The plans for rail expansion in Toronto’s Lakeshore East corridor by Metrolinx will relieve congestion and improve public transportation, but can and should be done without the wholesale destruction of a community’s green spaces including the environmentally sensitive ecosystem of Smalls Creek Ravine and Williamson Park Ravine. There remains an opportunity for Metrolinx to create a model for sustainable city building by working with the affected communities in finding ways to restore and revitalize these greenspaces as part of their construction work. Help us send a message to Metrolinx that they cannot ignore the communities in which they operate. Update - Feb 2022 Metrolinx has clear-cut and destroyed over 200 trees, the majority of which created a canopy that took over 100 years to establish. This will be replaced with a permanent concrete wall up to 10 ft tall and over 400 ft long in addition to a replacement concrete that is now 6 meters wide and above ground. As well, the path connecting the west and east sides UPDATE January 7, 2021 - Since the launch of this petition Metrolinx has publicly responded, saying they have indeed conducted and continue to conduct community consultation. This is true. But it changes nothing about the content of this petition. To date, Metrolinx has only publicly released the same documents SmallsCreek.ca had to first obtain through a Freedom of Information request. Their Dec 24th blog post reiterated much of what they have said already, and while mentioned it is interested in further community consultation, takes the tone that this project - still slated to begin as early as the end of January 2021 - is a done deal. SmallsCreek.ca will continue our community outreach until Metrolinx recognizes the petition's requests and engages in a meaningful dialogue that takes our positions into active consideration. We want more trains & two way service. We want a 4th track, but ask our provincial transportation stakeholders to install the transit, without sacrificing an important community ecosystem. Learn More at www.smallscreek.ca

We certainly are nowhere near rich if we're on PWD. A sudden deduction is felt by us in a powerful way. This drop in assistance is disorienting and problematic for people, especially who go just a modest amount over the limit and who do so at the end of the year, when the seasonality of things can also increase expenses and decrease work income. It can be really bad timing! Covid-19 just makes this all harder to deal with, too. Costs and expenses typically do not go down, but suddenly a PWD client can be without that extra money earned through their hard work, through their disability. In fact, the actual work might be continuing the same, but suddenly there is a loss in access to otherwise available resources. It's not a smooth transition for us. Things someone might buy with this extra income if it weren't clawed back: It could go toward a doctor recommended supplement which is not covered, toward a psych or physio therapy session which is not covered but does wonders for overall management of stress and health issues, toward a meaningful gift to a loved one at Christmas, or toward something otherwise out of reach but which afforded increases one's quality of life and health. Like mentioned, on PWD we are not rich, so these small amounts mean a lot to us.

As a self-employed business owner, I was out of work due to the lockdown for Covid-19 and I followed the rules for applying for CERB in order to not only survive, but to keep my business afloat because my landlord didn’t bother with the rent subsidy. I realize that there were many who may have accidentally applied, but we self-employed had no other option and now are being told we were not eligible all because the word “net” was inferred and not actually stated on the website or the automated recordings when filing by phone. This is going to further destroy many small businesses and their owners more than this pandemic already has. To reduce us below eligibility for net profits after our deductions is beyond unfair and seems as though the rules are being changed to benefit CRA and the economy.

Global Pandemic

Millions of Canadians support incoming President Biden’s rejection of Keystone XL. Please let Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson know that you are among them. Joe Biden wants to see immediate and strong action on the climate emergency. He has promised to bring the US back into the Paris Agreement and, as a decisive first step, cancel the Keystone XL pipeline project. That pipeline would enable a huge expansion of Canada’s fossil fuel industry, carrying 300 million barrels of tar sands oil annually. We read that the Canadian government is preparing to lobby the president-elect to break this promise. This, despite a throne speech commitment to take immediate action on the “extreme risk” posed by climate change and the warnings of climate scientists. As the IPCC has made clear, there are less than ten years to cut global emissions in half if we are to avoid climate catastrophe. It is time for Canada to be a leader in addressing the climate emergency and to encourage the world’s biggest oil producer and second biggest producer of greenhouse gases to do the same. It is time for climate leadership in both countries. Des millions de Canadien·ne·s appuient le rejet de Keystone XL tel que le propose M. Joseph Biden. Par cette pétition, nous souhaitons informer le premier ministre, M. Justin Trudeau et le ministre de l’Environnement, M. Jonathan Wilkinson que ces Canadien·ne·s ne veulent pas de ce pipeline et exigent que leur gouvernement laisse enfin tomber Keystone XL. M. Biden dit espérer des actions immédiates et fortes en faveur de l’urgence climatique. Il a promis de ramener les États-Unis dans l’Accord de Paris et, comme première étape décisive en ce sens, il a promis d’annuler le projet de pipeline Keystone XL. Ce pipeline, s’il est construit, permettrait une expansion considérable de l’industrie canadienne des combustibles fossiles, transportant chaque année quelque 300 millions de barils de pétrole extrait des sables bitumineux. Or, nous apprenions récemment que le gouvernement canadien s’apprête à faire pression sur le président élu états-unien pour qu’il rompe cette promesse, et ce, malgré les engagements du discours du trône en faveur de mesures immédiates contre le « risque extrême » posé par la crise climatique et malgré les avertissements des climatologues. Comme le GIEC l’a clairement indiqué, nous avons moins de dix ans pour réduire de moitié les émissions mondiales si nous espérons éviter une catastrophe climatique. Il est plus que temps pour le Canada d’être un chef de file dans la lutte contre les crises climatiques et d’encourager les plus grands producteurs de pétrole et de gaz à effet de serre à faire de même. Il est plus que temps de faire preuve de leadership en matière de climat dans les deux pays.

