Category Archives: Environment

Entries regarding the environment

The Land Has Given Enough

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Prologue:

In the beginning, there was no Swan Lake. No planet Earth. There was only the void.

Thankfully for us, after millions of years of cosmic chaos, one little planet, third rock from a small sun, evolved bacteria and microbes, and water and air, and plants and animals. Those animals evolved from fish to amphibians and reptiles, to birds and mammals, not to mention a myriad of insects. One of the birds became Cygnus buccinator. One of the mammals became Homo sapiens.

As the millennia passed, Earth’s surface formed and shifted. Homo sapiens came out of Africa and  settled on every continent except Antarctica. Cygnus buccinator settled in what is known today as North America. At the end of The Last Ice Age, the retreating glaciers left behind great lakes and tonnes of gravel ground off the Canadian Shield.  This is where our story begins … with gravel. Because if it hadn’t been for a certain little gravel pit in Ontario, Caledon’s Swan Lake would never have come into existence.

The influx of European colonists to Canada after the War of 1812 led to the deforestation of 80% of southern Ontario. At the same time, over hunting led to the extinction of the Passenger Pigeon in North America by 1914. But long before that, in 1886, the Trumpeter Swan was declared extinct in Ontario.

The land near Caledon Village known as the former Warren Gravel Pit gave us food,  water, and shelter; in colonial times it gave us lumber, wheat , and most recently gravel.

So, consider what a success story it is that we now have Swan Lake in Caledon.  After years of giving sustenance to our First Peoples, wheat to feed Europe, and gravel to build Ontario, the depleted gravel pit was fully rehabilitated, creating a freshwater lake and lush surrounding habitat. In 2025, it became home to seven pairs of Trumpeter Swans. I bear witness to this event. If we build it, they will come. Or, if we let our Town Council and a developer destroy it, they will fade away.

We have the chance here to give a once extirpated species a chance to breed and fly again over Caledon. Swan Lake is not for sale. The Town’s CEO and the Mayor should be held to account for ever bringing up a motion that would lead the town to even consider the dumping of excess GTHA soil into our Swan Lake. That is beyond the pale. It is ecologically and economically stupid. And morally reprehensible.

The land has given enough. Let her rest. The way I see it.

***

Parts One and Two coming soon …

What’s in a Name

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Obituary information for Rose Flores“A rose by any other name would would smell as sweet.”  Or the well-known, “If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck.” And how would our perception be swayed if we changed the name of “Rape and Pillage Project Management Corporation” to “Strawberry Fields Forever ULC”?

Now, if a company is called Greenfields Farms Lid. you would be forgiven if you thought it was an organization devoted to farming and sustainable food production. Alas, this fictional company is owned by an ambitious developer and is a landholding and development company with no attachment at all to agricultural endeavours. If it looks like a scam, and it hides in doublespeak like a scam, it must be a scam.

The owners of Greenfields Farms Ltd. are obviously very successful and wealthy businesspersons, able to donate tens, even hundreds of thousands of dollars to  local politicians and charitable causes. They may even have their family names on medical centres or libraries or food banks for at risk families. These charitable endeavours would have cost millions, expenses that , fortunately for the philanthropic developer, can often be claimed for tax breaks.

When you hear a politician suspected of being too close to a wealthy developer say, “Mr. Doofensmertz makes financial donations to all political parties, and has contributed generously to our community’s charities and community groups, as well as to private political fundraising events.”  Why, when we hear this, we’re more than happy to stop our protests against Doofensmertz and Company’s plan to clear-cut our heritage forests.

When you look up Greenfields Farms Ltd., or any similar greenwashing company, on Google, it’s AI will tell you the “family” who runs the company will often be listed as “Philanthropists and Developers”  … go ahead, try the search on any company you may suspect is pulling the wool over your community’s eyes.

