Politicians of all stripes are wringing their hands these days, trying to find ways to cut budgets without hurting services.
A quick surf through government websites shows where this province can save hundreds of thousands of dollars: Cut off funding to environmental groups such as the David Suzuki’s Foundation (DSF) — and a raft of other organizations that are big on fancy names — but thin on details.
Oh, sure. I can hear the weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Trees will go unhugged. Unloved whales will wash up on our shores. Civilization as we know it will end.
Take a look at how deep the eco trough runs.
On the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation (FOGF) website, we learn that the David Suzuki Foundation received $120,000 in 2007 and $100,000 in 2009.
The Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation, a not-for-profit organization which has charitable status and was established by the provincial government in 2005 with $25 million of public dollars.
The 2007 grant is for the DSF to “complete an economic assessment of the non-market value of the Greenbelt’s natural capital or ‘ecological goods and services,’ providing an economic rationale for maintaining the Greenbelt in the Ontario landscape permanently.” Whatever that means.
As for the 2009 cheque: “DSF is reaching out to governments and industry leaders to foster political and private sector support for enhancing the value of ecological services in the Greenbelt and better protecting its natural resources,” according to the website.
The DSF also received between $100,000 and $250,000 from the government- affiliated Ontario Trillium Foundation in 2010.
Another Group, Environmental Defence, has received $1.6 million from FOGF.
In June, 2006, they received $600,000.
Environmental Defence is, “the coordinating organization for the Ontario Greenbelt Alliance, a coalition of groups who share a common vision for improving Ontarians’ quality of life and protecting valuable agricultural and environmental lands.”
In June, 2008, the group received another $750,000: “The project continues the work of the Ontario Greenbelt Alliance and Municipal Leaders for the Greenbelt to protect and strengthen the Greenbelt by garnering provincial and municipal support,” says the website.
All in all, a cozy you-scratch-mine and I’ll scratch your kind of set-up.
An organization gets $25 million of tax dollars — and then gets to dole out grants to a variety of agencies it deems worthy. Some of the agencies they support — such $250,000 for “Green-belting Toronto’s governments,” to the Toronto Environmental Allliance — aren’t even in the Greenbelt.
As for Suzuki, he raised eyebrows during the election when he endorsed Premier Dalton McGuinty in an ad extolling McGuinty’s 2003 pledge to close coal-fired plants.
The only coal plant closed so far is Lakeview — which was shut on orders from a Tory environment minister, MPP Elizabeth Witmer.
There are several reasons why these grants should stop. First, when
the government balks at paying for cancer drugs, hippy-dippy programs like these should be first to get the axe.
Second, when a government hands out money to a group, and the person who’s the face of that group turns around and endorses that government in an election, it leads to uncomfortable questions of conflict of interest.
(The DSF told Sun reporter Terry Dvidson in September that Suzuki stepped down from the foundation’s board “sometime in the summer months.”)
Still, better all round if the government just ends these grants right now.
source:
Blizzard: Cut funding to environmental groups | Toronto & GTA | News | Toronto Sun
Oh Christina, you're a naughty girl. :lol:
A quick surf through government websites shows where this province can save hundreds of thousands of dollars: Cut off funding to environmental groups such as the David Suzuki’s Foundation (DSF) — and a raft of other organizations that are big on fancy names — but thin on details.
Oh, sure. I can hear the weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Trees will go unhugged. Unloved whales will wash up on our shores. Civilization as we know it will end.
Take a look at how deep the eco trough runs.
On the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation (FOGF) website, we learn that the David Suzuki Foundation received $120,000 in 2007 and $100,000 in 2009.
The Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation, a not-for-profit organization which has charitable status and was established by the provincial government in 2005 with $25 million of public dollars.
The 2007 grant is for the DSF to “complete an economic assessment of the non-market value of the Greenbelt’s natural capital or ‘ecological goods and services,’ providing an economic rationale for maintaining the Greenbelt in the Ontario landscape permanently.” Whatever that means.
As for the 2009 cheque: “DSF is reaching out to governments and industry leaders to foster political and private sector support for enhancing the value of ecological services in the Greenbelt and better protecting its natural resources,” according to the website.
The DSF also received between $100,000 and $250,000 from the government- affiliated Ontario Trillium Foundation in 2010.
Another Group, Environmental Defence, has received $1.6 million from FOGF.
In June, 2006, they received $600,000.
Environmental Defence is, “the coordinating organization for the Ontario Greenbelt Alliance, a coalition of groups who share a common vision for improving Ontarians’ quality of life and protecting valuable agricultural and environmental lands.”
In June, 2008, the group received another $750,000: “The project continues the work of the Ontario Greenbelt Alliance and Municipal Leaders for the Greenbelt to protect and strengthen the Greenbelt by garnering provincial and municipal support,” says the website.
All in all, a cozy you-scratch-mine and I’ll scratch your kind of set-up.
An organization gets $25 million of tax dollars — and then gets to dole out grants to a variety of agencies it deems worthy. Some of the agencies they support — such $250,000 for “Green-belting Toronto’s governments,” to the Toronto Environmental Allliance — aren’t even in the Greenbelt.
As for Suzuki, he raised eyebrows during the election when he endorsed Premier Dalton McGuinty in an ad extolling McGuinty’s 2003 pledge to close coal-fired plants.
The only coal plant closed so far is Lakeview — which was shut on orders from a Tory environment minister, MPP Elizabeth Witmer.
There are several reasons why these grants should stop. First, when
the government balks at paying for cancer drugs, hippy-dippy programs like these should be first to get the axe.
Second, when a government hands out money to a group, and the person who’s the face of that group turns around and endorses that government in an election, it leads to uncomfortable questions of conflict of interest.
(The DSF told Sun reporter Terry Dvidson in September that Suzuki stepped down from the foundation’s board “sometime in the summer months.”)
Still, better all round if the government just ends these grants right now.
source:
Blizzard: Cut funding to environmental groups | Toronto & GTA | News | Toronto Sun
Oh Christina, you're a naughty girl. :lol:
