decreased international trade. Nonetheless its economy is much better off than the U.S. economy or European economies.

Globalization

Donald Johnson, a former Canadian minister in charge of economic and regional development and science and technology and a former secretary general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) from 1996 to 2006, discusses his analysis of how globalization overall has impacted Canada.

…as we ponder the Canada that could be 20 years hence — an exercise that, as Keynes counselled, requires us to study the present in light of the past, for the purposes of the future….Today, we have moved into a phase of economic and societal change that presents significant but different adaptation challenges. Unless we meet those challenges, future generations are unlikely to enjoy the quality of life of the current generation….Unless…

It cannot be that way in a country endowed with such natural and human capital. The right public policies should head off that dismal scenario.

…There is much evidence that Canada has failed to maximize the commercial opportunities that have been created by our scientists and engineers. Notably, a recent OECD study of innovation in Canada tells us that “while Canada has enough scientists to meet current demand, it lacks people with management, marketing and other business skills.”

Obviously, we failed in the past to commercialize many innovations and inventions, and ended up buying foreign products. Complementary management, marketing and entrepreneurial skills are clearly essential. The cleverest scientists and engineers in the world are no guarantee that Canadian inventions will be commercialized and exported…

Competition

My thesis that human capital is the foundation for Canada’s success down the road is unassailable. But we risk losing much of this resource to the United States. This is not a new challenge for Canada; however, it is compounded by the failure of the United States to enhance its human capital base to the extent that it should. While that remarkable country, with the largest economy in history, continues to excel in almost every domain of human endeavour, serious fault lines are becoming evident. ..

Look at it this way: Our abundant natural resources have made this a wealthy country. Today, our most important resource is our highly qualified manpower. Our timber, natural gas, oil and minerals cannot migrate to the United States, but people — our most important assets — can and will, through financial incentives the wealth of America can provide. We need to bring those skills home. Bear in mind that they have been heavily subsidized by Canadian taxpayers to boot! I doubt that we would be as generous with our natural resources. …

Environment (Social and Economic)

Obviously, Canada must provide an environment for qualified people and entrepreneurs that is second to none. It is not just money, although that is clearly important. It is the quality of life. At some point on the taxation scale, Canada will see some talent seduced by lower taxes south of the border. The offsetting factors should be healthy Canadian sustainable development under three pillars: economic, social and environmental.

…Canadians must be prepared to accept that public health care and education come at a cost. Social security is expensive, but it is essential to ensuring the stability and quality of life that makes Canada the place to which those PhDs will return.

Johnston, Donald J. “Globalization: Canada tomorrow.” Canadian Business. October 17, 2007
Trade

A National Post (Canadian newspaper) article highlights Canada’s reaction to increasing protectionism by the United States.

When Barack Obama came to Ottawa in February, Canadians lowered their defences and surrendered, seduced by the new President’s promises that the United States would stand by its international trade obligations and resist protectionism.
It was an object lesson in why politicians should be judged on results, not their intentions. The reality is that Canada and the United States are engaging in skirmishes that threaten to erupt into an all-out trade war….

President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes a section that stipulates all iron, steel and manufactured goods used in projects paid for with stimulus funding must be sourced from the U.S. When he came to Ottawa, the President re-assured Canadians that the stimulus package would be subject to NAFTA and World Trade Organization rules, which specifically bar discriminatory practices.

However, those agreements don’t apply at sub-national level and Canadian companies like Hayward Gordon say they are already being squeezed out of projects at state and municipal level, even if those projects are funded with federal dollars.

Worse is likely to come, since new legislation governing the billions of dollars to be spent by municipalities in the U.S. on drinking water improvements include the same Buy America provisions. The Water Quality Investment Act has already passed through the House of Representatives, replete with language that bars foreign firms from bidding on waste and sewer infrastructure projects, and the legislation is set to begin debate in the U.S. Senate next week…

The inevitable response in Canada has been a call for retaliation. “My members are saying ‘I’m being locked out of the American market but Americans have unfettered access to Canadian procurement’. There are growing pressures to have Canadian municipalities impose some reciprocal provisions,” he said.

