Annita McPhee is a progressive Indigenous woman wanting to become the BC NDP candidate for Stikine riding. Annita announced her intention to seek the nomination once it was announced that Doug Donaldson would not seek re-election. However, the Party is trying to make exceptions to the policy to parachute in a Party-picked candidate. She needs your support to ensure the BC NDP doesn’t break its rules. She needs your help to support opportunities for progressive Indigenous women to run for the BC NDP.

The cost to of living far exceeds the payout, especially with rent and groceries.

In a survey gathering data from 2017 to 2020, the Centre for Rural Health Research reports that the average total out-of-pocket costs for 381 BC patients accessing health care outside their home community was $2234 per patient and 78% of survey respondents reported difficulty in paying these costs. The full report is available at the following link: https://crhr.med.ubc.ca/resources/reports/ Too many rural British Columbians have suffered for far too long as a result of this situation. The severity of the problem is now clearly evident and the BC Rural Health Network calls on all BC residents to sign this petition calling on local and provincial policy makers to take action immediately to correct it.

Canada has been implicated in perpetrating war by the UN, due to Canada selling LAVs to Saudi Arabia which are being used in the war in Yemen. Canada has a trade agreement with Saudi Arabia which includes selling war implements to access to Saudi Arabia’s market, specifically oil. Canada needs to produce more green energy and get off oil dependency.

Having faced devastating pandemics in the past, First Nations are all-too aware of the threat posed by COVID-19. Families live in multi-generational homes due to housing shortages, hospitals are hundreds - if not thousands - of kilometers away, and communities face a chronic shortage of essential health workers and supplies: in many communities the equipment itself is outdated, or in extremely short supply.  The stakes for First Nations could not be higher. First Nations are among the most vulnerable populations in B.C., with the most to lose. The loss of an Elder represents a loss of language, culture and history. Reduced access to healthcare, food insecurity, and lack of government services are just a few of the problems that could turn a bad outbreak into a devastating crisis. The virus has exposed the inequities faced by First Nations in providing for the health and well-being of their communities. First Nations need your help to get the Ministry of Health to release the life-saving information they require so they can make informed decisions and respond effectively to the pandemic. Together we are forcing B.C. government to answer hard questions in the media and to justify why they are keeping First Nations in the dark about COVID-19 cases in and near their communities. Now, we need to ramp up the pressure on the Ministry of Health and Health Authorities, so they honour First Nation’s right to life-saving information. Sign the petition and support Indigenous government's right to life-saving health information to #keepsafe from COVID-19.

In recent years, Toronto public spaces have become a free-for-all for year-round fireworks. While celebration on special public holidays like Canada Day can be enjoyed by the whole family, certain parks in Toronto, like the Humber Bay Shores and Ashbridges Bay, have suffered from individuals with disregard for the needs of wildlife or neighbourhood peace shooting fireworks almost every night of the week and as late at 1:00 am. This causes harm in multiple ways: Quality of Life: Fireworks are being set off every night by different individuals, in many cases well after midnight. The disruption to a peaceful environment, loss of sleep, and overall harm to quality of life for residents speaks for itself. PTSD: Fireworks can trigger panic attacks in vulnerable populations, particularly those who have experienced PTSD, including veterans, refugees, victims of gun violence. These individuals can at least plan for a few scheduled holidays, but unscheduled nightly incidents literally make the city unliveable for them. Pollution: Research documents a two- to four-fold increase in suspended particulate matter in the air following fireworks, including trace metals harmful to our lungs. A few nights a year may be manageable, but the use of fireworks in some areas on a nightly basis through the summer becomes a health concern to local residents. And those wonderful volunteers who clean up public spaces can attest to the deluge of debris they are battling. Simply put, late night revellers typically don't clean up after themselves. Pet / wildlife safety: Pet owners see their loved pets suffer every night fireworks are lit, experience extreme anxiety, stress, and fear during fireworks. The harm to wildlife goes beyond fear created by these loud blasts. Perchlorate contaminates ground water and harms wildlife that drink that water, inhibiting iodine uptake in the thyroid gland and inhibiting iodine from crossing the placenta, impacting the ability of the fetus to regulate hormones. Geese, ducks, swans, and grebes all consume fireworks debris left over in the water. Shoreline birds may experience panic during nesting. And the noise can lead nocturnal birds to become disoriented and fly into windows of nearby condos. Chronic exposure due to multiple fireworks per week increases the risk to animal health exponentially. Species like the nocturnal Eastern Whip-poor-will are now designated as threatened, urbanization contributing to their diminishing numbers. We certainly don't need to exacerbate the environmental threat to wildlife so carelessly. Injury: Emergency Departments and Fire Departments prepare for an influx in the weeks leading up to our holidays. Hand burn and eye injuries are the most common reported injuries, adolescents experience the greatest prevalence of injury. This uncontrolled use of fireworks creates a needless diversion of front line health and safety resources. It's time for us to be more responsible with fireworks — for the sake of our pets, our parklands, our wildlife, and one another. Etobicoke Fireworks Remediation Committee References: Alupo, C (2017). Canine PTSD: An inquiry study on psychological trauma in dogs. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Animal Environment and Health. Canner, J.K., Haider, A.H., Selvarajah, S., et al. (2014). US emergency department visits for fireworks injuries, 2006-2010. Journal of Surgical Research, 190(1): 305–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2014.03.066 PMID:24766725. Hickey, C., Gordon, C., Galdanes, K. et al. (2020). Toxicity of particles emitted by fireworks. Part Fibre Toxicol 17, 28. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12989-020-00360-4 Lin, C. (2016). A review of the impact of fireworks on particulate matter in ambient air. Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, 66(12), 1171-1182. DOI: 10.1080/10962247.2016.1219280 Shamoun-Baranes, J., Dokter, A. M., van Gasteren, H., et al. (2011). Birds flee en mass from New Year’s Eve fireworks. Behavioral Ecology, 22(6), 1173–1177. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arr102 Sijimol, M.R., Mohan, M. (2014). Environmental impacts of perchlorate with special reference to fireworks—a review. Environ Monit Assess, 186, 7203–7210. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-014-3921-4

