Workers' rights abuses must be taken seriously by the City Council. With the upcoming municipal election, future City Council members need to be aware that this issue is one that needs to be on their agenda. The longer that the City of Vancouver takes to properly enforce its Ethical Purchasing policy, the longer it fails to support the rights of workers. For example, in 2021, the Workers Rights Consortium reported that two employees from Palm Apparel and Sewing International had died due to the companies' refusal to pay legally mandated medical benefits. One woman (and her newly born child) died due to lack of access to maternity care. The hospital told her that she would need to pay more than five months' wages for the care she and her child needed, all because Palm Apparel did not bother to pay its employees' healthcare coverage. The City of Vancouver has contracts with both Palm Apparel and Sewing International. However, due to the passive complaints-based approach, the City was not immediately aware of these infractions and therefore could not work with either company to meet the ethical purchasing policy in a timely manner. The lack of support (and seemingly awareness) for workers' rights internationally is disheartening. People should not have to die to bring attention to these abuses, and yet the City of Vancouver has not acted regardless of these deaths. The City of Vancouver must take a stronger and more pro-active approach to ethical purchasing.

Earlier this year, Premier Ford prematurely ended universal mask protections in Ontario. The result has been a catastrophe - an overburdened healthcare system, thousands of COVID hospitalizations, an increasing toll on the economy. [1,2] When school boards resisted the move, Ford stripped them of the ability to set their own COVID policies and forced them to end mask protections - needlessly infecting more kids. [3] Now, with cases still high and a fall surge looming - and in the total absence of any effective government response - school boards must be equipped to take care of their students. Doug Ford must lift the prohibition on school boards setting their own COVID policies, and allow them to reinstate masking and other protections for themselves based on conditions locally. Sources: [1] CTV: "The COVID-19 pandemic continues, and it contributes to Ontario’s growing number of health system crises," https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-science-table-to-be-dissolved-next-month-as-director-warns-that-pandemic-will-continue-to-be-a-daunting-challenge-1.6043546 [2] CIBC: "Dropping mask mandates may actually be working to prolong COVID's economic costs" https://economics.cibccm.com/cds?id=69e88cfb-7f52-4ff4-b8e9-f52fd983a1df&flag=E [3] CTV: https://toronto.citynews.ca/2022/03/11/tdsb-mandatory-mask-extension/

Our children's life is in danger!! The Taliban is the most misogynist regime on the planet today, committing large-scale human rights violations, establishing a system of total gender apartheid, and specifically targeting those they see as promoting “western” values. As Canadians, we must now hold our government accountable for the harmful consequences of their actions internationally and call on PM Trudeau, Minister Fraser, and IRCC to fulfill a moral obligation to save as many lives as possible.

We look to the next Premier to lead us to climate solutions so we can inspire others, and create resilient communities across BC. As members of the BC NDP, we call on all candidates to sign this pledge, to commit to real climate action and to stand by this commitment as Premier of B.C. How this works: Leadership candidates who sign this pledge commit to enact these commitments once sworn in as Premier. NDP Members commit to only vote for a leadership candidate who signs this pledge before November 30th, 2022. If you’re not a member yet, sign up before September 4th, 2022 so that you can have a voice in this election and help choose the next Premier: http://bcndp.ca/join Email us at [email protected] with the heading “climate pledge” to sign up for the climate first voting bloc and stay informed. Note: Ashley Zarbatany is the chair of the BC NDP's Standing Committee on the Environment and Economy (SCOEE). The action items were prioritized and revised democratically as a committee with input from broader membership as well.

