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Issue 3

July-August 2009

New organizational approaches snag


Nova Scotia win

Jill Marzetti

Courtesy of Ian Austen

Jill Marzetti Knowing that the party had a candidates. The Leader was prepared to
strong likelihood of becoming govern- meet with these persons to bring them
In the 2009 Nova Scotia election ment, candidate search was regarded on board as candidates. In some cases
the NSNDP initiated new and updated as critical. The Party did not want to ridings were told to go back and do
organizational practices that were cru- face questions such as “Darrell is a more work on candidate search rather
cial to winning the necessary seats for good guy, but look at his team!” The than go with the same candidate they
a majority. incoming premier would need to have had had in previous elections. Most of
Those practices included: a very ac- a strong pool of MLAs from which to the ridings had candidates in place be-
tive role by the Leader, Darrell Dex- choose cabinet ministers. As Leader, fore the writs were dropped. Just half a
ter, in candidate recruitment; a pre- Darrell Dexter and his team were very dozen did not; in 2006, about a dozen
election capacity-building exercise; hands-on with the search. Ridings candidates were only nominated after
a “tough love” approach to the “safe” were encouraged to target individuals the writs were dropped.
incumbents; a target team approach to who were experienced in business, ag- Once candidates were nominated,
the new seats that were needed, and a riculture, the fishery, civic government a capacity-building exercise was done
fresh approach to the endgame. and law enforcement as prospective with incumbents and (Cont’d on p.5)
1 Hear ts and Minds
In this issue
4 Strategic challenges in the Nova 3 2009 Liberal Budget and the Har-
Scotia election monized Sales Tax (HST) in Ontario
Jill Marzetti Cheri DiNovo, MPP (Parkdale—High Park)

6 Psychiatric survivors need jobs 10 An Ontario pension plan: An idea


David Reville, former NDP MPP (Riverdale) whose time has come?
Peter Kormos, MPP (Welland)
8 Getting eHealth back on track Paul Miller, MPP (Hamilton East—Stoney Creek)
France Gélinas, MPP (Nickel Belt)
11 Sudbury New Democrat MP intro-
14 Clean energy jobs being created duces law to cap credit card interest
in Michigan, Colorado, Ohio, rates at prime plus 5 percent
Manitoba and Quebec Glenn Thibeault, MP (Sudbury)
Peter Tabuns, MPP (Toronto-Danforth)
12 Air Canada: Fly it Right
15 Urban agriculture: The wave of Peggy Nash, former MP (Parkdale—High Park)
the future?
J.A. MacNeil 13 A Tale of Two Transit Consultations
Gord Perks, Toronto City Councillor, Ward 14
20 Credit unions and economic
democracy 16 Greenest City is growing the future
Art Chamberlain, Media relations manager, Gelek Badheytsang, Communications Director,
Central 1 Credit Union Greenest City

21 Honduras: Reformists out, 18 Co-operatives: Back to the Future?


troglodytes in John Richmond
J.A. MacNeil
26 Book Reviews
24 Middle East in the Obama era: Darwin O’Connor and Grace Scheel
Dare we hope?
J.A. MacNeil 28 Venezuela: Steady progress

See Hearts & Minds online at: http://www.phpndp.ca

The articles contained within represent the views of each author, not necessarily those of
either the riding association executive or any other NDP body. All authors are members of
the Parkdale-High Park Riding Association unless otherwise identified.

Hear ts and Minds 2


2009 Liberal Budget and the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST)
in Ontario
sive, proactive response that would Additionally, the corporate income tax
provide real economic solutions. In- rate will drop to 10 per cent by 2013
stead, the Liberals introduced a regres- (down from 14 per cent today). In
sive tax that will force Ontarians to pay making these changes, the provincial
more for basic essentials and everyday budget has shifted the tax burden from
purchases, including many which pre- the wealthiest corporations to working
viously were not subject to any provin- people, many of whom are now unem-
cial sales tax. ployed.
Harmonizing the provincial sales In transferring the tax burden on to
Cheri DiNovo, MPP tax with the federal GST means that working people, the McGuinty Liber-
McGuinty is adding 8 percent to the als have joined the federal Conserva-
On March 26, 2009, the provincial cost of basic goods. These goods in- tives in implementing a regressive, fis-
Liberal government announced in clude gas, heating oil, and electricity. cally conservative agenda that will do
their budget that it would implement These are not the only items that nothing to put people back to work.
a harmonized 13 percent sales tax. will cost individuals more as items Andrea Horwath and Ontario’s
Harmonization would combine the from cradle to grave will be hit by New Democrats have launched a cam-
federal Goods and Services Tax (GST) McGuinty’s harmonized tax system. paign to stop the implementation of
with the Provincial Sales Tax (PST). Under the proposed scheme, daycare McGuinty’s tax grab. To take action,
In order to blend these taxes, the pro- will cost an additional 8 per cent. Fu- go to http://www.andreahorwath.com/
vincial Liberals worked closely with nerals will also be subjected to the in- unfairtaxgrab/home.html and sign our
Conservative federal Finance Minister creased tax. If you purchase a morning petition. Together we can let Dalton
Jim Flaherty. As part of their agenda, coffee, take your pet to the veterinar- McGuinty know that Ontarians say
the Liberal-Conservative sales tax will ian, go to the theatre, play a round “NO” to this unfair tax grab.
take effect on July 1, 2010. of golf or pay for the internet in your
The 2009 provincial budget was home you will be paying an additional Cheri DiNovo was first elected MPP for
a unique opportunity for the gov- 8 per cent in sales tax. Parkdale—High Park in a 2006 by-election,
and re-elected in 2007. She is the NDP’s
ernment to address the devastating As part of the Liberals’ tax reform
critic for Employment standards, Women’s
jobs crisis affecting Ontario workers. package, businesses will get $4.5 billion issues, Housing, Citizenship and Immigra-
Working people expected a progres- in tax cuts over the next three years. tion.

These goods and services will cost you 8 percent more under the HST
Accounting services Haircuts and styling Plumbing services Theatre admissions Dry cleaning
Adult footwear under $30 Home heating oil Postal stamps Tobacco Electrical services
Air-conditioning repairs Home renovations Prepared foods under $4, Bicycles Electricity
Arena ice rentals Internet access fees including coffee, muffins, Veterinary care Energy Star appliances
Audio books for the blind Landscaping fast food meals, etc. Domestic air travel Financial advisory services
Bicycle safety gear Legal services Real estate commissions Train fares Funeral services
Boat docking fees Magazines Rentals of commercial Taxi fares Furnace repairs
Campground fees Manicures property Bus fares Gas at the pumps
Car washes Massages Ski lift tickets Sale of farmland Vitamins
Carpentry services Moving vans Snow-plowing Courier fees Grass-cutting
Conferences and seminars Newspapers Sports field rentals Real Christmas trees Gym fees

3 Hear ts and Minds


Strategic challenges in the Nova Scotia election
Jill Marzetti • create 2200 jobs per year through a 10 percent manufac-
turing and processing investment tax credit,
Every election poses a unique political environment. There • kick-start new home construction with a one-year pro-
are circumstances a party may have created; others may gram to rebate 50 percent of the HST,
be challenges to be surmounted. And some of the political • boost the Equity Tax credit to promote investment in
environment may present opportunities. communities,
• increase renewable energy to 25 percent of the overall
All of these factors were at work in the June victory of the supply by 2015,
Nova Scotia NDP. • implement a 10-year farm strategy to improve competi-
tiveness and profitability,
After the 1999 campaign, the Nova Scotia NDP undertook • establish a Community Land trust which will identify
to build itself as a positive practical party focussed primar- and purchase significant lands, purchase the develop-
ily on pocket-book issues rather than merely being critics ment rights to that land or purchase easements to en-
of the government of the day. This allowed the Party to sure public access. The land could then be used for con-
deal with the negative image that the NDP has with finan- servation, wildlife and fish habitats, forestry, outdoor
cial management. The emphasis was on practical afford- recreation including hunting, fishing, and farmland
able plans, “the new deal” which in the 2009 campaign be- preservation,
came “a balanced, practical plan to make life better for you • challenge Ottawa to ensure its fishery policies reflect the
and your family.” The reference point was the Manitoba needs of independent fishermen,
and Saskatchewan NDP. • re-direct staff from government communications to di-
rect marketing of primary industries,
The 2009 NSNDP platform was criticized by the Conser- • create a prior learning assessment pilot program.
vatives as a four-page leaflet. It was focussed on the issues
that were top of mind for voters: health care overwhelm- The NDP’s promises were carefully costed out and the fig-
ingly, and then job creation and the economy. It was also ures made public.
targeted to the needs of the communities in seats, particu-
larly rural ones, that needed to be won. Only seven com- By contrast, the Conservatives hauled out old budget an-
mitments were made: nouncements with some additional promises and the Lib-
erals produced a wide-ranging platform with no costing.
• create needed secure jobs,
• keep emergency rooms open and reduce health care In Darrell Dexter, the NSNDP had a leader who resonat-
wait-times, ed with Nova Scotians. Experienced as a journalist, law-
• take the HST off home energy, yer, municipal councillor, and a member of the Canadian
• fix rural roads and keep communities strong, Navy, Dexter also scored high with voters on the charac-
• provide seniors the services needed for them to stay in ter attributes of being caring, smart, likeable, trustworthy,
their homes and communities longer, and practical. His leadership was characterized as “genuine
• ensure that more young people stay and build a life in leadership for today’s families.”
NS, and
• ensure that that province lives within its means (bal- In contrast, the PC Premier, Rodney MacDonald, was held
anced budget). in low esteem across the province. While Conservative
party support in some areas was still strong, support for
The NDP’s proposals for creating secure jobs and strength- the Conservative leader was weak and fell throughout the
ening the economy are to do the following: campaign. The Liberal leader, Stephen McNeil, also did not
fare well. Despite the barrage of advertising focussed on
• maximize federal funds to build the infrastructure that him as leader and potential premier, McNeil never seemed
communities need, to connect with the voters. The Liberal party, having hit an
Hear ts and Minds 4
Strategic challenges in the Nova Scotia election
historic low in the 2006 campaign, was not able to create They did not believe that Darrell Dexter and the NDP had
much energy with a campaign that focussed on reducing connived to take illegal contributions from unions. Voters
small business taxes and job creation. Little time was spent wanted a change from the old-line parties and didn’t buy
by the NDP in attacking the Liberal party and leader in the the accusation that there was a risk in voting for an NDP
central campaign. government.

Thus the ballot question became “Can we risk four more Dexter and the NSNDP had established a trust with the
years of the Rodney MacDonald government?” The over- voters that was rewarded on election day with thirty-one
whelming response was negative which led to the answer, of the fifty-two seats going to the NDP. The Liberals got
“we can make life better for you and your family. For genu- eleven seats. The Conservatives retained ten seats and
ine leadership for today’s families, vote for Darrell Dexter Rodney MacDonald has resigned as leader.
and the NDP”
Darrell Dexter and the NSNDP now have four years to
When the assault came in the last ten days of the campaign, provide genuine leadership as a government with a bal-
Darrell Dexter and the NDP were well-positioned to resist. anced, practical plan for Nova Scotian families.
Nova Scotians simply weren’t afraid that unions would Jill Marzetti was director of organization in the Nova Scotia NDP’s
run the province should the NDP be elected government. 2009 campaign.