Ivison, John. “Canada starts to feel the bite of new U.S. protectionism.” National Post. April 29, 2009. 

Technology

Dr. Michael Geist, a law professor at the University of Ottawa where he holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law, writes in his blog about a recent Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) hearing about new regulations concerning new media.

With the conclusion of the CRTC New Media hearing last week, the Commission will now digest the many hours of testimony and thousands of pages of documents with the goal of reaching a decision on the future of new media exception/regulation later this year..

… The Commission is likely to say that Internet radio is still in its infancy as a genuine competitor to regulated radio services and that it should remain unregulated in Canada…

The wireless/mobile Internet is a bit more contentious.  The industry similarly argued that it is still early days for new media broadcasting to mobile platforms.  I suspect that the Commission will agree and exempt wireless service providers from levy schemes or prioritization requirements. ..

The real action will obviously come from within the fixed Internet world… Noting the significant change in the new media broadcasting landscape since 1999, it will argue that there is a role to play for regulation under the current law.

While there were many proposals floated during the hearings, three primary options are on the table:  licencing, levies, and prioritization.  I think the Commission will reject licencing as both unworkable and unnecessary.  Licencing may be needed where there is scarcity of bandwidth or channels, but there is no compelling reason to gatekeep through licences in a world of abundance.

The media has focused most intently on the ISP levy proposals and my guess is that the Commission will set the groundwork for a levy to fund the creation of new media content. ..

I think prioritization might emerge as the big issue.  There are several reasons for this.  First, prioritization feels the most like conventional Canadian content requirements (with an adaptation to the Internet).  Second, the Commission spent a lot of time talking about technical ways to identify Canadian content (ISAN, dot-ca domains). 
Third, the ISPs acknowledged that some form of prioritization might be possible.

… Obviously, any system that grants preferential delivery treatment to Canadian content over foreign content raises net neutrality concerns and I believe should be rejected.  Moreover, some ISPs indicated that they do not have a fast lane/slow lane, so that prioritizing based on speeds is not possible.

What could happen?  One possibility is that the CRTC could mandate that if ISPs adopt two-tier Internet approaches for content delivery, that Canadian content be treated equally - in other words, placed on the fast lane (this was what I tried to suggest in a column last year).  This might create a disincentive to a two-tier Internet. 

Another option would be the exclusion of Canadian content from ISP bandwidth caps - in other words, require ISPs to allow subscribers to download an unlimited amount of Canadian content without such downloads counting against their monthly cap.

A likely objection to this latter approach will be that it is impossible to identify what content qualifies as Canadian for the purposes of excluding it from bandwidth caps (or to do so in a manner that does not invade user privacy)…. ISPs could likely establish a system to identify tagged Canadian content (Rogers said as much during the hearing) without peeking at user viewing habits or causing undue stress on their networks.

Geist, Michael. “The CRTC New Media Hearing - What Comes Next?” March 18th 2009

Investment

Canada is one of the few Western countries that have not needed a massive stimulus plan, as its banking system is considered to be the best in the world. Phillippe Bergevin of the International Affairs, Trade and Finance Division of the Parliament of Canada discusses the impact of the financial crisis on Canada.

So far, Canada’s financial system has been relatively less affected by the global financial crisis than those of other industrialized countries such as the United States and Great Britain. The World Economic Forum has recently ranked Canada’s banking system as the soundest in the world. Canadian banks are profitable, well-capitalized and well-positioned to withstand economic shocks. As well, with the six largest domestic banks holding more than 90% of banking industry assets, the banking industry is relatively stable. Furthermore, the regulatory framework for Canada’s financial sector is both more responsive and more prudent, in some respects, than that of the United States.

