| Harper to re-open same sex debate
Gay rights activists are outraged over Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s promise that he will allow federal MPs to vote this fall on whether they want to re-open the debate over same-sex marriage.
Same-sex marriage became legal last year. However, on June 3, Harper said he would allow a free vote on the issue.
Gilles Marchildon, executive director of Egale Canada, calls the decision disappointing.
"I can only suppose it’s because they want to pander to the religious right within their ranks," he adds.
Marchildon says re-opening the issue will be traumatic for gay and lesbian Canadians.
"It’s really playing with our lives. In a sense we feel like the cat is playing with the mouse before it’s going to attempt to pounce on us…. I think it’s patently unfair and not good government."
However, Marchildon remains confident that the legislation won’t be defeated even if there’s a free vote in parliament.
Provinces not doing enough to protect threatened woodland caribou
The Sierra Club of Canada has released a report criticizing federal, provincial and territorial governments for not taking enough action to save threatened woodland caribou herds.
The group argues that widespread industrial development in remaining intact boreal forest is causing increasing threats to the long-term survival of the species. The Sierra Club recommends a network of protected areas that are off limits to industrial development and better management of current industrial activity in the boreal forest.
The authors of the report point out that in Alberta, only 14 per cent of the woodland caribou’s habitat is protected and most of their habitat is "being severely fragmented" by logging, oil and gas development and road construction. The report also notes that the province’s Woodland Caribou Recovery Team recommended a moratorium on future industrial development in areas of the province where caribou herds are at risk of dying out, but the provincial government rejected the recommendation. Widespread oilsands development will also have a negative impact on caribou, says the report.
Report on post-secondary education released
The provincial government has released the final report of a steering committee that spent the last year reviewing Alberta’s post-secondary education system.
The steering committee has recommended that tuition fees be rolled back to 2004 levels and future increases be tied to the Consumer Price Index and not allowed to outpace inflation.
The report also recommends more support for aboriginal students, immigrants and other disadvantaged groups, increasing incentives for rural students to attend post-secondary institutions, expanding and creating new scholarships for graduate students, overhauling the student loan system and reducing student loan interest rates.
The government is currently consulting with students and universities and is promising to unveil a new tuition fee policy that addresses affordability concerns by September 2007.
City of Calgary wins environmental award
The City of Calgary has won a Sustainable Community Award from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and CH2M Hill, a private company, for its climate change action plan.
The plan aims to reduce the City of Calgary’s greenhouse gas emissions to 50 per cent below 1990 levels by 2012.
Pride Fest fun for the whole family
The city’s annual Pride Festival is set to run June 11 to 18, and this year’s celebration is to be the largest and most family-friendly in the festival’s 16-year history, say organizers.
While "family friendly" is not always seen as an asset, local gay comic Tawde Clarke, the host of this year’s festival, says the event will appeal to a broader range of people in the gay community.
"I think we’re sort of embracing middle ground," Clarke says. "We have gone from being a protest outside of city hall to this festival. Calgary has a large gay suburban population and we want to attract those people downtown."
The Pride Festival begins at noon on Sunday, June 11 with the annual Pride Parade, which will travel down Stephen Avenue for the first time, finishing at Olympic Plaza, at which point the Street Festival will begin.
This year’s entertainment lineup is set to include Mike Espeseth singing the Canadian national anthem, DJ RMG, Fake Mustache, local R&B performer Patrick Malachi, Russell Brewer, local songwriter Jenna (JRJ) Jacobson and DJ Kid V. A number of speakers will also take the stage, including Calgary Police Chief Jack Beaton.
Mayor Dave Bronconnier recently proclaimed June 2006 to be "Pride Month" in Calgary.
"Our arts, cultural and business sectors all benefit from the talent and involvement of Calgarians from our many communities," read the proclamation. "In respect of global human rights, ideals and in the spirit of encouraging greater acceptance and understanding in our city, on behalf of City Council and the people of Calgary, I proclaim the month of June 2006: Pride Month." |
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