The office of the Prime Minister-designate confirmed in a Monday press release that Justin Trudeau will attend four international conferences in November and early December — in Turkey, the Philippines, Malta, and France.

He’ll begin with the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Antalya, Turkey (November 15, 16), followed by the APEC Economic Leaders’ meeting in Manila, Philippines (November 18, 19); the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta (November 27-29); and the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris (November 30 to December 11).

The press release didn’t clarify how long Trudeau will remain at the UN Climate Change Conference, where he’s expected to be joined by the majority of Canada’s premiers.

“Canada must be fully and firmly committed on the international stage, not only for our own success, but also for the success of others around the world,” Trudeau says in the release.

“Being engaged internationally is critical for creating economic growth, good-paying jobs for the middle class, and broad-based prosperity for all Canadians.”

The Huffington Post reported last week that Trudeau will ask the Governor General to deliver the speech from the throne shortly after he returns from the UN Climate Change Conference, opening up the new session of Parliament and outlining the new government’s priorities.

On Wednesday morning, Trudeau and his cabinet will be sworn in at Rideau Hall, the official residence of the Governor General.

Source:  https://ipolitics.ca/2015/11/02/trudeau-confirms-attendance-at-four-international-summits/

Canada’s Ecofiscal Commission Calls for Pilot Studies of Congestion Pricing in Canadian Cities to Help Deal With Traffic Problems

Source: Worsening Traffic Congestion Threatens Canada’s Economy and the Health of Canadians, Warns New Report, NorthumberlandView.ca

PRINCETON, N.J.–Despite advances in health care and quality of life, white middle-aged Americans have seen overall mortality rates increase over the past 15 years, representing an overlooked “epidemic” with deaths comparable to the number of Americans who have died of AIDS, according to new Princeton University research.

The results are published in a new paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences from Anne Case, the Alexander Stewart 1886 Professor of Economics and Public Affairs, and Angus Deaton, the 2015 Nobel laureate in economics and the Dwight D. Eisenhower Professor of International Affairs and professor of economics and international affairs.

With data from a variety of surveys and reports, the paper reports a sharp increase in the death rate for middle-aged whites after 1998, which the researchers tie to drugs and alcohol, suicide, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis. This turnaround in mortality reverses decades of progress, the researchers write, and the same pattern is not seen in other rich countries, nor is it seen among African Americans or Hispanics in the United States.

Although death rates related to drugs, alcohol and suicides have risen for middle-aged whites at all education levels, the largest increases are seen among those with the least education, the researchers found. For those with a high school degree or less, deaths caused by drug and alcohol poisoning rose fourfold; suicides rose by 81 percent; and deaths caused by liver disease and cirrhosis rose by 50 percent.All-cause mortality rose by 22 percent for this least-educated group. Those with some college education saw little change in overall death rates, and those with a bachelor’s degree or higher actually saw death rates decline.

Source: Quiet ‘epidemic’ has killed half a million middle-aged white Americans | Science Codex

The trophy hunters make the Orwellian argument that they must kill animals in order to save them, that they are sprinkling dollars on local economies with their “pay-to-slay” activities. But what is the value of living Cecils–whether they are lions, elephants, rhinos, leopards or any of the other animals sought by big-game hunters–as compared to the value of dead specimens? An American dentist paid $55,000 to shoot Cecil, but it’s estimated that a living Cecil would have generated nearly $1 million in tourism over his lifetime.

Wildlife-based eco-tourism, in fact, is a big industry in Africa and dwarfs trophy hunting in its economic impact. According to a report by the World Tourism Organization, wildlife-based eco-tourism generated an estimated $34.2 billion in tourist receipts in 2013. In Zimbabwe, tourism provides 6.4 percent of the Gross Domestic Product of the country.

Source: Eco-Tourism Worth More to African Economies than Trophy Hunting | Michael Markarian

Source: National Convention Begins! – Convention Bulletin