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This just in via CBC website:

P.E.I. liquor stores to move away from plastic

The P.E.I. Liquor Control Commission plans to end the use of disposable plastic bags at its stores this fall.

The change comes following a campaign by Cornwall town Coun. Marlene Hunt, who wanted Island liquor stores to follow the lead of Ontario and Nova Scotia in banning the bags.

“I just care about the environment and I like to do what I can do, and that’s the perfect area to start because the government has a monopoly in those stores,” Hunt told CBC News on Thursday.

Wayne MacDougall, head of the P.E.I. Liquor Control Comission, said he has heard similar concerns from a number of people, and plans to replace plastic bags with reusable ones by the fall. Paper bags will still be available.

The liquor commission is not the only retailer considering change.

Two Charlottetown Co-ops say the reusable bags they offer in their stores are becoming more popular, and that has them thinking about the way they pack groceries.

Disposables getting costly
Rhonda Victor, with the Co-op on Walker Drive, said her store dropped the price of reusable bags to 25 cents Wednesday and almost sold out. The store also offers a five-cent rebate every time they’re used.

“We are thrilled. At 25 cents, it’s such a great buy,” said Victor.

“Even if they’re not using them for groceries, you can use them for other things as well.”

The environment is not the only concern for the Co-ops. The price of the disposable bags is going up with the price of oil. In the last few weeks, Victor said, the price has increased from seven cents to 11 cents a bag.

With those costs increasing, the Co-op may soon stop giving out free disposable bags.

June 23, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MLA Cynthia Dunsford to Seek New Policy for Plastic Bags

Stratford, PE - Cynthia Dunsford, MLA for District 6, Stratford-Kinlock, today announced her intention to ask government to consider implementing a new policy regarding the use of plastic bags.

“This is fundamentally an environmental issue,” said Ms. Dunsford. “Every year, traditional plastic carry bags cause the deaths of thousands of marine creatures and birds. Equally as destructive is the fact that plastic bags are made from petroleum products, which harms the environment in both their manufacturing and their decomposition. Given the strides Prince Edward Island is making towards becoming more environmentally responsible, I believe this is an issue that warrants consideration by government.”

Ms. Dunsford has asked that the issue be placed on the agenda of an upcoming meeting of the Standing Committee on the Environment.

Canadians bring back home from shopping an average of 200 plastic bags annually, says the Canadian Plastics Industry Association. Globally, 500 billion plastic bags are used, but only a small fraction are recycled.

The Island Waste Management Corporation currently recycles plastic carry bags through its Waste Watch program, which is an effective method of diverting the bags from the regular waste stream. However, reducing the number of bags used would provide significant environmental benefits.

Several other jurisdictions in North America and Europe have imposed reduction strategies regarding the use of plastic bags.

“I have heard from many of my constituents who believe that this is an issue that should be looked at. In doing so, government and Islanders alike will strengthen their environmental commitment, which will in turn help to fight global warming. It’s small steps such as these that can bring about major benefits, both for our local communities and our world as a whole,” said Ms. Dunsford.

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Robert Ariail Editorial Cartoon

Check out The Festival of Small Halls. Word has it that the halls have been packed with people and the audiences love it! 5 days left!!

RELEASE
Line up announced for first ever CFCY Festival of Small Halls, June 14-22

(Charlottetown, PE) – The inaugural CFCY Festival of Small Halls, a celebration of exceptional music, art and dance across Prince Edward Island, will showcase a stellar line up of Atlantic Canadian performers with 14 shows over nine days in halls throughout the province, June 14 to 22.

Headlining performers include East Coast Music Award (ECMA) winning fiddler Richard Wood; the “man of a thousand songs” and multiple ECMA winner, singer-songwriter Ron Hynes; winner of the 2008 ECMA for CBC Galaxie Francophone Recording, Celtic-Acadian group Vishten; 2008 ECMA winner for Bluegrass Recording of the Year, traditional country-bluegrass quartet Saddle River String Band; 2008 ECMA winner for Instrumental Recording of the Year, Celtic instrumentalist Troy MacGillivray; traditional Acadian group Les Girls; lively young dance troupe Les Tapageuses and New Brunswick recipients of the Stompin’ Tom Award at the 2008 ECMAs, legendary fiddlers Ivan and Vivian Hicks.

