Environment Minister in Aurora Ontario

Ontario Environment Minister Glen Murray takes questions in Aurora

When I first saw the Facebook posting that someone had some extra free tickets to a special theatre viewing of the documentary by Leonardo Dicaprio, Before The Flood, my first instinct was as a filmmaker, wondering how Dicaprio would be at making a documentary - being an award winning documentary Producer / Director myself. No Academy Awards winner perhaps, such as Leo has won, but nevertheless I was more curious about the crossover genre and how he'd be than the subject matter, truth be known. And he was okay as host, but it was the material covered that was the biggest shocker for me.

Not that I didn't know about "global warming" and "climate change", of course I did, but I never really gave it enough of a look and thought before in order to realize how critical the issue was. And a lot of that has to do with the past corporate push-back against the science I believe, which is now indisputable.

The film takes us on a journey across the earth into different regions - remote tar sands in Canada, sea side locations and the furthest reaches of the north pole where we are shown how much ice layer has melted now in just so many years, and learn that because the grey and dark ground underneath cannot reflect light back as it once did the area continues to warm.

It awakened me to the urgency of the need for the world to act, and that there are measurable ways to which the problem can be addressed, but it has to be now or so or else there is simply no way to stop it. It is that serious. I believe corporate crafted science bashing played some role in that for a spell, perhaps leaving enough of a seed of doubt to keep me from being concerned but those days are gone now.

We learn from the outset, that Dicaprio had been made a world ambassador to the U.N., and he gets an opportunity to address them, so his final scenes speech is shown after he's visited all these areas and zones across the world, while meeting with locals and scientists, to give us a full picture of what is happening globally due to greenhouse gases. We also learned about how the "false springs'. due to wild weather patterns. are affecting everything from flowers to crops, and how the U.S. only uses 5% of its farming land for food, while most is beef. And which cows emit Co2 through burping. Choosing anything other than beef to eat was one way to help reduce emissions we are told. Wow. who moo? Er,..I mean, who knew? Or that palm oil, because they clear millions of acres of trees and vegetation to grow it, is destroying our environment. Don't use palm oil.

Dicaprio points out that the Paris Accord is / was only a voluntary agreement in which the participating countries agreed to lower their carbon emissions levels. Still, there is room for optimism the movie points out, as even China has agreed to reductions for the first time, facing increasing pressure from citizens in regards to it. In China it is the one protest issue they unite around because it is severely affecting the health of many now as some areas are almost unlivable because of it.

While the glaciers and caps melt, and floods and extreme weather fluctuations increase, it is the small, poorer island nations that will first begin seeking other places to live, They showed sea-side communities that already are no longer livable.because of climate change and others wiped out by record droughts. But what happens when there is no where else to move? It is that critical.

There was one bright spot in the documentary which was one of the last guests he interviews and who himself is dying of cancer but optimistic man can reverse course before its too late.

" We're well on our way towards 4 degrees increase and most scientists agree that if we get beyond 4 degrees shift we may not be EVER able to reverse it. adding " But I believe we can do it and am going to spend the rest of my life working towards that end" Climate Change Scientist. - see film clip.

At the end, attendees got a chance to ask special guest speaker and Ontario Minister of the Environment, Glen Murray who dropped in at the behest of local M.P.P. and Ontario Minister of Housing, Chris Ballard, of which you can listen to some of Minister Murray's insights from the evening by clicking here.

I do buy that global warming is a very critical issue that needs acting upon now, however I don't necessarily buy all the terms we are fed like " sustainable development" that come straight from the United Nations' 2021 and 2030 plans, which even an attending person from the Oak Ridges Moraine fight group mentioned the fact we are not going to reach 2021 goals, but she was not referring to the 2021 U.N. plan but another Ontario pledged goal date - not knowing they are connected. That is what I find scary, is residents and politicians alike quoting sustainable this and that BUT NOT EVEN KNOWING ITS ORIGINS. Don't you think they should?know its origins?

In fact, I find most politicians don't either seem aware or are told not to connect the dots, but all of our smart growth plans, sustainable housing and transportation, intensification, development even refugee resettlement camps and how we'll share our food with and who gets subsidies are all in the 2030 UN plan - and we are on its timetable, And that is where they lose me, because although I certainly agree we need to act, we need to act in Canada's best interests as well, not just the UN's, and that should not mean restrictions to where we choose to live or what we want to drive (cars) or how - unless made affordable for EVERYONE driving now.

