Newmarket Aurora Greens

Last month, on the eve of the paralympic opening ceremony, the Canadian parliament ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This convention is the first international treaty recognizing the rights of disabled people. It is comprehensive and recognizes very specifically the rights the disabled should enjoy in all areas of their daily lives, including living within their local community.

It’s great that the Harper government ratified the convention. However, there is a question about whether or not they are sincere, as they have yet to show leadership on this convention.  First, they were absent at the UN signing ceremony and only signaled their intention to sign later.  Second, it took the Harper government three years just to bring the convention to parliament for ratification.  Third, they withheld signing the optional protocol attached to the convention, which better holds governments to account in regards to implementation. The optional protocol allows groups or individuals to petition a UN committee to address breaches of their rights and allows the committee to investigate countries suspected of grave violations of the convention.

Other countries have shown and continue to show much greater leadership. Australia for example was one of the first countries to ratify the convention and one of over 40 countries to also ratify the optional protocol. Australia has given their human rights commission powers to monitor disability rights under the convention and report to the government on progress with regards to implementation. However, the Harper government has yet to designate a national institute or agency such as the Canadian Human Rights Commission to oversee the implementation of the convention, which is a requirement.

The Harper government needs to show leadership and bring forward an action plan to fulfill the obligations of the convention. This action plan should be to enact a Canadian disabilities act, promised in the 2006 election by Harper and long over due. The act would incorporate all of the obligations of the convention as well as recommendations from the disabled community. It would allow the disabled full participation in society and equality rights.

However, contrary to reports in the news and from various disabled rights groups about the convention having “teeth”, the Harper government is not bound to implement the convention. First, the convention only monitors implementation by setting up a UN committee to review periodic reports submitted by countries on progress taken to implement the convention.  Second, the convention cannot be enforced through the Canadian court system unless the contents are incorporated into domestic legislation. The courts can look at the convention but are not bound by it. Given the dismal track record of our Canadian court system in the area of disabled rights little progress if any can therefore be expected. This lack of enforcement, domestically, applies to all UN treaties. This has been clearly demonstrated by Harper’s complete abandonment of the Kyoto Protocol, even though parliament ratified it. The only way to force countries to abide by these UN treaties is through international and domestic pressure, which is, as we know, not always successful.

The hope is that the Harper government will do the right thing. The proper course of action would be for the Harper government to sign and ratify the optional protocol, designate a national institute to oversee implementation of the convention, and signal its intent to bring forward an action plan such as a strong disabilities act incorporating the rights guaranteed in the convention. This could all be done within a short amount of time. Lets hope the Harper government will finally show some leadership and do what should be done to give the convention meaning.

By David Brock

The new Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), which was passed by the Ontario Liberals 5 years ago, is certainly not an ambitious piece of legislation given their commitment to make Ontario fully accessible by 2025! It turns out that not only is it lacking ambition, but the standards created so far, fall considerably short of being strong and effective. This unfortunately means even the government’s own chosen date of 2025 (which is legally binding) to make Ontario completely accessible will not be met.

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act replaces the extremely weak Ontarians with Disabilities Act passed by the Conservative government in 2001. The new act requires that accessibility standards be developed and implemented for key areas that affect the daily lives of disabled people. These standards require businesses and governments to remove and prevent barriers to accessibility. There are currently five areas of focus. They include customer service, transportation, employment, information and communication, and the built environment.

It has taken the McGuinty government a ridiculous 5 years just to enact and enforce one standard on Customer Service. It still won’t be completely enforceable for another 2 years. Also, the standard, when it comes to meeting the needs of the disabled, is too weak and completely inadequate. Another on Transportation, which is still in final draft form, fails to even meet the requirements of the Ontario Human Rights Code. The Human Rights Commission had chastised the standard early on for not conforming to the Code.

The present draft standards, for the most part, are weak, ambiguous, and incomplete, with timelines for requirements set too generously. They basically let businesses off the hook. It should be noted that we have no idea what the McGuinty government will enact in the end but the hope is for something much better than what is presently outlined. If the customer service standard is any indication, don’t expect much. Also, only five standards have been outlined since the passage of the AODA. These five are not enough to cover all areas that affect the daily lives of disabled people. More standards are needed, especially in areas such as education and tourism, but the McGuinty government still has done nothing.

