2011 articles by Kensky
Untalked About Issues
March 13th,
2011
An open letter to the NDP and Green Party... The Untalked About Issues.
The possibility of a Federal election looms near. For most of our first past the post elections our citizens have been inundated with negative ad campaigns and dividing issues that get the radical vote or the fear factor vote to carry a political party into power. We end up with almost no discussion on a long list of issues that involve our well-being and are never addressed. Canadians deserve so much more and are being robbed of real debates on real issues. If you want to stand above the crowd hear are some suggestions for the NDP and Green Party.
Even before an election is called, create some weekend town hall meetings across the country. They don't have to be large but you can offer to webcast them and post them for viewing and comments by Canadians after the event.
After the event, set up an interactive blog to keep the discussions going. Use the feedback by email, blogs, phone and in person. Post a synopsis page (Facebook?) on what people are saying after each forum across the country.
From this re-configure your policies to better align them with what people want and need verses what the corporate lobbying is buying.
Some suggested issues to discuss that are not being talked about:
1) Food sovereignty plan- Localized, with local people in a sustainable manner.
2) Energy sovereignty plan - Ways to get ourselves off fossil fuels and into sustainable renewable energy. This would involve conservation, local initiatives, local production, local jobs. Removing subsidies for unsustainable energy (oil, gas, nuclear) and creating subsidies for renewable.
3) Taking money away from the 'War profiteering industry' and moving it into the people's welling-being industry - See suggestions 4,5,6,7.
4) A National Housing strategy, subsidies for insulation, affordable housing, etc.
5) A National Day care strategy.
6) Getting control of the drug trades, making it legal and dropping the cost of drugs to a point where drug lords people cannot make a living at it. Putting the money used to fighting drug crime into managing the drugs, educating the public and treating addiction as a health issue and not a crime.
7) Mass transit. Making more funding available to create mass transit in every city as well as encourage more bicycle only thru-ways and pedestrian streetscapes in cities. The car culture has gone way to far and is poisoning our air ways.
8) Making labeling food that has GMO's mandatory.
9) Agriculture: Stop subsidizing factory (oil/gas) based farming and start subsidizing permaculture and organic farming practices.
10) Whistleblowers: Start subsidizing whistleblower protection at all levels. Encourage web sites that protect whistleblower information.
11) Health management: Get provinces together to discuss best practices for Health care management and get some of that wasted weapons money back into health care to train more people and doctors. A good solid public system will keep the private health care from making any headway accept for the wealthy who don't care what it cost. If 98% of procedures are covered by public plans then most people will support that structure and want to. It is lobbying by big pharma and specialty medical groups that are looking for the destruction or weakening of the public health care system.
12) Unfair tax burden discussion: With almost 90% of taxes going to Federal and Provincial coffers, no wonder our cities are going cap in hand to try and get more money for mounting debts. How can this be resolved long term?
13) Elections - First past the post - Let's get something better than this controlled, staid, and outdated method which serves mostly the lobbyists and insiders.
14) Creating ways to keep sustainable local jobs and small businesses flourishing by subsidizing locally produced items that can compete if given the chance. Making large businesses that get subsidies produce a minimum of jobs and have to stay long enough to make the subsidy worth giving.
15) Find a way a means to eventually make sure everything we use and produce is safe to be completely recycled or reused. If it isn't safe then we must phase it out. NOTE: Fighting cancer is an unending battle and a perpetual industry if we just keep adding more and more toxins to our ecology. Many sicknesses are on the rise do to our failure to address this issue.
16) Everyone deserves clean water, air and soil. Policies to make that happen for all including all indigenous land.
17) Finding better ways to recycle or waste. India has developed public washroom systems that create gas energy and fertilizer from waste.
18) A National plan to put an end to poverty.
These are a few suggested topics for a national debate in different cities across the country.
If the left does not combine to fight the globalized interests of the multinationals then we will loose our voice completely. It is bad enough that the public media is owned and controlled by the corporations, they are also trying to strangle the internet which is one of the few tools we have left to try and be heard.
We need parties that want to hear and act on what people need to create better communities and a more sustainable future for our children. The globalization model has failed. It is our turn but need the leadership that will lead the way.
