by David Frisch | Apr 22, 2015 | Blog, News
Here’s something to wet your appetite for change. An article on the world cities, including Vancouver, making a far-sighted commitment to shift to renewable energy. *Original article at: http://www.vancouverobserver.com/news/council-votes-unanimously-support-shift-100-renewable-energy Left: Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson. Right: Frankfurt Mayor Peter Feldmann. Frankfurt is among the cities in the world that have established goals to shift away from fossil fuels by 2050. City Council made history by voting to support a shift to 100 per cent renewable energy sources, becoming the first city in Canada to take this step. In the motion, which passed unanimously, councillors directed staff to work on a package of policies that would effectively convert the entire city to run on clean and renewable energy. The motion aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the region and cut rising costs due to climate change in Metro Vancouver, now pegged at $9.5 billion. In his introduction, Mayor Gregor Robertson called climate change “the most daunting and important challenge of our time.” He called the consequences of not addressing it “catastrophic” and said we can no longer wait for federal governments to act. “Cities,” he said, “as the most direct level of government, need to take action.” Green Party Councillor Adrienne Carr spoke to the importance of the decision, her voice full of emotion. “In the three years that I’ve sat here, there’s no motion that more compellingly addresses the issues that are at my heart,” she said. Carr thanked Mayor Robertson for bringing the “very visionary” motion forward, saying, “it’s pivotal for my children, for our children.” Mayor Robertson stated, that Vancouver will be “sharing knowledge, best practices and technologies”...
by David Frisch | Apr 10, 2015 | Blog, News
I recently had the pleasure of attending and presenting at the Higher Ground Conference in Vancouver - Tools for Inspired Leaders by the Centre for Civic Governance. *Click on the image below to learn more about the...
by David Frisch | Mar 23, 2015 | Blog, News
By 11:41am on January 2, the first official working day of the year, Canada’s top 100 CEOs have already pocketed $47,358 — what it takes most Canadians an entire year, working full-time, to earn.* By the end of 2013, Canada’s top 100 CEOs had pocketed an average of $9.2 million. At this rate, Canada’s 100 highest paid CEOs make 195 times more than the average Canadian worker—and 237 times the average Canadian woman. Keep an eye on our pay clock to keep track of who’s making what, and find out more in our report, Glory Days: CEO pay in Canada soaring to pre-recession heights. The report includes a list of Canada’s 100 highest paid CEOs. *Based on 2013 CEO compensation data and the 2013 average Canadian wage. Amount displayed based on your current time zone. January 2, 2015 Interactive Tools Offices: National Office Issue: Employment and labour – Inequality and poverty – Women’s equality Projects: Growing Gap - See more at:...
by David Frisch | Feb 23, 2015 | Blog, News
Now that I’ve been acting as a Courtenay Councillor (hopefully with increasing competency!) for close to three months, people often ask me, “is the job what you expected?” I’ll tell you what I tell them all, “it’s better!” It appears to me that Courtenay has a council and staff that are capable of, and motivated to, make great changes for the long term benefit of the city. I am impressed with how council is making wise decisions based on facts and with a focus on the future. And it’s high time, too! We need to consider the needs of our retirees, but also of great importance, we need to consider the needs of our young people and future generations. This requires a more creative approach to resource management and infrastructure investments. It also means that we must start living like social justice, environmental sustainability, and financial responsibility are inextricably connected. This is the job that I was running for, and I’m happy to report that I am joined by others that are equally motivated. Thanks for your support, now let’s get to work. Here’s a video that speaks to my...
by David Frisch | Feb 6, 2015 | Blog, News
We were sitting on drywall buckets, back in 2006, eating our lunch in one of the dusty condominium units under construction. My tile-setting coworker and I covered a lot of territory on lunch break discussions; lots of shop talk, pastime stuff, money, and of course the politics of relationships; but on this day we asked, “Why doesn’t anyone talk about global warming?” Our vexation stemmed from just a few basic facts: Firstly, we learned about human caused global warming in grade 10 geography, so it seemed like nothing new (in fact, the idea has been around since the 1930’s and gained scientific attention in the 1970’s). Secondly, at that time, as we ate our lunch, an overwhelming majority of the world’s scientists agreed that global warming could be attributed to humans burning fossil fuels. And lastly, it was widely reported that the effects of global warming were, and would continue, causing considerable difficulties and costs to citizens everywhere. So, it really seemed obvious that actions should be taken. Through our discussions, what we came to believe was that we as a society seemed to be like frogs in boiling water (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_frog). Well, as the wiki suggests, I now believe we were wrong. Since my election in November I have witnessed how the actions of voters have created local governments around North America that are willing to take real steps to mitigate global warming aka climate change. And not only have we started dialogue about the cost of global warming and environmental degradation, but we have a mayor and council that is willing to examine the status quo. We have open...
