2021-36

Thursday November 4, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday November 4, 2021

New net-zero alliance of banks, funds prioritizes green investment, but key emitters are absent

April 6, 2021

As a former central banker on two continents, Canada’s Mark Carney has honed the dark art of haranguing and arm-twisting members of the global investment community better than almost anyone.

But his latest task, as the United Nations’ special envoy on climate action and finance, involved some pretty daunting numbers.

Carney, who headed up the Bank of Canada and then the Bank of England between 2008 and 2020, was tasked to find more than $100 trillion US in capital from the global financial community to help drive the transformation of the world’s economy from fossil fuels to a new age powered by clean energy.

“It’s a mammoth transition,” Carney told CBC News at COP26, the UN’s climate change conference, in Glasgow, Scotland. 

“It’s absolutely enormous. It’s bigger than global GDP.”

May 14, 2019

On Wednesday, designated finance day at the Glasgow conference, Carney announced success, of sorts.

“We have banks, asset managers, pension funds, insurance companies from around the world — more than 45 countries — and their total resources, totalling $130 trillion US,” said Carney, $30 trillion more than the target.

Carney says more than 450 firms — including Canada’s big five chartered banks — have committed to supporting the goals of what’s become known as the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ).

Net zero means countries are no longer adding heat-trapping greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Some greenhouse gases might still be emitted, but they would be balanced off or “cancelled out” by the removal of an equivalent amount of greenhouse gases. The concept is similar to carbon neutrality but includes more than just carbon dioxide emissions.

December 1, 2015

Firms that sign onto the GFANZ agreement are promising to abide by 24 financial initiatives that will signal to their customers, shareholders and investors that they are making green investments a priority.

The initiatives include climate-related reporting of their investments and transparency about climate-related financial risks.

While the agreement doesn’t compel the financial institutions to invest any specific amount of money or put it into any specific industry, Carney says it creates a new framework for them to make green investments.

September 23, 2014

“It’s about what their clients are doing, what are the emissions of their clients, the people they lend to, the people they invest in,” he said. 

However, there are notable gaps.

Big banks from some of the countries with the largest emissions — China, India and Russia — are not part of the agreement.

Nor does it compel signatories to cease funding projects such as coal mines or other ventures that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. 

But Carney says if such investments happen they will draw both shareholder and public scrutiny. (CBC) 

 

Wednesday November 3, 2021

November 3, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday November 3, 2021

Doug Ford’s minimum wage move signals it’s election time in Ontario

Here’s what’s happened to the minimum wage in Ontario since Premier Doug Ford took office: 

•2018: 0 per cent increase.

•2019: 0 per cent increase.

•2020: 1.8 per cent increase (up 25 cents to $14.25/hr). 

•2021: 0.7 per cent increase (up 10 cents, to $14.35/hr).

Series: Young Doug Ford

That record is just one reason why many in this province were both surprised by and skeptical of Ford’s campaign-style announcement Tuesday that his government will boost the minimum wage to $15 per hour effective Jan. 1, 2022. 

The date is precisely three years after Ontario’s minimum wage was due to hit $15/hour under legislation brought in by Kathleen Wynne’s Liberal government. Back in 2018, Ford slammed that bill as “job killing,” his government repealed it and also froze the minimum wage for two years. 

Given all that, it’s only natural that Ford was grilled by reporters at Tuesday’s news conference on why a minimum wage hike that he considered such a job killer then is great now. 

January 12, 2019

“Things were a lot different back in 2018,” Ford told the news conference. “We didn’t have the pandemic, a worldwide pandemic.” 

How different were things in 2018? Not only did Ford’s government freeze the minimum wage, it also took away a guarantee of two paid sick days annually for all employees, scrapped an equal-pay-for-equal-work law and eliminated rules making it easier for workers in some sectors to join unions.

None of this was reflected in Ford’s tone or words at Tuesday’s news conference. “This government will always remain on the side of the workers,” he said.