Sincerely,
Ken Bilsky Billings
ActCity Ottawa
E: [email protected]
An open letter to the NDP and Green Party... The Untalked About Issues.
The possibility of a Federal election looms near. For most of our first past the post elections our citizens have been inundated with negative ad campaigns and dividing issues that get the radical vote or the fear factor vote to carry a political party into power. We end up with almost no discussion on a long list of issues that involve our well-being and are never addressed. Canadians deserve so much more and are being robbed of real debates on real issues. If you want to stand above the crowd hear are some suggestions for the NDP and Green Party.
Even before an election is called, create some weekend town hall meetings across the country. They don't have to be large but you can offer to webcast them and post them for viewing and comments by Canadians after the event.
After the event, set up an interactive blog to keep the discussions going. Use the feedback by email, blogs, phone and in person. Post a synopsis page (Facebook?) on what people are saying after each forum across the country.
From this re-configure your policies to better align them with what people want and need verses what the corporate lobbying is buying.
Some suggested issues to discuss that are not being talked about:
1) Food sovereignty plan- Localized, with local people in a sustainable manner.
2) Energy sovereignty plan - Ways to get ourselves off fossil fuels and into sustainable renewable energy. This would involve conservation, local initiatives, local production, local jobs. Removing subsidies for unsustainable energy (oil, gas, nuclear) and creating subsidies for renewable.
3) Taking money away from the 'War profiteering industry' and moving it into the people's welling-being industry - See suggestions 4,5,6,7.
4) A National Housing strategy, subsidies for insulation, affordable housing, etc.
5) A National Day care strategy.
6) Getting control of the drug trades, making it legal and dropping the cost of drugs to a point where drug lords people cannot make a living at it. Putting the money used to fighting drug crime into managing the drugs, educating the public and treating addiction as a health issue and not a crime.
7) Mass transit. Making more funding available to create mass transit in every city as well as encourage more bicycle only thru-ways and pedestrian streetscapes in cities. The car culture has gone way to far and is poisoning our air ways.
8) Making labeling food that has GMO's mandatory.
9) Agriculture: Stop subsidizing factory (oil/gas) based farming and start subsidizing permaculture and organic farming practices.
10) Whistleblowers: Start subsidizing whistleblower protection at all levels. Encourage web sites that protect whistleblower information.
11) Health management: Get provinces together to discuss best practices for Health care management and get some of that wasted weapons money back into health care to train more people and doctors. A good solid public system will keep the private health care from making any headway accept for the wealthy who don't care what it cost. If 98% of procedures are covered by public plans then most people will support that structure and want to. It is lobbying by big pharma and specialty medical groups that are looking for the destruction or weakening of the public health care system.
12) Unfair tax burden discussion: With almost 90% of taxes going to Federal and Provincial coffers, no wonder our cities are going cap in hand to try and get more money for mounting debts. How can this be resolved long term?
13) Elections - First past the post - Let's get something better than this controlled, staid, and outdated method which serves mostly the lobbyists and insiders.
14) Creating ways to keep sustainable local jobs and small businesses flourishing by subsidizing locally produced items that can compete if given the chance. Making large businesses that get subsidies produce a minimum of jobs and have to stay long enough to make the subsidy worth giving.
15) Find a way a means to eventually make sure everything we use and produce is safe to be completely recycled or reused. If it isn't safe then we must phase it out. NOTE: Fighting cancer is an unending battle and a perpetual industry if we just keep adding more and more toxins to our ecology. Many sicknesses are on the rise do to our failure to address this issue.
16) Everyone deserves clean water, air and soil. Policies to make that happen for all including all indigenous land.
17) Finding better ways to recycle or waste. India has developed public washroom systems that create gas energy and fertilizer from waste.
18) A National plan to put an end to poverty.
These are a few suggested topics for a national debate in different cities across the country.
If the left does not combine to fight the globalized interests of the multinationals then we will loose our voice completely. It is bad enough that the public media is owned and controlled by the corporations, they are also trying to strangle the internet which is one of the few tools we have left to try and be heard.
We need parties that want to hear and act on what people need to create better communities and a more sustainable future for our children. The globalization model has failed. It is our turn but need the leadership that will lead the way.
Sincerely,
Ken Bilsky Billings
ActCity Ottawa
E: [email protected]