People die in the street when shelters are full. The homeless who have dogs often have no place to go because they will not abandon their best friend. Many shelters will not accept animals. It is cruelly cold outside. We need to do better for our citizens, and their furry companions. There is room at night in community centres. Why are they locked against those members of the community who are down on their luck? They are human beings. And their animal companions are part of their humanity. Make community space truly for the community, including those who need a hand up.

Canada has to take action now to end its unfair and polluting subsidies to oil, gas, and coal companies. Canada's $3.3 billion in fossil fuel subsidies undermine the Paris Agreement’s climate change goals, and they even counteract attempts to put a price on carbon. Trying to put a price on carbon while still subsidizing fossil fuel production is like pouring water on the fire with one hand, while spraying gasoline on it with the other. It just doesn't make sense. The Trudeau government can act immediately with a commitment and a plan to get rid of these subsidies by 2020. Four years is more than enough time to wind down polluter handouts. Instead of subsidies that favour the wealthy, we need public investment that helps us move more quickly to sustainable solutions. Let’s put an end to fossil fuel subsidies.

I'm very curious about something and it has my mind boggled. Switch over parking from one side to the other and parking tickets. So today I get a ticket in my car at 9:10am as I am walking to my car. He is ticketing all cars that haven't moved to the other side. So I speak with him and say why would you be doing this when it is 9 in the morning and some people haven't even got up yet... Work schedules etc. He says don't ask me... Thy tell us to and then you can go down and get it cancelled. I'm confused at this point and he says yup. You have a valid parking tag in your windshield and if it's before noon you can have it canceled. So at this point I become increasingly angry (not at him) because basically what he is telling me is that they are pumping out these tickets at 50 bucks a pop and you only need to send it in or go there to have it cancelled. How many tax payer dollars are being wasted on this pathetic practice?! Let's see. There are thousands of cars being ticketed every switch over morning and hundreds or parking enforcement officers doing it and then the car owner can go get it cancelled so there is manpower there doing that side of it. He shook his head and said it makes no sense as bylaw says ticket and city says we will cancel it. What the actual heck??? This is insane to me that our tax dollars are being spent on staffing this. Absolutely nuts!!! It says right on the site that you can have a noon grace to have it cancelled. Doesn't anyone fine this infuriating?!?! Place a noon deadline bylaw and no forgiveness. The end!!! Unbelievable ... Millions of Tax dollars wasted! And we sit back and allow this to happen!! Outrageous!

Every month when it's time to change your car over to the other side of the street, Parking Enforcement Officers start ticketing you after 9am. These same officers inform us that we can get the ticket cancelled if it's before noon by going downtown and fighting it as the City of Toronto has said that we have until noon as a grace period. This is ridiculous and a money grab as who on earth has time to fight an unfair ticket? They know it and we know it. It's unethical and mean spirited just to get their numbers up.

Chinatown is under siege. A proposed market rate development on 105 Keefer Street threatens the cultural and economic fabric of Chinatown. “Our Chinatown is being bought up by developers. What’s going to be left in Chinatown for people like me when the dust settles?” protested Ivy Su, a resident in the neighbourhood. Ms. Su’s concerns are real. Vancouver Chinatown was not-so-honoured to be designated a Top 10 Endangered Places List according to the National Trust for Canada. Intense market development pressure has pushed small businesses out and housing costs up. Chinatown is really under siege. And now, to add insult to injury, Beedie Group proposes desecrating the cultural heart of Vancouver Chinatown with a dominating luxury high rise development at 105 Keefer Street. How is the 105 Keefer site at the heart of Vancouver Chinatown? It is surrounded by the culturally significant Chinese-Canadian war veterans and railway workers monument, the Chinese Cultural Centre and the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden. The site is close to the National Historic Site where important heritage buildings such as the Chinese Benevolent Association and the Chinese Freemasons are located. A luxury market development at this site would violate/disrespect Chinatown's distinct character as well as the livelihoods of the people living here. Gentrification is already severely overrunning the entire Downtown Eastside and the plan by the Beedie Group to build a complex at 105 Keefer will only worsen this problem, which we and groups dedicated to saving Chinatown have been battling against for the past few years. On the contrary, Chinatown residents and organizations are proposing the site be used for low-income seniors housing and an intergenerational community space. Ms. Su offers a brighter future: “We hope that the government will purchase the land to provide housing for us so that we are not without homes”. Ms. Su continues, “We’ve seen Chinatown change so much over the past years, but the changes are overwhelmingly for the higher income people moving in. We need more developments that meet our needs for affordable housing and for spaces to socialize with each other.” We can’t afford to lose more of our precious Chinatown! (Photo Credits: Christina Lee)

CETA is not in the interests of the Canadian People.

The lack of sleep is dangerous to our heath and well being And causes more accidents then good.

It's unwise to give someone too much power and control, or allow them to run our Country for too long. People who serve too long in positions like this have the potential to become Despots.

WHEREAS the Election Act of British Columbia presently prohibits individuals under 18 from participating in the electoral process; WHEREAS early engagement in civic affairs is believed to lead to the establishment of a pattern of engagement that endures throughout life; WHEREAS the 2011 report of the Chief Electoral Officer of BC recognized that "The lowest voter registration rates are for young voters 18-24 years of age"; WHEREAS by the age of 15, BC residents are legally permitted to be employed on a full-time basis in accordance with the Employment Standards Act; WHEREAS by the age of 16, BC residents may apply for a license to operate a motor vehicle on a public highway; BE IT RESOLVED that the residents of British Columbia call upon the governing party to adopt as a policy that the age of eligibility to be an elector in future provincial elections be lowered from (18) to sixteen (16) years.