Relative to their American counterparts, Canadian banks were less active in the sub-prime lending and securitization activities that are at the centre of the current financial crisis. In 2006, sub-prime loans accounted for less than 5% of new mortgages in Canada, compared to 22% in the United States. Furthermore, whereas more than 50% of all mortgage debts outstanding in the United States were sold to investors through securitization, more than 75% of Canadian mortgages were held by financial institutions on their balance sheet in a more traditional fashion (as of 31 December 2007).

While the Canadian financial system seems to be doing relatively better than those of other countries, Canada’s economy is nonetheless feeling the global economic slowdown. The economic difficulties experienced by our largest trading partner – the United States – are resulting in weaker Canadian exports and further problems for the manufacturing sector. Moreover, the strong Canadian energy and natural resources sector is likely to suffer as the world economic slowdown brings about lower demand and weaker prices for commodities. Although Canada has been relatively insulated from the worst of the financial crisis to date, the impact of the economic slowdown in the United States and elsewhere has affected, and will continue to affect, our nation.

Bergevin, Philippe. “Canada and the United States: The global financial crisis and its impact on Canada.” International Affairs, Trade and Finance Division. Parliament of Canada. December 2008

Health

The merits of the Canadian Health Care system have been thoroughly debated throughout Canada and the United States. The articles below sum up the debate on the system. Click here to read more about the differences between U.S. and Canadian health care systems (previous news analysis).

CBC News article:

A provincial task force is recommending health-care user fees and greater privatization to guarantee the viability of medical care in Quebec.

The task force, headed by former Liberal cabinet minister Claude Castonguay, calls for a shakeup of principles guiding medical care in Quebec to control spiralling costs…

Castonguay, who was Quebec's health minister when the province joined Canadian medicare, said the current system will not last if major changes aren't made soon…
Medicare costs make up a growing percentage of Quebec's annual budget and are increasing by 5.8 per cent a year, surpassing annual government spending increases by 3.9 per cent.

The task force report recommends Quebec cap health-care spending at 3.9 per cent of its total budget and cover additional costs through a health care fund financed partly by doctor visit charges and a provincial sales tax increase.

It also suggests Quebec residents pay user fees as high as $100/year to belong to a medical clinic, and physicians be allowed to practise in both the public and private sectors to increase access to services.

The Castonguay report's major recommendations include:
• An end to the province's monopoly over hospital management.
• A greater role for private health insurance to cover procedures currently paid for by medicare.
• An increase of one-half to one per cent of Quebec's sales tax to finance health care.
• The creation of more health clinics to ensure every Quebecer has access to a family doctor.
• Massive investment for home care and for people living with a loss of autonomy.

… Health worker unions and opposition parties panned the task force recommendations, warning the report's conclusions will lead to American-style medical care and a two-tiered system. But Quebec's doctors' association welcomed the report's findings.

“Task force urges more private health care in Quebec.” CBC News. February 19, 2008

Dr. Colleen Flood is the Scientific Director of the CIHR-Institute of Health Services and Policy Research

A constitutional challenge to Ontario health care legislation prohibiting the purchase of private health insurance for medically-necessary healthcare services (dubbed the "Ontario Chaoulli) was announced on September 5th, 2007. It's another call for increased privatization, based on the misinformed notion that an expanded role for private health insurance will remedy wait times in Canada….

Currently, Canadian regulations prevent doctors who are paid by public Medicare from also providing medically necessary care for private payment. But, doctors can "opt out" of the public system and "go private" (except in Ontario, which as a result of a recent change goes even further and does not allow doctors to "opt out"). Why do we have this regulation? Because if we didn't, doctors would naturally want to spend much more of their time than they presently do treating private patients - as these patients often have easier conditions to treat and they (or their insurer) will pay more…. If you are a patient wealthy enough to be able to pay privately or you have private health insurance, then you may fare better under Medicare Plus. But lines for treatment in the public hospitals will grow longer and longer.

