Posted by Matthew Nefstead on 11 April 2010
One night only, 40 years in the making! Please join us on Thursday, April 22 for the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.
The Old Firehall will be rockin' with music and dancing provided by Whitehorse's own Sasquatch Prom Date - it doesn't get much earthier than this! There will be a silent art auction and a cash bar, with proceeds going to support John Streicker's campaign.
Meet us at the Old Firehall at 1st and Main starting at 7 pm for a roaring good time!
Tickets are $10, or $5 for kids/seniors/low income. For more information or to reserve tickets, email events@yukongreen.ca or call 332-2222.
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Posted by John Streicker on 5 April 2010
In thinking about the future of communication in the Yukon, it is helpful to start by looking at the price of oil. We are heading towards $100 / barrel (again).
While we are more accessible here than our sister territories, and while the Alaska Highway is shorter than it used to be, we still are heavily dependent on energy here in the Yukon. Our economy is very vulnerable to the price of oil - especially for transportation.
One of the solutions to this problem is, where possible, to move ideas, rather than moving people or goods and the heavy chunks of metal it takes to transport this stuff up and down the highway.
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Posted by John Streicker on 1 April 2010
Recently, I traveled to be with my parents for a couple of weeks. They are both in their 80’s now and they needed some help.
Both my parents are hard of hearing. Either the volume on the TV is turned way up, or off. While I was there, they watched a lot of curling.
This meant that closed captioned “Hard!” and “Hurry!” would flash vigorously across the silent screen, or else the volume would be so loud, you could hear the skips yelling instructions to their teammates from anywhere in the house.
So communication is a challenge for my folks and some stuff just gets lost in transmission. It can be humorous, except that it is also so tragically isolating.
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Posted by John Streicker on 5 March 2010
What a hockey game. What a goal.
The Americans played a great game and so did we. The game was close and that made it even better.
I like competitions where we respect and appreciate the people we are playing against. The real triumph is when we strive for and achieve our best.
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Posted by Matthew Nefstead on 7 February 2010
Yukongreen.ca is pleased to promote Green Drinks, a non-partisan event that we think you might be interested in.
Green Drinks is a free-form event, held monthly in cities around the world. Environmental like-minds, those working in the sector or those who would like to, those who are passionate about environmental issues or those who are just curious about ‘greening’ up their lives, come together to share a drink and chat in a relaxed informal setting. Green Drinks is a great way to network, catch up with friends and make some new ones, learn something new, develop new ideas, and find employment.
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Posted by John Streicker on 5 February 2010
2 years ago, the Prime Minister appointed Kevin Page as our first ever Parliamentary Budget Officer. The timing was amazing given that we were about to head into a recession.
It is Mr. Page’s job to provide “analysis to Parliament on the state of the nation's finances, the government's estimates and trends in the Canadian economy”. Since Parliament is currently prorogued in order to focus on our economy, and since we now have a Parliamentary budget officer, what does Mr. Page have to say about our finances?
He says our finances are in trouble. 2 weeks ago Mr. Page released a report declaring that Canada is in a structural deficit. This goes beyond our stimulus spending and our debt which is now expanding back over $500 billion.
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Posted by John Streicker on 8 January 2010
For a while now, the Prime Minister has been saying “use it, or lose it” about the North. Late last month a Senate report came out saying the same thing.
Everyone is up in arms about Arctic sovereignty. As summer sea ice melts out faster than we thought possible there is a new international rush for territory across the Arctic.
Russia is leading the way with dozens of ice breakers in service and more in production. In 2007 Russia put a flag at the north pole 4 km down on the seabed. It was a provocative move.
What is Canada doing? So far, Prime Minster Harper’s way of addressing sovereignty is to call for annual military exercises.
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Posted by John Streicker on 4 December 2009
It is a Yukon winter morning and as I begin to write this column, I am in the middle of a blackout. So I am using pen and paper. It has been a while since I wrote anything by hand.
Today also happens to be the day that I have to change out the stove-pipe on our wood stove. I can probably change it out without power but I will need to wait for more light. Lucky it is so mild out.
Blackouts, winter heating problems and a lack of light - to a reader from the outside it may seem like living in the Yukon is a challenge.
Maybe, but clearly it is worth it. The first time I experienced a Yukon summer I was in awe, but it was the Yukon winter that took my breath away.
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Posted by John Streicker on 6 November 2009
Next month the world will be convening the largest economic summit ever. The plan is to try and lay the groundwork for transforming the global energy economy over the next 40 years.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper won’t be going to the summit. Neither will Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, Raitt (Natural Resources) nor Cannon (Foreign Affairs).
We are sending our Minister of Environment, Jim Prentice. He will be taking the message that Canada is not yet ready to reach an agreement. Other countries are losing respect for us.
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Posted by John Streicker on 15 October 2009
Living on the street is hard. Very hard. I figured that out after just 5 days.
And I didn’t have to cope with an addiction, mental illness, other health challenges, limited employment prospects, a young baby / kids to take care of nor the history or threat of abuse.
I was also secure in the knowledge that after 5 days of being homeless, I had a cozy home and a nice life to return to. Still the five days were challenging.
Last week, I was one of several people invited by the Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition to couch surf to help raise awareness around the issue of homelessness. Our rules were not to go home, not to sleep in a bed and not to spend more than $20 a day.
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