Across British Columbia, farmers are facing unnecessary barriers because local governments are misclassifying agritourism accommodations. The Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) and Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) clearly recognize agritourism as a permitted farm use. Yet, in the Thompson‑Nicola Regional District (TNRD), seasonal, off‑grid farm‑stay units are being misclassified as “single family dwellings.” This misclassification threatens the viability of agritourism businesses, undermines provincial policy, and penalizes farms that are operating in good faith under ALR/ALC guidelines. Agritourism is not just about farm stays — it’s about: • Strengthening rural economies. • Supporting local food systems. • Providing authentic educational and cultural experiences. • Building bridges between farms and communities. When local governments undermine agritourism, they undermine the resilience of farming itself. Join Us We urge the TNRD Board to reject punitive measures and instead work with farmers, chambers, and tourism groups to create policies that support agritourism across the region. 👉 Sign this petition to stand with BC farmers and protect the future of agritourism.

NB Power’s rate hike affects all of us. Families and seniors already struggling with the cost of living will be forced to pay even more just to keep the lights on. Small businesses will see higher bills too, which can mean higher prices for everyone. As a Crown corporation, NB Power should be accountable to the people of New Brunswick — not balancing its books on the backs of households. If we don’t speak up now, these hikes will just keep coming.

Doug Ford and his Conservative government are attacking two pillars of Ontario that impact every single one of us: healthcare and education. • Our healthcare system is being dismantled and privatized, putting profits before patients. This affects all of us — from our aging parents who need long-term care, to our children who need access to doctors, nurses, and emergency services. • Our education system is being cut and underfunded. Every child deserves the right to learn in a classroom with proper supports. Instead, Ford is blaming school boards for “overspending” while his government refuses to provide the funding students actually need. The federal government has done what it can, but healthcare and education are provincial responsibilities. The time is now to stop Doug Ford from privatizing the very systems that were created to give everyone — no matter their income — the chance to be healthy and to learn. We demand that Doug Ford and the Ontario Conservatives: 1. Stop healthcare privatization and invest in publicly funded, publicly delivered healthcare. 2. Fully fund Ontario’s public education system so that students, teachers, and families get the supports they need. This is about our future. Our healthcare and our schools are not for sale.

Doug Ford is defunding colleges at a time we need it the most.  Ontario’s college system is on life support. The culprit? Chronic underfunding and the Ford governments' plans to privatize education. 10,000 faculty and support staff jobs in public colleges have been lost already, and 650+ programs have closed across Ontario's 24 college campuses. If nothing is done, we will see colleges merge or close, erasing opportunities for learners, and dealing devastating blows to local economies - especially in rural and northern parts of the province. With economic uncertainty due to Trump’s tariffs, and high youth unemployment: colleges were built for this very moment. But while provincial grants to colleges go down every year, since 2020 we've seen Doug Ford pump $2.5 billion dollars into the "Skills Development Fund", which has doled out massive amounts of money to subsidize corporate training, which have seemingly low to no educational standards or requirements for reporting, unlike colleges. Colleges provide cycle-breaking education for thousands of Ontarians across the country - offering life changing education in their own communities, critical for retraining, non-traditional learners, or for those who leaving a community is just not financially possible. We cannot stand by as Doug Ford tries to privatize our college system. Sign the petition now to call on Doug Ford to fund Ontario's college system, not corporate subsidies.

For months, the community has contributed ideas, surveys, and feedback to shape Vision 2050. The plan outlines a bold vision for housing, jobs, healthcare, safety, culture, and sustainability. But residents are growing frustrated with delays, reports, and endless meetings. It’s time to act. We believe Owen Sound can and must: • Finalize the plan at the Sept. 24, 2025 full-day working session with council, staff, and community leaders. • Approve the plan at the Oct. 6, 2025 Council meeting, and mandate a new Owen Sound Community Strategic Leadership Action Team to oversee its rollout. • Launch and communicate Vision 2050 at the Oct. 27, 2025 Council meeting, with a clear roadmap, evaluation plan, and public accountability. This three-step path is achievable, because the work is already done: the draft plan is strong, consultations are complete, and Owen Sound has the partners and expertise to succeed.  What’s missing is urgency. As Juha Kaakinen, architect of Finland’s housing strategy, reminded us: “You can’t KPI your way out of a crisis. Sometimes you just have to give a damn.” We urge Owen Sound City Council: Stop the hamster wheel. Stop planning. Start doing. Launch Vision 2050 this fall.

