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Tag: Canada

What Can We Learn From Hemp Legalization In Canada?
A scenic view of a Canadian farm on the shore of a lake, with a stunning view of mountains behind. (Pixabay / 12019, public domain)
November 14, 2017
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What Can We Learn From Hemp Legalization In Canada?

Posted in Journalism, and Ministry of Hemp

“My best advice is walk before you run.”

When it comes to the agricultural hemp, Shaun Crew knows more than most about what it takes to be successful. The president and founder of Hemp Oil Canada, he’s been in the hemp business longer than nearly anyone in his country and he’s seen the many hurdles the industry had to overcome since growing returned to Canada.

While industrial hemp returned to the United States on limited terms in 2014, all Canadians have been allowed to grow hemp since 1998, though the plant remains more restricted than other crops. Today, about 100,000 acres of hemp are grown annually in Canada according to experts we interviewed, and hemp is a well-established industry with government support.

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April 13, 2017
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6 Reasons Why Justin Trudeau Is No Prince Charming

Posted in Act Out!, Creative Commons, and Journalism

Oh Canada!

And oh Justin Trudeau, because not a day goes by without someone from the United States praising the Prime Minister, his traditional good looks, his support for refugees, his firm handshake when he encountered Donald Trump or hey, did we mention he’s good looking?

And yes, I know it’s tempting to think that the body double for Prince Eric in the Little Mermaid is just the nicest of guys — and admittedly, it’s easy to understand why people who compare Trudeau to our fatuous oversized orange shit stain find something appealing about a world leader who can regularly form sentences that are both grammatically correct and free from openly fascist symbolism. But don’t get it twisted, Justin Trudeau is no angel: in fact, he’s the darling of the Canadian fossil fuel industry — you know, the people responsible for the Keystone XL Pipeline and its numerous planned sequels — and an enthusiastic supporter of the military industrial complex too.

For making neoliberalism look sexy again, I’m declaring Justin Trudeau this week’s Low Life Scum.

Read more6 Reasons Why Justin Trudeau Is No Prince Charming
Stay And Fight Fascism Where You Are (Gonzo Notes)
"Queer Dance Freakout" for Trans equality at the Texas Governor's Mansion, February 23, 2017. (Kit O'Connell, CC license)
March 1, 2017
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Stay And Fight Fascism Where You Are (Gonzo Notes)

Posted in Creative Commons, Gonzo Notes, Journalism, MintPress News, and Occupy Wall Street

I wrote the last issue of Gonzo Notes, about creating resilience to both man-made and natural disasters, with a specific comrade in mind.

Just hours after the newsletter hit inboxes, I found out my comrade Liam Shea had died.

His death was devastating and unexpected to all his friends and allies, but most of all to his partner Luna. His loss robbed the world of a powerful activist; an old-school nazi-punching punk; someone who had, time and again, put himself at risk for the needs of others, to the point that he tattooed his knuckles with Y.N.W.A. (You’ll Never Walk Alone).

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What the US Can Learn From Canada’s Experiment With Electoral Reform
May 14, 2011. Activists in Ottawa, Canada demand electoral reform. Signs include "Far vote from coast-to-coast." (Flickr / ahblair)
July 4, 2016
Kit
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What the US Can Learn From Canada’s Experiment With Electoral Reform

Posted in Journalism, and Truthout

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was elected, in part, on a promise to change how the next government gets elected.

Although Canada’s electoral reform is very much a work in progress, activists and politicians alike are working to eliminate a majority-rule system in favor of a different, still-to-be-determined, but hopefully more representational form of voting.

“We want proportional representation,” said Kelly Carmichael, executive director of Fair Vote Canada, in an interview with Truthout, referring to one type of alternate voting system being considered.

“We never want to be stuck in a situation again where one person can take over the governance of our country,” she added, referring to Stephen Harper, Trudeau’s predecessor.

Although the US and Canada use very different systems, we can learn a great deal from this historic moment, particularly at a time when US voter turnout is plummeting and dissatisfaction with the available choices on the ballot is on the rise.

Read moreWhat the US Can Learn From Canada’s Experiment With Electoral Reform
Foreign Policy ‘Hypocrisy’: Canada Becomes Second-Largest Weapons Exporter To Middle East
August 6, 2015. A city street in Sa'ada, Yemen lies in ruins after heavy bombing by a coalition led by Saudi Arabia. (Flickr / United Nations OCHA)
June 24, 2016
Kit
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Foreign Policy ‘Hypocrisy’: Canada Becomes Second-Largest Weapons Exporter To Middle East

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

Despite its reputation as our less war-inclined neighbor to the north, Canada has become second only to the United States in weapons exports to the Middle East.

The increase in military equipment and weapons sales was noted by IHS Jane’s in its annual “Global Defence Trade Report,” published June 13 by IHS, Inc., a corporate data analysis think tank.

“Canada is the second-largest exporter of defence equipment to the Middle East with $2.7 billion in sales, moving the UK down the table to fourth place, just behind France,” IHS reported in a press release.

Read moreForeign Policy ‘Hypocrisy’: Canada Becomes Second-Largest Weapons Exporter To Middle East
Native Communities Across North America Lack Access To Clean Water
A Navajo man fills a water tank in a pickup truck at a trading stop in Cameron, Arizona on August 31, 2008. (Flickr / Don Graham)
October 12, 2015
Kit
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Native Communities Across North America Lack Access To Clean Water

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

For many in North America, the notion of a community without access to clean water seems like something that would only exist in a far-off, undeveloped country. Yet impoverished indigenous communities throughout the continent don’t have clean water or, in some cases, any running water at all.

For members of the Navajo Nation, and some of Canada’s First Nations tribes, the struggle to get clean water is a part of daily life.

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