Briarpatch articles from March 2000

Briarpatch archives from March 2000

Recycling works: how a prairie town defeated its garbage problem.
March 1, 2000... The community of Delisle's landfill was overflowing. Garbage in the old landfill in the Saskatchewan town was scattering far and wide. That was five years ago. "It was an absolute disgrace," says Mark Dubkowski, the town's administrator...

Dealing with pig-headed management.
March 1, 2000... In the late fall and early winter of 1998, workers employed at an intensive hog operation in the communities of Biggar and Perdue, Saskatchewan had reached the breaking point. The workers, all employees of the Saskatchewan Wheat...

Calgary Herald strike: workers are in a showdown with Conrad Black.
March 1, 2000... On November 8, 1999, 230 unionized Calgary Herald workers went on strike to support their first contract demands. The strike involves staff from the paper's newsroom and distribution centre who are represented by the Communications, Energy and...

Billion dollar question: who's pushing privatization?
March 1, 2000... A new report shines a spotlight on the corporate interests pushing to gain control of the public services Canadians rely on. Eager to reap huge profits from hospitals, schools, roads, water, libraries and other public services, these...

Price of tax cuts: why tax cuts only help the rich.
March 1, 2000... Tax expert Neil Brooks had little good to say about the recommendations of the Saskatchewan Personal Income Tax Review Committee during a January visit to the province, sponsored by a coalition of unions and community groups. "There is no...

NDP taxation policy.
March 1, 2000... Then... "Saskatchewan people know that the fundamental principle of fair taxation is that the tax system must be based on the taxpayers' relative ability to pay. In other words, the tax system must be progressive. A low-income family...

Youth resistance in Seattle: an interview with two young people from Saskatchewan.
March 1, 2000... As the tear gas and news coverage of the Battle in Seattle settles, it is important to look at the inner dynamic of what made Seattle such an important moment. The Battle in Seattle was like an onion with many layers of people's power, the...

Women act up!
March 1, 2000... So here we are in the year 2000. Exciting times - yes, but for whom? Corporate rule continues to flourish and the globalization of control by capital of everything from land to healthcare to life forms looms ominously. Governments, including...

Young activist speaks her mind: an interview with Robyn Ellis.
March 1, 2000... I met Robyn Ellis at a Council of Canadians educational in Regina, where citizens gathered to hear the stories of activists who had just returned from Seattle and the WTO protests. Robyn was exactly what I wished I had been at age 21 -...

Women act up! Lessons learned: the federal pay equity settlement is a victory for women everywhere.
March 1, 2000... The first wave of nearly 200,000 Canadians who were underpaid by their employer for more than a decade will receive cheques in the mail next month. The employees, mostly women working in six job classifications, lost an average of $2,000...

Bella Galhos: reflections on a grassroots activist from East Timor.
March 1, 2000... When I reached international activist and dissident Bella Galhos on her cell-phone, she was at UN quarters in Dili, the capital of East Timor. "There are a lot of activities going on here," she said above the din from on-going...

What's on the menu? Vandana Shiva speaks about biodiversity.
March 1, 2000... Vandana Shiva is a world-renowned environmental scientist and thinker. Winner of the 1993 Right Livelihood Award (often referred to as the Alternative Nobel Peace Prize), she is the director of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology...

To the teeth: Ani DiFranco.
March 1, 2000... To The Teeth a CD by Ani DiFranco Righteous Babe Records, 1999. Distributed in Canada by Festival Distribution, 1-800-633-8282. The 1990s have proven to be a truly revolutionary time in the music industry with independent labels gaining...

Women, taxes & budgets.
March 1, 2000... I have strong opinions about pretty much everything, but as this issue of Briarpatch has women and activism as its theme, I will restrict myself to talking about related issues. I want to talk about the Saskatchewan government's stated...