The Burnaby incinerator, located in an urban environment and near neighbourhoods and farms, is a major source of pollution. Touted as waste to energy, it wastes more energy than it recovers.  Burning solid waste, 20% of the material going in comes out as toxic ash and the remaining 80% is released into the air. Emissions include dioxins, furans, heavy metals like arsenic, mercury and lead as well as nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxides, and many more types that can cause cancer, breathing problems and disrupt endocrine systems. These are harmful to human and environmental health and some can accumulate on agricultural land. It is one of the top 25 greenhouse gas emitters in the province. Very expensive to run, it prevents far better solutions like zero waste actions of reducing, reusing, repairing, sharing, composting and recycling from being implemented. As Metro Vancouver  is developing its new solid waste management plan that they will then ask the Ministry to approve, NOW is the time to push back and ask for the incinerator to be shut down.

The Northern Gateway pipeline project will pose significant environmental risks, particularly regarding potential oil spills and increased greenhouse gas emissions. The pipeline would have crossed numerous rivers and streams, potentially harming salmon habitats and other aquatic ecosystems. The increased tanker traffic to transport the oil would have also raised the risk of marine spills and disturbances to coastal environments, including the Great Bear Rainforest.   We want to protect all the watersheds, rivers, streams and wildlife habitats along the proposed pipeline route and salmon, oysters, shrimp, sable fish, etc. in BC's coastal waters. We want future generations to marvel at Orcas, Grey and Humpback whales, Sea Lions, Sea Otters, Sea Bird. We want clean beaches and a pristine Great Bear Rainforest & Sea and Haida Gwaii. 

GardaWorld — a Canadian-based “private security company” — has million-dollar contracts to execute Trump's racist and inhumane immigration regime, which kidnaps people, tears families apart, and denies people due process. This includes staffing the infamous ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) facility "Alligator Alcatraz", which has been described as an "oversized kennel" where people are held without cause, don't see sunlight, and are denied basic rights. The Canadian government, meanwhile, is also quietly awarding federal contracts to GardaWorld — and has refused to commit to ending those contracts despite knowing the company’s role in these abuses. The Code of Ethics of GardaWorld states that the company: "GardaWorld fully supports the principles enshrined in the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights." And yet: • ICE and the U.S. government are currently being sued for a policy which allows ICE agents to arrest people for showing up to court and prevent them from pursuing their immigration cases • Reports from more than two dozen facilities across 16 states from 2017 to 2019, found "negligent" medical care (including mental health care), "unsafe and filthy" conditions, racist abuse of detainees, inappropriate pepper-spraying of mentally ill detainees and other problems that, in some cases, contributed to detainee deaths. And reports from 2017-2021 show the same patterns. • ICE detention lacks basic due process protections found in criminal detention • ICE and immigration detention are being used to deter use of First Amendment-protected free speech This is Maple-washing at its worst. A company using its Canadian identity and reputation to legitimize its work while contributing to a brutal system of detention and deportation. And yet, the Canadian government continues doing business with GardaWorld. That's OUR money the Canadian government is using through the public purse to fund and legitimize these abuses. Canada must take a stand. No more contracts. No more complicity. Sign the petition now to demand the Canadian Government end contracts with GardaWorld. 