New organizational approaches snag Nova Scotia win


(Cont’d from p.1) the seats that were seen to be the next media relations, organization, phone bank resources, poll-
best seats. This exercise was designed to build the candi- ing, and research expertise. As the campaign progressed,
date’s profile, build the candidate’s team, and raise money. a few seats moved into the group and others out. This ap-
Several tools were used to analyse the ridings and pro- proach resulted in holding the five 2006 wins, and winning
vide direction for the candidates’ activities. Emphasis was twelve new seats; at dissolution, the NDP had 20 seats; we
placed on dealing directly with the candidate rather than won 19 of those 20, and 12 new seats, mainly in rural Nova
with the riding association. Scotia, for a total of 31 of the 52 seats in the Legislature.

The safe fifteen incumbents—those who had been elected Finally, the team recognized early that to plan for the last
before 2006—were told to expect nothing in terms of re- week, the endgame strategy, a new and rested person was
sources from the central campaign. With the exception of needed to freshen up the campaign and provide a crisp,
two seats that was the rule. The only support the incum- focussed run to election day. That person was a co-chair
bents received was communications support for leaflets, of the election planning committee who had not been
copies of the platform, and a check-in call every two days involved in the day-to-day running of the campaign and
in the writ period. No e-day staff, no phone bank time, no had been out of the country. She drafted an approach to
mailings. the last five days after consultation with all departments,
for the consideration of the campaign director. That plan
The campaign had determined that special attention need- involved moving staff between campaigns, new signage, a
ed to be given to the five seats gained in 2006 and the next final piece of literature with the ballot question (see Strate-
best prospects that the NSNDP needed to win to form gic challenges), radio ads, phone blasts, local ad buys, and
government. Those latter seats were determined, as usual, leader’s letters of endorsements to the homes of our identi-
by size of loss in 2006, no non-NDP incumbent in place, fied supporters.
and special circumstances—our candidate, troubles with
the non-NDP incumbent, and polling. Those seats were These practices made a huge difference in winning and
serviced by a special team (the target team concept that provide an interesting lesson to us Ontario New Demo-
originated in Manitoba), with dedicated communications, crats.
5 Hear ts and Minds
Psychiatric survivors need jobs
What should we do? The first thing Out of This World Café and Parkdale
David Reville, former NDP MPP
we need to do is rid ourselves of the no- Green Thumb Enterprises. And, show-
I went to the doctor to find out how tion that having a mental illness means ing that survivor business isn’t just a
high my cholesterol was. In the wait- you can’t work. Most of the 70 people big city phenomenon, Abel Enterprises
ing room was a poster that read “em- who work at A-Way Express Couriers in Simcoe produces custom wood-
ployment determines health”; I knew, were told they couldn’t work. Hah! A- working and commercial furniture.
right then, what I’d write about for this Way is celebrating its 22nd birthday on The businesses mentioned provide full
newsletter. June 11 (Editor’s note: Approximately or part-time work for several hundred
Let me locate myself. In the 1960s, I 30 percent of the people working at A- psychiatric survivors. If there were
spent almost two years as a patient in Way Express live in Parkdale.). more businesses, many more psychi-
mental hospitals in Ontario. I got inter- The second thing we need to do is atric survivors could be employed.
ested in the mental pa- What’s needed is a
tients’ liberation move- greater investment by
ment in the early 70s; government.
that activism eventually The second is to
led me into politics— support and expand
Toronto City Council “augmented educa-
(80-85), the Ontario tion”. “Augmented
Legislature (85-90), Education” is a new
and in the Premier’s training and employ-
Office (90-94). In 1996, ment support model
I started David Reville developed by George
& Associates, which Brown College and the
does social research Centre for Addiction
and community devel- and Mental Health
opment. Since 2004, I (CAMH). The Assis-
have been teaching A tant Cook Extended
History of Madness and Training program is
Mad People’s History at one of two “Augmented
Ryerson University. Education” programs
Seventy to ninety currently offered at
l to r: A-Way Express Executive Director Laurie Hall, David Reville, and activist
percent of people with Pat Capponi at A-Way’s 20th Anniversary party George Brown College.
serious mental illness The other program is
are unemployed. When I hear people to pressure our governments to put called the Construction Craft Worker
complaining that their job is driving more emphasis on employment sup- Extended Training Program.
them crazy, I wonder if they know that ports for people with mental illness. The goal of these programs is to help
not having a job drives and/or keeps Here are some things that we could be people recovering from addiction and
people crazy. Well, it’s true. In his fa- doing more of: mental health problems take the first
mous book Recovery from Schizophre- The first is to support and expand steps toward jobs in Toronto’s food
nia Richard Warner shows that the survivor-run businesses. I’ve already service and construction industries.
biggest single factor in recovery from mentioned A-Way Express Couriers. This program is free for participants—
schizophrenia is whether or not the In Toronto, there are four other busi- with costs covered by the Ontario gov-
person works. Alas, as the statistics nesses: Fresh Start Cleaning and Main- ernment.
show, we are doing a very bad job of tenance and the three businesses that These programs are enormously
helping people with schizophrenia the Ontario Council of Alternative successful. There are three problems,
(and other mental illnesses) get work. Businesses runs: The Raging Spoon, however. There is a choice of just
Hear ts and Minds 6
Psychiatric survivors need jobs
Other sources of informa-
two programs, they are offered only hired a number of peer support work-
at George Brown College and stable ers in its schizophrenia program The tion on this issue
funding remains elusive. Augmented mental health sector employs tens of
• An interesting article
education could help any marginal- thousands of people; many more of
about survivor-run busi-
ized group gain entry into the labour them could be people with lived expe-
force and augmented education pro- rience.
nesses: Learning to walk
grams could be offered at community between worlds: informal
colleges right across the province. The For further information on A-Way’s learning in psychiatric
provincial government has provided services, call 416 424-2266, or see http:// survivor-run businesses: a
funding through a variety of funding www.awaycourier.ca retrospective re-reading of
mechanisms. I think it’s time for the research process and results
government to fund an augmented David Reville is a psychiatric survivor, and from 1993-1999, Kathryn
was a popular Toronto City Councillor
education program. Church (2001)
(1980-85) and MPP for Riverdale for two
The third thing we could do is en- terms (1985-90), before retiring from the
http://www.oise.utoronto.
courage the mental health system to legislature. He received an award from the
put more emphasis on the value of Council of Canadians with Disabilities in ca/depts/sese/csew/nall/
lived experience and hire more psychi-
2001. He now runs David Reville & Asso- res/20learningtowalk.pdf
ciates consulting firm, and is an instructor
atric survivors. The Centre for Addic- at Ryerson University’s School of Disability • “Working Like Crazy”, an
tion and Mental Health has recently Studies. NFB documentary about
survivor-run businesses.
Other businesses run by psychiatric survivors A teaching guide may be
Fresh Start Cleaning and Maintenance Busi- Parkdale Green Thumb Enterprises found at http://www.onf-
ness 1499 Queen St. W., Suite 203 nfb.gc.ca/sg/98109.pdf
761 Queen St. West, Suite 207 Toronto, ON M6R 1A3
Toronto, Ontario Tel: 416 - 537 - 9551 • For more about aug-
M6J 1G1 Fax: 416 - 537 - 1810 mented education, see
Phone: 416-504-4262 greenthumb@on.aibn.com the George Brown College
Fax: 416-504-3429 http://www.pgte.org/index.html website. There are a num-
http://www.freshstartclean.com/
This business provides specialty cosmetic
ber of articles about aug-
This business provides general office clean- landscaping both indoors and outdoors mented education on the
ing, special event cleaning, construction to local businesses and organizations. It CAMH website; see, for ex-
cleaning, seasonal lawn clean up, prepara- currently provides employment for up to ample: www.camh.net/.../
tion and fertilization. They provide over 1000 35 people. For a portfolio of their work, see Strategic_Planning_An-
hours a week of work to dozens of psychiatric their website.
survivors. nual_Reports/Annual_Re-
ports/2005/training_em-
Out of this World Café The Raging Spoon
ployment_ar2005.html
1001 Queen St. W. (inside CAMH) 761 Queen St. W. (Queen and Euclid)
Tel: 416-535-8501 x. 3006 (416) - 504 – 6128 • For information about
Fax: 416 - 583 - 1247 ragingspoon@bellnet.ca jobs requiring lived expe-
General Inquiry: info@otwcafe.com http://www.ragingspoon.com/home.htm rience of mental illness
http://www.otwcafe.com/index.html
Raging Spoon provides excellent catering e.g. peer support workers,
This business provides top-notch catering services (see their menu at http://www. see: http://www.vch.ca/
services too (see their menu and on-line ragingspoon.com/ragingspoonmenu.pdf ). It mentalhealth/peersup-
order form at http://www.otwcafe.com/ also has a café, currently under reconstruc- port_faq.htm
catering.htm) tion but reopening soon. It has employed
about 150 psychiatric survivors
7 Hear ts and Minds
Getting eHealth back on track
France Gélinas, MPP to find anyone who would deny the importance of elec-
tronic health records. Thus, it is essential that this scandal
The continuing expense does not leave Ontario even further behind in achieving a
scandal at eHealth On- system of electronic health records.
tario and the McGuinty
government’s seemingly Certainly, heads must roll as a result of the current scan-
laissez-fair supervision dal—including the one of the Minister in charge. But it’s
of the agency has cast also prudent to take a moment and think about where we
doubt on not only the ought to be headed.
competency of the gov-
ernment, but also on Electronic health record systems have the potential to save
the status of Ontario’s our healthcare system millions of dollars each year. They
electronic health records can also reduce healthcare errors, ensure greater coordina-
system. tion, and provide for better care and health outcomes for
Ontario patients.
It should be said at the outset that no government agency
should be given carte blanche in their operations, regard- Yet, in spite of these benefits, Ontario is sadly lagging be-
less of the importance of the final product. The gross mis- hind other jurisdictions.
management and waste of precious health care dollars,
the backhanded deals between friends, and the continued We are standing on the sidelines while a place like Den-
bungling of the launching of a provincial electronic health mark—with about half of Ontario’s population—demon-
records system is unacceptable. strates an advanced and comprehensive electronic health
records system. The level of integration and the close to
But where do we go from here and how do we get the de- 100 per cent compliance that has been achieved in Den-
velopment of an electronic health records system back on mark is a goal we should set our sights on.
track?
But before we think that the only leading example of this
For starters, there is no question that eHealth Ontario must kind of system is located in a far-off country, let’s take a
shed itself of the corporate culture of entitlement that has look at an Ontario-grown model.
left Ontarians appalled. These are the same Ontarians who
have patiently waited a very long time for an electronic The Group Health Centre, located in Sault Ste. Marie, has
health records system to roll out across the province. been described by Roy Romanow as “the jewel in the crown
of Medicare.” The centre is a model of inter-disciplinary,
In the healthcare sector itself, you would be hard pressed comprehensive care—all supported by an electronic health

e-Health: Follow the money . . .


