POLITICS & POLICIES

Truth and Reconciliation Commission - Day 1 - Walk for Reconciliation “A\J Alter

Why Does Canada Hate Indigenous Rights? One Word: Oil.

Why does Canada hate Indigenous rights? Or, more properly, why has the government campaigned so hard to subdue the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), even when it’s now enshrined in a UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)? The specific right to FPIC, as it […]

The Value Crisis \ Andrew Welch

The Value Crisis: From Dollars to Democracy, Why Numbers are Ruining Our World

Andrew Welch has a thing about numbers. He loves them. But as he gradually began to see the connection between growing, multiple global crises and the lack of awareness surrounding the day-to-day human behaviour that produces them, he began to wonder if humanity’s over-reliance on numbers was responsible. “We use […]

Environment and the 2015 Federal Election: How to Talk About It

Environment and the 2015 Federal Election: How to Talk About It

A\J was thrilled to host a roundtable discussion at the Environmental Studies Association of Canada’s 2015 conference (ESAC 2015), held at Congress 2015 in June. A panel of experts, including Members of Parliament, leaders of national not-for-profits and experts on policy and climate change, came together to discuss how Canadians […]

Transition to Common Work | Joe and Stephanie Mancini

Building Community at the Working Centre

IN 1982, Joe and Stephanie Mancini settled in Kitchener, Ontario, after a volunteer stint in Tanzania. The small city was faced with crippling unemployment as plant closings across North America wiped out many of the jobs that had supported thriving local economies. The young couple responded strongly to the disrupted […]

barker_moose

Status

The birds got to sing and dance. The moose had to grow a huge unwieldy rack and bash heads with it. Maybe once, back in the evolutionary mists, a less elaborate version of that strategy had made some sense. But now he would rather be a bird. Meanwhile in the […]

(Photo: A gutted charter of Canadian rights and freedoms)

Everything You Need to Know About Bill C-51

In January, Greenpeace obtained an RCMP report that identified the “anti-petroleum movement” as a growing and violent threat to Canada’s security. This movement is, the RCMP says, foreign funded, highly organized and “consists of peaceful activists, militants and violent extremists who are opposed to society’s reliance on fossil fuels.”

bccf

Harvesting Social Justice

At the corner of Jane and Steeles, tucked between York University and Toronto’s Jane-Finch neighbourhood, Black Creek Community Farm (BCCF) is using local food to fuel a social justice movement. Launched in July 2013, BCCF is the largest urban farm in Toronto, growing over 60 kinds of crops, including amaranth, […]