October 15, 2021

I wrote two weeks ago about how Ford and the Progressive Conservatives are attempting a political makeover ahead of the election next June 2 by portraying themselves as pro-worker. Tuesday’s announcement further proves that this is a key piece of the PCs’ strategy for winning re-election.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) didn’t see the minimum wage hike coming, calling it ‘unexpected’ in a news release. 

“The Ontario government’s surprise decision to increase the minimum wage without consultation comes at the worst possible time for small businesses,” said a statement from CFIB president Dan Kelly. (CBC) 

 

Tuesday November 2, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday November 2, 2021

Justin Trudeau just rolled the dice on reconciliation

June 2, 2021

Justin Trudeau has made a dangerous bet he can right a long-standing wrong against Indigenous children without instead setting back the cause of reconciliation for years. Canadians can only hope he wins this wager.

On Friday, his government bitterly disappointed people across the country when it launched a last-minute court appeal against a ruling requiring it to pay billions of dollars to Indigenous youngsters who were discriminated against in the child welfare system.

The PM and his Liberals don’t deny responsibility for this wrongdoing. Nor do they reject their obligation to come through with significant compensation. Even so, they ignored the pleadings of Indigenous groups as well as the opposition Conservatives and New Democrats by appealing orders from both the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal and the Federal Court to pay up.

June 1, 2021

If that had been the extent of this government’s action last week, it would deserve the universal condemnation of Canadians today. But the government’s response was more complex and nuanced. And herein lies the nub of the prime minister’s risky gamble.

On Monday, his government began negotiating with the Assembly of First Nations and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society to settle the dispute out of court — by the start of December, no less. Until then, it has put on hold its appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. That means if the talks result in a mutually agreeable deal, there will be no appeal and everyone can go home happy.

In addition to this, the government will not appeal a second Canadian Human Rights Tribunal order that would result in Indigenous children receiving access to government services without delays caused by jurisdictional disputes.

February 29, 2020

There is cause for guarded optimism but, even more, deep concern in what the government has done. In rejecting the most direct route to a just settlement, it has opted for a winding, rock-strewn path that may take it over a cliff. It’s hard not to agree with Indigenous leaders who point out that this battle for compensation began 14 years ago and the Trudeau Liberals have had ample time to work out a fair settlement.

But they didn’t. And in 2019, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal declared the government had “wilfully and recklessly” discriminated against First Nations children living on reserves by underfunding child and family services. As a result, children were taken from their communities and put into government-run programs.

July 13, 2017

Because of the undisputed harm this caused, the tribunal ordered Ottawa to pay $40,000 each to as many as 54,000 Indigenous children who were removed from their homes after 2006, as well as their relatives. The Federal Court upheld this decision on Sept. 29.

The government insists the Federal Court erred when it concluded the tribunal had acted reasonably in ordering compensation for First Nations parents and grandparents as well as children. In so doing, the government might argue it’s trying to defend the best interests of taxpayers as well as those of the Indigenous people being compensated.

January 15, 2014

But Trudeau is walking a fine line. He has long proclaimed there is no more important relationship for his government than the one it has with Indigenous peoples. If he is seen as merely trying to save money in this case, he’ll further alienate Indigenous people while doing a disservice to all Canadians. And if his government can’t secure a deal this month, it will only make things worse by dragging things out with a Supreme Court appeal.

What comes next can’t be brinkmanship designed to force a settlement. Canadians have to see good-faith, productive negotiations. For this country’s sake, the government’s goal can’t be the cheapest deal but rather the one that’s fairest for every Indigenous victim. (Hamilton Spectator Editorial)

Saturday October 30, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday October 30, 2021

COP26 climate talks off to an ominous start after weak G20 leaders’ meeting

It was in the city of Glasgow that Scottish engineer James Watt improved the workings of the steam engine and, unwittingly, kicked off the Industrial Revolution. Never could he have imagined that humans would burn so much coal, oil and gas over the next two centuries that they would imperil the very climate that has allowed for their existence.