Amount paid to two top e-Health executives per year, flown in from Alberta $1,500,000
E-Health CEO Sarah Kramer’ annual salary 380,000
Sarah Kramer’s bonus in March 2009 after four months on the job 114,000
Sarah Kramer’s severance pay 316,670
Amount Sarah Kramer billed gov’t to refurbish her office 51.500
Consultant Penny Ballem’s pay for 78 hours of work 30,000
Michael Guerriere’s consulting fee per day 3,000
Fee per day of each of two executive flown in from Alberta 2,700
Hear ts and Minds 8
Getting eHealth back on track
records system that has been successfully functioning electronic records but are rarely able to share these records
for more than a decade. This system allows the centre’s with external partners such as hospitals. This greatly un-
healthcare team, as well as hospitals and pharmacies in the dermines the effectiveness of any electronic health records
broader community, to have instantaneous access to pa- system.
tient records and manage chronic conditions in ways that
the rest of Ontario’s healthcare providers can only dream Ontarians need and deserve a system that works. With a
of. This system was not the product of high-priced consul- total investment that is now fast approaching $1-billion,
tants. Rather, it was developed internally, growing out of we should have it. But sadly we don’t. The eHealth Ontario
an already-established model of coordinated and patient- scandal is a serious setback, but it shouldn’t derail the ob-
centred care. jective of delivering a sound, fully-functioning electronic
health records system—sooner, rather than later.
Given what we know and what we’ve seen, the Ontario
government would be wise to take a moment to reconsider France Gélinas is the MPP for Nickel Belt—the riding constitut-
eHealth Ontario’s present path. The agency’s penchant for ed by the doughnut of communities around the city of Sudbury.
She serves as the NDP’s Health and Long-Term Care Critic and
the glamour of high-priced consulting is not only unnec-
worked as a physiotherapist and healthcare administrator prior
essary, but also ill-advised. Bringing the development of to her election to Queen’s Park in 2007. She is also a bush pilot, a
an electronic health records system back into the public competitive rower and an avid snow boarder.
sector, alongside proper accountability
mechanisms, should lead to far better re-
sults than we have seen over the past seven
years—during which hundreds of mil-
lions of taxpayer dollars have been largely
squandered.

There is no question that building an elec-


tronic health records system will require
significant investment. But New Demo-
crats want it to be investment that is based
on the needs of patients and the ultimate
goal of building a coordinated, inter-disci-
plinary healthcare system.

What is at stake here is not just the comple-


tion of a complex information technology
puzzle, but also the provision of world-
class healthcare to all Ontarians.

Even before this scandal, New Democrats


had expressed concern that eHealth On-
tario was not focused on implementing a
system that gives highest priority to co-
ordination. Healthcare professionals have
raised red flags about the absence of proper
plans to have existing systems communi-
cate seamlessly with each other. For exam-
ple, doctors’ offices may have some level of

9 Hear ts and Minds


An Ontario pension plan: An idea whose time has come?
pensions of tens of thousands of retir- If the downward trend in cover-
ees at risk. The legislation is, in fact, age is allowed to continue, more and
a complete repudiation of decades of more Ontario workers will be without
past practice whereby the province has workplace pensions—making a public
always provided the Fund with a long- pension system their only option. This
term, repayable loan whenever claims points to the crucial need for a broad-
on the fund exceed the money avail- based, public discussion on how best
able for payout. to ensure that all working Ontarians
It should be noted that Ontario al- will have financial security in retire-
Paul Miller, MPP ready has the blueprint for dealing ment. There are many questions about
with many of the current problems how an Ontario pension plan should
facing the pension system: the Arthurs be designed, such as:
Report. While the NDP doesn’t sup-
port all of the report’s recommenda- • Should the plan cover only those
tions, we found it particularly astute that presently lack an occupational
on the matter of the Pension Benefits plan or should it also be accessible
Guarantee Fund. as a top-up option for those that do
The NDP’s approach to pension re- have a plan?
form is based on the following consid- • Should the plan be mandatory for
erations: all employers and employees or
Peter Kormos, MPP - First, we recognize that the Can- should there be opt-out options for
The issue of pensions has been gar- ada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age particular groups in particular cir-
nering a great deal of attention. And Security plan (OAS) form a crucial cumstances?
with the baby boomer generation foundation for decent retirement for • What should the minimum contri-
reaching – or soon to reach – retire- Ontario workers. However, the in- bution level be?
ment age, pensions promise to become come level they offer does not provide
an even bigger issue of concern to all for a retirement with dignity. For many New Democrats want to hear the
Canadians. workers, this means the CPP benefit views of Ontarians. This summer, our
New Democrats at Queen’s Park will provide an income far less than Pensions Critic, Paul Miller (MPP for
believe that all workers should be able one-quarter of the average industrial Hamilton East—Stoney Creek), will
to look forward to an economically wage. For women and others facing criss-cross the province posing these
secure and dignified retirement. The discrimination and structural disad- and other questions as we refine our
NDP believes the Ontario government vantages in the labour market, plan proposal for a Pensions Ontario Plan.
has the primary responsibility to deal benefit levels are inadequate. West end Torontonians can attend the
with the present pension crisis. The - Second, there has been a gradual August 6 meeting on Weston Road
provincial government has sole re- slide in the number of workers covered (See ad, page 9).
sponsibility for protecting 85 per cent by a workplace pension plan. Much
of Ontario’s pensions. It holds the keys of this due to the dramatic growth of NOTE: A French version of this article
to resolving many of the issues sur- non-standard or precarious work, in- is available at our website. See: http://
rounding pensions. cluding part-time, casual, contract www.phpndp.ca
That’s why New Democrats were and self-employment. These areas of
concerned by legislation, buried in the work have grown while the fraction of Peter Kormos is the MPP for Welland and
fine print of the provincial budget bill, the workforce now having permanent the NDP critic for justice and labour.
that explicitly states that the province full-time employment has fallen to Paul Miller is the MPP for Hamilton East—
has no legal obligation to support the less than two-thirds. Of those not hav- Stoney Creek and the NDP critic for Pen-
Pension Benefits Guarantee Fund— ing permanent full-time employment, sions, Seniors’ Issues, Government Services
the back-up for Ontario pensions. only 15 per cent enjoy workplace pen- and Tourism, Recreation and Sport.
This legislation is wrong and places the sion coverage.
Hear ts and Minds 10
Sudbury New Democrat MP introduces law to cap credit
card interest rates at prime plus 5 percent
announcements made by the Harper The bill would amend sections of
government, all that was offered was the Bank Act and three other laws to
window dressing—literally a bold box ensure that all credit cards are subject
on customer’s credit card statements. to the regulation and all consumers
benefit from reasonable interest rates.
• No help with high interest rates. Banks are giving out fewer loans
• No halt to “any time, any reason” and lines of credit, forcing families to
interest rate increases. turn to their credit cards, which have
• No help and no hope for Canadi- much higher interest rates. Canadians
ans. are already feeling the effects of the
Glenn Thibeault, MP
• No hope until now. recession; over 1.6 million are unem-
While the weather has improved, ployed, and hundreds of thousands of
and the sunshine has brightened our However, now there is a real solu- them can’t get access to EI. At the very
days, there has been no improvement tion on the table. A solution that will least, they shouldn’t be fleeced by the
for the millions of Canadians strug- take real action and yield results for big banks and credit card companies.
gling with huge credit card debt and Canadians who are fed up with the Contact me at (705) 673-7107 for
cripplingly high interest rates. unfair and predatory practices of more info, or to tell me your story of
In April of this year, I introduced credit card companies. Finally, there misbehaving credit card companies:
a motion as the New Democrat con- is a plan to put a hard cap on interest thibeg@parl.gc.ca .
sumer protection critic to adopt the rates. For the full text of Bill C-426—An
Obama Administration’s approach to It is important for all New Demo- Act to amend the Bank Act and oth-
credit cards, through the implementa- crats to stand with Canadian consum- er Acts (cost of borrowing for credit
tion of the Credit Card Accountabil- ers who have been gouged by high cards), see: http://www2.parl.gc.ca/
ity and Responsibility Act. The plan credit card interest rates. That’s why I HousePublications/Publication.aspx?
included measures to accomplish the introduced a private member’s bill on DocId=4007045&Language=e&Mode
following: end unfair fees and charges, June 18 that would cap all credit card =1&File=24
eliminate arbitrary interest rate hikes, interest rates at five per cent above
Glenn Thibeault was elected to represent the
protect consumers who pay their bills prime (the overnight Bank of Canada
riding of Sudbury in the House of Commons
on time and shield the vulnerable from lending rate). That would mean the in 2008, the first New Democrat to represent
aggressive credit card solicitation. rate on June 25, for example, would the riding federally since 1967. He currently
When the motion received support be 5.25 percent. Most Canadians are serves as the NDP’s critic for consumer pro-
tection and sports. Prior to his election as
from the majority of Parliament, the currently paying between 11 and 18
MP he worked as a reporter, a worker with
Conservative government finally took percent on their credit cards, if not the developmental handicapped and execu-
notice of the issue. However, like most more. tive director of the Sudbury United Way.

TAKE ACTION!
Write to your federal MP, of whatever political stripe, urging him/her to vote in favour of a
firm cap on interest rates by supporting Bill C-426.

