“This is not about the future, this is about today,” said Mami
Mizutori, the UN secretary general’s special representative on disaster
risk reduction. Part of the problem is that, apart from high-profile
events like the twin cyclones that hit Mozambique and the killer drought in India,
most of the “lower-impact events” causing death, displacement, and
suffering around the world generate few headlines—even though their
frequency is growing much faster than scientists predicted.
Tag Archives: canada
Canada pension fund quietly divests from US migrant detention firms
One of Canada’s biggest pension funds has quietly divested from two
private prison operators responsible for the detention of thousands of
migrants along the US-Mexico border.
private prison operators responsible for the detention of thousands of
migrants along the US-Mexico border.
Late last year, the Guardian reported
that the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) held nearly
US$8m in stock in Geo Group and CoreCivic, which between them hold the
lion’s share of contracts to manage Immigrations and Customs Enforcement
(Ice) detention facilities in the US.
The CPPIB, which manages C$392bn (US$299m) in pension funds on behalf
of 20 million Canadians, did not make a public statement when it
dropped the two companies from its list of foreign public equity holdings, but the change was spotted this week by the federal MP Charlie Angus, a member of the opposition New Democratic party.
On Friday, he called on the CPPIB to publicly acknowledge the divestment and take a position on ethical investing.
How changes to EI region boundaries could affect workers
In general, the idea is to make benefits more generous in parts of the
country where it’s harder to get work, though a quirk of the system is
that it’s based on residency, not where jobs are. Two people who get
laid off from the same company at the same time could have different
benefit entitlements because they live on opposite sides of an EI-region
boundary.
UN expert: Canada’s toxic waste policy shows disdain for Indigenous rights
Canada’s handling of toxic chemicals and industrial waste shows a
“blatant disregard for Indigenous rights”, a UN human rights expert has
said following an extensive fact-finding mission in the country.
“blatant disregard for Indigenous rights”, a UN human rights expert has
said following an extensive fact-finding mission in the country.
Baskut Tuncak, the special rapporteur on toxic chemicals, called on Canada
to improve its monitoring of hazardous materials in the country – and
to better engage with the Indigenous people who live near harmful
pollution.
Tuncak spent two weeks touring areas of concern across the country, including the county’s infamous tar sands and the Indigenous community of Grassy Narrows, which has fought for more than five decades to have toxic mercury removed from its waters. He released his preliminary findings on Thursday in Ottawa.
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