Who knew sand could be so controversial? Sio Silica, a company that detractors derogatively refer to as “an Alberta Company”, has proposed a large project to extract high-grade silica sand in eastern Manitoba for the manufacturing of solar panels, among other potential uses. Alberta or not (we won’t get very far if our economy is…
One Million is a nice round number. It is the unofficial population benchmark of a Big City. It is also the number of trees that Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman once pledged to plant. But between destructive bugs, an underfunded tree program and infill development, it may take a million years to get there. How do…
Winnipeg has a rich history of illegal and offensive parking lots. There is, for example, the case of ‘Jelly Bean Park’ whereby a quaint little park on Portage Avenue was converted into a primitive gravel parking lot in a business deal involving convicted cocaine trafficker Ray Rybachuk prior to his mysterious death by snowmobile accident.…
It is a coincidence that the 2019 federal election coincided with the North American tour of pint sized climate trooper Greta Thunberg, but it is appropriate. Climate change has been on the radar of scientists for decades, but as the tipping point towards irreversible catastrophic climate change approaches, it still seems as though most politicians…
I applaud politicians who communicate with their constituents and explain their actions. Not all do. But Brian Pallister did and he should be recognized for it. His “LETTER TO ALL MANITOBANS” explained his sudden and puzzling abandonment of his carbon tax plan. Unfortunately, for me at least, it was a very unsatisfying explanation, and I…
It wasn’t that long ago that everybody was criticizing Rana Bokhari and the Manitoba Liberal Party for a lack of substance in their platform. Rana’s performance was called “underwhelming” and specific policy ideas had been slow in coming. ‘Just wait’ Rana said to the skeptics, ‘the policies are on their way’. Well, true to her word,…
If we’re doing these blog posts in order of importance, Prime Minister Harper would expect me to write about national security next. I will not. I will write about the environment next because to me it’s the next biggest issue facing this nation. I do believe that national security is important, but not necessarily for…
420 meters beneath the ground, microscopic particles of minerals hung in the damp air creating an eerie glow from the distant lights. Standing alone in the dark, damp granite tunnels of the Underground Research Lab near Lac Du Bonnet Manitoba, a person could easily imagine a dragon or balrog emerging from around the corner. The…
The concept of small-scale urban homesteading has come up before in Winnipeg, but like most ideas that depart ever so slightly from the status quo, people assumed that it would make their lives miserable, and it ended up going nowhere. Although it fell on deaf ears, advocates pointed out that other cities in North America…
For years Manitoba Hydro has been promoting energy efficiency through its Power Smart program. They paid for numerous TV ads, they had a trade-in program for LED Christmas lights, they sent me not one but TWO packages of CFL light bulbs, and if I stop procrastinating and finally get around to insulating my attic, they…
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