2009-11-19

NCC Greenbelt Master Plan Review Update

From the NCC:

Greenbelt Conference and online dialogue

The National Capital Commission (NCC) is conducting a review of the 1996 Greenbelt Master Plan, which guides the use, management and protection of the Greenbelt.

Take part in the discussion!

Noted speakers from Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom have agreed to share their knowledge about other greenbelts around the world, including the importance of greenbelts and the variety of roles they play, and the lessons learned from the experiences of other cities and regions.

We invite you to take part in this dialogue to help shape a vision that will guide the management of the Greenbelt for the next 50 years.

Conference: The Future of the Greenbelt

Wednesday, November 25, 7 pm
National Arts Centre, Panorama Room
53 Elgin Street, Ottawa, and on the web

Webcast and online dialogue: National Forum on the Greenbelt

Live, November 25 and 26, starting at 8:30 am
Delayed broadcast, until January 2010
More information can be found here.

Webcasts of these events will be available here.

January

In January you will be invited to take part in further public consultations to discuss the future of the Greenbelt in greater detail.

Further Information

The timeline for the Greenbelt Master Plan Review can be found here.

Information on Step 1 of the Consultation Process (and documents presented) can be found here.

Further information on the Greenbelt Master Plan Review can be found here.

Information on the Greenbelt can be found here.

2009-11-12

What is Progressive About the Liberal Party

Well, nothing, actually.

The Liberal Party has always been a centrist (and opportunistic) party, slightly to the left of the Progressive Conservative Party. The fact that the latest incarnation of the Conservative Party has moved to the right does not make the Liberals progressive. Indeed, if anything, the Liberals under Iggy have moved to the right into (and past) the spot held by the old Progressive Conservatives.

As for the Greens, they are simply a recognition that broader support for environmentalism has created a spot for a right wing environmental party that recognizes that without an environment there can be no profits and that there are profits to be made from environmentalism. But their solutions are clearly capitalistic and not progressive.

The fact is that Canada has only one mainstream progressive political party. It is the party that has always been the political wing of the progressive movements, including the environmental movement. And, of course, that party, with it's own inherent problems from time to time, is the New Democratic Party.

2009-11-11