The CMA's recommendation also ignores the simple fact that, in the absence of an increase in the number of doctors (where will we get them from?), the introduction of a parallel private system must mean that the doctors we do have will be distributed between public patients and private patients. Private patients will pay more to have their medical needs met on a preferential basis, leaving public patients on ever growing wait lists. Evidence suggests that allowing doctors to practice in both the public and private sectors will not, as Medicare Plus states, "improve access to services for the entire population."

…. Other countries in Europe - such as France - that appear to have a large private sector actually heavily regulate doctors who work privately - including the price they can charge and the number of doctors who are allowed to charge more than the government-set tariff. So what looks on the surface to be "private" is not really: it's quasi-public because of such heavy regulation.

Canada's health care system needs reform - but reform based on the best available evidence and guided by Canadian values. For example, on the issue of wait times and access to care, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research's Institute of Health Services and Policy Research contributed to the evidence base by funding research in this area.

“The CMA's Plan for Medicare Plus: What does the Evidence Say?” Canadian Institute of Health Research. Press Release. 2007

Culture

Canada has long sought to protect its cultural products from the encroachment of the dominant U.S. cultural products. The analysis provides a historical overview of this policy.

In 1929, the Royal Commission on Broadcasting (the Aird Commission) noted it was in the "the national interest" to ensure that Canada's cultural identity is reflected in the radio programming available to Canadians. This led to the creation of what was to become the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), and marked the beginning of the "great cultural experiment" to preserve Canada's unique cultural identity. This cultural experiment would evolve over time to touch upon many of Canada's cultural activities - broadcasting, music, film and video production, publishing and, more recently, multi-media.

However, throughout it all, Canada's cultural policies have been at the centre of controversy. Some, like the C.D. Howe Institute, argue that a freer market for cultural products will provide incentives for Canadian culture producers to create and profit from their work. Others, like Canadian poet Rosemary Sullivan, believe that government grants for small presses, local theatres and new Canadian artists are essential to nurturing Canadian voices and preserving Canadian stories.

The pressures of global trade and new technologies have exacerbated the tensions, but in many ways, they are just new twists on the continuing debate about the vitality of Canadian culture…

Canadian Content and Ownership Regulations

Canadian Content regulations (Cancon) require television and radio stations to play a certain amount of domestic programming. The Cancon rules are established under the Broadcasting Act and enforced by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) as a condition of licensing for broadcasters…

The CRTC also enforces provisions in the Broadcasting Act and Telecommunications Act which restrict foreign ownership in broadcasting and telecommunications enterprises to 20 per cent as a condition of licensing.
Foreign investment rules under the Investment Canada Act prohibit foreign acquisitions of Canadian publishing companies; and also restrict foreign companies from distributing films unless they hold worldwide distribution rights or have invested at least 50 per cent of the production costs.

Official Languages Policy

Following the work of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism (1963-1970), the Official Languages Act was passed in 1969. The Act mandates the use of both French and English in all federal institutions, and commits the government to "support the development of English and French linguistic minority communities and generally advance the equality of status and use of the English and French languages within Canadian society."

… Taxation Measures

Tax credit incentives to corporations have been put in place to support Canada's cultural industries.

The Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit provides a fully refundable tax credit of up to 12 per cent of the cost of production to eligible Canadian corporations. Section 19 of the Income Tax Act allows Canadian advertisers to claim advertising expenses placed in periodicals which are at least 75 per cent Canadian owned, or on television stations which are at least 80 per cent Canadian owned.

“Canada's Cultural Policies”

Environment

Canada views its environment as a natural treasure. There are still debates though about the protection vs. development. This article highlights this debate vis-a-vie the issue of protecting Alberta’s grizzly bear population.

Grizzly bears are creatures of legend in Alberta. They once roamed, some say, from the Rockies across the great plains, ambling over bald prairie and swampland, moseying across its glaciers, muskeg and its deserts, presiding over wild Alberta like kings; tens of thousands of them, some believe. Today, there is a fraction of that number in the province. Perhaps a few hundred. No one knows for certain, though the government has just spent $2-million to find out.

