Is Canada making progress in its environmental performance? Canada’s environmental performance has improved in some areas and deteriorated in others. Some progress has been achieved in the areas of air quality, natural resources management, and energy efficiency. But Canada must do more to lower greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), to use its freshwater resources more wisely, and to reduce waste—all in an economically feasible way.
Total annual GHG emissions in Canada rose 24 per cent between 1990 and 2008. Although total annual GHG emissions have stabilized in the last few years, emissions continue to rise in some key sectors, including road transportation, mining, and oil and gas extraction.
Notice how the tar sands aren't even mentioned.
Water consumption is also a key environmental issue. Sustainable water management helps maintain adequate water supplies for people and ecosystems. Canada’s water use per capita is over eight times higher than that of Denmark, the top performer for this indicator. Why?A good portion of water is used by agriculture, and fortunately for Denmark, their land formation and water resources are quite advantageous. So, Ontario produces 40% of our food and we need to reserve as much arable land and clean water close to urban areas. All the more reason not to add to water misuse by granting permits for mining where watersheds are quite immense. The MacKenzie River, The Athabasca River both will be soon compromised by the massive bitumen push to the west and the Arctic.
Two major reasons for Canada’s excessive use of water are inadequate water conservation practices and prices that are too low to encourage efficiency.
No mention is made of the realities in Canada. Soft peddling again. Looking for examples to Sweden and Denmark, blaming our recycling on the home front, our cheap water and plenty of it being the excuse not to take the water crime seriously.
How much free water is used by the tar sands industry? If you know, please comment below as I can't seem to find that report.
Fact: The increase in income inequality has been more rapid in Canada than in the U.S. since the mid-1990s. For more see here. Even Mexico and Japan are amongst the countries in which income inequality is growing less. These statistics are evident but what we make of them is open for discussion. Some may argue that immigration is costing people the opportunity to find jobs when they have to compete against an even more educated and fully skills ready influx of workers that can locate to Alberta's tar sands or B.C.'s shipbuilding. I wonder how it feels to be robbed of a living and put on the welfare. Sure the skills initiative is out there as a plan. From the reality, why is the government outsourcing jobs instead of training Canadians here? This is from the Irish Independent:
Canada is seeking tens of thousands of Irish worker to fill a wide range of jobs, the Canadian Ambassador to Ireland announced last week.The country is seeking to fill a labor shortage caused by a strong economy, massive infrastructure projects and booming fisheries, mining, oil and natural gas industries."I'm hearing numbers like between 30,000 and 40,000 in construction alone," Ambassador Loyola Hearn told the Irish Independent.
I know personally of an Irish couple who were here temporarily but due to a post error had to leave and re-apply. They may never get back in. They were well settled, both working, their paperwork got lost in the Alberta Immigration office and no one was going to help them out. The only option would be to pay 18K to some third party immigration specialist (aka robber). Welcome to the world of sloppy. Flows from the top.
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