11 Hear ts and Minds


Air Canada: Fly it Right
has reduced its total full-time equiva- especially challenging.
lent staff by 47 percent, resulting in a Competing companies like West Jet
loss of over 20,000 jobs (from almost and Porter predictably react by adding
45,000 jobs to 23,600 today). They are more airline capacity to the market,
so short-staffed that when bad weather even when travel is declining, in the
hit last December during the holiday hope of further damaging Air Canada,
period, Canadian air travel ground to so that they can then gain a larger share
a halt and there were not enough staff of the market. This illogical behaviour
to deal with the crisis. The traveling is encouraged under our current “any-
Peggy Nash, former MP public took out their frustrations on thing goes” air travel regime.
the same staff that were trying to hold Unions have once again done the
As chief negotiator for the CAW in the operation together. It was very responsible thing by holding the line
the recent round of talks with our na- frustrating indeed. (even after six years without a pay in-
tional air carrier, I have observed first Opposition to so-called “Big Gov- crease) and by trying to keep the com-
hand the shortcomings of privatizing ernment” and “the Nanny State” fos- pany out of bankruptcy. Retirees have
and deregulating key sectors of our tered the climate that led to Air Cana- joined in the effort. But ultimately, we
economy. da’s current precarious state. In Canada need some sanity and some regulation
Air Canada is once again teetering and around the world governments of restored to our air travel. This doesn’t
on the brink of bankruptcy (CCAA*), all stripes fell into the trap of “the pri- mean returning to the old ways. A
after just emerging from CCAA six vate sector does it better.” Certainly modern regulatory system would pre-
years ago. At that time the courts ap- this approach made some people very vent the dramatic swings in the airline
proved a plan that saw Air Canada En- rich, but it also left some governments sector by imposing responsible limits
terprises (ACE) take on the role of ma- nearly bankrupt, eroded key services on the overall capacity growth of car-
jor shareholder of Air Canada. ACE like health care and transportation, riers. It would stop the destructive
spun off key profitable segments of Air and promoted a philosophy of greed attacks of one company on another
Canada, such as the Aeroplan rewards that works against the public interest. through excessive carrying capacity.
program, the maintenance section, and Ask anyone affected by the financial It would also mean our Federal
its regional carrier. These were sold for meltdown inflicted on the world by Government taking an equity stake
huge profits that benefited the inves- Wall Street how effective the unregu- in Air Canada—not buying the whole
tors, especially US hedge funds, and lated private sector can be. company or running the day-to-day
the key executives. ACE CEO Robert Airline deregulation has led to the operations, but helping ensure long-
Milton alone pocketed more than $60 bankruptcy and disappearance of doz- term financial stability. If the alterna-
million. This is the kind of irrespon- ens of companies with all the usual tive is a complete foreign takeover such
sible corporate behavior that is driving pain and heartache for the staff and as happened with our railway system,
Americans crazy but doesn’t seem to travelling public. Since Air Canada keeping our government involved in
attract much notice here in Canada. was privatized, it has been an overall our national air carrier is definitely
Air Canada staff bore the brunt of disaster for investors losing a grand to- preferable.
the restructuring. Under bankruptcy tal of almost $6 billion. The travelling public in Canada,
they had made sacrifices that provided The latest downturn in the econ- and the workforce who serve it, have
over $2 billion in cost savings to Air omy has created a crisis for many of endured enough. Let’s not let another
Canada, only to see this money travel the world’s airlines, but for companies travel business needlessly go under. It’s
right into the pockets of the investors. like Air Canada, which was already in time to put some sanity back into our
Today those employees work harder a precarious state, the loss of revenue, national airline.
and longer for less pay and benefits. the poor hedging of fuel prices, cur- For further information about the
Since the end of 2000, Air Canada rency fluctuations, and the poor state Air Canada situation, see: http://www.
* CCAA: Companies’ Creditors Arrange- of pension plan investments have been caw.ca/en/7423.htm
ments Act
Hear ts and Minds 12
A Tale of Two Transit Consultations
work from both points of view. came up with new station configura-
Toronto ‘s Transit City started out tion ideas that dramatically improved
as a bird-eye view project. To get the the proposal.
street sense the City went to the com- Contrast this with the processes for
munity. To date, there have been about the Air Rail link and GO transit im-
25 formal public consultation meet- provements. Only one option is pro-
ings. The chair of the TTC, Council- posed. Static poster boards take the
lor Adam Giambrone, has personally place of community conversation, and
hosted an addition 30 independent crucial information about costs and
Gord Perks, Councillor stakeholder meetings. Countless infor- phasing that might yield other options
mal small group meetings have been (such as using electric instead of diesel
Most everyone agrees that we need held. We are planning about 30 more trains) has been withheld because of
to take bold steps to achieve a more public consultation meetings for pre- “commercial considerations”. In short:
sustainable city. The trouble comes liminary planning and there will be at the community’s wisdom has not been
when we overlook the fine details of least eight more meetings as part of the part of the design process.
how to make that change. Compar- Environmental Assessment require- Elected officials who are account-
ing the community consultations for ments. Once we are into pre-construc- able to the public run the TTC. In
Transit City and Metrolinx shows how tion there will be ongoing community contrast, Premier McGuinty recently
things can go right or wrong. liaison meetings. removed all elected officials from the
Mayor Miller is fond of saying that This intensive conversation has Board of Metrolinx.
Toronto has an excellent transit sys- yielded tremendous results. For ex- We will only achieve sustainability
tem - for 1975. He’s right. Most of the ample, public consultations on the if we get both the big picture and the
transportation choices made in Toron- Waterfront West line led to a decision thousands of smaller local pictures
to and the surrounding municipalities to develop a new routing option: one right at the same time.
favoured cars over walking, cycling that would see light rail serve expand-
and public transit. Now, we must catch ed beaches and parkland down by the Gord Perks: 416-392-7919
up on nearly a generation of under- Sunnyside Beach. councillor perks@toronto.ca
spending and questionable land use The consultations on the Sheppard http://www.gordperks.ca
decisions. line also led to big changes. The local
Of course “rebuilding” the trans- councillor met with residents, transit Gord Perks has been City Councillor for
portation system is no easy feat. It’s users and City staff right onsite in the Ward 14 since 2006. Prior to that he had
been senior campaigner at the Toronto En-
one thing to draw a bunch of lines on Don Mills Subway station. Different
vironmental Alliance (1997-2006) with a
a map and designate them as transit modes of transit, and station design focus on waste reduction and public transit,
routes. It’s another to figure out how were evaluated. Members of the pub- executive director of the Better Transpor-
that transit works when it rubs up lic were provided with costs and time- tation Coalition (1994–96), the “Pulp and
Paper” campaigner at Greenpeace Canada
against neighbourhoods. It’s the dif- lines associated with the various op-
(1989– 93), and worked with Pollution
ference between a bird’s eye-view and tions. With that in mind, members of Probe (1987-89) where he was the princi-
street-sense. A good project needs to the public reworked the proposal and pal author of the Green Consumer Guide.

Roncesvalles reconstruction - water main and sewer project:


Watermain and sewer work will begin on Roncesvalles the week of July 20th. Construction will run from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm, Monday to
Friday, and from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm on Saturday, as well as occasional work at night until the project is completed. During construction
only northbound traffic will be maintained and parking will be prohibited along most of the street. Access to driveways and sidestreets
will be maintained. For further information, see: http://www.gordperks.ca/park_post/

13 Hear ts and Minds


Clean energy jobs being created in Michigan, Colorado,
Ohio, Manitoba and Quebec
panies in their quest for some of the $2 bright spot in Toledo’s otherwise dis-
billion in federal grants for advanced- mal economy. There are 6,000 people
battery research and development.” in the Toledo area employed at firms
So, the reality is that in our neigh- contributing to solar cell development
bouring jurisdiction of Michigan, they and manufacturing, according to Re-
have a vision of where the future is, and gional Growth Partnership, a non-
they are moving towards it, because profit economic development group.
they want their people to be employed That number pales in comparison to
and they want industry in Michigan to the overall manufacturing loss in that
Peter Tabuns, MPP support the future of Michigan’s econ- region, but at 6,000 people, it actually
omy. is the core of what can become a grow-
In Ontario we are surrounded by A few months ago, in Denver, Colo- ing industry in that area.
jurisdictions that have increasingly rado, the American Wind Energy As- In the United States, jurisdictions
figured out what the future is going sociation held its annual conference. that have faced many of the same
to look like, that are racing ahead of Five years ago, 5,000 people would go problems we are facing here are ag-
us, and we are playing catch-up. In to that conference; a few months ago, gressively going out and getting the
the United States, the new adminis- it was 22,000. Five American gover- manufacturing jobs and putting them
tration understands—perhaps very nors were there on panels hustling for in place. They’re understanding, as I
imperfectly—that the future is going business. Michigan had a huge room said, at the federal level in the United
to be in clean energy. The federal gov- in which they were presenting them- States that the world is changing very
ernment is putting in place funds to selves as a partner for any industry that substantially. On April 22 the head-
develop renewable energy to address wanted to set up green manufacturing line in the New York Times was, “En-
climate change, energy independence in Michigan. Ontario had three people ergy Regulatory Chief Says New Coal,
and building 21st century industry. in a little booth. Nuclear Plants May Be Unnecessary.”
If you look at Michigan, our neigh- Who’s more serious about getting This is not a minor researcher in a
bour, they have been battered heavily that green business? large federal department. This is the
in the last decade or two by the decay In Colorado, they have a unit in the person who oversees the direction of
of the auto industry. Their leader, the governor’s office whose sole function is energy investment and energy regula-
state governor, is focusing heavily on to look at the supply chain for renew- tion throughout the United States. He
renewable energy and development able energy companies, identify areas sees that the way that energy, electric-
of clean cars, of electric cars, as the where businesses in Colorado can ity in particular, is generated and dis-
future for industry in that state. In provide components, and go to those tributed in the United States is going
April, Governor Jennifer Granholm of companies and try and insert Colo- to shift dramatically. That is a debate
Michigan made this announcement: rado businesses into that supply chain. that is not over in the United States,
“Michigan’s aggressive effort to grow Or, they will look at defunct industrial but at least at the very highest levels
the advanced-battery industry and the properties in that state and say, “We they’re understanding that there is that
jobs it will create has resulted in four have facilities that could manufacture opportunity. It’s there today, it’s alive, it
companies announcing plans to in- what you need to get your product out has to be taken, and it can have a huge
vest more than $1.7 billion to launch the door. Come work with us.” They positive impact on the economy.
advanced-battery manufacturing fa- are consistently and aggressively going In Manitoba, where the NDP is gov-
cilities in Michigan. The projects that after that business. erning, we have a government that has
will create” almost 7,000 “new jobs in In Toledo, Ohio, in May, the Toledo become a leader in geothermal energy,
Michigan were awarded state refund- Free Press reported that the alterna- that provides funding for household-
able tax credits that will help the com- tive energy industry has become a ers to put in heat exchangers so they
Hear ts and Minds 14
Urban agriculture: The wave of the future?
J.A. MacNeil comments in his website: http://www. applications to set up new gardens.
spinfarming.org The city has a mandate to increase the
Contrary to what one might think, Satzewich and Vandersteen get number of community gardens, and
city gardening offers distinct ad- three crops per growing season on the is aiming to have at least one in every
vantages over rural farming. Wally plots they rent or barter for through- ward. There is a formal process for ap-
Satzewich and Gail Vandersteen, the out the city. For further information proval, involving a community meet-
founders of SPIN-farming (Small Plot about SPIN farming, see: http://www. ing and trouble-shooting by city staff
Intensive) have been growing food in spinfarming.com/faq/ prior to the issuing of a permit. The
and outside of Saskatoon for 20 years. How far can urban agriculture go City of Toronto itself tills the plots al-
However, they found the problems to meeting Torontonians’ food needs? located and sets up a shed on each plot
with bugs, deer and wind on their ru- According to Graeme Hussey (direc- before turning it over to the successful
ral farm overwhelming, and after six tor of development for Greenest City), applicant.
years, decided there was more money reliable urban agriculture experts Hussey laments that some Toronto
to be made growing crops intensively such as his mentor, York University city policies inhibit urban agriculture.
in the city of Saskatoon. professor Rod MacRae, estimate that Toronto still has a rule that food grown
According to Satzewich, city grow- Toronto might be able to grow within on public land cannot be sold, only
ing provides a more controlled envi- its boundaries about 20 percent of the used by the growers themselves or do-
ronment, with fewer pests, better wind vegetables its inhabitants need. Other nated. Although the initial intent of
protection and a longer growing sea- less densely occupied cities might fare the measure may have been to prevent
son. “We are producing 10-15 different even better, but unlike Detroit, Toron- private profiteering on public land,
crops and sell thousands of bunches of to doesn’t have a lot of empty lots in this rule limits the economic viability
radishes and green onions and thou- the downtown area. of urban agriculture projects, because
sands of bags of salad greens and car- There is increasing interest on the it means the wages of the growers have
rots each season. Our volumes are part of Torontonians in setting up new to be covered by grants or donations,
low compared to conventional farm- gardens. According to Hussey, there rather than by the sales of the food
ing, but we sell high-quality organic are more than 50 existing urban gar- they themselves produce.
products at very high-end prices,” he dens in City parks, and another 150

Clean energy jobs being created in Michigan, Colorado, Ohio, Manitoba and Quebec
can take cold or heat out of the earth. Quebec content for wind turbines, of their state—and seeing the positive
That isn’t electricity generation. That’s they’re talking heavily about content results that you can see if you’re willing
taking advantage of heat and cooling from Gaspé. Companies are having to invest substantially and understand
storage in the ground, something we to move into the Gaspé Peninsula to where the future is going.
should be doing—an area where Man- make wind turbines, to make blades, People ask what green jobs are and
itoba is leading the way. to make the whole range of equipment I can tell you, they are financial, cleri-
In Quebec, they have investment in to actually put those wind turbines in cal, retail, IT, design, manufacturing,
wind turbines that are changing the place. So an area that for generations maintenance, construction and trans-
face of the Gaspé Peninsula. When we has seen nothing but depopulation is port. In fact almost every job we do
talk about investment in wind turbines seeing young people come back into now can advance a sustainable agenda.
in Quebec, you have to understand that the Gaspé because there are now some That’s if we are willing to act.
they’re very focused on the Gaspésie, new jobs that pay decently there.
on an area that has been chronically Quebec is using their green energy Peter Tabuns, MPP for Toronto-Danforth
since 2006, is the NDP critic on Environ-
underdeveloped, that has been losing sector as an economic development
ment and Energy.. He was previously Ex-
employment and losing population. tool—frankly, like Minnesota, which ecutive Director of Greenpeace Canada and
When Quebec talks about 60 percent has a similar strategy in the north end Toronto City Councillor for Riverdale.