… Since, and before, it suspended its grizzly hunt in 2006, it has been torn between the interests and rhetoric of hunters insisting Alberta's grizzly population is sustainable, and that of wildlife protectionist groups who would not only like to see the hunting ban permanent -- the moratorium is set to expire by next season -- but would have the grizzly listed as at least a threatened or endangered species..

… The public, too, particularly in urban areas, often dislikes the idea of shooting this figure of native and modern myth. The NDP government of B.C. suspended grizzly hunting in that province, despite the fact that hunters on average cull below 2% of the population yearly. Even after Liberals lifted the ban, a 2008 poll found 70% opposed to grizzly hunting, most citing it as "unethical."

"There's definitely emotion involved, not just science, when it comes to grizzlies," Mr. Whiteside says….

But moves to protect Alberta's grizzlies, designating them as "at risk" or even endangered, as some conservationists would like, affects far more than a few hunters, triggering strict regulations on any industrial activity disturbing habitat, potentially affecting the billions invested annually in the province's vital oil, gas, coal and forestry sector. Those pressing for better grizzly protection are demanding roads and logging curtailed. Area considered primary or secondary grizzly habitat covers 6.2 million hectares, Mr. Whiteside says: one-tenth the province's land mass.

Libin, Kevin. “Alberta's grizzly debate” National Post. April 26, 2009

Migration

Canada is known for its liberal policy towards immigration, with few restrictions on educated immigrants. Salimah, a researcher, activist, writer and Doctoral candidate at Carleton University writes about the path to citizenship for temporary workers.

This paper posits there has been a significant shift in Canadian immigration policy over the past two years -- a shift which has passed under the radar screens of most Canadians.  Formerly based on the precepts of permanent residency and family reunification, from 2006, Canada's immigration system began shifting to a model of temporary migration as the path to permanent residency.  Based on figures estimating the retention rates of the Live-in Caregiver Program for the period 2003-2007 -- until recently, the only program of labour importation modeled on temporary migration as path to permanent residency -- the paper demonstrates that the reorientation of immigration policy is unlikely to serve the long-term needs of Canadian society: building citizenship and the labour force.

The Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP) is a program of the federal government allowing Canadians to import temporary migrant live-in caregivers, also known around the world as domestic workers.  Along with the Canadian Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP), it is one of the oldest programs of labour importation in Canada.  Both the LCP and SAWP are streams of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), which, since its expansion in October 2006, permits the temporary migration of workers for a wide range of employers and sectors in the Canadian economy.

Valiani, Salimah. “The Shift in Canadian Immigration Policy and Unheeded Lessons of the Live-in Caregiver Program.”  Monthly Review. March 3, 2009.

This second article addresses the debate on labour-driven immigration policies.

Toronto - Canada's immigration policy is too focused on short-term labour market needs and therefore shortchanges both new Canadians and the country's longer-term economic development, a leading researcher told a Toronto audience of academics, policy-makers and front line immigration workers Friday.

Although Canada's immigration policy historically focused on "nation building" rather than short-term labour market needs, that is no longer the case, said Naomi Alboim, vice-chair of the Policy Forum at the Queen's University School of Policy Studies…

Alboim said the number of temporary foreign workers entering Canada has "skyrocketed" in recent years compared with skilled worker applicants who typically settle and work in Canada permanently.

"The bad news is it's entirely employer driven," Alboim said.

She noted that 40% of economic class immigrants - who are rated more favourably based on their education and work experience - end up leaving Canada within one year of immigrating.

Alboim said that's because shifts in specific labour markets, such as the recent downturn in Canada's manufacturing sector, can leave temporary workers virtually stranded without jobs once the sector for which they migrated to work begins to falter.

