It is up to each of us to risk backlash over staying silent on an issue that affects all of us. In case you missed it... Yesterday, TELUS sent out a simple tweet supporting climate action by the Government of Canada. Rebel Media decided to use it against the company, encourage a social media backlash, insult its Chief Sustainability Officer, and gather 5,000 signatures on a petition that encourages people to Cancel their TELUS services solely because of its support for climate action. As a result, the company has had to retreat back into the dark cave of PR damage control, apologize for its statement, delete the tweet, and deal with competitors trying to steal customers who express disagreement on social media. We keep talking about how we need our corporations and institutions to rise above, to take a courageous stance on the issues that matter most, and to care about more than just their own financial sustainability. I work at TELUS but am speaking as a Canadian: we cannot allow a few people to use the 'power' of social media to discourage big companies from acting on one of the biggest issues of our time that will affect our children, grandchildren, and generations to come. Here are a few facts: - Telus isn’t the only big company inside Smart Prosperity or the only firm backing carbon pricing - Loblaws, RBC and Tembec are all members of the environmental coalition - Ahead of the global agreement in Paris on carbon emissions last year, major global companies issued a call for carbon pricing systems. BP plc, Royal Dutch Shell pls, Statoil ASA and Total SA were among the firms who called for pricing - Top oil sands firm Suncor Energy also supports carbon pricing, though they haven’t released a statement on the new federal plan. The Mining Association of Canada has also stated its support for carbon pricing SIGN the petition NOW and let's show Rebel Media what Canadians really believe and stand for.

WHEREAS a motor vehicle overtaking a cyclist with less than one metre of clearance presents substantial threat to the cyclist; WHEREAS the City of Vancouver has adopted a goal for zero traffic fatalities as part of its Transportation 2040 plan, the city of North Vancouver has endorsed Vision Zero, and the British Columbia road safety strategy acknowledges Vision Zero; WHEREAS similar laws have already been passed in 17 U.S. states and 2 Canadian provinces; WHEREAS cyclists (in particular young or less experienced cyclists) may lose control when passed too closely. Larger vehicles at higher speeds may generate a wind gust which causes cyclists to lose control. WHEREAS Statistics from ICBC consistently indicate 1,500 cyclists are injured each year in crashes; THEREFORE, we petition the British Columbia department and Minister for Transportation pass legislation amending the Motor Vehicle Act which would require motorists to give 1 metre of clearance when overtaking a cyclist below 50 km/h, and 1.5 metres when travelling faster than 50 km/h.

In the space of five weeks and between two people we've collected nearly a pound of plastic water balloon pieces in only one Provincial Park. Thousands and thousands more pieces need to be taken out of the environment. We've been informed by a Park official that in some Provincial Parks visitor programming still includes water balloons. Ecological integrity is a priority for Ontario Parks. The time to build a Waste Free Ontario starts now. Small deliberate actions have a direct effect on the quality of life for all.

This is shaping up to be the worst Fraser sockeye salmon run in recorded history. We need urgent action to protect wild salmon. Deadly diseases and viruses from fish farms are spreading to wild salmon, putting at risk thousands of jobs, entire First Nations cultures that rely on the wild salmon, the economy of BC and over 100 species that depend on wild salmon to survive. Safer alternatives are available. It’s possible to farm fish on land, using closed-containment farming techniques that don’t pollute the ocean or jeopardize wild salmon stocks.The companies say it is too expensive for them to deal with their own wastes, but allowing them to pollute our oceans with disease is too expensive for society. Prime Minister Trudeau gave Fisheries Minister LeBanc a mandate to use the best science to protect wild fish in Canada. Minister LeBlanc ignored this mandate by granting the industry long term licences on July 1, 2016 despite legal and scientific evidence that salmon farms are dangerous to wild salmon. Many scientists worldwide are raising alarm about open-net fish farms, but the multi-national fish farming companies have convinced government their dirty industry is safe. If enough of us sign this petition, we can make our voices louder than the multi-national fish farming companies, and win a legislated ban on open-net salmon farming. This would force the salmon farming industry to grow up and clean up and it would allow us to restore wild salmon. This benefits everyone.