Of course, no standard can be effective without strong and appropriate enforcement. Otherwise, organizations will simply ignore the law. The McGuinty government has not adequately addressed this area as well. The AODA does provide some enforcement mechanisms but the government has done basically nothing to implement them. Instead, the McGuinty government has decided to give businesses the responsibility for overseeing their own compliance with the standards.  This is like the fox guarding the hen house. It just doesn’t work.

The McGuinty government must follow through with AODA enforcement measures. The act requires one or more tribunals to be created within a reasonable time after the first standard is established. The tribunals would oversee complaints and help with enforcement. The act further requires one or more inspectors be appointed within a reasonable time after the first standard is established.  The McGuinty government has yet to take action on these two requirements even though the customer service standard came into being two years ago. It also remains to be seen, if enacted, how effectively these measure will be implemented. Other enforcement measures should include a process for individuals to lodge complaints against businesses who fail to comply with the standards.

A strong and effective AODA requires tough, comprehensive standards and adequate enforcement measures, all created within a reasonable time. This will not be achieved unless the McGuinty government stops trying to appease business interests at the expense of the disabled community. It’s not too late for the government to show leadership and deliver an act that truly addresses the needs of the disabled.

Charles Beer, a former Liberal MPP, hired to conduct an independent review of the AODA’s effectiveness, will soon release his report. Hopefully, the report will point out the significant failures of the act so far and will nudge the McGuinty government into doing what is right.

By David Brock

On May 12th, British Columbia has a historical opportunity to change not only the way in which they vote but the way in which every Canadian will vote in the near future. A referendum will be put to B.C. voters on whether to adopt a new electoral system called Single Transferable Vote (STV). STV is an electoral system based on proportionality i.e., the percentage of votes a party receives equals almost the percentage of seats they have in the legislation. STV is used in Ireland, Australia, Tasmania, and in some parts of the U.S. Other proportional representation systems have been adopted in over 70 industrialized nations such as Germany, Scotland, Wales and New Zealand. It has lead to more stable, representative governments that reflects the will of the people. Sure, there are some disadvantages but compared to the current system, STV is a huge improvement.

B.C. needs to adopt Single Transferable Vote so that everyone is represented. The current first-past-the-post system is unfair as it rewards the candidate who receives the most votes, while votes cast for all other candidates are discarded. All those thousands of votes are deemed worthless.

How STV generally works is voters choose between multiple candidates by ranking each in order of their preference. A quota is set in terms of the numbers of votes a candidate needs in order to be elected. If your first choice candidate doesn’t win enough votes to be elected and is eliminated your vote moves to your second choice, and so on. If your first choice has more than enough votes to be elected, part of your vote moves to your second choice, and so.

The transfer method in STV tries to ensure no votes are wasted and that as many candidates are elected. STV recognizes two kinds of wasted votes…votes for candidates with little support, and votes in surplus of what a candidate requires. Transferring these votes helps contribute to the election of a candidate.

STV focuses more on the individual than on the political party. This type of proportional representation is popular. The general voting public would probably prefer this type system because of the growing disillusionment with political parties.

Proportional Representation such as STV overcomes the following disadvantages of the current system.

Denied Representation – More than 220,000 B.C. voters submitted ballots that elected no one in the last election! These voters are not represented in the legislature. For example, the Green Party of Canada, which received 940,000 votes in the 2008 federal election, did not elect a single member. All voters deserve to have representation. Under STV 80-90% of voters will elect a candidate they actually voted for unlike now, where often 50% or less of voters elect a candidate.

False Majorities – For the most part governments are formed without a majority. In Ontario for example, no party since the 1930s has governed with majority support. In 1996 the B.C. NDP formed government even though they received less of the popular vote than the Liberals. In 2001 the Liberal government received 97% of the seats with only 58% of the popular vote. It allows governing parties to rule unabated with minority support. Under STV a stable coalition government may be formed by two or more parties, which would represent the broadest support of citizens.

Bitter Partisanship – As it stands now parties don’t get along and are constantly fighting each other. The parties are not interested in working together. Under STV parties would have to work together, find common ground, and compromise. It’s a change that will be more democratic.

