For years, Christy Clark’s government has been slashing education funding and delaying much-needed seismic upgrades. As a parent, it felt like the Vancouver School Board were the only elected representatives who were on our side and willing to fight for safe, fully-funded schools. The Vancouver School Board was planning to finally pass a balanced budget in a meeting tonight, in order to secure essential funding for seismic upgrades -- but incredibly, the Education Minister fired them before their meeting.[3] Now, the Vancouver School Board is essentially being run out of the Premier’s office, by an unelected political appointee. This could become a major scandal that will follow the BC government all the way to the ballot box in May’s provincial election, and they know it. It starts with a huge petition calling on Education Minister Mike Bernier to reverse this terrible decision. If you agree that firing the elected VSB trustees is an outrage, sign the urgent petition to Education Minister Mike Bernier now. Sources: [1] Vancouver School Board fired by B.C. education minister (CBC) http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-school-board-fired-1.3808674 [2] Former Vancouver School Board chair Mike Lombardi calls firing ‘outrageous’ http://globalnews.ca/news/3007688/b-c-education-minister-mike-bernier-set-to-address-vancouver-school-board-situation/ [3] Vancouver School Board to approve budget after months of delay, controversy (CBC) http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-school-board-intend-budget-approval-1.3808204

A strong democracy requires freedom of expression. That's why the blunting of the ability of civil society to advocate and to engage in that most fundamental democratic right – debate and, occasionally, dissent – should concern us all. But that's what's happening today in Canada. You see, CRA rules permit Canadian charities to devote up to 10% of their organizational resources to "political activities." And charities report annually what they're up to to show how they're complying with this rule. Back in 2012, the Harper government decided to spend millions auditing environmental groups, and later anti-poverty and human-rights charities, to see if they were doing too much "political work." Interestingly, right-wing charities, like the Fraser Institute, reported zero political activity and didn't catch the attention of CRA.[3] Earlier this year, National Revenue Minister Dianne Lebouthillier announced CRA would begin "winding down" these audits, but later reversed course and announced 24 political activity audits launched during Harper's time in power would continue as planned (but no new audits would be launched). One of the charities, Canada Without Poverty, has now launched a constitutional challenge to stop the CRA from stripping its tax-exempt status on the grounds that it's too politically active. The group says its constitutional right to free expression is being violated unreasonably. "They’re not wrong," The Globe and Mail argues in a recent editorial.[4] "The case is a vestige of the former Conservative government’s 2012 decision to pour millions into targeted CRA audits of charity groups – something many in the charitable sector denounced as a witch hunt. The Liberals halted all new audits this past January, but allowed 24 probes to continue. "As a concept, charity has its roots in 17th-century English law. But the more appropriate modern definition might be: whatever the Canada Revenue Agency and its political masters say it is." It's time for the political masters to step in and do the right: end the political-activity audits of 24 charities that just happened to disagree with policies of the Harper government. Sources: 1. As Harper's CRA audits continue, right-wing charities report zero 'political activity' again: https://www.pressprogress.ca/as_harper_cra_audits_continue_right_wing_charities_report_zero_political_activity_again 2. Liberal platform: https://www.liberal.ca/files/2015/10/New-plan-for-a-strong-middle-class.pdf 3. Stephen Harper's CRA: Selective Audits, "Political" Activity, and Right-leaning charities: https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/broadbent/pages/16/attachments/original/1430005311/Stephen_Harper's_CRA.pdf?1430005311 4. Like unions and political parties, charities deserve freedom of speech: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/editorials/like-unions-and-political-parties-charities-deserve-freedom-of-speech/article31728320/

Jo believed that there is more that unites us than divides us, and she was killed for those beliefs. She believed in a love that is fierce, brave and humble. Her death has devastated a family, and attacked the ideals that we as a nation most cherish. But we will not be divided. We will rise up together to carry Jo's message forward. We will meet hate with love. On the day Jo would have been 42, we are asking everyone, everywhere to love like Jo loved. Jo's legacy is a direct challenge to everyone here, to take part, speak up and be a voice for the voiceless, to treat everyone with tolerance and genuine respect, even those with whom disagree. We cannot let the intolerance and violence of a single individual rob us of her life's potential. It is up to us all to carry forward her message and to make her mission our own.

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.

This creates high paying jobs for hundreds of thousands of Canadians and helps build the middle class back to the strength is deserves.

This is important because all 530 acres of land belonging to Six Nations will be used for the Empire Homes housing development and a park. As it stands now we would lose 330 acres of this land and receive 200 acres elsewhere. Six Nations people want land for their children and grandchildren so they can build homes in the future. This proposed deal is not a fair deal for us. We can no longer afford to accept" it's better than nothing"

Short Term Rentals (STR's) will bring down my property values, interfere with my right to a peaceful and quiet life that I paid a premium to acquire here. Had I wanted to live next door to a motel I would have chosen so, instead I chose to live in a residential area, not a commercial one. I do not want you to change my zoning nor approved usage of property within that residential zone.