The deceptive headline would read: “Ms. Flim-Flam, a philanthropist and developer, denies any allegations that she has been bribing public officials. ‘I donate equally to all political parties,’ declared Ms. Flim-Flam

Note that “philanthropist” comes first in that descriptor. It creates a halo of goodness around the negative traits often associated with developers and their numbered or quaintly named companies. I confess, I have never used Google AI before so it was fascinating how quickly it cut through the BS (much like Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech in Davos) and informed me with cool robotic logic that:

“Philanthropy can act as a cover for ill-gotten wealth when it is used strategically to sanitize a donor’s reputation, shield assets from taxation, or exert undue influence to protect the immoral or illegal business practices that generated the wealth in the first place. This phenomenon, often referred to as “reputation laundering” or “impact washing,” allows individuals to appear benevolent while obscuring the source of their funds.“ 

I was shocked! How could AI so coldly smear some developers and their philanthropic gifts with such allegations of impact washing and ways of obscuring the sources and amounts of their wealth. Shame! It’s a good thing none of the politicians or developers operating in our little Town are guilty of reputation laundering.

However, as my old Dad used to say, “Son, sometimes when it looks like a cat, it’s really a skunk.”  And if it smells like a corpse flower, it’s probably not a rose.

The way I see it.

*****

*image, fittingly, from Maxwell P. Dunne Funeral Services

 

 

Prime Minister Carney Stands Up For Canada at Davos

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The old order is not coming back,' Carney says in provocative speech at Davos | CBC News

The rare standing ovation from the audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, was a thunderous acknowledgement of the straight truth and inspiration of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech.

As I listened to the delivery, to the straightforward and intelligent content, to the acknowledgement, finally, that this is the “turn of the tide” in geopolitics, I smiled. Finally a leader who stood up in front of his peers and simply spoke the straight truth.

And, as always, Mark Carney was the consummate professional – literate, eloquent, well-informed, and focused. In sixteen minutes he called out the state of the world and declared Canada was a key player in achieving a new cooperative, sustainable world order that was culturally and  economically respectful.

He also called out the hegemon who attempt to disrupt the progression to a sustainable new world order through military bullying and economic terrorism. Without saying any names, he called out the biggest bullies on the world stage and basically said, to quote from The Who’s rock opera Tommy: “We’re not gonna take It anymore!”

My favourite quote of the speech was a caution for all the middle powers, like Canada, who were attending the forum,: “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.”

But  most of all, he closed with a clear message of what it is to be a Canadian:

“Canada is a pluralistic society that works. Our public square is loud, diverse and free. Canadians remain committed to sustainability.

We are a stable and reliable partner in a world that is anything but. A partner that builds and values relationships for the long term.

And we have something else. We have a recognition of what’s happening and a determination to act accordingly.

We understand that this rupture calls for more than adaptation. It calls for honesty about the world as it is.”  Prime Minister Mark Carney, Davos Switzerland,  January 20, 2026.

Oh Canada ! We are proud for thee! The way I see it.

*****

*image from CBC

 

Remembering Elder Garry Sault

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RHB Anderson Funeral Homes Ltd. :: Garry Sault September 2, 2025, Garry Samuel Sault made his final journey. To many in Ontario and across Canada, Garry will be remembered as a revered Elder of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.

For me, he was a teacher, a healer, a mentor and a friend. He was also a consummate  story teller. I first met Garry Sault ten years ago at a Youth Leadership Conference sponsored by Ontario Nature (ON) held at Geneva Park on Lake Simcoe. In the prequel to the event, I was working on setting up a nature trail, shirt off, soaking up the morning sun.

I had noticed Garry and his wife Tena cooking up some concoction for their medicinal wilds session. Garry suddenly appeared beside me and touched a red lesion on my shoulder. “What’s this?” he asked.

Taken aback and surprised, I told him it was a suspect skin cancer spot removed by my dermatologist. He then proceeded, unasked, to apply a salve to the many spots that had been treated. Part of my legacy of paddling half-naked along Ontario canoe routes for twenty-five years. The areas on my skin were sore and red when Garry applied the salve, The next morning, they were pink and painless.

I went back to him at the end of the course and asked, “How did you make that salve?” He handed me a large jar of salve and said, “Come back next year.” I was hooked. The next year at the Conference I arranged my sessions so that I could attend his on my breaks. I sat with the students while Garry combined history and the indigenous knowledge of plants in a mesmerizing story. We then went out on the grounds to gather comfrey root, and plantain leaves to add to the pots of beeswax and sunflower oil that Tena had been stirring on two Coleman camping stoves.

