107 municipalities receive funding through the Provincial Gas Tax Program. The Provincial Government cancelled an estimated $364 million per year in promised funding to these municipalities without notice in their 2019 Provincial Budget[1], putting our public transit service at risk[2]. Municipal public transit in Ontario has been underfunded since 1998 when the Harris government cut the fifty per cent subsidy of the net operating costs of municipal transit agencies [3]. Instead agencies have received a much smaller amount of funding through the Province’s gas tax program since 2004 [4]. To make life affordable, we need good public transit. We need more funding for our municipal public transit systems, so we can have lower fares and better service. The Provincial Government has quietly announced that they are going back on their promise to honour the previous government's commitment to double funding for municipal transit [5][6]. This increase in funding is critical in supporting a growing number of municipal transit systems across Ontario, serving over 90% of Ontario’s population [7], that connect our communities. It’s also imperative that long-term stable funding is reinstated for our transit systems to serve our communities well. Together we can hold the new government to their promise to double their contribution to municipalities and urge them to re-instate stable operating funding. Supporting Organizations: ActionKeele - North York Citizens United for a Sustainable Planet (CUSP) - Thunder Bay CodeRedTO - Toronto Environment Hamilton Hamilton Transit Riders Union Friends of Sudbury Transit Healthy Transportation Coalition - Ottawa Keep York Moving - York Region London Transit Riders Alliance London Environmental Network Scarborough Transit Action Network South Etobicoke Transit Action Committee Toronto Environmental Alliance (TEA) Transit Action Alliance of Guelph (TAAG) TTCriders - Toronto [1] https://budget.ontario.ca/pdf/2019/2019-ontario-budget-en.pdf [2] https://news.ontario.ca/mto/en/2019/01/2018-19-gas-tax-funding-by-municipality.html [3] https://www.blogto.com/city/2016/04/the_year_it_all_went_down_the_tubes_for_the_ttc/ [4] http://www.octn.ca/uploads/userfiles/files/Kevin%20Dowling%20-%20Gas%20Tax%20Introduction.pdf [5] https://news.ontario.ca/mto/en/2017/01/enhanced-gas-tax-program.html [6] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ford-gas-prices-fuel-tax-1.4665386 [7]http://www.octn.ca/uploads/userfiles/files/Questions%20and%20Answers%20on%20the%20Provincial%20Gas%20Tax%20MTO%20March%202017.pdf

On Thursday October 11 Grassy Narrows leader Steve Fobister Sr. passed away after many decades of fighting mercury poisoning in his body and fighting denial from government. Steve’s grieving family says that "Steve always wanted the government to admit that he had been poisoned by mercury. Now we take up his fight to honour him. Trudeau and Elliott, will you admit that Steve was poisoned, and will you compensate Grassy Narrows fairly for our mercury crisis?" I am sad to hear that 48 years after mercury pollution was discovered in Grassy Narrows’ river no government has ever acknowledged that even one person in Grassy Narrows has been poisoned by mercury. This denial and environmental racism must end. I join Steve’s family in demanding that you admit now that Steve Fobister Sr. was poisoned and killed by mercury! I am shocked to learn that 94% of Grassy Narrows people receive no compensation for the mercury crisis which continues rob them of their loved ones and to ravage their health, culture, livelihood, rights, and environment. All must be compensated until they enjoy the same quality of life they enjoyed before mercury and the same wellbeing that others in Canada take for granted. Commit to compensate all Grassy Narrows people fairly for the ongoing mercury crisis which all governments have denied and neglected for so long! I further call on you to act quickly to fulfill your governments’ promises to: 1. Fully clean up Grassy Narrows’ river, 2. Build a care home and treatment center for mercury survivors in Grassy Narrows, 3. Comprehensively reform the Mercury Disability Board. The survivors of this avoidable disaster deserve the best possible health care and support including a Mercury Home and Treatment Centre so that their sick loved ones can be treated with dignity, close to their families. This is an issue that matters deeply to me and millions of other people, and I will be following this closely to see that mercury justice is delivered to Grassy Narrows.