In addition, some Canadian companies are bringing in skilled immigrants as temporary workers, but actually hiring them for permanent positions at lower pay scales. This takes long-term jobs away from Canadian citizens and potentially drives wages down for both citizens and immigrant workers, she said….

She said the federal and provincial governments should work together to create a more cohesive immigration framework, and that immigration policy should look beyond the short term, make more efforts to integrate first and second generation immigrants into the economy, and ensure more balanced entrants among the economic, family and refugee categories of immigrants.

Alboim also recommended a better system to track immigrants, including where they end up within Canada's labour force, to make sure the system caters properly to demand.

Alboim said by 2025, Canada will depend on immigration for 100% of its net labour force growth as the Canadian birth rate continues to fall.

“Canada's Immigration Policy Hurting Newcomers, Economy, Says Researcher.” CEP News. September 26, 2008.

Women and Globalization

A Canadian blogger, who describes herself as “Activist, Social Worker, Avid Lover of Peace, Democracy, and Real Journalism” writes about the feminist movement in Canada.

Last October Feminists from around Canada came together in Montreal to create a new Young Feminist Movement. It was a bilingual conference and it attempted to create some guidelines for a movement. Below is their manifesto that was created:…

We are told that feminism is over and outdated. If this were true then we wouldn't need to denounce the fact that: In reality, many of the demands of our feminist mothers and
grandmothers remain unmet. Women continue to be the victims of sexual violence. Our communities are haunted by the silence that follows these assaults. Throughout Canada, in spite of our right to it, access to abortion services remains insufficient.

Across Canada as well, colonized, marginalized, racialized and disabled women are coerced and/or forced to undergo unwanted or uninformed abortions, forced to use contraception and are subjected to forced sterilization. The hyper-sexualization of women in the media has taught us to view women as sexual objects rather than complete human beings. Getting off, lesbianism and being queer are taboo and a women's choice to seek sexual pleasure is seen as negative. Our identities are eroded as we are taught, from the time we are children, and through television and magazines, that how we should look, dress, and act is determined by our sex. Violence is normalized, sexual abuse eroticized. Our sexual health education is inadequate and our reproductive rights are disrespected. Our needs are not being met.

In reality, women still represent the majority of the underprivileged. Our government steals children from poor and Aboriginal women. Capitalism exploits working-class women and confines middle- and upper-class women to "consumer" roles. We are told that equality has been achieved, but still the wage gap persists. Immigrant women are denied acknowledgment of their academic credentials and are forced to endure intolerable work environments in order to stay on Canadian soil. We lack affordable and accessible childcare. Women remain underpaid, underappreciated, and undervalued in the work force. We have gained the right to vote, yet gender-based discrimination keeps women virtually unrepresented in political office.

In this globalized world, we must construct international feminist solidarity. The actions of Canadian political and economic elites harm women around the world, and in a way that is specifically gender-related. War, genocide and militarization are characterized by the use of rape as a war weapon, femicide, and the sexual exploitation of thousands of our sisters. Free trade contributes to women's increasing social, economic and cultural insecurity. In response to Canadian imperialism, we will globalize our feminist solidarity. In this so-called post-feminist world, our roles in society are still defined by traditional views on gender. Religious and political forces aimed at maintaining the pillars of power in our society silence us from voicing our rights. We denounce the current rise of right-wing ideology in Canadian society and the steps backward in women's rights that this has caused.We are being stripped of rights for which those who came before us fought hard. Geography marginalizes women, with remote, northern and rural women lacking access to basic services. Showing solidarity with our sisters means trying to understand all of the issues we face - including race, class and gender - and standing together against oppression.

This manifesto was adopted at the Pan-Canadian Young Feminist Gathering Waves of Resistance,
Montreal, October 13, 2008.
This is a call to action!

“Canada: Rebelles a new Young Feminist Movement.”  April 29, 2009

Energy

Canada has been a leader in the movement for clean energy, despite its vast natural resources.This article highlights the impact of the green movement by the current economic crisis.