The plants were simmered in the oil, then later scooped out. While they were cooking, Garry shared his knowledge of the history of his people and his love of the natural wild world.The students were spellbound. It was like watching children sitting at the feet of their grandparents being mesmerized by stories of their journeys.

When the plants had been sieved out of the pot, the oil was poured into the melted beeswax and the mixtures were left to cool. The students came back in the afternoon to collect their jars of salve. I now had the formula! “Yes,” Garry said, “but it changes when I add St. John’s Wort. Come back next year.” And so began the teaching. Arouse curiosity based on street creds; hook the student with the concept of gaining knowledge learned over time and experience rather than a quick fix answer. I loved it.

At night, around the campfire, Garry would engage the students with wondrous and hilarious stories of Nanabozo, Raven and Coyote .There were more serious stories about Gitche Manitou and Old Woman that spoke deeply to me. These were the sacred mythologies of our First Peoples.

In adult times together, Garry would tell the history of the Peacemaker and the Wampum Belts and the many, many Treaties broken. Over the years we worked at the conference together, Garry expanded my knowledge of the history of our First Peoples. He had escaped the horrors of the residential schools and the infamous “Sixties Scoop” when his family escaped from Ontario to Alberta, and then back again when the westward sweep had passed. He was able to keep the stories that were lost to so many.

When the pandemic hit, Ontario Nature had to cancel the Youth Conferences and YMCA Geneva Park was subsequently sold. I stayed in touch with Garry, visiting him at his home in Hagersville, and meeting his and Teena’s family. He took me for a tour around the lands of the Mississaugas of the New Credit  where every driveway was marked with orange shirts for the missing children of a State and Church sponsored program of child abuse and cultural genocide in the name of Queen and Country.

Garry Sault saved my life and opened my eyes. Remembered with love.

  • Photo from RHB Anderson Funeral Homes Ltd.

The Most Secretive Municipal Government in Canada

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On August 20, 2023 in the Town of Caledon, Strong Mayor Annette Groves, after firing most excellent CAO Carey Heard, sole sourced and hired Nathan Hyde, former CAO of Erin, Ontario. During his time in Erin, Mr. Hyde made quite a reputation for himself and his style of governance, so much so that it enabled the little town of Erin to win a Canadian media award.

In 2020, The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) published this report: “OTTAWA, Feb. 24, 2020 /CNW/— The Town of Erin, Ont., is the 2019 recipient of the Code of Silence Award for Outstanding Achievement in Government Secrecy in the category of municipal government.

The award is given annually by The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ), Centre for Free Expression at Ryerson University (CFE), News Media Canada and Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) to call public attention to government departments and agencies that put extra effort into denying public access to government information to which the public has a right under access to information legislation.

The awards jury, which is comprised by representatives of the four press-freedom advocacy groups, recognized the Town of Erin with this citation:

“It has become commonplace for The Town of Erin to refuse to be transparent with the media and therefore local residents on even basic matters of public interest. Local officials regularly avoid interviews with the media, insist that all communications from media must go through a recently hired communications officer, and Chief Administrative Officer and only by email. Even these requests are then dodged or refused. Worse yet, Erin officials have failed to inform the media of meetings at which major decisions will be made.

In response to a large number of senior staff and department heads being fired a couple of years ago staff at the Wellington Advertiser submitted FOI requests for details of severance payments. Erin refused these requests and Erin Mayor Allan Alls told the media they would not release these details unless forced to by the commissioner.”

Combine the unleashed powers of a Strong Mayor with the devious secrecy of a powerful CAO and you have a match made in autocratic heaven. And democracy can go to hell. Our new Integrity Commissioner needs to open his eyes – you charged the wrong person with breaching the Town’s Code of Conduct. Take a closer look at the two people who brought forward that charge against Councillor Sheen, especially the one who, after she was charged with breaching the Code, skipped the last Commissioner’s mandatory training session on issues of ethics and integrity.

Councillor Dave “Integrity” Sheen had it absolutely right. The way I see it.