A huge multinational company is threatening CRAB Park Dubai Ports World, operators of the Centerm container terminal beside much-loved CRAB Park, plans to extend its terminal westward with 7 acres of infill in the ocean right in front of the Park. CRAB Park is the only green space for the vast majority of Downtown Eastside residents, almost all of whom live in SROs or small apartments. It is home to the monument in memory of Downtown Eastside missing and murdered women. Downtown Eastsiders and their allies have struggled successfully for 33 years for CRAB Park, to create it, to ensure disabled access, to stop a casino funded by big Vegas money, and most recently to prevent a massive soccer stadium/entertainment venue from planting itself beside the park Now Centerm’s expansion threatens to transform CRAB’s natural setting into a heavy industry zone with its attendant air, water and noise pollution. It will bring in more hazardous cargo to a heavily populated neighbourhood that already endured a huge chemical fire from Centerm’s terminal in March 2015. The Port of Vancouver is not accountable to any level of government. It alone has the power to stop this expansion. Let’s show the Port how important CRAB Park is to us. Sign the petition to convince them to rethink their development plan.

Scientists tell us that Grassy Narrows’ river, their lifeblood, can be made safe again. We should seize this momentous opportunity. Get the facts / sign up to get alerts / take action / join the River Run www.freegrassy.net The provincial and federal governments are talking of forging a new relationship with aboriginal peoples. This requires righting outstanding wrongs, something that is an urgent imperative in Grassy Narrows. Ontario and Canada must take decisive action to resolve the ongoing legacy of mercury poisoning in Grassy Narrows, and all other outstanding issues. This includes apologizing, cleaning the river, providing state of the art care for mercury survivors, adequate compensation for all who have been impacted, and establishing a Grassy Narrows run environmental health monitoring station. To ensure that this never happens again we must respect Grassy Narrows' decisions for their territory. Never again should harmful decisions be imposed on Grassy Narrows people and the territory that they depend on.

Food is life. You are what you eat. People need vitamins and minerals that are increasingly hard to maintain through diet with over-farming and conventional farming practices. Not to mention the pesticides act as estrogen and are also making the current generation sterile. Why does "organic" labelling cost so much? I can understand minor price increases based on season and availability, but most of the cost is to cover the 3rd party "organic" labelling costs or just plain price-gouging. This 3rd party should be abolished and conventional farming practices should be converted to organic farming practices. Every person should be able to afford properly grown foods within their salary regardless of class or social rank. With increasing evidence supporting poor diet promotes depression, this would make the greater population happier and less dependant on toxic/deadly pharmaceuticals.

In the throne speech on May 17, 2016, Premier Wall announced to the world that he disagrees with 97% of climate scientists and still believes climate change is a hoax. His words, given by the Lieutenant Governor through the Throne Speech: "It is troubling that today, there are some in this country who, given the opportunity, would shut down major parts of Saskatchewan’s economy and put thousands of hard-working Saskatchewan people out of work, all in the name of some misguided dogma that has no basis in reality. "There are those who are not comfortable with and even oppose much of what we produce in Saskatchewan and how we produce it. They would prefer that those sectors did not exist. They look at those jobs like they are somehow harming the country and the world." Unfortunately Mr. Wall, there is now a firm global consensus that fossil fuels are harming the world. When you say climate change is a "dogma" you are going against the Pentagon, the World Bank, the Pope, and the leaders of 177 countries around the world who recently signed the Paris climate agreement last month. It is time to join with the rest of the world, realize the limits of the fossil fuel economy while it slowly phases down, and start to invest in high quality, safe, clean energy jobs to ensure Saskatchewan has a strong, resilient and modern economy for the future.

