White Poppies

Check out http://www.whitepoppy.org/

I learned about the White Poppy campaign a few years ago from a young woman at the Cape Breton University. She was tabling. She sold me a poppy to raise money for a women's centre. If anybody knows the website for the CBU women's center, please leave a comment below.

Here's what Wikipedia says about White Poppies:

The White Poppy is used as a symbol of peace, worn as an alternative to the red poppy for Remembrance Day. It is worn to remember all victims of war.

In 1926, a few years after the introduction of the red poppy in the UK, the idea of pacifists making their own poppies was put forward by a member of the No More War Movement (and that the black centre of the British Legion's red poppies should be imprinted with "No More War"). Nothing seems to have come of this, until in 1933 the Women's Co-operative Guild introduced the White Poppy; their intention was to remember the war dead (as with the red poppy), but with the added meaning of a hope for the end of all wars.

The White Poppy was at first produced by the Co-operative Wholesale Society, because the British Legion refused to be associated with its manufacture. In 1934 the recently-formed Peace Pledge Union joined the CWS in production of the poppies, and eventually took over production and distribution altogether. The annual White Poppy appeal is still run by the PPU.

Here's the Third World Farmer game link

http://www.itu.dk/people/hermund/3wf/index_content.html

Donald M. Raymond

Vice President - Public Market Investments
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board
One Queen Street East
Suite 2700, P.O. Box 101
Toronto ON M5C 2W5

Dear Mr. Raymond,

First of all, I would like to congratulate the CPP Investment Board for adopting a new policy on responsible investing. I believe that socially responsible corporate behaviour can have a positive influence on a company’s long-term financial performance, and therefore I commend you for announcing that you are going to engage with companies to encourage improved environmental and social practices.

Secondly, I would like to draw your attention to six shareholder resolutions that address the human rights policies and practices of Canadian and American companies:

• Alcan shareholders are calling on the company to sponsor an independent advisory committee to develop recommendations for improving community relations in Kashipur, India.
• Chevron Corporation shareholders have submitted a resolution calling on the company to report the total costs relating to the health and environmental consequences of hydrocarbon exposures and Chevron’s remediation of Texaco drilling sites in Ecuador.
• Dow Chemical shareholders are requesting that the company provide descriptions of any new initiatives instituted by management to address specific health, environmental and social concerns of the survivors of the Bhopal gas leak in India.
• A Power Corporation shareholder requests the company to prepare a report describing its policies and management practices that promote and protect human rights in China and Tibet.
• A Nortel shareholder has asked the company to cooperate with independent human rights assessments and prepare a report describing its policies and management practices that promote and protect human rights in China and Tibet.
• A Bombardier shareholder has submitted a resolution calling on the company to develop and adopt a human rights policy.

I am concerned that the value of the Canada Pension Plan could be affected by human rights concerns associated with the companies it invests in. Lawsuits and other costs associated with these scandals could result in an increased financial burden or liability for these companies.

Furthermore, the negative publicity generated by such cases is damaging to the companies’ credibility as socially and environmentally responsible corporate citizens, and can jeopardize their ability to compete in the global marketplace. Therefore, I urge you to vote favourably for these shareholder resolutions.

Lastly, I am aware that an Ivanhoe Mines shareholder filed a resolution asking the company to describe its direct and indirect security arrangements with the Government and Military in Myanmar, and its policies and management practices that preclude it from benefiting from forced labour in Myanmar. The company has refused to circulate the resolution to its shareholders. I would appreciate it if you would engage with Ivanhoe Mines on this issue.

Sincerely,

To: jcappelletti@cppib.ca

Mr. Cappelletti,

I am opposed to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's bid to purchase the for-profit British water company Anglian Water. While Ian Dale of the CPPIB told the Ottawa Citizen that Anglian Water has a "sound environmental track record," in truth it has been fined over half a million pounds during the last six years and it is the only company in the industry to see an increase in major pollution incidents since 2004. After Britain's water system was privatized, prices rose by over 50 per cent in the first four years, and the real value of the fees, salaries and bonuses paid to the director's increased between 50 per cent and 200 per cent in most water companies. The British newspaper The Daily Mail wrote that, "the water industry has become the biggest rip-off in Britain" and that it is "the greatest act of licensed robbery in our history." The CPPIB should also recognize that major studies have shown that responsible investing does not affect the performance of pension funds. I am deeply concerned by the CPP's investments in weapons-makers, cigarette producers, top air polluters and companies whose activities have been linked to allegations of human-rights abuses, as reported recently by the Ottawa Citizen newspaper. The CPPIB should not be investing in private water corporations that seek profit over the fundamental right to water. I call on the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to end its bid to invest in for-profit water.

Sincerely,

To: solbem@parl.gc.ca

Re: Raza Family
Client ID # 5138-0579

Dear Minister Solberg,

The Raza family has no place to call home. I ask you to intervene on compassionate grounds to let the Razas stay - for the sake of their six children. I believe in this family. We ought to welcome them to Canada. Please act now, for the sake of Rubab, Mohsin, Zain, Farva, Massim, and Sima.

Sincerely,

To: Government of Canada

Whereas: it is accepted scientific knowledge that bottom trawling can cause significant damage to sensitive deep sea ecosystems; the vast majority of international waters do not fall under any fisheries management regime, and many that do are not effectively managed for biodiversity conservation; and scientists are only beginning to discover the great wealth of species, habitats and ecosystems that exist in the deep sea and how to ensure their continued existence and health; we, the undersigned, hereby declare our support for a temporary moratorium on bottom trawling in international waters until such time as effective conservation and management measures to protect biodiversity and ensure the sustainability of fisheries in these waters can be developed, implemented and enforced by the global community.

To sign this petition, click here.

To: pm@pm.gc.ca

Cc: Ambror@parl.gc.ca

Dear Prime Minister Stephen Harper,

Please reinstate and expand the Energuide program. Every car in Canada ought to have a fuel consumption gauge.

Sincerely,