Other performers include Andrea Beaton; Brandon Arsenault and Mitchell Richard; Cameron Francis; CapeLand Dancers; Chaisson Trio; Colette Cheverie; Cynthia MacLeod; Donna Chaisson; Dr. Ellen MacPhee; Elmer Deagle; Éloizes Dancers; Fiddlers Sons; Fiddling Landry’s; Fr. Éloi Arsenault; Geneviève and Mylène Ouellette; Janelle Arsenault Dancers; Jennifer Carson; JJ Chaisson; Geraldine Charters; Lester MacPherson; Lindsay Munro; Marcia Arsenault, Paul Arsenault and Diane Ouellette; Marie Livingstone; Nathalie Arsenault; Nathan Condon; Pascal Miousse; Patricia Murray; Rebecca Drummond; Sabra MacGillivray; Samantha Gallant; and Sylvia Campbell.

The festival will also showcase visual artists including inspirational painter Sandi Komst.

“The Festival of Small Halls aims to reunite musicians, artists and dancers with the places where they got their start - small halls across the Island,” said President of Music PEI and festival organizer Ray Brow. “Small halls are the focal point of communities. They breathe life into the community, and we are working to restore and upgrade them to enable them to reverberate with vibrancy once again.”

Halls include the Kings Playhouse (Georgetown), St. Mark’s Hall (Lot 7), Tracadie Community Centre (Tracadie Cross), Eastern Kings Recreation Centre (Munns Road), Crapaud Community Hall (Crapaud), Tignish Community Centre (Tignish), Murray Christian Centre (Kensington), Murray River Hall (Murray Hall), Stanley Bridge Hall (Stanley Bridge), Benevolent Irish Society (Charlottetown), Dundas Plowing Match Grounds Hall (Dundas) and Centre Expo (Abram-Village).

“Small halls are where you can really relate to an audience,” said PEI musician and member of the organizing team Ward MacDonald. “You feel like you are part of the audience; it is so cozy and intimate. There is nothing like it. It’s special for both the entertainer and the audience.”

Tickets for the CFCY Festival of Small Halls go on sale this Wednesday, May 28. Tickets for individual shows are available at the local halls and tickets for all shows may be purchased through the Jubilee Theatre box office in Summerside, by calling 1-800-708-6505 and online at www.smallhalls.com.

Tickets for all shows are $15 in advance and $17.50 at the door (including tax) with the exception of the Incredible Kids Brunch which is $12 (including tax) and the Summer Solstice Square Dance & Midnight Chowder which is $10 (including tax, tickets only available at the door).

The CFCY Festival of Small Halls would like to acknowledge the support of the Government of Prince Edward Island’s Department of Innovation and Advanced Learning.

For more information on the CFCY Festival of Small Halls and a complete schedule of events, visit: www.smallhalls.com

Of the many ventures, business, cultural, social and otherwise, that I have been involved with over the years, I have to say that my part in the Queen Street Commons stands out as being the most exciting, innovative and creative.

What is the Queen Street Commons?

The Queen Street Commons is a simple idea. Bring interesting people together to share space, services, and costs. The commons is set up with private work spaces, common rooms, meeting rooms, a kitchen, and an eating area. As a group we can do more and afford more.

Or, the Queen Street Commons, simply put, is a place to work, socialize, collaborate and create while sharing the costs associated to those ends.

My experience(s) as a member and co-founder of the Commons has been life-altering. (At the time of The Commons’ inception, I was working on various writing and production contracts, teaching theatre arts to children, coaching, taking Theatre PEI through a transition and, of course, writing and performing comedy. I did most of my work from a booth at Timothy’s Coffee Shop, at the time. The free wireless made it affordable for me and the space meant a place to meet with people who I needed to meet with. And the coffee…well…that kept me awake!)