I believe the only way this plan to push people into specific intensified areas with little or possibly no access to some designated green areas is what is coming down the pipes using climate change as its vehicle to govern it into place. This is my concern. And as an example one of the plans the Ontario government has out now offers $14,000 back if you buy a $28,000 green car. Most people I know are struggling just to keep their existing cars on the road let alone afford a new green mobile and so what of them in these plans? Transit they quietly mutter. Well, no.

The slow push towards also restricting where we can go freely in the name of whats "best' for everyone, as well as the accompanying video surveillance everywhere we go, for everyone's "safety" are other Big Brother-like concerns I have in regards to their plans.

It's like the fake news does - mix some real facts with some not so true facts to get you to arrive at a conclusion or support a system. Fact is, the end result sought by the originators of the plan is a world governed from the U.N., and rolled out based on their timetables which do not match ours. As well once international laws begin to supersede our own through some of the multi-national companies we now allow - say a dispute about buying our water - and other international courts like Human Rights Tribunals, then these international courts could over rule our own domestic laws as being unlawful -  in our own country!

All I know is the U.N. for all its good, actually prefers dictatorship types of government or communism, like China has, because of the long term stability in executing a world plan - such as the new direction in policy we may begin to see now in the U.S. with Donald Trump now at the helm that could put a dent in their plan - which in turn affects ours - all because we're on others' planned timetables and NOT OUR OWN. Do we wait for the next U.S. election or direction now? No, we need our own realistic sustainable plan.

Tom Pearson with homeless YR Farmer Sam Orrico

Yes we need start changing our ways and yesterday otherwise we risk losing the entire earth! But all I'm saying is we need to take the information from sources like this excellently rolled out flick and heed its advise to get going on our own local timetables that fits each community's's needs schedule, otherwise our own locals suffer whilst we waste millions upon millions of dollars building and running empty buses before we need them whilst we have Canadian men living in the streets in winter - whilst we say we cant afford to house them. There ain't no immediate global warming plan for them in these UN made directives. The attending Minister of Housing Ballard should perhaps take notes on that and hatch a plan on their behalf.

Tom Pearson

Inn From The Cold passes dignity test

I stopped into a public building with restrooms recently on my travels and while there it sounded like a meeting or gathering was happening inside...but when a guy has to go he has to go. The distinct odour of alcohol could be smelled in the air (jeepers I'm sounding like a cop!) as the foursome chatted, quieting to respectful tones upon seeing me enter.

I used the stall even though I didn't have to go number two and almost immediately the chatter came back up a level, the one semi-level headed guy in the group shushing them, as I envisioned him motioning to his lips whilst nodding towards the stall I occupied. He stopped still another guy from lighting up a smoke inside the warm confines of the public bathroom. I'd ascertained by then the group was likely homeless, their clothes and disposition helping somewhat in that assumption.


As I walked outside, the four stood smoking, one in a cast, all ranging in ages from 20,s to fifty. They were a ragtag group that watched out for one another while staying at the Inn from the Cold where they emphasized the volunteers there are great. They didn't like staying there or having to, but that those that man the place, treated them with dignity and respect - not so at Porter House (York Region's only full time men's shelter) though they almost angrily declared in unison. And at least one had camped near it when refused a spot there.

They were less than thrilled with the treatment they receive at Porter and the 'clientele" described as often abusing drugs, stealing their stuff or trying to rob them...and so they formed a little clique while now staying over at the Inn From the Cold shelter and challenged the evening before when someone tried to make off with their back packs in the pouring rain whilst taking shelter from it at the bridge, one breaking his hand in the ensuing chase while retrieving his dropped bundle.

" If I was you guys, I'd come out here to smoke otherwise what they'll do is clamp down on you. If you always come outside they won't bother you" I offered as I walked up to them.

" It's warm in there. We just go in there to get warm during the day sometimes, "Jim", said, " we wouldn't light up in there" forgetting likely I was inside when they almost did.

"I hear ya", I replied, " But that's just it, some people will just smell the smoke, not know who it was, and they'll start closing it up or stop you from using it. This way they won't ever bother you."

And it went from there as I chatted with them for some time whilst my order of fish and chips at nearby malt & chips shop where I'd ordered for my mom, awaited me.


Within no time these guys trusted me and were sharing personal stories. One who's mother'd died, which he really hadn't dealt with - you could feel as he spoke about it -  and had come to Newmarket to be near his father, two others who'd been raised in children's aid and who'd been abused...another I suspected had more mental health than addictions issues and much older than the others. The four amigos watching out for themselves, because they have no homes. And when Inn From The Cold closes for the season they will again be out in the cold at night.

