Terry Fox Drive Extension Upcoming Events

April 15: Educational meeting on recovery plans for species-at-risk. Organized by Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists. Meeting is at 7:30 pm at 106 Elgin St. Almonte

April 18: Walk on the Land Part III – Hike to locate and measure the 200 year old Maple that is threatened by the roadwork. Return via Shirley’s Pond which is the headwater for the stream being diverted for the road. Meet at RIM parking lot on Innovation Drive at 1pm.

April 24: 7th Annual Ottawa EcoFair and opportunity to raise awareness about TFD. Our participation in this will be determined at the April 21 meeting. The EcoFair runs 10am – 5pm at the RA Centre, 2451 Riverside Drive.

April 26, City of Ottawa Forest & Greenspace Advisory Committee Meeting – – Colonel By Room at City Hall, 110 Laurier Ouest – 6:30 pm
Steve Stoddard, senior project planner for TFD, discusses environmental implications and the City’s mitigation plan. (same presentation as April 8)

May 2: Walk on the Land Part IV – Hike along Watt’s Creek marshland to attempt to sight Blanding’s turtle and other natural features such as an ancient white pine in the Richardson Forest beside Kizell Drain. Meet at parking lot on Goulbourn Forced road at 1pm.

May 16: Walk on the Land Part V – Hike to Heron Pond which is the largest body of water in the South March Highlands. Hike will leave at 1pm from 2nd Line Road and Klondike (ample parking available along 2nd Line Road) in Morgan’s Grant after first distributing flyers to raise awareness about the increased traffic volume caused by the road expansion.

Please distribute this information widely to interested parties. Everyone is welcome to attend any or all of these events.

Anyone interested in joining on one of the walks should e-mail me ( paul@renaud.ca ) so that we know how many people to expect. All walks will take place rain or shine, so please dress accordingly and with proper footwear for hiking in the woods. I will circulate further logistical info to those participants that I receive email from.

Cheers, Paul Renaud

Do Shoppers Drug Mart and Rexall Own CTV

As far as I know they do not, but anyone who watches Ottawa CTV (CJOH) news might think otherwise as their news coverage of the attempt by the Ontario government to reduce generic drug costs and eliminate drug industry kickbacks to pharmacies could have been written by the pharmacy industry's PR departments.

Background: CBC News - Grits seek ban on generic drug fees

The Fifth Column Takes A Stand on the Terry Fox Drive Extension

The Fifth Column has had an opportunity to receive information from the Sierra Club on it's campaign against the Terry Fox Drive Extension through the South March Highlands and it has become clear that the City of Ottawa has been playing fast and loose with the environmental assessment process for the project in order to expedite it to gain federal economic stimulus funding.

Based on what we have learned the Fifth Column opposes the fast-tracking of this project and believes that all construction and other work that impacts the environment should be halted until a full and thorough environmental assessment has been completed.

While the Fifth Column still needs to do more studying of this project and the alternatives, based on what we know now, we certainly are leaning towards completely opposing the project.

The Fifth Column plans to post more on this in the near future.

Sudbury's Leo Gerard Speaks on West Virginia Coal Mining Disaster

West Virginia Coal Miners Murdered

Perhaps not in the legal sense, but this speaks of moral responsibility:

Massey Energy's sprawling Upper Big Branch mine has a history of violations involving the ventilation of combustible methane gas.

Last year, the mine faced 458 safety violation citations, and 50 of those were classified as "unwarrantable failures to comply," according to the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

At the time of Monday's explosion, the mine was facing more than $150,000 US in fines for pending safety violation charges.

In 2006, Massey Energy was fined $1.5 million for 25 violations that inspectors concluded contributed to the deaths of two miners who were trapped in a fire in another West Virginia mine owned by the company.

Click here for full CBC News report

Easter

It's All About The Pope

The American Dream and Lazy Poor People

As a Canadian I find it very difficult to understand the attitude of many Americans, and not just the extreme right, that the poor do not deserve health care and particularly that their hard earned tax dollars should not pay for it.

The only reason I can come up for this is that they really do believe in the America Dream - literally and completely. That dream being that if you work hard you can become rich. If you follow that reasoning to it's logical conclusion then, if you are not rich you did not work hard, and if you are poor it is because you are lazy.

While that may seem absurd, a lot of things Americans believe are pretty absurd by Canadian standards, as seen by the results of this public opinion poll.

How Stupid Can Someone Be

Finally someone stupider than Sarah Palin

Sudbury Steelworkers Stand Strong in Solidarity

88.7% Congratulations Brothers and Sisters.




Support Local 6500 Sudbury

Fifth Column in Limbo ?

I apologize for the Fifth Column going into apparent limbo. The Fifth Column hopes to be back to reasonably regular postings (at least a few times a week) soon.