For years, Christy Clark’s government has been slashing education funding and delaying much-needed seismic upgrades. As a parent, it felt like the Vancouver School Board were the only elected representatives who were on our side and willing to fight for safe, fully-funded schools. The Vancouver School Board was planning to finally pass a balanced budget in a meeting tonight, in order to secure essential funding for seismic upgrades -- but incredibly, the Education Minister fired them before their meeting.[3] Now, the Vancouver School Board is essentially being run out of the Premier’s office, by an unelected political appointee. This could become a major scandal that will follow the BC government all the way to the ballot box in May’s provincial election, and they know it. It starts with a huge petition calling on Education Minister Mike Bernier to reverse this terrible decision. If you agree that firing the elected VSB trustees is an outrage, sign the urgent petition to Education Minister Mike Bernier now. Sources: [1] Vancouver School Board fired by B.C. education minister (CBC) http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-school-board-fired-1.3808674 [2] Former Vancouver School Board chair Mike Lombardi calls firing ‘outrageous’ http://globalnews.ca/news/3007688/b-c-education-minister-mike-bernier-set-to-address-vancouver-school-board-situation/ [3] Vancouver School Board to approve budget after months of delay, controversy (CBC) http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-school-board-intend-budget-approval-1.3808204

A strong democracy requires freedom of expression. That's why the blunting of the ability of civil society to advocate and to engage in that most fundamental democratic right – debate and, occasionally, dissent – should concern us all. But that's what's happening today in Canada. You see, CRA rules permit Canadian charities to devote up to 10% of their organizational resources to "political activities." And charities report annually what they're up to to show how they're complying with this rule. Back in 2012, the Harper government decided to spend millions auditing environmental groups, and later anti-poverty and human-rights charities, to see if they were doing too much "political work." Interestingly, right-wing charities, like the Fraser Institute, reported zero political activity and didn't catch the attention of CRA.[3] Earlier this year, National Revenue Minister Dianne Lebouthillier announced CRA would begin "winding down" these audits, but later reversed course and announced 24 political activity audits launched during Harper's time in power would continue as planned (but no new audits would be launched). One of the charities, Canada Without Poverty, has now launched a constitutional challenge to stop the CRA from stripping its tax-exempt status on the grounds that it's too politically active. The group says its constitutional right to free expression is being violated unreasonably. "They’re not wrong," The Globe and Mail argues in a recent editorial.[4] "The case is a vestige of the former Conservative government’s 2012 decision to pour millions into targeted CRA audits of charity groups – something many in the charitable sector denounced as a witch hunt. The Liberals halted all new audits this past January, but allowed 24 probes to continue. "As a concept, charity has its roots in 17th-century English law. But the more appropriate modern definition might be: whatever the Canada Revenue Agency and its political masters say it is." It's time for the political masters to step in and do the right: end the political-activity audits of 24 charities that just happened to disagree with policies of the Harper government. Sources: 1. As Harper's CRA audits continue, right-wing charities report zero 'political activity' again: https://www.pressprogress.ca/as_harper_cra_audits_continue_right_wing_charities_report_zero_political_activity_again 2. Liberal platform: https://www.liberal.ca/files/2015/10/New-plan-for-a-strong-middle-class.pdf 3. Stephen Harper's CRA: Selective Audits, "Political" Activity, and Right-leaning charities: https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/broadbent/pages/16/attachments/original/1430005311/Stephen_Harper's_CRA.pdf?1430005311 4. Like unions and political parties, charities deserve freedom of speech: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/editorials/like-unions-and-political-parties-charities-deserve-freedom-of-speech/article31728320/

It is up to each of us to risk backlash over staying silent on an issue that affects all of us. In case you missed it... Yesterday, TELUS sent out a simple tweet supporting climate action by the Government of Canada. Rebel Media decided to use it against the company, encourage a social media backlash, insult its Chief Sustainability Officer, and gather 5,000 signatures on a petition that encourages people to Cancel their TELUS services solely because of its support for climate action. As a result, the company has had to retreat back into the dark cave of PR damage control, apologize for its statement, delete the tweet, and deal with competitors trying to steal customers who express disagreement on social media. We keep talking about how we need our corporations and institutions to rise above, to take a courageous stance on the issues that matter most, and to care about more than just their own financial sustainability. I work at TELUS but am speaking as a Canadian: we cannot allow a few people to use the 'power' of social media to discourage big companies from acting on one of the biggest issues of our time that will affect our children, grandchildren, and generations to come. Here are a few facts: - Telus isn’t the only big company inside Smart Prosperity or the only firm backing carbon pricing - Loblaws, RBC and Tembec are all members of the environmental coalition - Ahead of the global agreement in Paris on carbon emissions last year, major global companies issued a call for carbon pricing systems. BP plc, Royal Dutch Shell pls, Statoil ASA and Total SA were among the firms who called for pricing - Top oil sands firm Suncor Energy also supports carbon pricing, though they haven’t released a statement on the new federal plan. The Mining Association of Canada has also stated its support for carbon pricing SIGN the petition NOW and let's show Rebel Media what Canadians really believe and stand for.