Ironically it is at Timothy’s where the initial discussions with Rob Paterson and silverorange first took place. It wasn’t too long before we had a team working on the creation of the “Commons”.

We soon discovered that there were many others who would like a place to work and share services with others. With some elbow grease, a comprehensive proposal and a benevolent landlord…the Queen Street Commons was born.

It’s hard to measure, exactly, how the Commons has influenced its members, as it is difficult to measure how the Queen Street Commons has influenced other people in other cities and towns around the world…but to be sure, this concept has caught on. I know for sure how it has influenced my life and relationships and opened doors where I would never have imagined.

And speaking of imagining…

What if there were other “Commons” across PEI? Who could benefit and how would it change their lives and open up doors? Are there people in O’Leary or Hunter River working from their homes who would be interested in collaborating with others, or having their own space to work without the distractions of home? My guess is YES!

If 40+ people in the Charlottetown area using this kind of environment to grow their business(es), then maybe there are 5 in the Alberton area, or 10 in Souris. Here is the list of Access PEI Centres across PEI. What would it take to modify a small area in these locations to accept a ‘common space’?

I’m looking for input, so please send your thoughts to: cldunsford@gov.pe.ca

This Monday, May 29th, Islanders will elect their school board trustees. It still appears to be a challenging task to encouarge people to put their name forward to serve on one of the three boards on PEI. In the West only 1 of the 9 zones is offering an election, the others have won by acclamation. In the East 6 of the 11 zones are up for election, 5 have won by acclamation. The French district (6 zones) has 2 of the 9 by acclamation, 1 to be appointed by the Minister and the 6 to be determined by election.

Good luck to all the candidates, especially to David Mitchell, Emile Gallant and Phil Matusiewicz from Stratford. As well, it is great to see some familiar faces stepping forward for the first time, like Gord Noye, and Edna Reid.

Find out who is running in your school district or who has won by acclamation. The Elections PEI website has a great address search form which will tell you who is running and where to vote.

Don’t forget to vote!

Once again, yours truly will hit the beautiful Confederation Trail and ride from one end of PEI to the other to raise funds for The Townships Project, a micro-lending project in South Africa. I am asking for your donations. Here is a snippet from The Townships Project website:

A micro-loan is the first credit available to most of these clients in their lives. The principal amount of the loan disbursed to them is usually the largest sum of money any of them have ever received at one time. It permits them to finance a small dream for a business: a tuck shop, a hairdressing business, shoe repair, used clothing, fruit and veg selling etc. It permits them to feed their children, pay school fees, patch their roofs, fix their doors and buy decent clothing. Eventually, it may permit them to build additional rooms on their shacks or their two-room government-built homes and acquire decent furniture.

This grass-roots approach to solving poverty has an immediate impact on the self-esteem and sense of self worth of these individuals. They are building businesses that are needed by the people of their community, using their own ideas and resources. The loans they receive are calculated to be repayable, so that the burden of repayment does not overshadow the success a new business achieves.

A total of about 15,000 people were helped through about 3000 loans made from May 1999 until February 2008 through Eastern Cape MicroFinancing Enterprise and Tetla Financial Solutions. As a rule of thumb, each micro-loan assists 5 people.

Typically 80% of first-time borrowers will take out a second loan. However, we are in the process of dramatically expanding our outreach to first-time borrowers, so the percentage of first-timers is very high at the moment.

If you would like to donate to the Tip to Tip for Africa Bike Ride please contact me either at work or home, or simply mail a cheque to:

Cynthia Dunsford
29 Jenkins Ave.
Stratford, PEI
C1B 1A7

First Quebec, now Ontario… is PEI next for a province-wide ban on the use of cosmetic pesticides?

The report by the Standing Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Environment on cosmetic pesticides is now available online.

Another interesting tidbit of information points to major retailers (including Home Depot and Canadian Tire) voluntarily pulling pesticides off their shelves. Hats off to those businesses who are leading the way and making Canadian neighbourhoods healthier places.