15 Hear ts and Minds


Greenest City is growing the future
Gelek Badheytsang kindle their love and skill of growing parkette previously associated with
food; it is also an open and public out- drug-use and neglect. The youth do-
Community gardens are springing door community centre for Parkdale’s nate their entire yield to local com-
up faster than dandelions in the GTA diverse community. munity kitchens where they also work
these days. Why are they taking such There is a reason community mem- as cooks, providing a healthy organic
strong roots here in Parkdale? bers in Parkdale named this first gar- meal for some of the most marginal-
Becoming a “locavore” and the eco- den “HOPE (Healthy Organic Parkdale ized members of their community.
virtues of reducing the long-distance Edibles).” HOPE garden grows not only “I didn’t think twice before about
transport and chemicals associated food, it helps grow community pride, what I ate or where it came from,” says
with conventional agriculture is a hot connections and opportunities, and Brindini, a 16-year-old YGS member.
topic lately. Community gardens em- the strength and beauty of Parkdale. “Now I see that I can make a real dif-
brace some of these virtues but also “This garden makes a big difference ference just by knowing how to grow
do more than just growing local food. for me. It gets me out of my apart- food and sharing it with other people
These gardens grow an urban commu- ment and has a positive impact on my in Parkdale. It makes me feel happy
nity’s food security by keep- and proud.”
ing the skill and knowledge The recently completed
of growing food alive and Toronto Diabetes Atlas sug-
allowing urban residents to gests that community infra-
reconnect with food beyond structure can help mitigate
the supermarket. The gar- the diabetes epidemic by pro-
dens also combat two forms viding opportunities to make
of alienation that plague healthy choices. Garden-
modern urban life by bring- based programs like Greenest
ing urban gardeners closer in City’s create new infrastruc-
touch with the source of their ture in our community: new
food and the environment, public spaces, new jobs, new
and by breaking down social access to sustainable food,
isolation by creating a hub new ways to be involved in
within the community that encour- mental health,” said Tom, a gardener the community, new opportunities to
ages the residents to move outside of at Greenest City’s HOPE Community be active, and a place to belong.
their homes and interact with others. Garden. Greenest City plans to improve
It was with these values in heart Understanding the need to get and expand our work in the commu-
that Greenest City joined forces with youth engaged in the vision of a sus- nity. You can help us by sponsoring a
local residents to cultivate Parkdale’s tainable food system is also an integral YGS member’s salary. Or you can be
first community food garden. Being aspect of Greenest City’s work. The included by subscribing to our weekly
a neighbourhood where 90 percent of organization created an environmen- e-newsletter, which covers all the latest
residents live in multi-unit apartments tal leadership program specifically for details of events, programs and ways
with little to no access to growing youth called the Youth Green Squad to get involved.
space, Greenest City identified a need (YGS). Please contact us, by email: admin@
for a place where some of its residents One of Toronto’s most interesting greenestcity.ca or by phone: 647-438-
can tend to a garden plot and grow gardens belongs to the YGS. Each sum- 0038 for more information on how
healthy and organic food for their mer, Greenest City employs a number you can be a part of this growing
families and community. of Parkdale youth—the YGS—as full- movement.
Owing to its large immigrant and time urban gardeners. They plant and
diverse population, the garden serves harvest their own organic garden, and Gelek Badheytsang is the Communications
not only as a place for people to re- in the process have revitalized a local Director of Greenest City

Hear ts and Minds 16


About Greenest City
J.A. MacNeil things up. He enjoyed himself, made Tending a plot requires about 4 or 5
healthy friends, then got off drugs, and hours of work a week. Someone needs
Greenest City is an award-winning now has a stable home after 35 years of to come by every two days to water
charitable organization that grows lo- drifting around Toronto. and weed for up to an hour. This is a
cal organic food, youth leaders and Greenest City’s other urban garden, significant, but not a huge, investment
healthy, sustainable communities with the Youth Garden, located in the Dunn of time.
a focus on Toronto’s Parkdale-High Street Parkette, is employing 11 at-risk Greenest City Director of Develop-
Park neighbourhood. Its animated, high school youths, some of whom ment Graeme Hussey points out that
community-driven initiatives are are aboriginal. The food grown in the greenhouses can be a big part of urban
grounded in urban agriculture. Green- Youth Garden is donated to communi- agriculture. He notes that a greenhouse
est City has two urban gardens—the ty kitchens in the area where the youth of about 8’ x 8’ (3 metres by 2 metres)
HOPE Garden and the Youth Garden. help cook and serve the food. can grow enough seedlings for a com-
There are 30 plots in Greenest City’s Greenest City has seven paid staff, munity garden of about 4-5,000 square
HOPE Garden, located on Cowan Av- of whom five and half started in the feet (400 square metres). The seedlings
enue south of Queen Street; most are last six months. Greenest City staff are not only used within Greenest City
owned by agencies rather than by indi- facilitate cooperation among the dif- garden; they are popular items with
viduals. For example, the ESL class for ferent gardeners in a particular gar- the public.
Tibetans has a plot, and participants den, provide technical advice and help The Toronto District School Board
learn English in the context of garden- obtain the seedlings. They also give has many underused greenhouses.
ing. The Hope Garden produced about workshops on growing, harvesting, Parkdale Collegiate has a new green-
3000 pounds (1300 kilos) of food last processing, food politics and cook- house and Greenest City is working
year and is governed by a steering ing. Greenest City has attracted over with them to make it more functional.
committee composed of the gardeners. 500 volunteers, who have collectively Greenest City itself is about to receive
The gardeners themselves decide what contributed over 12,000 hours of time a small greenhouse – their first – from
to grow. The HOPE Garden has had in 2008. It has focused on “Neighbour- Home Depot.
other unexpected positive spin-offs. hood 85”, a very vulnerable neighbour- Greenest City is a remarkably suc-
For example, Dave, a Parkdale resident hood in Parkdale. Currently, no spaces cessful home-grown work-in-progress
with drug problems, got involved in in the HOPE Garden are available and and one model for urban agriculture.
the HOPE Garden, digging and fixing there is a waiting list.

Further reading
For Hunger-Proof Cities—Sustainable Urban Food Systems.
Edited by Mustafa Koc, Rod MacRae, Luc J.A. Mougeot, and Jennifer Welsh.
Published by International Development Research Centre (IDRC), 1999.

For Hunger-proof Cities is the cooperation between urban and rural poverty and inequality and exam-
first book to fully examine food populations. It explores what existing ines the role of emergency food
security from an urban perspec- marketing and distribution structures systems, such as food banks. For
tive. It examines existing local can do to improve accessibility and Hunger-proof Cities includes con-
food systems and ways to improve what the emerging forms of food- tributions from farmers and pro-
the availability and accessibility distribution systems are, and how they fessors, young activists and expe-
of food for city dwellers. It looks can contribute to alleviating hunger in rienced business leaders, students
at methods to improve commu- the cities. Finally, the book discusses and policymakers, and commu-
nity-supported agriculture and the underlying structures that create nity organizers and practitioners.

