Dear editor,
While Mr. Fletcher’s opinion columns may be amusing to some they are a disservice to those seeking factual information.
His latest diatribe is aimed at the Leap Manifesto and, of course, the NDP. I would encourage folks to read leapmanifesto.org and decide for themselves. The website includes citations and references for the 15 demands. Here are a few:
1. The latest research shows we could get 100 per cent of our electricity from renewable resources within two decades; by 2050 we could have a 100 per cent clean economy. We demand that this shift begins now.
2. No NEW (emphasis mine) infrastructure projects that lock us into increased extraction decades into the future. The new iron law of energy development must be: if you wouldn’t want it in your backyard, then it doesn’t belong in anyone’s backyard.
10. We call for an end to all trade deals that interfere with our attempts to rebuild local economies, regulate corporations and stop damaging extractive projects.
Through investor state dispute systems contained in so called ‘trade agreements’ (FIPPA, CETA, TPP, NAFTA) corporations can and do sue governments that enact, for example, environmental protection legislation. Canadian mining company Cosigo Resources Ltd. along with U.S. company Tobie Mining and Energy has launched a $16.5 billion lawsuit against Columbia. Why? The mining companies’ executives claim that Colombia created a National Park on Amazon rainforest where the mining giant had a concession to mine for gold. Under the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, Tobie claims Colombia is liable for the company’s lost investment of $16.5 billion, or more than 22 per cent of Colombia’s national budget (see bit.ly/1pYL4DD) In light of the above I consider the Leap Manifesto a giant step forward and well worth exploring. Our future on this fragile planet depends on it.
Susanna Kaljur
Courtenay
