July 3, 2008

Ottawa - The Council of Canadians is calling on the Harper government to respect the will of Parliament and the Canadian people. Despite strong public support for war resisters who want to stay in Canada, the Harper government has remained silent, apparently content to let deportation proceedings continue, the organization says.

“The war resisters seeking refuge in Canada have shown tremendous courage in refusing to participate in an illegal war, and it is time the federal government let them stay,” says Maude Barlow, national chairperson of the Council of Canadians. “It is shameful that the Harper government, so fond of telling us to support the troops, is trying to send these heroic soldiers back to persecution in the US or redeployment in Iraq.”
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Where: Alden Nowlan House (The Grad House), 676 Windsor St., UNB Fredericton.

When: Saturday, June 21.

7:00 pm - Food and speeches on the political and human rights situation in Colombia by Maikel and Leyda Rodriguez, James Brittain, sociology professor at Acadia University, and others.
8:00 pm - Salsa Crash Course with Hernando and Sandra Gonzalez.
9:00pm - Latin Dancing.

Tickets: $10/person or $20/family. Tickets sold at the door or in advance at the Multicultural Association, Doodles Cafe or True Foods.

Funds raised go to the family of the late Adolfo Montes Gonzales. On March 22, 2008, Adolfo Montes Gonzales, a union leader at the Cerrejon coal mine, where NB Power sources its coal to generate approximately 16% of electricity in New Brunswick, was murdered at his residence, leaving behind his wife and four small children. Sponsors include the Fredericton Peace Coalition, Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network, the Canadian Labour Congress, the NB Federation of Labour, the NB Union and Project Ploughshares Fredericton. More sponsors and volunteers are welcome. To co-sponsor or volunteer, email info@frederictonpeace.org

For more info: info@frederictonpeace.org

A comment from this thread which is in response to this article on CBC.

By:JA Penn

I am not sure of the exact figures offhand, but about half the working population makes < $5 + min wage.

The tremendous irony is that a flat tax does nothing to make people work harder or make more money. Everyone in NB knows that if you have a good job, then you probably work for the government! That means your salary is paid by people’s taxes. If your taxes go down, the government is giving you a raise, meaning it has to pay you more. Where is the tax money to do that going to come from?

If you work in the private sector, and make a good salary, then chances are you do business with the gov’t as a chief client, or with some gov’t-sponsored entity. That means it is still tax money that finds its way into your pocket.

If you do business entirely with the private sector, then it has nothing to do with the public of NB, and is therefore of no benefit — except by the taxes it pays to the public purse. If someone does business on your turf, they should pay a rent, no?

And finally, if you work in the private sector, then chances are you work for barely a living wage (if you call that living). It is true that these people get screwed over by gov’t taxation and deserve better. We should reduce taxes on annual incomes of <$36,000, and increase the 0% bracket to half that amount.

Our income tax regime is progressive at low and medium incomes - the marginal tax rate above $100k is flat. So the poor and middle class get screwed, the rich do quite well.

As for value-added and sales taxes, they are regressive. They suck more of your income the less you have. Indeed, they plain suck.

The Liberals can’t be serious about these measures. They simply won’t work in New Brunswick. The public is in general disadvantaged economically; only government intervention gives us a good standard of living. The measures the Libs propose would impoverish the public coffers and make the people leave the province in greater numbers, setting up a vicious circle.

We can reduce taxes progressively AND have greater expenditure on public goods and services (education, health care, elder care, child care, etc.) - i.e. have our cake and eat it too. But we will need to elect a government that establishes publicly-owned enterprises that make money for us the way capitalists make money for themselves: Earning profits from producing and selling things, charging rents on land and resources, and receiving interest from finances. These would funnel economic surpluses back into democratic hands.

Socialism or barbarism, in short. There you have it.

Corey Glass, a U.S. war resister who visited Fredericton in October 2006, was told yesterday, May 21, that his refugee application was rejected. Glass would be the first Iraq war resister to be deported from Canada.

The Fredericton Peace Coalition, Citizens’ Press and Project Ploughshares Fredericton openly and vehemently condemns the actions of the Canadian State against someone who clearly has the backing of a substantial section of the people in New Brunswick.

U.S. Iraq deserter loses bid to stay

CBC Story on Corey Glass visit to Fredericton in 2006

Dominion: Grilled Cheese and War Crimes

Environmental groups from across the province are marking Canadian National Mining Week by joining forces in calling for an immediate ban on uranium exploration and mining in New Brunswick.

