May 31st, 2007 Andrew Cash
McGuinty’s Arnie act
Why is it easier for a Republican to be green than a Liberal premier?
By Andrew Cash
Who says coincidences like this only happen in novels? At the very moment when enviro orgs are putting the heat on the McGuinty Libs to pass a private member’s bill modelled after one in California that’ll let us know if the Shreddies we’re buying contain carcinogens, in pops the governor of said state.
Arnold Schwarzenegger reminds us that it may be easier for a Republican bodybuilder to be green than a Liberal premier. Despite the fact that Bill 164, the Community Right To Know Act, has passed second reading and an all-party committee, don’t assume it’s passage is a slam dunk.
Spearheaded by NDP enviro critic Peter Tabuns, the bill would force companies to list cancer-causing agents on product labels. It would also create a comprehensive and user-friendly online pollution inventory so Ontarians can find out which toxins are emitted in their communities and what risks are associated with them.
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Posted in All Blog Posts, Environment, Now Magazine, Ontario, Politics | No Comments »
May 17th, 2007 Andrew Cash
Shabazz shemozzle
Uproar over New Black Panther leader looks bad on everybody
By Andrew Cash
Toronto the surreal. A radical black youth group asks a white Jewish lawyer to help them get a permit for a Queen’s Park rally at which the keynote speaker will be a purported anti-Semite.
As speeches pierce the humid midday haze on May 15 with zingers like “Multiculturalism is genocide” and references to the Ontario government as a “white supremist racist government,”a couple of white guys hand out flyers promoting a rally in support of jailed Amercian black activist Mumia Abu-Jamal, an event endorsed by, among others, a group called the Alliance of Concerned Jewish Canadians.
God, I love this city. And yet I leave the Black Youth Taking Action’s Education Not Incarceration rally, which goes ahead at Queens Park with portable mics despite losing its permit, feeling ill at ease.
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Posted in All Blog Posts, Now Magazine, Politics, Race Relations, Youth Issues | No Comments »
May 3rd, 2007 Andrew Cash
Seeing red over ribbon
Should our public vehicles flaunt Support Our Troops stickers?
By Andrew Cash
The Harper government may be running for cover from the storm of controversy, but most of our troops in Afghanistan don’t have a duck-and-hide option.
The fact is, the Afghan mission is a mess, and Joe and Jane Soldier are bearing the brunt. Who among us isn’t deeply saddened by the news of ever increasing numbers of uniformed Canadians killed or seriously injured in the war.
But having said that, what does a Support Our Troops bumper sticker actually mean?
It’s a question that arises courtesy of Toronto’s fire and emergency services, which have decided to put yellow-ribbon Support Our Troops stickers on every ambulance, emergency service vehicle and fire truck in the city. On one level, there’s always been an affinity between between emergency workers and Canadian Forces.
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Posted in All Blog Posts, Now Magazine, Politics, Toronto, War in Afghanistan | No Comments »
