Column: From the Hill -- For a fairer, safer, healthier society
At this time of year, we mark two days to remember the contribution and sacrifice that workers make for our society--the National Day of Mourning on April 28th and International Workers Day on May 1st. On the National Day of Mourning we remember those people who died in the course of their work. People who went to work in ...
Op/Ed: Dealing with the absurdity of human existence in the face of converging catastrophes
Editor’s Note: This article is just over a year old, thus contains no mention of COVID-19; readers can add our awareness of the pandemic to the author’s commentary. ByLonnie Aarssen, Professor of Biology, Queen’s University, Ontario, via The...
Time to end profit-making in seniors’ care
By Andrew Longhurst and Kendra Strauss, from “Policy Notes” via the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives The coronavirus pandemic has shone a light on serious problems in Canada’s seniors’ care system, as nursing homes quickly became the epicenters of the outbreak. These problems are not only due to the greater vulnerability...
Op/Ed: The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, socioeconomic rights and the COVID-19 pandemic
By Marie-Hélène Dubé, via The Broadbent Institute As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many restrictions have been placed on fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In response, serious warnings have rightfully emerged regarding the necessity of safeguarding these freedoms...
Column: The coming struggle over 'normal'
The coming struggle over ‘Normal’: when pandemic lessons are erased, forgotten, or falsified – what is to be done? There’s something that I’m watching, means a lot to me. It’s coming for me darling, no matter where I go. Its duty is to harm me, my duty is to know. -- Leonard Cohen, Banjo Writing about it Are you tired...
Op/Ed: Conspiracy theorists are falsely claiming that the coronavirus pandemic is an elaborate hoax
In the midst of a global pandemic, conspiracy theorists have found yet another way to spread dangerous disinformation and misinformation about COVID-19, sowing seeds of doubts about its severity and denying the very existence of the pandemic. Since March 28, conspiracy theorists — “coronavirus deniers” —...
Column: What has happened during 50 years of Earth Day
Earth Day was born on April 22, 1970 — 50 years ago. Since then, the human population has more than doubled, from 3.7 billion to almost eight billion. Our drive toward endless population and economic growth has led to the destruction of massive swathes of pristine forest through clear-cutting, burning and flooding for...
Column: From the Hill -- About the bailout funds
On Friday, the federal government rolled out its long-awaited initiative to support the oil and gas sector., a sector hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and the world-wide lockdowns that have ensued. Oil prices, already low at $50 per barrel, plunged as demand dropped. Within weeks, a barrel of Western Canada Select was...
A letter from MLA Katrine Conroy
Hello friends and neighbours, These are unusual and uncertain times. Every one of us is experiencing a lot of upheaval, change, and stress. Our government is working hard to address the many challenges facing British Columbians, even as they change and develop by the day. I understand the deep impacts these changes can have-...
Food for thought: New Zealand’s all-party cooperation success story during COVID-19
Article contributed by Fair Vote Canada New Zealand adopted proportional representation in 1996, after 100 years of first-past-the-post. For most of those 100 years, New Zealand functioned as a two-party system, with the flaws of winner-take-all voting on full display:...