As Victoria's housing crisis continues, communities and residents are exploring innovative housing solutions to meet their diverse needs. For many, tiny houses on wheels offer an affordable, sustainable, safe and dignified housing option. However, mobile tiny houses are not legally allowed as residential units in most municipalities across BC, including Victoria. People who want to go tiny are being denied this housing option, or else living illegally and insecurely in mobile units. On October 20 2018, residents will vote for new mayors and councils across BC. This is a perfect time to tell our elected officials that we need access to housing that is truly affordable, sustainable, and conducive to long-term health of our communities. Around the world, tiny houses are gaining in popularity as an alternative model of affordable and sustainable housing for diverse populations. In growing urban centres, vacant, irregular or undeveloped lots could accommodate temporary tiny houses as a means of gentle densification. Tiny houses could also be used as small-scale infill housing to fit within residential neighbourhood contexts, or as laneway alternatives on single-family residentially zoned lots, creating space for intergenerational living. Zoning bylaws and building codes need to be updated to reduce barriers to alternative living. Housing options along the entire housing continuum should be discussed as part of any affordable housing strategy. Including tiny homes in election campaigns and later in zoning regulation changes is an important step towards creating room for innovative and creative solutions driven by the community. If enough people sign this petition, we’ll be able to convince mayoral and council candidates in Victoria to include mobile tiny houses in their election platforms this October and, when elected, to work on legalizing tiny houses by creating municipal zoning for mobile tiny houses and supporting tiny house amendments to the BC building code.

As Vancouver's housing crisis continues, communities and residents are exploring innovative housing solutions to meet their diverse needs. For many, tiny houses on wheels offer an affordable, sustainable, safe and dignified housing option. However, mobile tiny houses are not legally allowed as residential units in most municipalities across BC, including Vancouver. People who want to go tiny are being denied this housing option, or else living illegally and insecurely in mobile units. On October 20 2018, residents will vote for new mayors and councils across BC. This is a perfect time to tell our elected officials that we need access to housing that is truly affordable, sustainable, and conducive to long-term health of our communities. Around the world, tiny houses are gaining in popularity as an alternative model of affordable and sustainable housing for diverse populations. In growing urban centres, vacant, irregular or undeveloped lots could accommodate temporary tiny houses as a means of gentle densification. Tiny houses could also be used as small-scale infill housing to fit within residential neighbourhood contexts, or as laneway alternatives on single-family residentially zoned lots, creating space for intergenerational living. Zoning bylaws and building codes need to be updated to reduce barriers to alternative living. Housing options along the entire housing continuum should be discussed as part of any affordable housing strategy. Including tiny homes in election campaigns and later in zoning regulation changes is an important step towards creating room for innovative and creative solutions driven by the community. If enough people sign this petition, we’ll be able to convince mayoral and council candidates in Vancouver to include mobile tiny houses in their election platforms this October and, when elected, to work on legalizing tiny houses by creating municipal zoning for mobile tiny houses and supporting tiny house amendments to the BC building code.

The White Pines is a project to build nine wind turbines in Prince Edward County. Four of these turbines are already complete, with the remainder expected to be installed within the next few weeks and testing scheduled for the following month. Once live, they would have provided enough clean energy to power over 3,000 homes. But Energy Minister Greg Rickford and Doug Ford’s PCs have passed legislation cancelling the project, and as a result, Ontario will now be spending money to uproot and destroy clean energy capacity that’s already been built. Doug Ford ran on a promise to keep Ontario open for business, but his government’s first piece of legislation, "The White Pines Wind Project Termination Act", would terminate this project that has been nearly 10 years in the making, at a cost of over $100 million to taxpayers. [1] At a time when the world is transitioning to renewable energy, this act would kill opportunities for future green energy investment, further put the climate at risk, and cost Ontario taxpayers millions spent destroying a nearly completed project. [2, 3] Doug Ford ran his campaign on the promise that his government is ‘for the people’. Let’s have our voice heard and let his energy minister know that Ontario wants to protect this windfarm and champion the green energies of the future. Please sign this petition to demand the reversal of the White Pines Wind Project Termination Act. Sources: [1] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/wind-project-high-price-1.4742850 [2] https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/cancelling-ontario-s-wind-project-could-cost-over-100m-company-warns-1.4009397 [3] https://nationalpost.com/opinion/john-ivison-white-pines-decision-says-doug-fords-ontario-is-closed-for-business