TONIGHT IN FREDERICTON!

Uranium Mining in New Brunswick?
A Public Information Session
7:00 PM, Wednesday, May 14
McCain Auditorium, Margaret Norrie McCain Hall, St. Thomas University

Did you that thousands of uranium claims have been staked, many in areas surrounding Fredericton?

Public information session featuring speakers on landowner rights and the N.B. Mining Act, the hazards of uranium mining to the environment and human health, and community opposition.

Organized by the Fredericton Chapter of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick

For more info, call Tracy at: 458-8747, forest@conservationcouncil.ca

–Fill in this on-line petition to protest the murder of the Colombian labour organiser Rozo. Stay tuned to Leftnews for highlights of events putting pressure on our governments over their dealings with the Colombian governments. This includes the new unfair trade deal between Colombia and the Conservative government and the purchasing of coal from the mine that Rozo was an organiser for. We must act to stop the killing of social justice and union activists in Colombia.

This is how Columbia buys its support

Fundy Royal NDP candidate and economist Rob Moir was among the keynote speakers at Moncton’s Public Awareness meeting to discuss the effects of test drilling and uranium mining on our health and ecosystem. Dr. Moir’s presentation outlined the overall effects that uranium exploration and mining has on the economy.

Moir toasted the crowd with a glass of Moncton city water, and commenced by saying, “Thank you Moncton for keeping water public, and here’s to keeping it free of radioactivity.”

–Another bad budget from the Liberals in Ontario.

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OTTAWA–

The recent announcement by the federal government to spend $163 million for the commercialisation of research shows that the Conservative government’s priorities are being driven by special interests in the private sector. The national organisation representing graduate students says that this is not only inappropriate, but stifles real innovation.

“Innovation happens when public funds are used to support independent, peer-reviewed research,” said Graham Cox, Chairperson of the National Graduate Caucus of the Canadian Federation of Students, “Innovation is stifled when you have the federal government and big business looking over your shoulder demanding results for the next fiscal quarter.”

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With the licenses formerly held by Bowater and Weyerhauser reverting to the provincial government, and the super license held by UPM possibly opening up as well, the Conservation Council wants the provincial government to establish Regional Forest Management Committees in Restigouche, Gloucester and Northumberland counties to determine how best to implement community forestry in those counties.

A major report released today by the Conservation Council of New Brunswick’s Fundy Baykeeper program demonstrates that the salmon aquaculture industry in the Bay of Fundy is not sustainable and needs to be dramatically restructured.

The Conservation Council of New Brunswick has examined emissions data for the Irving Oil refinery in Saint John provided by the company to Environment Canada for the past 10 years and found that emissions of some VOCs and metals, specifically aluminum, have increased more than 10 times since the upgrade.

Figures released today by the Conservation Council of New Brunswick conservatively estimate that between 300 and 700 New Brunswickers die annually as a result of exposure to environmental hazards such as indoor and outdoor air pollution, pesticides and contaminants in food and water. That’s about three to seven times more than die annually from motor vehicle accidents in the province.

–Wednesday, January 23 at noon there will be a rally of labour and students in support of the Faculty Association of St. Thomas University. The rally will be hold across the street from the NRC building.

What if Irving Oil’s proposed new oil refinery is subject to a federal environmental review. That’s the Conservation Council’s what if.

Canada’s Environment Minister John Baird is facing a lawsuit for his lax treatment of Irving Oil’s proposal to construct a massive oil refinery in Saint John. The Conservation Council’s Fundy Baykeeper and Friends of the Earth Canada commenced the lawsuit to ensure that the multi-billion dollar refinery – which is expected to generate greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to New Brunswick’s biggest coal-burning power plant– faces the full scrutiny of an environmental assessment by the federal government.

NOTE NEW TIME!

All are invited to rally in support of the Faculty Association of the University of St. Thomas University (FAUST) in their struggle to achieve a fair negotiated settlement with St. Thomas University.

When: 1 pm, Monday, January 14
Where: Main entrance of St. Thomas University (across from Ludlow Hall Law Building).

Central issues for STU faculty include:

* office space, a basic health plan, and improved job security for part-time faculty

* workload, compensation, academic rights, and transparency in university governance for full-time faculty

The purpose of the rally is to express solidarity with professors who are locked out, on strike and currently on the picket line. The rally is being sponsored by Mobilization, a student and community social justice group.