Lower Voter Turnout – Low voter participation is the norm among first-past-the-post countries. Many feel their vote doesn’t matter, especially within ridings where a certain party dominants. Others end up voting strategically, choosing to vote for a party they don’t like so that another party they dislike even more doesn’t win. In countries that have proportional representation voter turnout tends to be much higher. It puts an end to strategic voting. It makes every vote count, whether in a riding that’s a stronghold for a particular party or not.

It’s disappointing that most of these referendums are subjected to a 60% threshold of support and not the standard 51% when it comes to all other decisions such as electing a government. Gordon Campbell’s Liberals has once again set the threshold at 60% for the referendum to succeed. In 2005, the last referendum on B.C.’s STV, which was set at 60% as well and passed with majority support, 57% of the vote. If this were a normal voting process, it would have been implemented since it has majority support. These politicians want to appear that they support electoral reform in order to look progressive when in reality they’re against anything that prevents them from obtaining their false majority.

I hope B.C.’ers take the time to educate themselves and make an informed decision on May 12th. B.C.’s Citizens Assembly on Electoral Reform, consisting of 160 regular voters chosen randomly to study and determine whether to keep the status quo or adopt a new system, overwhelming recommended Single Transferable Vote (STV). They worked hard, educated themselves on the different systems, weighed the pros and cons, and came up with STV. Now all that B.C.’ers have to do is go out and vote “yes” for an electoral system that’s fair and democratic! If they adopt this new system, pressure would be put on Ottawa and other provinces to do the same, ensuring every Canadian is fairly represented!

By David Brock

As we work on the web site, we’ll be adding an events page and perhaps a calendar, but for now upcoming events will be posted here.

Tree Planting

To celebrate Earth Day the Newmarket-Aurora Greens host an annual tree planting event with the Aurora Arboretum. Since April 22 is too early for the optimum timing of tree planting this event is held in May. The date has not been arranged yet this year, but stay tuned here for the details and please come out to join us. It’ll be a couple of hours on a Saturday and many hands make light work.

Windfall Ecology Festival

The Newmarket-Aurora Greens plan to participate in the Windfall Ecology Festival at Fairy Lake in Newmarket, June 13-14. Please swing by our booth to say hello and enjoy the rest of the event. It seems to grow and get better every year. And as an aside, my wife Mollie will be performing at the event both as a busker and on the main stage.

We just today received late notice that Mike Nickerson will be speaking at an event at Newmarket Public Library, Wednesday April 15, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

Here’s a bit of background on Mike.

Mike Nickerson

Mike Nickerson has spent 35 years studying cultural evolution and communicating the sustainability message. His writings include: Bakavi: Change the World I Want to Stay On (1977), Let’s Talk About Sustainability (1987), Planning for Seven Generations (1993) and the newly released Life, Money & Illusion: Living on Earth as if we want to stay.

With Life, Money & Illusion in hand to provide details, Nickerson is now on a cross country tour introducing the Question of Direction. The program encourages people to think and talk about changing customs and institutions that aim for and benefit from material expansion, to ones capable of maintaining long-term well-being while decreasing impacts on the planet and each other. Nickerson contends that when, as a society, we wholeheartedly choose the new direction we will find ourselves moving toward a promising future.

Life, Money & Illusion: Living on Earth as if we want to stay

Now that all the politicians are singing the green tune, it is important to know what the lyrics mean. The song is an epic piece about the maturation of the human species.

For a hundred thousands years, the Earth has provided us with a practically infinite environment into which to grow. Today we have grown so big that we are overwhelming our planet. It is now time to acknowledge that we have reached maturity and to accept the responsibility that comes with that power.

Mike Nickerson, author of Life, Money & Illusion: Living on Earth as if we want to stay, will talk about the challenge of transforming age old customs and institutions, which work to stimulate growth, into new forms that respect planetary limits and will enable secure, fulfilling lives for generations to come.

For more details, visit www.SustainWellBeing.net.

Welcome to the web home of the Green Party in Newmarket & Aurora Ontario, Canada.

We’re just getting started with the new web site.  You’ll see a lot of changes over the next short while, so please check back to watch our site grow!

Announcement: Annual General Meeting

For members of the Green Party of Canada, the Annual General Meeting of the Newmarket Aurora Electoral District Association will be held at 7:30 PM, Monday April 13, 2009 at Aurora Town Hall in the Leksand Room.

Voting privileges are granted to all members in good standing and new members who have joined the party at least 14 days prior to the meeting.

We look forward to seeing you there.