If you live in Ontario, this may be one of the most important petitions you sign this year... Only massive urgent transformational change can solve the climate emergency we are in. This will not happen on its own. It will take every one of us working together to push for critical change … but it can be done! The steep price of oil and gas has driven up the cost of transportation, food and other essentials, making life unaffordable. These same fossil fuels also worsen the climate emergency causing tornadoes, floods, extreme heat, droughts and wildfires. And they produce deadly air pollution which already kills 6600 Ontarians prematurely every year [1]. The clear and cheapest solution is green renewable energy. Unbelievably, the Ontario government instead is planning a massive increase in gas-fired electricity, burning even more fossil fuels [2] - an unacceptable move that will threaten all our futures. While Ontarians are struggling to put food on the table and find affordable housing, this government has been in lock-step with mega land-developers making multi-million dollar profits while they consume our dwindling precious farmland, green spaces and wetlands, ignoring protective regulations in some areas, to promote harmful unnecessary highways [3,4] and urban sprawl [5]. The result: fewer, oversized, expensive, and more isolated car-dependent homes consuming more fossil fuels and land for the few who can afford, while further deepening the climate crisis, fatal air pollution, housing shortages and food insecurity. It doesn’t have to be this way! The solutions for the healthy thriving future we all deserve already exist. If our government chooses to ignore solutions, it’s up to every Ontarian to pay attention, to stand up for ourselves and our loved ones urgently, and demand the Government of Ontario take urgent climate action while we still have time to secure a livable future: 1) Sign this petition to demand government accountability for an urgent climate action plan 2) Sign on to the Ontario Climate Emergency Campaign (OCEC) at: https://www.ontarioclimateemergency.ca/individual-pledge and share widely — join over 250 diverse groups and individuals representing over 850,000 Ontarians to increase your impact in calling for positive urgent change to protect your future 3) Use your vote - every single election! And get others to vote for pro-environmental candidates in every future election. With the lowest voter turnout in history for the June 2022 Ontario provincial election, the current majority government actually represents only 18% of all eligible voters [6]. Local level decisions have a huge impact. Voting at every level of government matters to our everyday lives like never before - add your voice because your future is truly at stake and your vote can make the difference! Connect with the Ontario Climate Emergency Campaign on social media! https://twitter.com/ocecampaign https://www.instagram.com/onclimateemergencycampaign/ https://www.facebook.com/ONClimateEmergencyCampaign Sources: [1] https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/publications/healthy-living/2021-health-effects-indoor-air-pollution.html [2] https://www.theenergymix.com/2022/01/10/ontario-grid-faces-375-emissions-increase-as-ford-government-embraces-new-gas-plants/ [3] https://cal.streetsblog.org/2015/11/18/caltrans-admits-building-roads-induces-congestion-but-admitting-a-problem-is-just-the-first-step/ [4] https://www.thestar.com/life/2021/12/06/highway-disease-doctors-prescribe-saying-no-to-highway-413-development.html?rf [5] https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/chief-public-health-officer-reports-state-public-health-canada/2017-designing-healthy-living.html [6] https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/2022/06/03/18-of-ontario-voters-handed-doug-ford-a-majority-government-whether-thats-a-bad-thing-depends-who-you-ask.html

I grew up with dogs my whole life, and when I moved to BC I couldn’t wait to get my own. The only thing stopping me is that I haven’t been able to find an affordable place to live that was dog friendly — and this is because BC landlords are legally allowed to refuse and/or evict tenants for having pets. According to the BCSPCA, about 25% of people who surrender their pets do it because they cannot find housing that they can afford that also allows for pets. [1] That means over 1,000 pets are surrendered every year because BC landlords are legally allowed to discriminate against pet-owners. [2] The two and a half years of the pandemic have been an incredibly lonely and isolating time for all of us, and many adopted companion animals to support their mental health during this time. But now, anyone who wants to move or get a pet can’t do it because they cannot find affordable housing that’s pet-friendly. This is an issue that particularly impacts people with disabilities in the province. [3] Renting in BC, especially cities like Vancouver, is already incredibly expensive and difficult and having or wanting a pet makes it even hard. Even Vancouver City Council passed a motion in 2020 to allow tenants to have pets— but here’s the catch: Rental agreements are set out by the Province. [4] This means we need to get David Eby, to eliminate that clause in the Residential Tenancy Act. Landlords have claimed they put this clause in rental agreements because they want to protect their property value, but there is no evidence that pets cause more damage in an apartment than non-pet owners. [5] We know that it doesn’t have to be this way. Several years ago, Ontario made it illegal for landlords to refuse tenancy or evict people because of pets (except in condominiums). [6] Renting in BC, especially cities like Vancouver, is already incredibly expensive and difficult and having or wanting a pet makes it even hard. BC Landlords shouldn’t be able to discriminate against pet-owning tenants. If you agree, will you sign this petition calling on Attorney General and Minister Responsible for Housing, David Eby, to eliminate the ‘no pets’ clause in the Residential Tenancy Act? David Eby, how would you feel if you got evicted because of having a pet? [1] https://spca.bc.ca/ways-to-help/take-action/animals-in-the-home/pet-friendly-housing/ [2] See 1 [3] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/housing-pets-struggles-1.6096109 [4] https://globalnews.ca/news/7399404/vancouver-council-supports-call-to-end-no-pets-rental-units/ [5] See 1 [6] https://www.canlii.org/en/on/laws/stat/so-2006-c-17/latest/so-2006-c-17.html?autocompleteStr=residential%20tenancies%20&autocompletePos=1