17 Hear ts and Minds


Co-operatives: Back to the Future?
John Richmond my Grandmother was Tommy Doug- Our group began with the idea of
las and the CCF/NDP. starting a Farmers’ Market since Farm-
Sunday night dinner with my We forget (and our education sys- ers’ Markets are easier and quicker to
grandmother on my mother’s side was tem does nothing to remind us) that organize and they achieve one of our
a regular event when I was growing up. the CCF—the Cooperative Com- most important goals— bringing pro-
Other relatives sometimes joined us monwealth Federation—had a vision ducers/workers (the farmers) directly
but Grandma was always there. We al- of socialism which was all about the together with consumers (no middle
most never missed Sunday night din- democratic, small and medium-scale men, no corporations, etc.).
ners unless we were away on vacation. ownership of the means of the pro- Our Sorauren Farmer’s Market
While I was used to my father, who duction and distribution of goods and began last summer and is now in its
at that time worked at the Bank of services by workers, farmers and con- second year of operation. In the mean-
Montreal, telling me that “socialism sumers organized into cooperatives time we have been working hard to get
is a nice idea but it will never work,” and credit unions (financial coopera- our food co-op grocery store off the
my grandmother would spend Sunday tives) of all shapes and sizes. ground. Our core group of founders
evenings denouncing the evils of the For my grandmother, this was the met every two weeks for many months
Social Credit—our right-wing gov- ideal we should all be working to working out the model, at the same
ernment at the time in BC—and tell- achieve. The government should pro- time as word spread and people began
ing me that the Great Depression had vide certain important services. In her calling and emailing us to ask “when
taught her that capitalism was a system opinion these were (1) Health care, are you going to open?” and “How can
doomed to fail, and that only World (2) Education, (3) Ferries (in BC you I get involved?” The response was both
War II had saved the system from total can’t get anywhere without the ferry exciting and motivating.
collapse. system), (4) Insurance (of all kinds— Thanks to one of our core organiz-
I still remember sitting by the fire insurance for profit was a sin against ers—Sally Miller, a recognized expert
in our living room and asking my the Bible, according to Grandma), and in food issues and cooperatives—we
grandmother what “socialism would a few other things. But everything else are now incorporated, we have a busi-
look like.” I was curious and I want- could be cooperatives. ness plan, financials, an organizational
ed answers—I felt my grandmother This idea appealed to me greatly, model, and we are planning to start
was right about our economic system and I threw myself into joining, study- selling memberships and raising at
but also thought my father was right ing and participating in co-ops from least part of the capital. The rest of the
about the problems with socialism; an early age. Years later, now living capital will come in the form of loans
government-run business is usually in Parkdale-High Park, I have been from investors and a mortgage from a
less efficient and effective than the working with a group of amazing lo- credit union.
private sector, for example. But as my cal residents to design and create a Since democracy and participa-
Grandmother pointed out to me and food co-operative. Since co-ops are no tion are the core of any successful co-
rest of the family in our lively political longer on the political (or any other) op, we have been taking the time to
discussions, government ownership of radar, if you want a co-op you have to consult and involve as many people
business was not the definition of so- “do it yourself ”, which in many ways is as possible. We have enlisted a num-
cialism. the essence of the spirit of co-ops. ber of people from York University to
My grandmother was not well read But starting a co-op, as I now know help with a process called “mapping”,
in philosophy, economics or political from experience, is no easy affair. Es- whereby groups of people are brought
economy but she knew implicitly that pecially since co-ops are, by definition, together to draw different versions of
the Soviet model of “socialism” was democratic businesses. They must be their community based on social top-
just an excuse for a naked power-grab. built slowly—with great care, attention ics. For us this process involves look-
The USSR, China and other so called and love. And ultimately the groups ing at where, how and why people get
“socialist” countries had nothing to do involved must be able to access capi- their food and what is most important
with real socialism. Real socialism for tal—large amounts of capital. to them in terms of food issues.
Hear ts and Minds 18
Co-operatives: Back to the Future?
We are working on a model that will in some important ways my grand- would be against that?
share the ownership and operations of mother was right. Not surprisingly my Sally Miller has just published a new
the co-op among workers, consumers, father also switched from voting from book—Edible Activism. It is available
as well as farmers. This is an innovative Liberal to NDP, and now belongs to at Another Story bookstore on Ronc-
model which tries to balance the pri- the party! esvalles.
orities, concerns and interests of our Perhaps it is time for the NDP to re- The Sorauren Farmer’s Market is
key stakeholders. In addition we have examine its roots in the co-operative open every Monday from 3-7.
been looking at issues of food security movement. We all know that the NDP Our website is: http://www.west-
and how we can involve low-income seems to have lost its way when it comes endfood.coop
consumers in the operation of the co- to economics. Aside from promising
op and in gaining access to healthy, lo- to “balance the books” (which Tom- John Richmond is a former Vice-President
cal food at affordable prices—no easy my Douglas was very much in favour of the Parkdale—High Park NDP riding as-
sociation. He was Treasurer of the Karma
challenge when the government is not of), we seem to be offering little else.
Food Coop founded in 1972 and still going
there to help. Co-ops offer a way out of the current strong at 739 Palmerston Avenue here in
Twenty-five years ago my father economic crisis—a win-win strategy: Toronto, from 1998 to 2002, and director
switched from working in the cor- more and better economic and politi- of Human Resources of the East End Food
Co-op in Vancouver from 1990-92. He is a
porate banking sector to working in cal democracy and participation in a
social worker in the mental health field.
credit unions and community-owned way that gives ordinary people more
housing. My father had decided that control over their daily lives. Who

Resilience of the Cooperative Business Model in Times of Crisis (excerpt)


International Labour vent, the figure for cooperatives was that cooperatives are not purely
Organisation less than 0.1 percent.(1) On the other motivated by achieving the maxi-
hand, in Spain, where there are over mum rate of profit. Rather coop-
The evidence so far in the cur- 18,000 worker cooperatives employing eratives also have goals of serving
rent recession is that there has 300,000 people, there was a slight fall their community and meeting the
been an increase in the numbers in the number of new cooperatives in needs of their members.
of cooperatives being formed, and 2008 of 1.7 percent. However, the fall
they tend to last longer than other in start-ups for conventional compa- For the full text of this ILO
types of business. In Germany, nies was 7 percent.(2) study, see: http://www.ica.coop/
the cooperative business model is A major study by the Québec gov- activities/un/2009-coop-resil-
“seen to provide stability and se- ernment showed that cooperative ience.pdf
curity in tough times,” and is ex- businesses tend to last longer than
panding into new fields within the other businesses in the private sector. (1) Marquardt, S and Sinico, S (2009)
More German firms turn to coopera-
Small and Medium Enterprise sec- “More than 6 out of 10 cooperatives
tives in tough economic times, found at
tor. There are 8,000 cooperatives survive more than five years, as com- www.dw-world.de
with around 20 million members; pared to almost 4 businesses out of 10 (2) Worker cooperatives face the eco-
250 cooperatives were created in for the private sector in Québec and in nomic crisis, found at www.cicopa.
coop
2008, double the numbers started Canada in general. More than 4 out of
(3) A study conducted by the Ministry
in 2007. 10 cooperatives survive more than 10 of Industry and Commerce, Govern-
Also, cooperatives last lon- years, compared to 2 businesses out ment of Québec, 2008 Contributors:
ger; while in 2005 1 percent of of 10 for the private sector.” (3) One of Lise Bond, Michel Clément, Michel
Cournoyer, Gaétan Dupont
businesses were declared insol- the reasons for this longevity could be

19 Hear ts and Minds


Credit unions and economic democracy
vation. Their size—smaller than the housing, assist students and reduce or
Art Chamberlain
huge banks—makes it easier to push waive service charges for community
The credit union movement in new ideas and makes them quicker to groups.
Canada is thriving, despite the current implements changes. Canadian credit unions are also
economic turmoil. In fact, the prob- Among the many innovations from part of an international system and
lems have underlined the financial credit unions are: mobile banking, an are actively involved with the World
logic and value of the co-operative ap- ATM network, Internet banking, debit Council of Credit Unions. Each year
proach. card service and loans to women in they send staff and volunteers to help
Credit unions exist to serve their their own names. credit unions grow and prosper, as well
members and the communities in The first Canadian caisse populaire as welcoming international visitors to
which they are located, not to generate was started in December, 1900 in Le- study Canadian organizations.
huge profits for shareholders, or pay vis, Que. by Alphonse Desjardins. He To learn more about Canadian
large salaries to their CEOs. later worked in Ottawa and in 1908 credit unions, check out the website
This difference in focus helped helped start the first credit union, now http://www.cucentral.ca
credit unions avoid the massive losses known as Alterna Savings. Desjardins
that have hit the banks and ensured later helped found the first American
that they have remained strong, stable credit union in New Hampshire. Credit unions follow
and able to serve their members. Credit unions and other co-oper- ethical route
More than one-third of Canadians atives are based on the values of self-
help, self-responsibility, democracy, Credit unions take a different
belong to a credit union, or caisses
economic approach than the
populaires, making the system one of equality, equity and solidarity. In the
big banks. Their focus is on
the strongest in the world. tradition of their founders, co-oper- people, not profits.
The co-operative banking system is ative members believe in the ethical
They follow co-operative
split in two systems – the Desjardins values of honesty, openness, social re-
principles that guide their
Group that is a dominant player in sponsibility and caring for others. approach to service and in-
Quebec and has operations in other Credit unions and co-operatives ad- vestments.
provinces and an English-language here to seven principles that put those
In the mid-1980s they found-
system represented by Credit Union values into practice. ed the Ethical Funds Compa-
Central of Canada, the national trade ny to provide members with
association and financial facility, with 1. Voluntary and Open Membership a socially responsible way of
provincial centrals that provide servic- 2. Democratic Member Control investing. The company has
es and about 440 independent credit 3. Member Economic Participation been at the forefront of the
ethical investment move-
unions across the country. 4. Autonomy and Independence
ment in North America and
Credit unions serve members, not 5. Education, Training and Informa- now offers a wide range of
customers. The cost of a membership tion investment products.
varies, but it is usually about $25 to 6. Co-operation among Co-opera-
Now, it is part of Northwest &
$50. This gives a member the right to tives Ethical Investments Limited
attend annual meetings and to be fully 7. Concern for Community Partnership, a national in-
involved in the decision-making pro- vestment firm with approxi-
cess. Each year credit unions provide mately $5.5 billion in assets
The strong focus on serving mem- millions in assistance for community under management. North-
groups and projects. In 2007, they west & Ethical Investments
bers is demonstrated in surveys that
L.P. is owned 50 percent by
regularly place credit unions ahead of contributed more than $36 million
the provincial credit union
banks in customer service rankings. to community efforts to support lo- centrals and 50 percent by
Another advantage of credit unions cal services, community initiatives the Desjardins Group.
is that they are more open to inno- and sports teams, finance affordable
Hear ts and Minds 20
Honduras: Reformists out, troglodytes in
J. A. MacNeil still in operation. Zelaya as the only legitimate president,
The military also cut electricity and called for Zelaya’s return. Barack
In the wee hours of Sunday, June throughout the country, making it im- Obama, however, did not initially use
28th, Honduras’s reform-minded possible for most Hondurans to get the word “coup”, prompting specula-
democratically elected president, news from foreign media outlets. They tion that the US administration does
Manuel Zelaya, was taken prisoner cut telephone lines and Internet access, not want to be obliged to cut off all aid
by the military, who threatened to kill and imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew. to Honduras, as it is required to do un-
him, then flew him to Costa Rica. They Since the coup, despite violent re- der American law when a democrat-
then installed the head of the Hondu- pression by the military, crowds of pro- ically-elected president is overthrown
ran Congress, Roberto Micheletti, also testers have gathered on the streets of by the military.
a Honduran Liberal Party member, as the capital, Tegucigalpa. According to On July 5th, Zelaya’s attempted re-
interim president. The pretext for the the Honduran Committee of the Rela- turn to Honduras from Costa Rica
coup was that Zelaya had organized a tives of the Detained and Disappeared, was thwarted by the military, which
non-binding referendum to ascertain as of July 20, a total of 1046 people have blocked the airport runway in the
the degree of public support for con- been detained, 3 killed, 59 injured and capital. Meanwhile, a crowd of some
stitutional reforms that would have, 16 threatened with murder. 100,000 Zelaya supporters gathered
among other changes, made it possible outside the airport to welcome him
for a president to run for re-election, International reaction back, but were attacked by soldiers and
something which the current Hondu- riot police, who launched tear gas and
ran constitution does not allow. Ac- Western countries, with the excep- fired upon the crowd, killing two peo-
cording to the coup organizers, the tion of Canada, were swift and vocifer- ple, one of them a minor, and wound-
referendum itself, to be held Sunday, ous in their condemnation of the coup. ing thirty.
would have been illegal. For example, Chilean President Mi-
Minister of Foreign Affairs Patricia chelle Batchelet, Brazil’s Ignacio Lula Who’s behind the coup, and why?
Rodas was also arrested and taken to Da Silva, Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez,
Mexico, and the military issued war- Cuba’s Raúl Castro, American Presi- The Honduran Supreme Court ap-
rants for the arrest of the other cabinet dent Barack Obama, and even right- parently ordered the military to arrest
ministers. wing Colombian President Alvaro Zelaya. Like most progressive Latin
Uribe all condemned the military’s American presidents, Zelaya inherited
Clampdown on media and protesters actions, reiterated their recognition of a Supreme Court closely allied with