Life as they know it is over for many workers in Fort Murray. A few days ago they were working. Today, many have no home, no job, and none of their personal items. Workers in Fort McMurray come from Newfoundland, PEI, Nova Scotia. Some temporary foreign workers have come from as far as the Philippines. Not everyone worked in the oil sands. These are Tim Horton workers, gas station attendants, and caregivers. Right now many of them cannot get Employment Insurance because of stiff rules. The Federal Government needs to relax the EI rules so that workers can get the income they need to get back on their feet. Sign this petition to support ALL worker evacuees from Fort McMurray. Migrant workers have additional restrictions. They come to Canada on a closed work permit. Under immigration laws, they are only allowed to work for one employer, at one location, at one time. But their workplace has likely been destroyed by a fire. Many migrant workers paid agencies over $8,000 to come work in Canada. Many took loans for those fees and are under massive debt. They’ve been sending what little they can save from their minimum wage job to their families back home. Many migrant workers sick parents, or children or siblings that need them to keep sending money. Migrant workers are ready to look for work, to get back on their feet to support their families and continue to build Alberta’s economy. They just need the federal government to fix the rules that are stopping them from doing so. Sign this petition and please share it. This tragedy shows how broken rules are for migrant workers. The federal government is currently reviewing the temporary foreign workers program. Find out more and take action at http://migrantrights.ca/

WHEREAS In the last 12 months there have been three notable crashes on Seymour street between Dunsmuir and Pender (Cambie Hostel, mangled bike racks, window of A&W); WHEREAS The intersections at Dunsmuir and Pender streets are areas of high pedestrian traffic, with pedestrians occupying all corners throughout the day; WHEREAS Dunsmuir St is an arterial bicycle route that forms part of the AAA (all ages and abilities) bicycle network in downtown Vancouver and a public bike system is planned for Summer 2016; WHEREAS It is common to see drivers of motor vehicles attempting to enter the Dunsmuir separated bike lane when turning from Seymour St; WHEREAS There were 9 pedestrian fatalities in Vancouver in 2015; WHEREAS Traffic crashes are fixable problems, caused by dangerous streets and unsafe drivers; they are not accidents; THEREFORE, we the undersigned petition the City of Vancouver as follows: That the City of Vancouver conduct an assessment of current traffic patterns and possible traffic calming measures for Seymour street downtown in order to avoid pedestrian injuries or fatalities in the area.

The 2016 federal budget - the Trudeau government's first - is the perfect opportunity for the government to show that they're living up to a campaign promise to end massive subsidies for polluting oil, gas and coal companies. Canada's federal government hands out over $1.6 billion every year to fossil fuel producers. On top of this, Export Development Canada - wholly owned by the government - provides as much as $6 billion per year for dirty energy producers to continue fueling the climate crisis at home and abroad. Canada first promised to put an end to these wasteful and polluting subsidies in 2009 along with the rest of the G20. And yet, little meaningful action has followed. Even under the new Trudeau government, Export Development Canada just offered a $750 million bailout to fossil fuel companies. This is bad climate policy and bad economic policy. The last thing the country needs right now is to lock itself further into the volatile oil market that is wreaking havoc on livelihoods across the country. Bailing out oil producers is not the solution - the real answer is breaking our dependency on this boom and bust sector that is taking the climate down with it. It is high time for Canada to instead get serious about building the prosperous clean energy economy that must power this century. Now is the Trudeau government's chance to lead. China and the US are already moving, promising to establish a deadline for a fossil fuel subsidy phase-out, and Canada could show its true climate colours by leading by example with an ambitious 2020 deadline to end these reckless handouts. 2016 is set to be a promising year for Canadian climate action, but we can’t let it be undermined by continuing to use taxpayer dollars to fund the very problem we are trying to tackle. Let’s start the clock by signaling an ambitious phase out of polluter handouts by 2020 in your upcoming budget.

The Paris Climate Conference is our last best chance to avoid runaway climate change. For the last ten years Canada has been actively derailing international climate talks, and now has a responsibility to the communities most vulnerable to climate change to take swift, bold action in an effort to mitigate the worst impacts of this catastrophe. With a new government, we can change Canada's course on climate action. As an affluent country, Canada has the resources and the technology to make a just transition to a 100% renewables-based economy that honours the Free Prior and Informed Consent of Indigenous peoples. We want to see true climate leadership from the Canadian government. Time’s running out. We need more than aspirational statements -- we need real action. Preventing a global rise in temperature by 1.5 degrees celsius means reaching zero emissions by 2050 -- and we need a just transition to a clean energy economy to get there.