The purpose of the inquiry we request is to determine the extent of harms put upon injured, ill and/or disabled Canadians in provincial and territorial jurisdictions nationally. We raise these concerns to ensure as well our own full and fair redress in the form of workers compensation benefits as we are entitled to receive and rightly, legitimately deserve. We believe that only with a National investigation of provincial law, policy and regulations that govern provincial/territorial occupational health and safety can troubling issues be properly rectified. Those agencies and agents so empowered by law, policy and regulations have not responded to our direct engagement to address these issues with integrity. As these issues are of long-standing national concern, we assert that the concerns receive the attention that these matters require as it is in the National interests of all Canadians to do so.

As a group of Canadians who care about the protection of human rights defenders, we are calling on the Government to put pressure on Egypt to end the escalating crackdown on human rights defenders and immediately release Mr. Razek, Mr. Basheer, and Mr. Ennarah. Canada’s commitment to international human rights carries with it an obligation to protect the human rights defenders who work with Canadian counterparts toward that goal. Canada must be accountable for its participation in the November 3 meeting with EIPR and must take action to work for the release of those detained as a result. Canada must join in sending the message that human rights work is not a crime.

The pandemic has laid bare exactly who the truly essential workers are. While many well-paid workers work from their homes, it is the bravery and determination of front-line workers that are keeping our nation moving through the pandemic. That includes grocery store workers, many of whom make barely above minimum wage. At the start of the pandemic, Loblaws guaranteed those workers a $2/hr increase in "hero pay" - a modest increase for people who are literally putting their lives on the line so that we can eat. But Loblaw's cancelled the hero pay when cases declined over the summer of 2021. Now, we face an overwhelming wave of a dangerous new variant, and cases are reaching new heights never before seen in Canada - but not only has Loblaw's refused to reinstate the hero pay, they've instead chosen to increase the amount of money going to their wealthiest shareholders through dividends, and reward their CEOs with bonuses. It couldn't be clearer: Loblaws executives call the work essential but treat the workers as expendable. Call out their greed and demand better. Sign your name to demand Loblaw's reinstate hero pay immediately for the essential heroes keeping food on our tables.