Shortly after the military seized


power, they stormed a popular ra-
dio station, and shut down the CNN
Spanish network as well as Telesur, a
Venezuelan-based continental televi-
sion network sponsored by progressive
Latin American governments to coun-
ter the right-wing bias of the majority
of the television networks operating
in the region. On the Monday follow-
ing the coup, the few media outlets
still operating in Honduras confined
themselves to playing music and air-
ing soap operas and cooking shows.
Apparently, only pro-coup media are
21 Hear ts and Minds
Honduras: Reformists out, troglodytes in
the country’s elite, and a military ac- about 500 soldiers in Soto Cano—60 security policies pushed by the U.S.
customed to violating human rights. miles from Tegucigalpa—and it is dif- under Bush.”
The coup was led by General Romeo ficult to imagine that Honduras’s mili- The Zelaya government imple-
Vásquez, who attended the infamous tary did not inform the local US base mented a number of programs that
US School of the Americas (SOA) in commanders of their intentions, al- fly in the face of “market-oriented”
1976 and 1984. Second in command though anything is possible. Whether policies, for example providing school
during the coup, General Luis Javier the American base commanders com- lunches for approximately 1 million
Prince Suazo—the head of the Hon- municated all information they may school children, abolishing primary
duran Air Force—graduated from the have had about those intentions to the school tuition, expanding vaccination
SOA in 1996. The SOA, now known Obama administration ought to be programs, bringing electricity to poor
as the Western people’s homes
Hemisphere and imple-
Institute for menting an
Security Co- a g r i c u ltu r a l
operation, has strategy that
trained over increased
60,000 soldiers production
from various of basic food
Latin Ameri- grains.
can countries, On June
many of whom 30 ,
th
CBC
have gone on to radio inter-
organize coups viewed the
and repressive former head
regimes, most of the Hondu-
notably Gen- ran Chamber
eral Augusto of Commerce,
Pinochet, who Jacqueline Fo-
overthrew the democratically-elected investigated by the US Senate Foreign glia, who according to her own web-
government of socialist Salvador Al- Relations Committee. page is a West Point graduate and was
lende in Chile. Zelaya, a businessman, was elected an Army officer from 1984 to 1995,
Comments by the de facto govern- in 2005 as the relatively moderate can- and recently has energetically dedi-
ment’s freshly-minted foreign affairs didate of the Honduras’s traditionally cated herself to promoting free trade
minister, Enrique Ortez Colindres, re- powerful Liberal Party. As John Nich- agreements. She declared herself “elat-
veal the elitist yet Neanderthal nature ol’s June 29th article in The Nation ed” by the military’s actions. Accord-
of the group that has taken power. On notes, “he was not viewed as a particu- ing to the Committee of the Families
June 29, he referred to Barack Obama larly radical player when he took of- of the Detained and Disappeared, Fo-
as “that little black guy who knows fice. But Zelaya’s left-leaning economic glia was head of the analysis section
nothing about anything”, urged Spain’s and social policies earned praise from of the Army’s Battalion 316, a death
Prime Minister to “stick to what he labor unions and civil society groups, squad; her section was in charge of
knows something about,” and said he and he had forged regional alliances collecting data on civilians considered
would not comment on El Salvador, with the Bolivarian Alternative for the military targets, many of whom later
Honduras’s neighbour to the south, Americas, which Venezuelan Presi- disappeared or were murdered. (This
because “it’s not worth the trouble to dent Hugo Chavez and other elected was not mentioned by CBC, although
talk about such a tiny country.” leaders in Latin America established as it certainly would have shed some light
The US has a military base with a counter to the neoliberal trade and on the credibility of her comments.)
Hear ts and Minds 22
Honduras: Reformists out, troglodytes in
When asked by the CBC what Ze- Americas, Peter Kent (MP, Thornhill), ousting. On CTV, Kent also apparently
laya had done that was so wrong, Fo- broke ranks with most Organization blamed Zelaya for the violence per-
glia responded, “he instigated class of American States (OAS) members by petrated against his supporters by the
struggle” which, she hastened to add, recommending that Zelaya delay his military.
is “not Honduran.” In a June 29th planned return to Honduras, saying, Thankfully, Canada at least went
article in Latin American Business “the time is not right.” Zelaya appar- along with the rest of the OAS, which
Chronicle, she also criticized Zelaya ently responded dryly, “I could delay voted unanimously on July 5th to sus-
for raising the minimum wage by 60 until January 27 [2010],” — when his pend Honduras’s membership in the
percent last December, contrary to the term ends. Kent suggested that it was OAS. As Hearts & Minds goes to print,
business sector’s recommendation of a important to take into account the it has been announced that Oscar
zero to 10 per- Arias, current-
cent increase. ly President of
The minimum Costa Rica and
wage hike from winner of the
the equivalent Nobel Peace
of US$157 to Prize in 1987,
US$289 per has agreed to
month was serve as a me-
likely wel- diator.
comed by For further
most of this information
Central Amer- (in Spanish)
ican country’s and photos, see
citizens. Ac- the COFADEH
cording to the website: http://
Inte r Ame r i - www.cofadeh.
can Develop- org
ment Bank, 70
percent of Hondurans live below the context in which the military over-
poverty line. threw Zelaya, particularly whether he TAKE ACTION
had violated the Honduran constitu-
If you wish to urge the Canadian
Canada’s spineless response tion, thereby implying that Zelaya had government to take a stronger stance
done so. It’s hard to see how consulting against the coup and withhold dip-
If there’s anything that underscores the public by holding a non-binding lomatic recognition of the Micheletti
how out of sync with the rest of the referendum could be unconstitutional. government, send letters to:
hemisphere the Harper government is, Besides, the referendum would have at
it is its response to this coup. most given Zelaya some moral author- Hon. Peter Kent, Minister of State
Canada dragged its heels about ity to propose legislation to alter the for the Americas
Ottawa: (613) 992-0253
making what should have been a rou- constitution in such a way that would
Fax: (613) 992-0887
tine swift condemnation of a military allow for consecutive re-elections of
E-mail: Kent.P@parl.gc.ca
coup, and was one of the last countries president. Given that Canadian To-
in the hemisphere to express opposi- ries have never had any trouble with Hon. Lawrence Cannon, Minister of
tion to it. Since then, it has compound- the concept of consecutive re-election Foreign Affairs
ed this error by other comments. here, it’s hypocritical for Kent to imply Ottawa: (613) 992-5516
At a special meeting of the OAS that Zelaya’s proposal of the same for Fax: (613) 992-6802
on July 4th, Canada’s Minister for the Honduras made him a fair target for E-mail: CannoL@parl.gc.ca

23 Hear ts and Minds


Middle East in the Obama era: Dare we hope?
J.A. MacNeil Still, there’s ample reason to believe Obama’s answer was apparently “no.”
the Cairo speech wasn’t a cynical po- The military option is apparently no
Barak Obama’s June 4 words in litical manoeuvre for Arab consump- longer on the table.
Cairo were, as Independent journalist tion. Obama’s main message during Ne-
Robert Fisk noted, “words that could Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu tanyahu’s Washington visit was about
heal wounds of centuries.” He insisted had gone off to Washington for a meet- Israeli settlements in the occupied ter-
on a two-state solution to the Israeli- ing with Obama in late May, and had ritories, and the message was “stop.”
Palestinian conflict, told the Israelis come away with considerably less than
there had to be a complete end to their he expected to. About the settlements
colonization of the West Bank, and Take Iran. Prior to the trip Netan-
that the “United States does not ac- yahu had demanded that Obama give According to 2008 data from the
cept the legitimacy of continued Israeli Iran three months to close down its Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, ap-
settlements.” The situation for the Pal- nuclear industry, before “all options proximately 290,000 Jewish people live
estinian people was “intolerable,” and would be on the table,” including, pre- in the 120 official settlements and out-
the US would not ignore the “legiti- sumably, the threat of a military at- posts established throughout the West
mate Palestinian aspiration for a state tack. Natanyahu came away with only Bank since 1968. Another 181,000 live
of their own.” He also admonished the an agreement on the need to prevent in settlements in East Jerusalem, which
Palestinians, saying they “must aban- Iran from getting “military nuclear ca- was allocated to the Palestinians under
don violence.” pacity”, not the ultimatum that he was the 1949 UN partition plan. All of the
On Iran, astoundingly, he acknowl- looking for. Obama refused to deny settlements outside of the Green Line
edged that the US had helped over- Iran the right to develop nuclear en- (see illustration) are illegal under in-
throw the democratically-elected pro- ergy generation capacity for peaceful ternational law. In fact, under the Ge-
gressive government of Prime Minister purposes. It’s likely that Netanyahu neva Convention, the settling of Jewish
Mohammed Mossadeq—architect of asked permission to attack Iran, or at Israelis—civilians from an occupying
the nationalization of the Iranian oil least, permission to threaten to do so. force—in the West Bank—an occu-
industry, in the 1950s—something
which most Americans need to be re-
minded of, and he admitted it would
be difficult to overcome decades of
mistrust.
No doubt, many in the Muslim
world will feel he didn’t go far enough.
He didn’t mention Israel’s own nuclear
arsenal, for instance. He mentioned
Gaza’s “humanitarian crisis”, but not
specifically the brutal hammering ci-
vilians took at the hands of the Israeli
Defence Forces (for details about this,
see Amnesty International’s com-
prehensive report, released on July
2: http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-
and-updates/report/impunity-war-
crimes-gaza-southern-israel-recipe-
further-civilian-suffering-20090702).
Graph: Israeli settlers from 1978 (<5,000) to 2006 (>280,000)
Nor did he mention Israel’s repeated Map (over): Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory of the West Bank
invasions of Lebanon. Source: Peace Now, Israel
Hear ts and Minds 24
Middle East in the Obama era: Dare we hope?
pied territory—is not merely illegal, it Israelis’ concern about the impact of gressive usurpation of their land by
is a war crime. Many of the settlers are the settlers’ return might outweigh Israeli settlers since 1980. Two compa-
drawn to the settlements by the higher their weariness with the political and nies registered in Canada—Green Park
standard of living enjoyed there: larger economic costs of defending the settle- Inc. and Green Mount International
homes at lower prices. ments. Peace Now, Israel’s oldest peace Inc.—are now involved in building
However, the settlements are built group favouring a separate state for the large-scale housing projects for set-
on land that was designated as belong- Palestinians, estimates the cost of the tlers. The village of Bil’in has brought a
ing to the Palestinian people under the settlement enterprise so far at 100 bil- civil lawsuit in Quebec against the two
1949 UN-mandated partition plan, lion sheckels (CAN$ 28.4 billion). companies, on the grounds that the
land which is recog- companies’ activities
nized by the interna- constitute a war crime,
PALESTINIAN VILLAGES
tional community as since they involve the
belonging to the Pal- ISRAELI SETTLMENTS settlement of the oc-
estinian people, and cupier’s civilian popu-
which in many cases, lation in the territory
was in active use by occupied. The suit was
individual Palestin- presented in the Que-
ian families—land on bec Superior Court on
which they had their June 22 and 24. The
homes, farms and judge is not expected
businesses. In the vast to make a ruling until
majority of cases—75 September.
percent, according to
information in the Is- Palestinian disunity
raeli Defence Ministry’s
own data base—the The two main politi-
settlements are illegal cal parties representing
even under Israeli law the Palestinians—Fa-
itself, having been built tah, which dominates
without any permit in the West Bank, and
whatsoever, or in viola- Hamas, which won the
tion of whatever permit elections in Gaza—are
was issued. currently at each oth-
The figure of 290,000 ers’ throats, arresting
settlers is both disturb- each other’s supporters
ing and reassuring. and engaging in mu-
That’s a lot of settlers, tual accusations. Al-
who will resist reset- though it is undeniable
tlement, some of them violently. But The village of Bil’in: Being driven off that Israel has done everything it could
it’s still a number that could be reab- their land with Canadian corporate as- to drive a wedge between the two par-
sorbed into the main part of Israel sistance ties, the lack of unity on the Palestin-
without major economic and political ian side strikes me as somewhat akin
disruption. However, if the number of One such Palestinian community to crew members on the Ocean Ranger
settlers were to swell to, say, a million, whose land is being appropriated by indulging in a fist-fight while the cy-
their return to Israel proper might pose Israeli settlers is Bil’in. The Bil’in vil- clone approaches and the waves wash
enough logistical problems that other lagers have been protesting the pro- over the deck.