The climate crisis is expensive. In just a few hours during July 2024, heavy rainfall in Toronto caused over $940 million in insured damages. A month later in August, a 20-minute hailstorm in the Calgary area led to $3.25 billion in insured losses with 130,000 claims filed in a single day. When we go beyond just looking at the insured losses and account for the cost of these extreme weather events on healthcare, businesses, and social factors, the costs are even greater. For example, Swiss Re estimates that the financial impact of the Fort McMurray wildfires cost around $8.9 billion or 5.2 times greater than insured losses of $1.7 billion. What is the largest contributor to this problem? Fossil fuels. Fossil fuels – coal, oil, and gas – are by far the largest contributor to climate change, accounting for over 75% of global green house gas emissions and nearly 90% of all carbon dioxide emissions. As greenhouse gas emissions blanket the Earth, they trap the sun’s heat. This leads to global warming and climate change. Heat-pumps and Green Building Standards are an important part of the energy transition. Local governments who are closest to the ground must be treated as equal partners in this as they are the ones closest to the ground, understand the needs of the community, and engage in deliberative processes.

Shambhalas last minute decision to go cashless impacts the community for a myriad of reasons.  The most egregious of which is changing the terms under which we bought tickets to this event. It limits our accessibility to essential goods and services ie; Food / Beverages / Ice etc ...  It also limits vendors livelihoods by forcing them to take one less form of payment and giving them little time to prepare for a sudden change. Shambhala music festival has offered little to no information about security measure for they're RFD bracelets and has not answered questions about refunding remaining funds on said pre-loaded bracelet making this a blatant money grab.  With Shambhalas recent infractions / fines from the BC Ministry of Transportation as well as WORKSAFEBC it is well within reason to assume that the "better business bureau" and "ombudsman" would be willing to look into this forced change.  The links to both of which are below.  https://bcombudsperson.ca/complaints/ https://www.bbb.org/file-a-complaint

This shamelessly greenwashed environmental and fiscal misadventure is an absolutely needless waste of taxpayer dollars when a far less costly and environmentally sustainable means of providing a more efficient and upgradable electrical storage facility can be done faster with a battery park on Saugeen/Ojibway land beside the Bruce Nuclear Power Plant in Tiverton Ontario.   Having to run a new high voltage transmission corridor from Bruce Nuclear Power plant to run pumps in Meaford is a flagrant abuse of funds and the environment when a battery park near the power source can be built and service our struggling electrical grid far sooner and for a fraction of the cost. 

The recent article in the globe and mail indicated that members of the NDP leadership are looking to require $150,000 entry fee and $1.5 million spending limit for the upcoming NDP leadership race. This would require prospective NDP leaders to spend their time extracting more money from NDP members. There is no evidence this will improve the quality of the leader chosen or provide real value to NDP members. It will significantly narrow the field of prospects to choose from. When a leadership race is centered on earning votes rather than fundraising, the focus shifts to the quality of ideas, vision, and genuine connection with the public. When fundraising ability becomes the main metric, candidates are often judged by their access to wealth and influential networks rather than their competence or responsiveness to the needs of everyday citizens. This approach risks sidelining talented leaders who might not have the same financial backing but possess the moral authority, innovative thinking, and grassroots appeal necessary to drive meaningful change. Choosing leaders based on votes ensures that the race reflects the true will of the people, emphasizing policy substance and community trust over the sway of dollars.  Furthermore, making the leadership race about vote-earning rather than fundraising reinforces the democratic principles upon which the NDP is founded. A campaign that prioritizes genuine voter support over financial prowess helps purge the undue influence of big-money interests, paving the way for a leadership that is more attuned to the concerns and aspirations of its members. This approach not only elevates honest, effective leadership but also restores public confidence in a process that should be a contest of ideas and commitment to progress. It positions the party to better serve its constituents, signaling a renewed dedication to meaningful change over monetary influence. I propose an alternative: using centralized, party-funded platforms to drive our fundraising efforts. Rather than evaluating candidates solely on their individual fundraising prowess, we can assess their ability to mobilize and manage our party’s resources. This model levels the playing field, encouraging broader participation, especially from candidates who may not have deep pre-existing donor networks, while ensuring that any surplus funds are retained within the party for future needs. By transforming the leadership race into a collective fundraising event, we not only simplify the financial landscape but also strengthen our party's unity and resource base. This change would allow us to focus on finding the best leader to deliver results while optimizing our financial resources for long-term success. Stand for a NDP leader who can win hearts, not wallets - Sign now to ensure our NDP leadership race is defined by earned votes—not by the power of fundraising!