Northern Rock

After the PQ won their first election in Quebec, a cartoonist drew the winner, Rene Levesque, with the bubble above his head saying, "Ok everybody, just take a Valium."

At a time when we have a personal debt crisis, and at a time when we have to retrofit millions of homes for an era of renewable energy, the government has taken a major mortgage lender into public ownership.

Poorer citizens need access to affordable credit. All citizens need access to mortgages that promote sustainable housing and sustainable communities.

Does it occur to anyone else that, with Northern Rock, the government now has a powerful lever to promote local investment, energy efficient housing, ecological renovation, and ecological enterprise?