The CRD, the province and the federal government have all publicly acknowledged that we are in a climate emergency and the need to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. As a society, we need to move towards zero waste and the creation of a circular economy. Expanding the landfill during a climate emergency is not the solution or direction that will help us achieve a cleaner, more sustainable future. Other cleaner alternative waste management solutions do exist and are already in use in continents that include Europe and Asia involving waste to energy solutions and bolder incentives to reduce, reuse, recycle and recover. We want the CRD to take another look at what is happening in other jurisdictions including Nanaimo’s Solid Waste Management Plan which will divert 90% of its municipal waste from the landfill through bolder recycling initiatives. Why is this important now? Waste management and garbage generation is a shared responsibility by all of us whether you live in James Bay, Sooke, Saanich or the southern Gulf Islands. We all generate garbage that ends up in the landfill. It's time to think and act collectively by changing our own behaviors and consumption patterns that produce waste, and by demanding more progressive thinking and leadership on the proposed Solid Waste Management Plan by our elected CRD representatives when we know that better solutions exist. Landfill Revenues The CRD's continued reliance on tipping fees as a revenue source, along with projected revenue from the sale of renewable natural gas (RNG) to FortisBC, relies on the status quo approach of continuing to expand a landfill that releases methane gases into the environment. Tree Preservation The CRD's current plan to destroy 73 acres of forest and sensitive eco-systems in the Mount Work area is unacceptable. This forest stores 180 tonnes of carbon a year - an offset equivalent to taking 195 cars off the road every year. Over the 50 year extension of the proposed Hartland landfill, carbon emissions would be increased by 9000 tonnes. This amount is inconsistent with the CRD's overall goal of making the region carbon neutral by 2050. Forests have many life sustaining values such as controlling rainfall runoff, cleansing water and air, providing habitat for wildlife and birds, and storing carbon. The BC Conservation Data Centre iMap shows that the surrounding forest habitat of Mount Work and Durrance Lake Regional Park are home to 16 species at risk including the rare Western Screech Owl. Let the Minister of Environment and the CRD Board know that you don't support their current plans to expand the Hartland Landfill when they could adopt alternative waste management practices that will put us on the road to embracing zero waste practices, a circular economy and a sustainable future. Have questions? Need further information? Check out the MountWorkCoalition.org website and look for our Call to Action! https://www.mountworkcoalition.org/be-informed/call-to-action-public-feedback-needed-now-on-crd-draft-solid-waste-management-plan

*UPDATED April 16th, 2021* Ford's response to the pandemic has only gotten worse. In February, as variants of concern (VOC) began to take off, Ford's own doctors predicted a total catastrophe in Ontario if he didn't expand public health protections. Not only did he fail to do so, he actually reduced those protections. The result: Ontario is now facing a completely predictable, completely preventable humanitarian disaster. Other nations, states, even other provinces in Canada have managed to avoid the third wave. Ontario has plunged head-first into one, and the worst is yet to come. Ford's only strategy is to attempt to shift blame and point fingers. It is clear that the only way out of this pandemic is with new leadership. Doug Ford must resign and make way for someone capable of managing an effective public health response to the pandemic. *End of updated text* In early November, Doug Ford introduced new guidelines for COVID restrictions. He claimed to have consulted public health professionals in devising the guidelines. However, the guidelines had thresholds for activation that were *four times higher* than public health doctors had actually called for. In other words: Ford lied, and put all our lives at risk. This latest outrage is the last straw. From the beginning, Ford has mismanaged the pandemic. He's given mixed messages that insist we must keep businesses open yet scolds people for visiting those businesses. He's refused to offer supports for small businesses or employees, passing the buck to the federal government. He's refused to address the crisis in long term care, instead passing the buck to local public health agencies. His "COVID relief bill" does things like interfering in local democracy, and he's rescinded paid sick leave guarantees passed by a previous government. He refused to adequately support schools or to close them when they proved to be vectors for transmission. The result? Under Doug Ford's watch, cases have reached record numbers and every day more people die. This is a crisis of negligence and incompetence and it cannot be tolerated any longer. It's time for Doug Ford to resign.

- We need to protect this land for future generations living in Ontario - We must protect our environment. We cannot live if our air, water and land is polluted - These lands are home to Endangered Species only found in Ontario - The Conservation Authorities work to ensure significant lands are protected - These lands prevent flooding and other natural disasters - By developing this significant lands, we are increasing our carbon footprint when we are in a Climate Change crisis - Greenspace directly impacts pandemics (dense areas with less greenspace cause illness and viruses to spread faster)

Ontario’s COVID-19 cases are skyrocketing, with some areas reporting the highest number of daily cases yet within the last week. And yet, some areas, like Toronto, are reducing restrictions, indoor dining and bars are reopening, and confusion is high due to mixed messages from top officials. Public health experts and epidemiologists are in agreement: more needs to be done to curb the spread of COVID-19. We need a coordinated response to tackle this unprecedented challenge, and elected officials need to ensure that any legislated closures or lockdowns are paired with supports in place for workers and small businesses — similar to BC’s approach, including, but not limited to, loans and grants for small businesses, and rent and wage support. Sources: [1] Globe and Mail https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-ontario-increases-covid-19-response-in-peel-region-as-virus-rates-2/ [2] CTV https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/what-is-a-circuit-breaker-lockdown-and-should-canada-consider-one-1.5175362 [3] BC Health order https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery/covid-19-provincial-support/lower-mainland [4] BC supports for small businesses https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/employment-business/business/small-business/resources/covid-19-supports [5] The Star https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2020/11/09/its-been-28-days-and-toronto-is-scheduled-to-reduce-restrictions-what-are-five-key-indicators-telling-us.html