I mentioned a documentary crew was nearby doing a piece on addictions and that I myself had done a documentary style series on a homeless father and son in Newmarket that had a happy ending and had generated a story about them in the papers that saw many show they wanted to help. The 2011 article generated more reaction than any in history I was told and in fact they revisited the article again in a discussion piece written in August 2015.

The guys went on to also tell me how, for example one being from Brampton, how they felt the people were special here as well as the town'

" When I came here (Newmarket) people actually say hi to you as you're walking down the street. I thought that was just great. The people are great here."

The 36 year old had worked 10 years for one company and worked up to forklift supervisor before things fell apart. when his mom died he seems he never recovered. another gave me his now tattered business card, holding out hope of restarting again.

They were very interested in what I had to say and engaging me, seeming to sense that I believed in these guys without judging them.And these guys all had good hearts, make no mistake. Semi-drunk or not. sure, they'd fallen perhaps, and far even but they need help - and not just for alcohol but for the abuse they've suffered and the other to get through losing his mom, possibly alone through it all but before ANY of that, they need a home, otherwise this desperate cycle of shelter to street to shelter to streets will surely, slowly, be killing them.

The contractor walked with me to the fish and chips place offering up himself if I needed a story to focus on these issues or for the newspaper, but I always take these offers at face value and wait and see if in their totally sober moments they still feel the same, as it's not an easy thing to have your face put to a homeless problem and I like to make sure they know that. also the newspapers don't always have their best interests in mind but rather the story. They don't often care about them but they care about a story.

This 30ish man just wants help is my thought and has no idea where to get it. I hope he hasn't pinned his hopes on me and the one happy ending I'd shared with him.

They're men. People. Human beings. And I swear to you they are salvageable, good people. Just like you! Click here to see TP's docu-piece on a homeless father and son.

TP out

Tom's Green Show - Farming Vs Developing Part 1

PlaYR Video Fest a Winner for TPE Productions

Tom Pearson of TPE Productions, Best Documentary winner

At my age ( I'm now legal lol), and with my experience in film and tv production, one would perhaps think I'd be an old hat at entering film festivals however that would not be the case. In fact, my entry of A Thin Pink Line, into the PlaYR Festival, York Region's now 6 year running festival of film and videos, was actually my first foray going this route. I did also once enter an online video short contest, winning The Canadian Labour Congress's One Minute Short contest, voted across Canada online to win, but a festival is different. Winners are chosen by your professional peers and as such one respects the awards more.

Prior to attending film school, I'd already produced and hosted shows for Rogers TV and Shaw for about four years and as well had been producing and performing in both the live show, and taping for the tv series of The Canadian Improv Showcase while attending film school.

Co Host Joanne Vannacola banters

After Party revelers

Sarah Fisher with Video Editor Suleiman Rahal

After graduating with a 89% average and with my film chosen to be made into a movie, I worked as a P.A. on some T.V. productions and commercials, including "The Designer Challenge" on W.T.N. , before taking work for Galactic Productions, later Enriching Entertainment as an Associate Producer of feature films, a job that involved pitching the idea of becoming partners in a movie, to American businessmen over the phone. Our minimum investment was $25,000 and they'd ' we used the formula to finance a number of films including, The Retrievers, Miracle Dogs (Disney Channel, Animal Planet USA), Hansel & Gretel w Taylor Mumsen, Howie Mandel (Theatre release), Super Cross (Theatre) and others. This is how it's done in the real Hollywood, not by grants, and the atmosphere in the room could be electric at times. At others, not so much. During my four to five year period as an Associate Producer I raised about $1,000,000 in productions funds for them and still keep a copy of an $11,000 commission cheque I earned as some kind of trophy reminder.

Actor Emmanuel Kabongo takes the stage

The only problem was, the only creativity I got to do was a slight variance on the pitch delivery. Hardly the stuff I went to film school for, but great experience nevertheless, learning from a veteran of executive producing 20 films, and as a single dad, the closest I would find to a nine to five type job in the industry...L.A. time that is!

So all things being equal it took me awhile to enter a film of my own into a festival but it was worth it. My film A Thin Pink Line was a great snapshot of the times and is well laced with a great and fitting music score by now defunct Sean Stephens and The Chaos System and therefore deserved a shot in my eyes, and the risky subject matter exemplifies what filmmakers should be doing which is pushing the envelopes of reminder and truth out there.


Just prior to being announced as winner, the Host MC, Emmy Award winner, Joanne Vannicola, began mentioning of seeing my film for the first time, and that it was surreal to see her younger self onscreen, denouncing those protesting against the legalization of same sex marriage at Queen's Park. Her voice had sounded so familiar to me and now I knew why! She's in my film! Ha.