We can't ignore the pollution created by our waste so every little thing counts.

The number one issue for all governments at every level is to stop global warming. The biosphere will collapse if we don't all do everything we can to draw down fossil fuel emissions and prevent more from occurring. The environment is more important than the economy; the environment was chugging along nicely before humans brought the economy on board, but the economy will not chug along nicely when the oceans start to boil. We must rally to save not just your children and grandchildren, but the microbes, the fungi, and the whales with kilograms of plastic in them. Everything in the biosphere is at terrible risk, and we must all change our ways right now if we don't want all living beings to perish.

Our young people are looking at a planet that will be severely compromised without us acting now. I am sick about the me-oriented policies of the Ford government.

Let's make sure that the Clean Energy Act only lets BC Hydro burn clean wood, which is not creosote-soaked rail ties.

Plastic takes over 200 years to break down, which means that all of the plastic that has ever been made is still out there! We want to work towards a healthier future for ourselves, our families, and the environment. We think that a ban single-use plastic in Canada would be the first step in having a healthy and safe future for everyone!

Le plastique est le polluant le plus répandu dans nos océans. Il cause des dommages à l'environnement parce qu'il ne se décompose pas facilement et est souvent confondu avec de la nourriture par la vie marine. Plus d'un million d'oiseaux de mer sont tués par la pollution des océans chaque année. Près de trois mille dauphins et marsouins meurent chaque année de la consommation ou de l'enchevêtrement dans la pollution des océans. En outre, un million de mammifères marins sont tués chaque année à la suite de la pollution. Les eaux de ruissellement provenant de l'agriculture et des installations de production contribuent grandement à la pollution des océans. Le ruissellement des eaux usées conduit à la décomposition de la matière organique qui affecte la biodiversité marine. Les engrais qui sont déversés dans les eaux océaniques créent une eutrophisation et permettent aux algues de s'épanouir et d'épuiser la teneur en oxygène de l'eau. Les petits animaux au bas du changement alimentaire sont les plus susceptibles d'absorber ces produits chimiques. Ces petites créatures marines sont alors mangées et les produits chimiques remontent à travers la chaîne alimentaire, contaminant ainsi nos sources d'aliments marins. Nous devons empêcher que ces sources majeures de pollution ne détruisent complètement nos océans. La vie marine est vitale dans de nombreuses parties du monde. Ce monde mérite mieux. Qui sait combien de temps le problème continuera à s'aggraver et à quel point aurons-nous complètement détruit nos océans irréparables? Notre mission est de nettoyer les océans contre la pollution, en particulier la pollution plastique, par C.P.R, le nettoyage, la prévention et la réduction des déchets. Prévention du déversement en mer, des fuites d'huile et d'autres formes de pollution de l'océan. Nettoyage de la pollution actuelle des océans tels que les gyres à ordures et les plages polluées. Enfin, en réduisant nos déchets, il y aurait moins de pollution en général et dans nos océans.  ÊTRE LA SOLUTION À LA POLLUTION OCÉANIQUE!

In 2002, there were recycling units at the bus stop in Elmvale, which have since been replaced by nothing more than open garbage containers. With that being the case, there are recyclable items ending up in landfills.