In this Issue
Getting BC School Districts to Carbon Neutral
Plastic Bag Ban in Metro Van?
Searching for the Good Life in a Carbon Neutral BC
On the Road to Ending Drive-Through Windows in North Vancouver
BC Special Education in Desperate Need of Funding
Canadian Climate Change Policy Inventory
Poor Mental Health System Failing the Vulnerable & Taxing Police
Getting BC School Districts to Carbon Neutral
Through the Green Glass: Climate Change Symposium for Education Leaders, hosted by the Columbia Institute's Centre for Civic Governance, was held on January 24, 2008. The event brought together over one hundred school board trustees, superintendents, secretary-treasurers, teachers, and representatives from various environmental organizations from across the province. Participants praised the Symposium for providing an excellent opportunity to network with colleagues as well as practical information about how to make school districts sustainable. Powerpoint presentations from Symposium speakers can be found on the Civic Governance website. Click here.
The Tyee wrote an article about the Symposium, which includes interviews with several of the speakers. Read that article here.
Plastic Bag Ban in Metro Van?
On January 31, Vancouver councillor Tim Stevenson led a motion to look at Vancouver's options for reducing and phasing out the use of plastic bags in the city. However, council voted to move the debate to the Metro Vancouver Board instead and Stevenson now fears the motion will get lost in the shuffle. Read an article about the initiative here. For ideas and steps for local governments on going plastic bag-free, check out Greener Footprints, a BC-based organization that is helping towns in Canada implement plastic bag bans.
Searching for the Good Life in a Carbon Neutral BC
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives BC Office released a discussion paper on Feb. 7 entitled Searching for the Good Life in a Carbon Neutral BC: Meeting BC’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets with Fairness and Equity. This highly readable paper looks at BC’s climate change plan through a social justice lens to determine possible policy instruments the government might employ to ensure that climate change policies do not exacerbate social inequalities. Local government officials may be particularly interested in the section entitled Sustainable Communities and BC's Quality of Life.
On the Road to Ending Drive-Through Windows in North Vancouver
North Vancouver councillor Sam Schechter introduced a motion to council on January 21 that would ban the future construction of drive-through windows in North Vancouver. Arguing that preventing vehicles idling in line at drive-through windows is one step towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the municipality, Schechter said his motion is only one of many environmental plans proposed for North Vancouver. Read the full article here.
BC Special Education in Desperate Need of Funding
The January 2008 Langley Special Education Inquiry Report (a joint project of the District Parent Advisory Council, CUPE Local 1260, and the Langley Teachers' Association) found that there has been an historical underfunding of special education in BC that has led to overcrowded classrooms and unmanageable caseloads for teachers. The Inquiry also found that graduation levels for special needs kids are 10 points below the average for all students. Read the Report here or read a Tyee article about the Report.
Canadian Climate Change Policy Inventory
The Canada West Foundation has released a report designed to provide background information about what is currently being done in Canada to address climate change. The report provides a summary of different policy initiatives at the provincial and national level, including cap and trade systems, carbon sinks, carbon tax, alternative energy investments, public transportation developments, and idling reduction policies, among others. The report, entitled Building on our Strengths, concludes that the approach to implementing climate change policies in Canada needs to be more measured, targeted, and coordinated and that there needs to be a tighter link between targets, program announcements, and public spending.
Poor Mental Health System Failing the Vulnerable and Taxing Police
A new report by the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) shows that VPD officers are filling the gap left by an inadequate mental health system. Lost in Transition: How a Lack of Capacity in the Mental Health System is Failing Vancouver's Mentally Ill and Draining Police Resources, reports that on average, 31% of calls to the police involve a mentally ill person. In some areas, this number rises to almost 50%. Translated into economic terms, police time spent dealing with the mentally ill is equivalent to $9 million annually. The report blames sharp cuts in the capacity at Riverview Hospital (down to 200 beds from 4600) and a lack of community support services. Read an article about the report here.