I have received several emails and phone calls over the past couple of days with questions and concerns about how this might work on PEI. I have also been reminded that over 75% of Islanders (urban and rural) want a ban on cosmetic pesticide, but less than 20% of Islanders living in urban areas actually use pesticides for cosmetic use.

There appears to be great momentum on PEI to go to the next step(s) to make this happen, and as it stands right now, we are LEADERS in Canada.

I congratulate all those individuals and groups who have worked so hard over so many years on working toward banning cosmetic pesticides on PEI.

Here are just a few helpful links for pesticide-free lawn care:

City of Toronto

Natural Life Magazine

Pesticide Free Yards

Pesticide Free Ontario

CBC Marketplace

by Senator Gaylord Nelson, Founder of Earth Day

What was the purpose of Earth Day? How did it start? These are the questions I am most frequently asked.

Actually, the idea for Earth Day evolved over a period of seven years starting in 1962. For several years, it had been troubling me that the state of our environment was simply a non-issue in the politics of the country. Finally, in November 1962, an idea occurred to me that was, I thought, a virtual cinch to put the environment into the political “limelight” once and for all. The idea was to persuade President Kennedy to give visibility to this issue by going on a national conservation tour. I flew to Washington to discuss the proposal with Attorney General Robert Kennedy, who liked the idea. So did the President. The President began his five-day, eleven-state conservation tour in September 1963. For many reasons the tour did not succeed in putting the issue onto the national political agenda. However, it was the germ of the idea that ultimately flowered into Earth Day.

I continued to speak on environmental issues to a variety of audiences in some twenty-five states. All across the country, evidence of environmental degradation was appearing everywhere, and everyone noticed except the political establishment. The environmental issue simply was not to be found on the nation’s political agenda. The people were concerned, but the politicians were not.

After President Kennedy’s tour, I still hoped for some idea that would thrust the environment into the political mainstream. Six years would pass before the idea that became Earth Day occurred to me while on a conservation speaking tour out West in the summer of 1969. At the time, anti-Vietnam War demonstrations, called “teach-ins,” had spread to college campuses all across the nation. Suddenly, the idea occurred to me - why not organize a huge grassroots protest over what was happening to our environment?

I was satisfied that if we could tap into the environmental concerns of the general public and infuse the student anti-war energy into the environmental cause, we could generate a demonstration that would force this issue onto the political agenda. It was a big gamble, but worth a try.

At a conference in Seattle in September 1969, I announced that in the spring of 1970 there would be a nationwide grassroots demonstration on behalf of the environment and invited everyone to participate. The wire services carried the story from coast to coast. The response was electric. It took off like gangbusters. Telegrams, letters, and telephone inquiries poured in from all across the country. The American people finally had a forum to express its concern about what was happening to the land, rivers, lakes, and air - and they did so with spectacular exuberance. For the next four months, two members of my Senate staff, Linda Billings and John Heritage, managed Earth Day affairs out of my Senate office.

Five months before Earth Day, on Sunday, November 30, 1969, The New York Times carried a lengthy article by Gladwin Hill reporting on the astonishing proliferation of environmental events:

“Rising concern about the environmental crisis is sweeping the nation’s campuses with an intensity that may be on its way to eclipsing student discontent over the war in Vietnam…a national day of observance of environmental problems…is being planned for next spring…when a nationwide environmental ‘teach-in’…coordinated from the office of Senator Gaylord Nelson is planned….”

It was obvious that we were headed for a spectacular success on Earth Day. It was also obvious that grassroots activities had ballooned beyond the capacity of my U.S. Senate office staff to keep up with the telephone calls, paper work, inquiries, etc. In mid-January, three months before Earth Day, John Gardner, Founder of Common Cause, provided temporary space for a Washington, D.C. headquarters. I staffed the office with college students and selected Denis Hayes as coordinator of activities.

Earth Day worked because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots level. We had neither the time nor resources to organize 20 million demonstrators and the thousands of schools and local communities that participated. That was the remarkable thing about Earth Day. It organized itself.