June 6, 2007

More than 120 leaders will speak Monday in the very same city to begin the COP26 climate talks, where they will set the tone for two weeks of negotiations that can either end with a plan to rapidly decarbonize the planet, or make watery statements to delay what the science shows is needed, possibly pushing it off until it’s too late. Climate leaders and experts are calling it the world’s last best chance to address the climate crisis.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose government is hosting the talks, will warn Monday that humanity has run down the clock on climate change.

“It’s one minute to midnight, and we need to act now,” he will say in an opening speech, according to remarks sent to journalists.

“We have to move from talk and debate and discussion to concerted, real-world action on coal, cars, cash and trees. Not more hopes and targets and aspirations, valuable though they are, but clear commitments and concrete timetables for change.”

The G20 leaders’ meeting that ended in Rome on Sunday suggests that leaders are finally listening to the science, but they still lack the political unity to make the ambitious decisions required to meet the moment.

August 13, 2021

The latest UN climate science report published in August made clear what needs to happen — deep, sustained cuts to greenhouse gas emissions over this decade to have any chance of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees above levels before industrialization. Even with all the newly announced pledges, the world is still on track for 2.7 degrees of heating.

Global warming beyond 1.5 degrees will bring worsening impacts of the climate crisis. But the positive news is that the 1.5 limit is entirely in our reach. The UN report showed that by mid-century, the world needs to reach net zero — where greenhouse gas emissions are no greater than the amount removed from the atmosphere — and warming can be stopped in its tracks.

All of this scientific language was in the G20 leaders’ communiqué, including an acknowledgment that to meet net zero by mid-century, many member nations will need to lift their emissions-reductions pledges, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), over this decade. (CNN) 

 

Friday October 28, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday October 28, 2021

Premier Ford says he understands why some parents won’t want young children vaccinated

July 21, 2021

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he understands parents who are reluctant to have young children vaccinated against COVID-19, as his government reviews plans to immunize kids aged 5 to 11 ahead of Health Canada’s expected approval of Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine for this group.

Speaking to reporters at an Ottawa technology-business hub on Tuesday, Mr. Ford said he would leave the decision up to parents. Opposition leaders and health experts have called on the province to add COVID-19 to the existing list of mandatory school vaccinations in Ontario, which includes measles, mumps, polio and chickenpox.

May 27, 2021

“I am going to leave that up to the parents, when it comes to the five- to 11-year-olds. Do we want to get them vaccinated? Yes. But there are some parents that are vaccinated, they’re a little hesitant at the age of five or six. I get it,” Mr. Ford said. “So let’s do our best. … I also understand if they don’t want to get their five-year-old or six-year-old vaccinated. Do I want everyone to? One hundred per cent.”

Mr. Ford’s government has faced criticism for failing to release a plan for the vaccination of the province’s children in advance of Health Canada’s approval, with the Opposition NDP warning of a repeat of the scramble that marred the province’s rollout of shots for adults.

April 1, 2021

Health Minister Christine Elliott told the Legislature on Tuesday that the government is reviewing plans for child vaccinations drawn up by the province’s 34 local public health units.

Vaccine hesitancy around children is expected to be a challenge for public health officials. One recent poll from Angus Reid suggested that only around half of Canadian parents with elementary-school-aged kids would have their children vaccinated immediately. Nearly one in five said they would vaccinate their kids eventually, but not right away.

Mr. Ford also said Tuesday that once Ontario hits a 90-per-cent vaccination rate, it needs to move forward and reopen, but cautiously. (In Ontario, 87.9 per cent of eligible residents older than 12 have at least a first dose, with 83.9 per cent fully vaccinated.) He released a timeline last week that could see rules loosened for nightclubs and other higher-risk businesses in November, with the province’s just-implemented vaccine-certificate requirements phasing out for restaurants as early as mid-January. (The Globe & Mail)