“As students, we recognized that fair and equitable working conditions for our professors are key to a quality education,” stated Carolyn Shapiro, a Mobilization member and STU first year student, “we reject the characterization of our professors as greedy, and commend the solidarity of the full-time faculty with the part-time faculty who have clearly been taken advantage of in their place of work. The real reason for the delay in class commencement is the administration’s unwillingness to negotiate in good faith or at all.”

-30-

Contact: Carolyn Shapiro, Mobilization and a STU student, carolyn_shapiro@hotmail.com, 454-4814.

For more information, please visit www.caut.ca/faust/

The Conservation Council is calling on Premier Shawn Graham to appoint a legislative committee to seek New Brunswicker’s views on the future use and management of public forest lands.

With yesterday’s announcement that UPM-Kymmene is permanently closing and dismantling its Miramichi mills, only three of the ten mills granted licenses in 1982 to log and manage New Brunswick’s public forest are left standing. Forty four percent or 1.4 million hectares of Crown land in the Miramichi, Acadian Peninsula, Nepisiguit and Restigouche regions is now being managed by companies who are leaving New Brunswick.

Environment Minister John Baird has refused to strike a joint panel review of the proposed Irving Oil refinery with the Province of New Brunswick, nor will he carry out a federal review. In a press release yesterday he said the federal government would restrict its review to the environmental impacts of the breakwater and wharf that would be constructed to serve the new oil refinery. Instead, all other environmental impacts which come under federal jurisdiction will be considered by the Province.

“This is a victory for Irving Oil, which argued in its filing documents that it would prefer that the federal government not carry out an environmental review of the refinery operations, but leave this to the provincial Department of Environment,” said David Coon, Policy Director for the Conservation Council of New Brunswick. “There will be no formal public hearings and there will be no independent panel review. The review of the refinery will take place behind closed doors by the provincial public service,” said Coon.

The Conservation Council of New Brunswick wants Premier Graham to embrace energy self-sufficiency for New Brunswick. At a news conference today, the group launched a new publication entitled, “A Road Map for Energy Self Sufficiency” which argues that the twin imperatives of making deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and revitalizing local economies can best be met by replacing imported fuels with the development of local energy resources such as efficiency, wood, bioenergy, solar and wind power. The Conservation Council’s report proposes a road map for shrinking New Brunswick’s dependence on electricity while supplying it with green technologies fuelled by local resources.

After three years of waiting, the government now has confirmation that the area of contamination identified by the Conservation Council was correct. “The government now needs to order the smelter to clean up all the contaminated properties as soon as possible. People have been living in a poisoned environment long enough and more soil sampling is not going to change that reality.” -Inka Milewski.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 24th, 2007

Fredericton Peace Coalition to Rally Against Canada’s Combat Mission
in Afghanistan

The Fredericton Peace Coalition is holding a rally in support of the
Pan-Canadian day of action against war called for October 27, the
sixth anniversary of Canada’s military involvement in Afghanistan.
The rally will take place at Fredericton City Hall on Saturday,
October 27th at 1pm. Participants will be rallying under the slogan
“Bring Them Home” indicating the Fredericton Peace Coalition’s
emphatic demand that Canada end its combat mission in Afghanistan
and return Canadian soldiers home.
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Today the Conservation Council of New Brunswick launched a new initiative called Health Watch to focus public attention on the links between pollution and health in the province. The goal is to have the provincial government act to reduce disease caused by pollution.

Who and What is Polluting Your Community

Friday, September 14, 2007

FREDERICTON—The Canadian Federation of Students is calling on the Government of New Brunswick to shelve a report tabled today by the Commission on Post-Secondary Education in New Brunswick. Calling it a “recipe for student debt and privatization,” students say that the report offers nothing substantial to improve access to post-secondary education.

“Students and their families need protection from tuition fee increases, but this report actually encourages fee hikes,” said Graham Cox, a New Brunswick spokesperson for the Federation. “The government would be wise to shelve this report.”
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–The Union of Graduate Student Workers (UGSW) at the University of New Brunswick begin their labour board hearings today. The University is arguing that Teaching Assistants and Research Assistants are not workers and thus do not deserve to belong to a union. The fact that 60% of graduate students that are TAs/RAs think that they are workers and signed union cards to prove it should be enough to state otherwise. If that is not enough then there is plenty of evidence to back the student workers up. It is time for the students to put that education to work. Stand up and demand your rights as workers. Stay tuned for updates.