If the FortisBC Okanagan Upgrade gas pipeline is built it will take us further in the wrong direction, locking in decades of emissions and indoor air pollution. The $271 million that Fortis budgeted in 2020 for this project would be better spent developing green, clean, renewable electric energy. Learn more about WHY the project is bad. https://www.firstthingsfirstokanagan.com/fortis-capacity-upgrade

If we don't stop subsidies to animal agriculture, we won't have a chance of reversing species extinction or climate change, both of which are truly apocalyptic scenarios. There is a mountain of science that tells us we need to change the way we do things or the Sixth Mass Extinction will accelerate and we will reach tipping points in climate change that will change the world into an uninhabitable place for future generations. Biodiversity loss is a crisis. Wildlife has nowhere to live and their numbers are dwindling. They are part of the web of life, which is getting weaker. Ecosystems are falling apart. At the same time, droughts, forest fires and hurricanes--extreme weather of all kinds is increasing as climate change progresses. The first and obvious step is to stop subsidies to a polluting, destructive industry, animal agriculture. If we could get the 80% of land used for animal agriculture back, we could convert the land currently used to grow crops for animals and grazing to ecologically rich forests for wildlife. Some 60% of animals have been lost in the past decades, largely related to habitat loss. We could turn back the clock on climate change, and get greenhouse gas emissions related to animal agriculture--14.5% of total emissions, not to mention the carbon sink that are trees. We need to save the planet for future generations and the non-human animals with whom we share the planet.

The breakdown of Rogers on July 8th exposed just how fragile Canada's internet infrastructure is. Across the country commerce crashed as stores could not process credit cards, email transfers could not be delivered, even 911 service was lost in some places. It's clear that cell and internet services are essential for us to work, pay for food, and make important calls. But for years, the Big 3 telecoms companies have been buying up the competition, expanding their profits while we’re stuck paying for poor services and sky-high wireless plans. And last year, the Shaw-Rogers merger gave Rogers even more control over our telecoms services It’s time to bust the monopoly on the telecoms sector. Canada must move to deliver public, reliable, high-speed, and affordable internet access to all.

We’re all feeling it. Everyday people are struggling as the cost of energy bills, groceries, and basic necessities skyrocket. It’s a cost of living crisis. [1] But not everyone is impacted equally. Big corporations continue to rake in record-breaking profits. Corporate CEOs are filthy rich. Meanwhile, federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is advocating for fiscal restraint. [2] The result? Families are forced to decide between paying rent on time or putting food on the table. [3,4] It’s enraging — but it doesn’t have to be this way. If we all come together to demand Canada’s wealthiest pay a fairer share of tax, we can ease the financial strain we’re all feeling. We can raise much-needed billions for a stronger social safety net, public services, and jobs. We can make Canada more fair. Finance Minister Freeland is feeling the pressure right now. She knows Canadians are struggling and she knows the public is looking to her for solutions. If thousands of Leadnow members sign an open letter demanding a wealth tax, then it could help tip the balance in our favour to ensure she delivers on it. Will you add your name to the open letter? [1] https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/chrystia-freeland-inflation-1.6501750 [2] See 1 [3] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/canadians-shopping-rising-food-costs-1.6483250 [4] https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-bank-of-canada-business-consumer-survey-inflation/

The Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) is demanding that over 1 million Canadians pay back the emergency benefits they received during the pandemic. Their timing couldn’t be more out of touch. Canadians are facing an affordability crisis — and with rents, grocery bills and energy costs rising, most of us simply can’t afford a surprise $2,000 expense. When the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) was first issued, millions of people in need of support applied in good faith — not knowing they’d be forced to pay their benefit back. The CRA is offering to defer payments for those experiencing “financial hardship” — but the definition of financial hardship is vague, and decided on a case-by-case basis. There’s a mountain of red tape to navigate in order to even defer a CERB repayment. [source] It’s a deep injustice for the millions of Canadians who relied on CERB when the pandemic took our livelihoods away. If you believe that our government should be helping Canadians to weather the affordability crisis — not kicking us while we’re down — sign the petition now.

The British Columbia Investment Management Investment Corporation (BCI) invests most BC public sector pension funds – in total about $153 billion. Like any fund its fiduciary responsibility (i.e. getting the best return possible, taking risk into account) is its most important contract with its clients, and outweighs all other considerations. By continuing to hold fossil fuel stocks BCI is likely not meeting its fiduciary responsibility. And there’s also plenty of evidence to show that it’s quite easy to divest from fossil fuels, in fact a pension fund in Denmark did it in six weeks. And continued investment in oil, gas and coal is fueling the climate crisis, which is only going to lead to more heat domes, floods, forest fires, and threatens our long-term future. Learn more: https://oilsandsdivest.com/bcidivest/