Trump & Trudeau choose military spending over the Great Lake

Trump & Trudeau choose military spending over the Great Lake

Postby Oscar » Sat Mar 04, 2017 9:19 am

Trump & Trudeau choose military spending over the Great Lakes

[ http://canadians.org/blog/trump-trudeau ... reat-lakes ]

March 4, 2017 - 6:00 am

(PHOTO: Bombs being loaded onto a CF-18.)

US President Donald Trump is reportedly planning to slash the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative -- that helps fund the cleaning up the Great Lakes -- by 97 per cent.

Global News reports, "The U.S. government is considering slashing funding for Great Lakes restoration by 97 per cent next year — from US$300 million to $10 million annually, a leaked document shows. 'The scale at which these cuts are being discussed would be devastating', Jordan Lubetkin, spokesperson for the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition told the Detroit Free Press. The proposed budget plan for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), obtained by the National Association of Clean Air Agencies, also reveals how the EPA’s total budget would be cut by a quarter."

The Great Lakes are the source of drinking water for about 40 million people.

In 2014, the Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel reported, "The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative was launched by President Barack Obama in 2009, his first year in office. Initially funded at $475 million, the program received $300 million the next two years and $285 million in 2013. The initiative has invested more than $1.3 billion in more than 1,700 projects to clean up toxic pollution, reduce runoff from cities and farms, restore habitat and fight invasive species such as Asian carp."

The Council of Canadians has called for a $500 million federal budget allocation in this country to implement a Great Lakes Action Plan that would establish a framework for local decision-making, clean up areas of concern, control invasive species, and create an inventory of pollutants.

In 2010, the Harper government allocated $8 million for the Great Lakes and in 2011 it announced an additional $5 million over a two-year period to improve nearshore water and address phosphorous pollution. Water campaigner Emma Lui has noted that the Trudeau government's Budget 2016 allocated just $3.1 million to improve nearshore water and to address phosphorous pollution in Lake Erie.

Meanwhile, Trump has announced that he wants to increase the current $600 billion US military budget by $54 billion. And last month, the Trump administration welcomed the Trudeau government's decision to replace Canada's fleet of CF-18 fighter aircraft. The Liberals claim not to know how much this will cost, but the estimated cost of a single CF-18 is about $75 million. The previous Conservative government had planned to spend about $45.8 billion to buy and maintain a new fleet of fighter jets and this could be in the range of what the Liberals intend to spend as well.

The Liberals have also now indicated they will spend up to $500 million to modernize the military's existing fleet of 77 CF-18 jet fighters.

Trump plans to submit his budget to Congress the week of March 13. Trudeau's finance minister Bill Morneau is expected to table his budget the week of March 20.

#WaterNotWar

Brent Patterson's blog
Political Director of the Council of Canadians
[ http://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]
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Re: Trump & Trudeau choose military spending over the Great

Postby Oscar » Sat Mar 04, 2017 9:20 am

Green Party of Canada calls for measures to prevent the influx of invasive carp in the St. Lawrence River

[ https://www.greenparty.ca/en/media-rele ... t-lawrence ]

March 03, 2017

Montreal - Following the Trump administration’s announcement to suspend a plan to prevent the introduction of silver carp in the Great Lakes, the Green Party of Canada is calling on the Trudeau administration to react.

“The silver carp is a real danger to the Great Lakes ecosystem. This species will be devastating for the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. This is an issue that must be taken very seriously by the United States, as it will directly affect Canadian waters. Once in our rivers, this invasive species will devastate the local ecosystem, and it’s very difficult to prevent its progression,” said Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada (MP, Saanich-Gulf Islands).

Jean Rousseau, GPC Critic in Agroforestry and Francophone Vice-President, said: “I am very concerned about the threat posed by silver carp for the survival of the St. Lawrence. It’s worth noting that on the same day that Donald Trump announced the suspension of the plan preventing the circulation of silver carp, another species of invasive carp – the grass carp – was identified in Contrecoeur.

“I'm worried about the dramatic consequences that the silver carp will have on the environment, commercial fishing and tourism. Tourism in general will suffer,” Mr. Rousseau said.

Daniel Green, GPC Deputy Leader, said: “I call the Trudeau administration to do everything it can to convince the United States to put in place a plan to prevent the arrival of silver carp in Canada. One possible solution would be the installation of electric fences in American tributaries in order to stop the progression of this fish in our Canadian waters.” -30-

Robin Marty, attaché de presse (Québec)
Parti Vert du Canada
514.652.3669
robin.marty@greenparty.ca
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Re: Trump & Trudeau choose military spending over the Great

Postby Oscar » Fri Jul 14, 2017 3:22 pm

House Appropriations Committee rejects Trump's plan to slash Great Lakes funding

[ https://canadians.org/blog/house-approp ... es-funding ]

July 14, 2017 - 11:06 am

While both Republican and Democrats in the U.S. Congress have pushed back against President Donald Trump's proposal to eliminate funding to clean up the Great Lakes, the Trudeau government has yet to seriously commit to protecting the Great Lakes.

The Toronto Star reports, "U.S. President Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans have rejected his proposal to eliminate all federal funding for cleaning up the Great Lakes. Trump’s request to slash the budget of the popular Great Lakes Restoration Initiative from $300 million (U.S.) to $0 had sparked an outcry from environmentalists and politicians on both sides of the border. ...Republicans and Democrats on the powerful Republican-led House Appropriations Committee decided this week to set the 2018 budget for the restoration initiative at the previous level of $300 million."

The article adds, "A series of congressional votes are required before the budget is finalized, but advocates say the initiative appears safe."

In 2014, the Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel reported, "The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative was launched by President Barack Obama in 2009, his first year in office. Initially funded at $475 million, the program received $300 million the next two years and $285 million in 2013." Today's news report adds, "The initiative has funded more than 3,000 projects at a cost of more than $2 billion to date. The projects are aimed at cleaning up polluted areas, dealing with invasive species, reducing runoff and restoring habitat."

The Council of Canadians has called for a $500 million federal budget allocation in this country to implement a Great Lakes Action Plan that would establish a framework for local decision-making, clean up areas of concern, control invasive species, and create an inventory of pollutants. That's about the same amount of money the Liberals have committed to spend to modernize the military's existing fleet of 77 CF-18 jet fighters. Water campaigner Emma Lui has noted that the Trudeau government's Budget 2016 allocated just $3.1 million to improve nearshore water and to address phosphorous pollution in Lake Erie.

The Great Lakes are the source of drinking water for about 40 million people.


Brent Patterson's blog
Political Director of the Council of Canadians
[ https://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]
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