| Women’s shelters say more affordable housing needed for abused women
Abused women in Alberta are three times more likely to return to an abusive situation than the Canadian average due to lack of housing. They are also 2.5 times more likely to say money is a factor in why they return to their abusive spouse, according to a new YWCA Canada report.
The Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters says the lack of affordable housing and extremely low social assistance rates are putting abused women and children in danger because it is harder for women to leave the violence they face. Meanwhile, women’s shelters don’t have enough shelter beds to meet demand. Between April 2005 and March 2006 shelters across the province had to turn away 13,000 women and children because they were full.
The council is calling on the provincial government to put more funding into shelter beds, provide funding for housing officers to help abused women find safe and affordable housing and to build more low-cost housing.
Protest against ConocoPhillips
Activists worried about the plight of the Little Smokey caribou herd are staging a protest on December 1 at 11 a.m. at the headquarters of U.S. oil giant ConocoPhillips (401-9 Avenue S.W.).
The rally is sponsored by West Athabasca Bioregional Society, Sierra Club of Canada, Alberta Foothills Network, Voice for Animals Human Society and Canadian Youth Climate Coalition and is supported by the Edmonton chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and the Sierra Legal Defence Fund.
Protest organizers say ConocoPhillips’s oil and gas development has destroyed important Little Smokey caribou herd habitat and that’s threatening their future existence. They’re asking the company to publicly support the establishment of protected areas for caribou that would be off limits to industrial development. They also want to see ConocoPhillips invest more money into renewable energy sources.
The Little Smokey herd is located northwest of Hinton and the government lists it as under threat of extirpation due to its small numbers. Caribou are listed federally and provincially as a threatened species.
New province-wide land trust alliance created
A new organization called the Alberta Land Trust Alliance has been formed to increase collaboration between existing land trusts and to provide leadership and promote awareness about land conservation.
Alberta Environment has given the new alliance $300,000 in operational funding for the next three years and will also be providing an employee for the new alliance.
"I am committed to ensuring our land is conserved for generations to come and this grant will help further the excellent work of Alberta’s land trust community," says Alberta Environment Minister Guy Boutilier in a media release.
Land trusts protect landscapes that are considered to be environmentally significant and are under threat due to development pressures. Land trusts can purchase land, accept donations of land or negotiate conservation easements, which are legal agreements in which landowners agree to protect the ecological value of the land while still remaining on the land. |
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