"Green revolution stalls on cheap oil," The Guardian. "Recession hits environmental organizations," Vancouver Sun. "Is the green movement a passing fancy?"
Businessweek. The end is nigh, apparently. Or at least that's the dire prediction from a stream of media reports warning that a vicious one-two punch - a harsh recession combined with low fuel prices - is about to knock the environmental movement off its feet.

The logic is easy enough to follow. Petroleum is cheap once again, having plummeted from US$147 a barrel in July to US$47 as of mid-March - greatly reducing the incentive for fuel efficiency. Across the United States and Canada, meanwhile, four million people have been thrown out of work by the recession. Investors have seen close to 25% of their life savings go down the tubes. Housing prices have crashed.

Times are tough, in other words, and chances are you're more concerned with making ends meet than you are with saving the planet. Paying a little extra for concentrated laundry detergent doesn't sound like such a good idea anymore. Neither does investing in that speculative biofuels start-up. And that letter you'd meant to send to your local MP demanding that more tax dollars be spent saving trees - well, suddenly, that doesn't seem so prudent.

Lack of consumer demand, lack of investment dollars, lack of political will - all this would spell doom for the environmental cause. But news of the green movement's death has been exaggerated. For close to 50 years, modern environmentalism has inched along, taking two steps forward and - when economic disruptions grab our attention - one step back.

…Beyond merely attaining a new level of awareness, environmentalism has reached a tipping point, going from subculture to common culture, manifesting itself in the products we buy, the politicians we elect and the priorities we hold dear…

To call environmentalism a mere "movement" today is to underestimate the hold it has over us. Sustainability is no longer a sphere dominated by activists and special interests; it can be found in every aspect of our lives, whether in curbside recycling programs or corporate initiatives or political speeches. Today, green is mainstream, and nothing - not the recession or cheap oil or resurgent consumerism - is going to stop it. Here's why.

BECAUSE CORPORATIONS HAVE ALREADY BOUGHT IN

…Not so long ago, the debate over environmental policy held no place for corporate leaders, unless the companies they led were the most egregious polluters. Now everything has changed. As sustainability embeds itself in the public consciousness, pressure from all sides - customers, shareholders, government, even employees - has forced all kinds of companies to go green. According to a study released in February by Info-Tech Research Group, 17% of corporations reported green programs in place, while another 56% were planning them for 2009, despite the economic downturn.

These green programs fall under the main categories of waste and energy reduction, recycling and sustainable sourcing. Bell Canada, for instance, has had a recycling program in place since 2003 that has diverted 500,000 cellphones from landfill. Meanwhile, Cisco Canada, which specializes in teleconferencing solutions, has placed a ban on corporate travel.

The most evident response can be seen in the retail sector, which engages with consumers on a daily basis. Today you can watch TV ads where Galen Weston Jr. - CEO of Loblaws and heir to Canada's third-largest fortune - earnestly pitches green products. Walk into any Wal-Mart, meanwhile, and you'll find recycling bins everywhere and the company's "For the Greener Good" logo plastered on hundreds of "green-certified" items - light bulbs, baby food, even flat-panel TVs….

Creating and managing these sorts of programs has come under the purview of a new breed of sustainability professional, which even extends into the executive ranks…Demand for such expertise, meanwhile, has led MBA programs across the country to offer sustainability as a subject. Rob Klassen, a professor at the Ivey School of Business, says that the need for sustainability training has skyrocketed in recent years…

BECAUSE THERE'S MONEY IN CLEANTECH

…The future of cleantech looks even brighter. In California and Ontario, a "smart electrical grid"- which will use sophisticated software that puts electrical nodes in constant communication, thereby plugging significant leaks in the system - is already taking shape. In Ontario, in fact, the project is seen as such a priority that the province's recently passed Green Energy Act allocates $1.6 billion to its development.