25 Hear ts and Minds


Book Review
of many other books either expanding has been conscription in Canada, so
Looking Backward: 2000 to 1887, by
on its ideas or countering them. such a comparison may not be as per-
Edward Bellamy (a book available
The alternative world of 2000 that suasive today!
free on the Internet)
Bellamy describes is one with far Bellamy anticipated very little tech-
Darwin O’Connor greater social progress, and far less nological progress in the passage of
technological progress, than we have time between 1887 and 2000. Every-
Looking Backward: 2000 to 1887 by today. All business is socially-owned, one has electricity and a telephone, but
Edward Bellamy was written in 1887 as is all real estate. People rent their there is no wireless communication,
and describes a socialist utopia. Its plot homes, but buy their other personal nor computers, let alone rocket ships
is simple: Julian West, due to a freak possessions. Everyone receives the ex- to the moon. It’s still a world of pneu-
hypnotism accident, falls asleep for 113 act same wage throughout his or her matic tubes and hand-written bills of
years. When he wakes up he is taken in life, no matter what job they do. People sale.
by the Leete family that lives where his are attracted to jobs most consider less Bellamy’s description of society in
house used to stand. They explain to enjoyable by lower work hours. Money 1887 is remarkable inasmuch the basic
him the changes that society has made. cannot be transferred from person to social relations described have persist-
Bellamy uses the plot to present his vi- person, only used to buy things from ed in many ways into 2009:
sion of an alternative society without the socially-owned stores.
resorting to a dry academic text. Work is mandatory until retirement By way of attempting to give the
On being published it quickly be- age (45). To justify this, it is compared reader some general impression of the
came one the top selling books of the to military conscription, but for an in- way people lived together in those days,
day, behind only Uncle Tom’s Cabin finitely better cause and much better and especially of the relations of the rich
and Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, and conditions than war. While conscrip- and poor to one another, perhaps I can-
sparked the formation of organizations tion occurred in almost every genera- not do better than to compare society as
to promote and try to implement its tion up until the end of World War II, it then was to a prodigious coach which
ideas. It also prompted the publication it’s been more then 50 years since there the masses of humanity were harnessed

Book Review - America, north and south


Open Veins of Latin America, by and this is a wrenching tale. cession of Europeans and, of course,
Eduardo Galeano Galeano, an Uruguayan, begins with North Americans. It was their “free”
a question: Why has his continent, so trade playground. Powerful nations,
What Is America?: A Short History abundantly blessed with beauty and in cooperation with local elites, and
of the New World Order, by Ronald natural resources, had such an un- with the support of the military, took
Wright fortunate social and political history? what they wanted: Cotton, coffee, ba-
Combining passion, lucidity, and in- nanas, sugar-cane, gold, tin, tantalum,
Grace Scheel
dignation he details the history of the niobium, thorium, uranium and oil.
When Hugo Chávez handed Barak “looting” of Latin America, “Every- The fields and mines were worked by
Obama a copy of Eduardo Galeano’s, thing: the soil, its fruits and its min- indigenous peoples and slaves, many
Open Veins of Latin America, I was tak- eral rich depths; the people and their of whom died prematurely as a result.
en back to a summer spent totally ab- capacity to work.” (p. 2) The Spaniards As one British plantation owner said,
sorbed in Galeano’s passionate account and the Portuguese were first with “It’s easier to buy niggers than to breed
of five hundred years of conquest and their unquenchable lust for gold, but them.” (p. 80)
exploitation. He is a superb story-teller they were quickly followed by a suc- Throughout the centuries there

Hear ts and Minds 26


Book Review - Looking Backwards: 2000 to 1887
to and dragged toilsomely along a very at every sudden jolt of the coach persons others only open to women. Wom-
hilly and sandy road. The driver was were slipping out of them and falling to an’s jobs where less arduous and had
hunger, and permitted no lagging, the ground, where they were instantly shorter hours. Women had their own
though the pace was necessarily very compelled to take hold of the rope and separate elected hierarchy. One infers
slow. Despite the difficulty of drawing help to drag the coach on which they had that a woman could not be President,
the coach at all along so hard a road, before ridden so pleasantly. It was natu- as the post of President is at the top of
the top was covered with passengers rally regarded as a terrible misfortune the men’s hierarchy.
who never got down, even at the steep- to lose one’s seat, and the apprehension It’s almost disheartening to read the
est ascents. These seats on top were very that this might happen to them or their how easily the society solved problems
breezy and comfortable. Well up out of friends was a constant cloud upon the of the 19th century while we struggle
the dust, their occupants could enjoy happiness of those who rode. with the same problems. Today most
the scenery at their leisure, or critically people can’t even imagine how society
discuss the merits of the straining team. While the coach has now had tires might be organized differently. This
Naturally such places were in great de- installed and the road has been paved, book allows us to envision alternatives
mand and the competition for them was we still pull the rich along. and remember that all that it takes to
keen, every one seeking as the first end On the role of women, while not implement them is public determina-
in life to secure a seat on the coach for quite up to today’s standard of equality, tion.
himself and to leave it to his child af- Bellamy’s views would probably been The copyright has long since expired
ter him. By the rule of the coach a man considered radical in the nineteenth and the book is freely available on the
could leave his seat to whom he wished, century. Rather then being expected to Internet. Copies are available at: http://
but on the other hand there were many stop working after marriage, they were en.wikisource.org/wiki/Looking_
accidents by which it might at any time required to work just as men were, Backward_From_2000_to_1887 and
be wholly lost. For all that they were so only taking time off to raise children. http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/624
easy, the seats were very insecure, and Some jobs were only open to men and

Book Review - America, north and south


were resistance movements, most no- Venezuela is a major part. Galeano’s to understand our times, our neigh-
tably in Mexico, which nationalized its remarkable history is a reference point bours and ourselves.
oil, and Cuba. for Obama and anyone else who wish- Open Veins of Latin America: Five
Within five years of the book’s pub- es to understand the past and present Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent:
lication, coups in Uruguay, Chile and of that region. Eduardo Galeano, Monthly Review
Argentina led to massive human rights A story complimentary to that of Press, c1973, 1997.
violations and the imposition of neo- Latin America is Ronald Wright’s What is America?: A Short History of
liberalism. As Galeano summed up equally absorbing account of the con- the New World Order: Ronald Wright.
the situation: “The people were put in quest of the U.S.A., its historical de- Alfred A. Knopf Canada, 2008.
prison so the prices could be free.” Not velopment, and implications for the
surprisingly, the book was banned in contemporary world. Thoroughly re- (Editor’s note: Galeano’s latest book, Mir-
all three countries. searched and written in a witty, mus- rors, has just been released and promised
to be equally fascinating. All three books
Today, there is another reform cular style, What is America?: A Short
are available at Another Story bookstore on
movement gaining momentum across History of the New World Order is re- Roncesvalles.)
Latin America, of which Chavez’s quired reading for anyone who seeks

27 Hear ts and Minds


Venezuela: Steady progress
On June 18, the Parkdale—High Park NDP hosted a pub- • Real (inflation-adjusted) social spending per person
lic discussion concerning the situation in Venezuela, with more than tripled from 1998-2006.
presentations by Maria Paéz Victor and Alex Grant, of the • From 1998-2006, infant mortality has fallen by more
Hands Off Venezuela/Louis Riel Bolivarian Circle, two re- than one-third. The number of primary care physicians
cently merged Canadian organizations involved in solidar- in the public sector increased 12-fold from 1999-2007,
ity work with Venezuela. Fifty-six constituents attended, providing health care to millions of Venezuelans who
and an interesting discussion ensued about the various previously did not have access.
measures that have been taken to make the Venezuelan • There have been substantial gains in education, espe-
economy more participative and democratic, and about cially higher education, where gross enrollment rates
the implications for our own policies. more than doubled from 1999-2000 to 2007-2008.
• The labor market also improved substantially over the
The success of the Bolivarian experiment is measurable, last decade, with unemployment dropping from 11.3
as demonstrated by the recent findings of a February 2009 percent to 7.8 percent. During the current expansion it
study by the Washington-based Centre for Economic and has fallen by more than half. Other labor market indica-
Policy Research (CEPR), The Chávez Administration at 10 tors also show substantial gains.
Years: The Economy and Social Indicators, by Mark Weis- • Over the past decade, the number of social security ben-
brot, Rebecca Ray and Luis Sandoval. eficiaries has more than doubled.
• Over the decade, the government’s total public debt has
Below are the highlights of the executive summary of the fallen from 30.7 to 14.3 percent of GDP. The foreign
CEPR report: public debt has fallen even more, from 25.6 to 9.8 per-
cent of GDP.
• The current economic expansion began when the gov- • Inflation is about where it was 10 years ago, ending the
ernment got control over the national oil company in year at 31.4 percent. However it has been falling over
the first quarter of 2003. Since then, real (inflation-ad- the last half year (as measured by three-month averages)
justed) GDP has nearly doubled, growing by 94.7 per- and is likely to continue declining this year in the face of
cent in 5.25 years, or 13.5 percent annually. strong deflationary pressures worldwide.
• Most of this growth has been in the non-oil sector of the
economy, and the private sector has grown faster than For the full CEPR report in English, see: http://www.cepr.
the public sector. net/documents/publications/venezuela-2009-02.pdf
• During the current economic expansion, the poverty Para el informe completo del CEPR en español: http://www.
rate has been cut by more than half, from 54 percent cepr.net/documents/publications/venezuela-2009-02_
of households in the first half of 2003 to 26 percent at spanish.pdf
the end of 2008. Extreme poverty has fallen even more,
by 72 percent. These poverty rates measure only cash See also John Richmond’s excellent article (in Hearts &
income, and do not take into account increased access Minds, Issue 2) about the political process in Venezuela:
to health care or education. http://www.web.net/~phpndp/newsletter/issue_two/ven-
• Over the entire decade, the percentage of households in ezuela.xml
poverty has been reduced by 39 percent, and extreme
poverty by more than half. To get on our e-mail list for notices about other events,
• Inequality, as measured by the Gini index, has also fall- please contact Terry Burrell:
en substantially. The index has fallen to 41 in 2008, from 416 533 6660
48.1 in 2003 and 47 in 1999. This represents a large re- terryburrell@rogers.com
duction in inequality.

Hear ts and Minds 28

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