To maintain a sustainable life style for everybody! Wes PhD

Habitat loss not wolves is driving caribou to extinction in British Columbia. Killing wolves is a cruel distraction. More than 1,000 wolves in BC have died agonizing deaths through aerial gunning since 2015. Since the 1970’s successive BC governments have ignored proven science and continued to waste time and money on the failed and misguided strategy of scapegoating wolves. It has been clear for decades that caribou are being driven to extinction by destructive human activities. Logging and other extractive industries damage and destroy critical habitat and snowmobiling, ATV’s and heli-skiing harass already stressed herds. As a result, caribou generally and particularly BC’s unique deep-snow dwelling mountain caribou have declined sharply over recent years. Research recently published in the journal Biodiversity and Conservation found that wolf kill programs in British Columbia (and Alberta) cannot be shown to provide the presumed benefit for reversing the decline of endangered caribou and are based, at best, on guesswork. Contractors hired by government to shoot wolves from helicopters are typically self-supervised and this killing method often entails extreme anxiety, pain and suffering prior to death, failing to ensure that wolves are killed humanely. In addition to ethical concerns, wolf kill programs incur high environmental and economic costs and degrade ecosystems. While we acknowledge with respect that the BC government, the Salteaux and West Moberly First Nations and Canada have undertaken a recovery program for a few herds in N.E. BC we are concerned about the plan’s reliance on wolf killing and maternal penning, neither providing the long-term benefit of habitat protection. Moreover, there are 54 herds in BC requiring protection and anything less than a province-wide recovery strategy will be a conservation failure.

It is important here in our province and everywhere else across the nation - and indeed, worldwide. Litter not only looks ugly, but causes real damage to wildlife and the environment in general. If we could address this very visible problem immediately, by fines, or a reward system for recycling, we would see the benefits all around us, of clean beaches, lakes, open spaces, in our cities and even along the sides of the roads. Our wildlife, both in the ocean and lakes as well as the woodlands would not be at risk of harm by ingesting plastic, birds and animals getting stuck with sometime fatal results in discarded tubs and cans would not be happening either. This would have a knock on effect for us all, as slowly, the plastic waste trickles down into water courses, and stays in the earth, not biodegrading, and polluting in a very big way. We could even, with the will, create sustainable jobs by processing all this waste by re-purposing, or waste to energy.

The sports world is taking bold action in solidarity with Jacob Blake, an unarmed black man who was shot and paralyzed by a white Wisconsin police officer a few days ago. The NBA, WNBA, MLB and MLS have all postponed games in the wake of players and team's speaking out against the shooting and boycotting games. Notably absent from this list is the NHL. The NHL has issued a statement, taken a "moment of reflection" before Wednesday nights game, but continued with games as usual. Sign your name calling on the NHL to postpone playoff games, along with other major sports leagues in America, who are taking a stand in support of Jacob Blake, and the Black Lives Matter movement.

News reports are showing that the Toronto Raptors are considering boycotting the first game of their series against the Boston Celtics. This discussion comes as a result of the attempted murder of yet another innocent Black man in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the latest in a seeming unending string of such murders and attempted murders by unaccountable police officers. The pain of seeing such public murders inflicted over and over again must be immense. And it comes with the additional burden of knowing that each time, nothing changes. The Toronto Raptors are more than our basketball team. They are the spirit of Toronto, and they represent our compassionate, progressive nation to the world. And we as fans are part of the team. We want them to know that if they decide to boycott Game 1 in order to shine a spotlight on this injustice and say "no more" to the ongoing police violence, we the fans have their backs and will rise to support them.

City people need clean, healthy air to support good health. The country needs clean air to reduce the frequency of forrest fires, windstorms and torrential downpours which flood many parts of our land. The costs related to saving lives and repairing the damage affects everyone by increasing their insurance rates.