USA Foundation paid Tides Canada $50,000 to realize a vision for Vancouver to be "the greenest city in the world." Where did the money go?

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Updated March 3, 2011

In 2010, the Bullitt Foundation, based in Seattle, paid Tides USA/Tides Canada $50,000 "for expenses associated with the establishment of a fund to enable Vancouver, BC to realize its vision of becoming the greenest city in the world."

The goal to make Vancouver the greenest city in the world is the vision of Mayor Gregor Robertson and Vision Vancouver.

On January 14, I sent an e-mail to Tides Canada to inquire about how the $50,000 from the Bullitt Foundation was spent.  Did it go to Vision Vancouver or to the Greenest City Team?  Three days later, on January 17, 2011,  Tides Canada issued a press release in which Tides Canada announced that it is "exploring with the Vancouver Foundation and the City of Vancouver the potential of establishing a fund to help Vancouver become the greenest city in the world by 2020." Tides Canada says that its participation in this project is made possible by a grant from the Bullitt Foundation. 

In 2010, the Bullitt Foundation paid Tides USA/Tides Canada $30,000 "To advance progressive environmental policies and achieve greater influence and effectiveness with citizens and decision makers in British Columbia." How were those funds used?

The  Bullitt Foundation also paid $30,000 to Tides USA for the Dogwood Initiative "To strengthen and enforce a 34-year moratorium on oil tanker traffic in the mid and north coast of British Columbia, and to prevent expansion of oil and gas infrastructure in Georgia Strait and the lower Fraser Basin." 

The Bullitt Foundation also paid $30,000 "To expand an outreach campaign to mobilize urban voters for a federal ban on coastal tankers." Shortly after I testified to a House of Commons Standing Committee, mentioning this grant, the Bullitt Foundation simply re-wrote the grant.

Comments

[Rob Chipman]

Hi Vivian:

I keep running across your trail. You're starting to stir up a bit of a hornet's nest! That's all good, and I like it. You've raised some good questions.

Anyway, off topic, why don't you change to Wordpress? If you're interested in doing it its easy. I just stuck a post up on my own blog at http://www.robchipman.net/2011/02/28/who-wants-their-own-piece-of-the-net/ that walks you through it. www.viviankrause.com is available, and so is fairquestions.net

[Vivian Krause]

Rob,

Thank you very much for your suggestions. I've been wanting to switch to Wordpress for ages but just haven't gotten around to it. I will check out the post at your blog.

Cheers,
Vivian