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/

We the undersigned submit this petition for the following reasons: The origins of the TPP are in the document " America’s Pacific Century" authored by then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2011. It is a manifesto for the US domination of the Pacific both militarily and economically. It is intended to isolate China militarily and diminish its economic presence in the region. To this end 60% of the US Navy is being re-assigned to the Pacific and the TPP was originated to isolate China economically. Given these origins the primary goal of the TPP is empire building and little to do with so called free trade. The TTP claims to be a partnership which it is not. The US is overwhelmingly dominate as the world’s largest economy. The other signatories to the agreement are much smaller and can only be considered satellite economies. The major benefits of such an imbalanced “partnership” will accrue to the dominate nation at the expense of the lesser partners. The Government of Canada has just signed on to the agreement after a less than acceptable and perfunctory review of the TPP. We feel there should be a much more thorough review of the social and economic impact of the TPP and other such agreements, including NAFTA. While the Government of Canada has promised a full Parliamentary review before ratification in two years time this is not sufficient as it is subject to the impulses of Parliament and partisanship. Given that these agreements are in fact constitutional in nature with potentially profound impacts on the country socially and economically it must go to a national referendum- much like the referendum on the Charlottetown Accord of 1992. If such agreements are to be ratified they must be the clear and unequivocal choice of the majority of Canadians. Given the propensity for various governments to pass such massive legislation with less than adequate scrutiny and in a preemptory manner we feel that henceforth all such agreements must be submitted to a national referendum for public ratification. This must become a statute in Canadian law. KNOW MORE ABOUT THE TPP, SCROLL DOWN TO "UPDATES" Important Notes: THE DEADLINE FOR SIGNING THIS PETITION IS SEPTEMBER 31st, 2016 This petition will also act as resource center where I will be posting more information on the TPP and our campaign. Keep in Touch. The September 31st, 2016 deadline was set to allow the government time to organize the requested cross country public hearings.

These 'future' patronage appointments, unprecedented in Canadian history, will entrench within the new government the worst tendencies of the Conservative party — secrecy, hyper-partisanship, an incredible disregard for science and evidence-based policy, etc. — that voters so fiercely rejected. Take, for example, the case of the National Energy Board (NEB), which regulates the construction of pipelines and the import of oil and natural gas. Because of Harper’s future appointments, Prime Minister Trudeau will not be able to replace any temporary members of the NEB until 2018, or any permanent members until 2020. Given Harper’s record on the environment and his history of dismantling environmental protections, this move should be seen as nothing less than an attempt to undermine the Liberal promise to take action on climate change and reduce greenhouse emissions. This is a slimy move, even for Harper. Opposition parties and top government officials are calling on the Liberal government to cancel these future appointments immediately. [2][3] Let’s join them and let Harper know once and for all that Canada has moved on. --------- [1] Doomed Harper government made 49 “future” patronage appointments. iPolitics. http://ipolitics.ca/2015/11/23/doomed-harper-government-made-49-future-patronage-appointments/ [2] Cancel Harper’s “future appointments”: Boulerice. iPolitics. http://ipolitics.ca/2015/11/23/cancel-harpers-future-appointments-boulerice/ [3] Disband National Energy Board to deal with Harper’s appointments: Collenette. iPolitics. http://ipolitics.ca/2015/11/24/disband-national-energy-board-to-deal-with-harpers-appointments-collenette/

Statistics Canada is "on the cusp" of launching the 2016 census, but unless Justin Trudeau moves quickly, we could miss a vital chance to restore the Long Form Census and start to undo some of the damage done by Stephen Harper. The long-form census is a vital piece of Canada's ability to make decisions based on evidence, rather than ideology. It takes place only every 5 years, and is next scheduled for 2016. It’s an enormous logistical operation that takes many months of planning. Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper cancelled the long form census in 2010 as part of his wide-reaching attacks on science and evidence. Experts say there is time to reinstate it for 2016, but Justin Trudeau will have to move fast to make it possible and issue an immediate "order in council" once he takes office. Justin Trudeau can start to reverse the damage, but he has to act now: "Issuing an immediate order in council “is the only way to implement the long form in time for the census six months from now,” they said. “This must be one of the first moves made ​​by the Liberal government of Mr. Trudeau. It would mark a clear break with the previous government and ensure that future social policies can be made on scientific grounds rather than ideological dogmatism.” [1] We missed one long-form census under Harper, let's not miss another. Please sign this petition today, to let Justin Trudeau know that Canadians believe in evidence based decision making, and that reinstating the long form census is essential! Thank you. [1] Globe and Mail: Long-form census could be reinstated for 2016, experts say http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/long-form-census-could-be-reinstated-for-2016-survey-experts-say/article26922071/

Now, after years of funding cuts by the Conservative government, the CBC has announced that it is selling off all of its property and real estate across Canada. From Halifax to Vancouver, not a single office space will remain under the ownership of the CBC. The Canadian Media Guild, CBC’s main union, is arguing that Canada’s public broadcaster is in danger of making “irreversible” cuts, threatening CBC’s role as a leading producer of original Canadian programming. [1] The bad news started in 2011, when the Conservatives announced that the CBC budget would be cut by $115 million. Since 2008, 2,800 jobs have been lost, and another 1,600 will be cut by 2016.[2] But there is still hope. The NDP, the Liberals, and the Green Party have all promised to restore funding to the CBC if elected. We’re calling on CBC management to cancel the sell-off, while we work to elect a new government that will affirm and respect CBC’s mandate. If we get 10,000 signatures, we will deliver this message to Marc Y. Lapierre, the CBC’s executive director of real estate services. Sources: [1] Media union raises alarm over CBC real estate sell off plans http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/media-union-raises-alarm-over-cbc-real-estate-sell-off-plans/article26506165/ [2] CBC Budget cut by 115 million over three years http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/cbc-budget-cut-by-115m-over-3-years-1.1147096