It is a credit to the Crew, Performers, Vendors and Editors involved in the production, that it was able to win the PlaYR Festival Award for best pro doc - a list too long to list here - but named in the credits roll in the film. 

The Dark Rainbow After-Party Glow! More After party photos at TPE Facebook.

Award winners party!

Thank-you all and look for my next film...inspired by The Red Balloon!....Stay tuned!

PLaYR Video Festival a short film stop for TPE Productions

Festival Debut May 13 2015 Rainbow Cinema

I'm always the procrastinator. The two entries TPE put forward to be in the York Region Film and Media Festival, now called the Playr Video Festival I believe, and which has movie house locations set up at various locales across Y.R. for the duration of the festival at which you can attend for free, are not my most recent! But they deserved a release despite their owners tardiness.

That's right...free! I was surprised when I heard that, but it makes good sense to try and get people in the seats for a newish festival still finding it's place, but this keeps the Y.R. version rather unique. It's not so rulesy as some and has enough categories to keep things interesting, from emerging to pro.

The first was a short drama called Shoots, Scores that has little to do with hockey, and more to do with youth and relationships and mental health with a fateful twist left to the imagination that acts as a turning point.

It was originally shot as part of The Quest for Youth organized yearly by the Y.R.D.S.B. and I'd been asked to write a piece for it which was themed " Mental health, coming out of the shadows", thus you see shadows imagery throughout.

Tom Pearson

Because it was originally shot to jump to live from live stage action to music to live art, I probably should have reworked the transitions or voice-overed a poem left out that was part of the original mix, but in the end it is what it is and stands alone as a short film. It still gives a message in its own unique way, leaving the ending and "interpretation' of what you see, up to the viewer.

TP asked everyday people their thoughts on the issue

 My Actors had no experience - some with special needs - and I had to act as Camera Operator, Lighting, Director and Actor during it as well as try and get an inexperienced but eager Editor to go faster... trying desperately to duplicate what i wanted with limied software..Even the music, if you want to call it that, I created on my keyboard at home. Ha..In the end it's a great job by the cast though, with my hope that in the end there could be seen no difference between kids. I think it works that way. At the end of the day its a short with some disturbing intimations that make the viewer think...and that's all I wanted to do with it with Jason Baulch and Mark Cardinelli's performances in particular an added bonus in my eyes. Creepy Guy played by Keith Campbell was also worth an honourable mention. Here's some Clips.

At Thin Pink Line

I decide to enter A Thin Pink Line because I was once hired to produce the world's first same sex wedding show, held in 1995 at Metro Toronto Convention Centre, when it was just becoming legal. Now in its 10th anniversary year of becoming legal in Canada coupled with the USA political landscape towards similar sentiment, I believe it very fitting, as A Thin Pink Line was a behind the scenes snapshot of that time period, including flying in couples from places where banned to marry legally. One contest winning couple came to marry here from Nebraska, where same sex marriage is still outlawed today. The couples appeared in the media and in tv shows drawing attention to the issue and TPE saw fit to capture it all and use a shadow documentary crew to follow me around.

As soon as I'd heard one well known tux and wedding apparel rental chain, bowed out because they'd heard of others getting death threats for  renting to a gay wedding, I knew this was worth documenting. At that point, whether I agreed with the marriage thing or not, it became personal. These people were corporate bullies and treating people with disrespect.

Even I myself had been on the fence admittedly at the time about the issue of same sex marriage or rather didn't really care until then, as were many. Hell our spokesperson and one of the performers for the event, Carole Pope, didn't believe in the institution of marriage! Even certain media channels were reluctant to take our wedding show ads or call back.

Carole Pope flanked by Canada's first legal gay couple

Protesters at Queens Park, to people on the street, were interviewed and asked their opinion and not all favourable, with some outlandish remarks uttered by some and captured by our crew, " These people have a sexual disorder", and on..So obviously at some point my Filmmaker mind kicked in and said - Hey I can produce this live show and capture the story too!"...And so that's what we did. This 10 minute short is but a miniscule portion of the feature length version which you can look forward to a a release from sometime in the future.

Are they the best I can do? Not yet but the best stories. And I've worked much bigger budgets for films like Hansel & Gretel with Taylor Mumsen or Miracle Dogs with Kate Jackson, Betty White etc. But it's not always about the Film Maker or even the Actors, it's the subject matter... and sometimes the subjects aren't pretty but that doesn't make the messages any less important.

Shoots scores teaches we've come a long ways in identifying mental health as a disease and recognizing the rights and treatment of  victims and sufferers and A Thin Pink Line reminds there was a fight for the rights for transgenders, gays and lesbians to marry, and so such films need be made. Lest we forget.