–NDP Hosts a public discussion on the `Security and Prosperity Partnership’ in Fredericton, NB.

Following the August 20 Leaders’ Summit in Montebello Quebec concerning the so-called Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), the Fredericton NDP is hosting a gathering for discussion.

Please join Peter Julian, Member of Parliament, NDP International Trade Critic, and Kelly Comer, Fredericton NDP candidate to learn more about the SPP agenda.

Ted Daigle Auditorium, Edmund Casey Hall, Saint Thomas University
August 29, 7:00 p.m.
Date: Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Time: 7:00pm-9:00pm

NDP Hosts a public discussion on the `Security and Prosperity Partnership’ in Fredericton, NB.

Following the August 20 Leaders’ Summit in Montebello Quebec concerning the so-called Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), the Fredericton NDP is hosting a gathering for discussion.
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Monday, August 20
7pm, Renaissance College, 811 Charlotte St.
Fredericton, NB

A panel discussion with:

* Roland Chrisjohn, professor, Department of Native Studies, St. Thomas
University, on First Nations and the SPP.

* Judy Loo, Breaking the Silence Network, on how SPP threatens immigrants,
refugees, and non-status individuals.

* Charles Fournier, Fredericton Peace Coalition, on how SPP commits Canada
to increased militarization.

* Graham Cox, Canadian Federation of Students, on how SPP accelerates
privatization of public services such as education and health care, and how
SPP threatens workers.

* Tracy Glynn, Conservation Council of New Brunswick, on how SPP is pushing
for deregulation in areas of environmental protection, pesticides use, food
safety and water exports.

* Kelly Comer, NDP federal candidate in Fredericton, on the NDP’s concerns
and actions taken in parliament over the lack of transparency and
democratic oversight around SPP.

* Marylou Babineau, Green Party federal candidate in Fredericton, on the
Green Party’s concerns with SPP.

* Alex Corey, UNB student on the multiple ways to get involved in the
resistance.
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–Support the Friends of Rockwook Park.

–There is a new news agency coming into being. The Real News is a grassroots, donation funded, uncompromising news distribution network which will also have reporting and the like. It is a nice idea, but to have real effects you have to be able to get into the living room of the general population… something that the people who seem to control the media system are not likely going to let happen. The internet is useful in getting the message to the people that are interested in finding it (ie: those that already look for it) but getting real information to the masses is something that takes more than production of a news network… you have to get those that control it to let the message through. I would commend the initiative, but it has to get support from the people first. Spread the news and we will see if it can work.

–We must demand better.

Conservation Council of New Brunswick News Release

May 29, 2007

Fredericton - On May 27, 2007, a harvester was spotted levelling the forest near the Portage Vale/Elgin area in Albert County. The area is the proposed site of the “Quintessential Canada” tourist resort; a gated community of 2,000 luxury homes priced between $600,000 and $1.2 million each, a Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course, 200,000 square foot conference centre, sports village, racino and spa. Ann Collins Property Ltd., an investment property specialist based in Ireland, is planning to build a multi-million dollar exclusive tourist resort on land that includes 2,800 acres of public land.
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Following close on the heels of Environment Minister John Baird’s decision to exempt industry from hard caps on greenhouse gas emissions, the Minister has exempted the first Canadian oil refinery to be built since global warming became a concern, from assessment under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.

Today, on the UN’s International Day for Biological Diversity, CCNB is calling on Premier Shawn Graham to safeguard the forest conservation areas on public land that the Self-Sufficiency Task Force wants to slash.

Three well known mining activists will be speaking in Fredericton on Tuesday, May 22 at 7pm at the UNB Art Centre, Memorial Hall. They are Joan Newman Kuyek, National Coordinator of Mining Watch Canada, Aviva Chomsky, Professor of History and Coordinator of Latin American Studies at Salem State College in Massachusetts, and Inka Milewski of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick.

FREDERICTON, NB — “I promise to donate $$ to UNB if they follow their own stated guidelines in the development of the UNB Woodlot.”

On their own website - www.unb.ca/lms/woodlot/wprinciples.html - UNB’s “Guiding Principles” for the Woodlot Development, include “sustainable mixed-use development”, “demonstrate UNB’s commitment to excellence in development and management”, and “increase UNB’s profile as an environmental steward and community leader”

smartgrowthUNB.ca is a website launched to accept pledges of money from UNB alumni, students, and other supporters. (Please don’t send us any money!) You can choose to remain anonymous or to have your name added to our list of pledgers and your graduation year from UNB.