Green Party of PEI

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DEMAND LAWN PESTICIDE BAN IN PEI

Media Release

Wednesday March 3, 2010

Lower electricity rates for high use customers a step backwards

Millvale – The Green Party of PEI is urging Environment Minister Richard Brown to bone up on the causes and effects of climate change and study progressive energy policies in other jurisdictions after Brown announced he is seeking to lower the cost of electricity for high-use Maritime Electric customers. 

“This is really just beyond belief,” said Green Party leader Sharon Labchuk.  “The life support systems of the planet are rapidly deteriorating, the future of life on Earth is in jeopardy and scientists are telling us only an immediate and radical reduction in climate change gases will avert catastrophe.  Government has an obligation to enact policies that cut climate change emissions, not increase them.”

Brown said the intent of cheaper electricity rates for high-use customers is to give farm businesses a break.  Included in the block of customers that would benefit from lower rates, according to Brown, are about 1,700 high-use residential customers. Statistically, high-use residential customers have higher than average incomes.

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Letter to the Editor

The Guardian (Prince Edward Island)

Tuesday December 22, 2009

Page A7

Editor:

Imagine Environment Minister Richard Brown sitting at his desk with two piles of paper in front of him. One pile is the Ontario legislation banning 85 pesticide active ingredients for use on lawns and gardens. The other pile is the New Brunswick legislation banning just one pesticide. What to do, he wonders.

By then, Minister Brown has already received a petition from 4,200 Islanders asking for a ban on cosmetic pesticides. And public hearings held by his government resulted in more than 150 presentations from individuals and organizations representing thousands of Islanders demanding a ban.

Well, we all know what Minister Brown decided to do. Instead of opting to copy Ontario's legislation or do even better, he completely betrayed Islanders. He copied New Brunswick's legislation. Why would he do this? Why would he not follow Ontario's example and protect children, pets, wildlife, groundwater and waterways from these dangerous poisons?
 

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Wednesday Augus 6, 2008

Published in the Eastern Graphic and the West Prince Graphic

THE VIEW FROM HERE...

by Jack MacAndrew

" We swam in it, we boated on it , we dug clams and we ate the clams. I wouldn't dare eat a clam out of it now . "....

Eleanor Cooke , talking about the Wheatley River.

Nor , Ms. Cooke , are you likely to find a living clam to steam.

One of the more surprising aspects of all the headlines about anoxic rivers, estuaries and bays recently appearing in the public prints , is that anyone should be at all surprised at what is happening .

On the other hand , not in the least surprising , is the extraordinarily lame response from the current Minister of the Environment , George Webster . As usual , Mr. Webster's Pavlovian response to queries about this smelly environmental mess , was to advise people not to blame farm runoff for the killing of the Island's waterways.

Sorry Georgie Boy - it just don't wash - so to speak.. As far back as a decade or more ago , and more recently in the current readings of Island groundwater , there is uncontrovertable truth to be faced. The fact is - when rivers , streams and brooks run through potato country , they end up loaded with nitrates: when they run through forested or fallow terrain , the readings are much lower , down where we should expect them to be . (more . . .)