BECAUSE OF THE VICTORY OF BARACK OBAMA

If there's a single politician who epitomizes the victory of climate-change activists over skeptics, it's Barack Obama…But in terms of pure influence - for Canada as well as the U.S. - no one comes close to the 44th president of the United States of America….

Here in Canada, the federal response hasn't been nearly so assertive. In fact, the only nod to green programs in the recent stimulus budget was a $1-billion commitment to the development of carbon sequestration for the oilsands industry, which seems underwhelming. But in spite the federal government's reluctance under Stephen Harper to spend taxpayer money on the environment, provincial governments here have taken leadership on the issue. Ontario's Green Energy Act, for instance, empowers local utilities to own and operate renewable generating stations, such as wind farms, and mandates energy-efficiency audits for anyone selling a house. Quebec, meanwhile, is home to one of North America's first carbon exchanges.

Furthermore, because Canadian and American industries are so interconnected, it's almost impossible for the Canadian government to forge ahead on environmental policy without U.S. direction. To that end, President Obama and Prime Minister Harper announced - during their Ottawa meeting on Feb. 19 - a "Clean Energy Dialogue," where officials will meet to review strategies such as carbon sequestration and smart grid technology….

BECAUSE RECESSIONS DON'T LAST FOREVER

…One Environics study, subtitled "Is the environment dead as a public issue now that we are in a recession?" found that 57% of Canadians in October - even as their life savings were going over a cliff - said they were definitely, if not extremely, concerned about climate change, essentially unchanged over the previous 12 months. Moreover, the report found that 63% of Canadians wanted the federal government to maintain equal priority on both the economy and the environment, while only 31% wanted the government to focus primarily on economic security until the crisis settles down….
Sustainability initiatives today can be found everywhere. They're where you work, where you shop, in your home. According to a report by Statistics Canada published in December, 45% of Canadians consider themselves environmentally active: 30% compost organic waste; 56% use low-flow shower heads; 59% use CFL bulbs; and 97% of Canadians recycle to some extent - an act that, for most of us, has become second nature.

Dias, David. “Green dies hard.” Financial Post Magazine. National Post. April 6, 2009.

Human Rights

Canada’s human rights controversies were brought to light in a recent United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) report.

Ottawa (13 Jan. 2009) – Canada could soon find itself shamed by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) as a country that violates international labour and human rights standards.

Fifty submissions slamming Canada – on everything from the state of Aboriginal Peoples to the erosion of labour rights – have been filed with the Geneva-based UNHRC as part of a new Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process.  The UPR involves a review of the human rights records of all 192 UN member states once every four years.  Canada’s human rights record will be officially reviewed at the fourth session of the UNHRC in Geneva which begins Feb. 3, 2009.

The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) was one of the 50 civil society organizations submitting briefs to the the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in preparation for the February review. 

NUPGE concentrated on the serious erosion of labour rights in Canada over the past 27 years as well as Canada’s poor record of ratifying and complying with International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions….

Alex Neve, secretary-general of Amnesty International Canada, said his organization expects Canada to be cited for falling short on human rights issues in a number of areas when the UN human rights arm publishes its final report. 

"To be criticized doesn't mean Canada has joined the worst of the worst (abusing nations)," said Neve. "But as a general rule, Canadians are proud this is a country that believes in human rights and do want our governments (federal, provincial and territorial) to do the right thing."

The Amnesty submission highlights several concerns. In a section on indigenous rights, it notes that more children are in the care of the state now than during the century-plus period when they were forcibly removed from communities and sent to Indian residential schools.

…In its submission, the Assembly of First Nations criticizes Ottawa for refusing to endorse the 2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as well as other problems.

"Canada's position blatantly rejects and undermines the international and domestic rights processes," it says, noting the indigenous population of Canada is "drastically over-represented in incarceration rates, disabilities, poor health indices, suicide and poverty."

“Canada slammed during UN human rights review.” National Union of Public and General Employees

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