Please join us for the official launch of Taking Back the City: Winnipeg 2014 Alternative Municipal Budget. The Alternative Municipal budget outlines what the City of Winnipeg could do if it were truly committed to social justice, environmental sustainability and sustained economic growth.
Tuesday April 29th
11 am
Millennium Library
Carol Shields Auditorium
Join the event on Facebook and invite friends!
https://www.facebook.com/events/1374815936136137/
Twitter hashtag: #AMB2014
Filed under budgets, city planning, Events, Winnipeg
By Dean Harder
Photo: Robert Taylor, Wikimedia.org
A banner 2013 crop year and some rail delays due to cold weather doesn’t account for all our grain transportation woes. Coordination of rail to ships is out of synch: a study by Quorum Corporation found that rail shipments to the West Coast are down 2 per cent from last year, but there are excess ships waiting in port. In the east, grain shipments were down 20 per cent at Thunder Bay as of March with some ships turning away empty.
There is a direct correlation between the loss of the farmer-elected Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) and the current rail transportation boondoggle which will cost prairie farmers over $5 billion in sales. Continue reading
Filed under Canadian Wheat Board, farming, Fast Facts, food security, transportation
By Josh Brandon
The Provincial government has released an impressive record of its commitment to build affordable housing across Manitoba. Housing and Community Development Minister Peter Bjornson announced the fulfillment of the Manitoba NDP’s 2009 promise to complete 1,500 units of affordable housing at the opening of a new housing project for people with mental health challenges in Winnipeg last Thursday. Continue reading
By Zoё St-Aubin and Jill Bucklaschuk
Manitoba has embarked on aggressive immigration strategies to attract newcomers to settle in a variety of communities in the province with the purpose of meeting local labour force demands. In response to these trends, it is necessary to have appropriate and effective support systems to assist in the long-term settlement and integration of the increasing number of newcomers. Prior to the federal government’s changes to the delivery model of settlement services in 2012, these services were a provincial responsibility in Manitoba, Quebec, and British Columbia. As a result of federal and provincial agreements, the settlement service framework gave these provinces considerable discretion over how services were implemented, funded, and delivered, with the purposes of addressing region-specific needs. There was an acknowledgement that individual regions had unique settlement needs and that service delivery should be tailored rather than implemented in one-size-fits-all fashion. However this has all changed. Continue reading
Filed under Employment, immigration, labour market, newcomers
By Gideon Forman
There’s a simple measure Manitobans can take to reduce their risk of cancer: urge the province to ban lawn and garden pesticides this spring.
Research shows that many cancers are preventable. CancerCare has just launched an excellent campaign to help Manitobans reduce their cancer risks. The group’s recommendations – which include avoiding tobacco, eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, and doing regular exercise – will go a long way toward prevention of this awful disease. A lawn pesticide ban should be added to the list. Continue reading
Filed under environment, health, Manitoba
By Eric Reder
Photo: Ryan Brook
For visitors from around the world, the opportunity to see polar bears and beluga whales in the subarctic splendor of Churchill is a major attraction. This window to the tundra world is a source of pride for Manitobans. It also might be a solution for the shipping woes of prairie farmers.
Filed under climate change, environment, Manitoba, transportation, Uncategorized
By Dr. Ray Silvius
Photo: Mstyslav Chernov http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Mstyslav_Chernov/gallery
During an announcement that Manitoba would provide $25,000 of humanitarian assistance to Ukraine in the form of first aid and medical supplies, Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger stated “Manitobans stand in solidarity with our friends in Ukraine against the violence of this past week…We want the institutions of democracy and human rights to be respected in Ukraine and around the world” (“Province gives to Ukraine; Winnipeggers mourn dead” Winnipeg Sun, Feb 23). Continue reading
Filed under economic well-being, economy, neoliberalism
