Regina city councillors proposed legislation to ban advertisements from oil and gas industry. The industry responded with an astroturfing campaign. Here we have yet another example of right-wing politicians supporting powerful oil and gas corporations. These corporations are so powerful that they can shape narratives and create false populist movements.
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Northern Currents –: Canada has started rationing PCR tests as Omicron surges
Montreal, parts of British Columbia, and Alberta have started to ration Covid-19 PCR tests as Omicron cases reach record numbers across Canada. Politicians didn’t want to make moves that they perceived as unpopular. Covid fatigue is setting in among the population; our leaders didn’t want to take the political risk
Continue readingNorthern Currents –: Edmonton City Council votes to Defund the Police
The Edmonton city council voted to cut the 2022 Edmonton Police Service (EPS) budget by $10.9 million last Wednesday. EPS will still be allocated $385 million next year. I guess more armoured vehicles are out of the question next year? Defunding the police is the correct path for Canada to take, and
Continue readingNorthern Currents –: MP Leah Gazan introduces UBI bill to House of Commons
While not a solution to all of the problems of Canadian political economy, a truly universal UBI program does have potential to increase the quality of life for many of the working class. On December 16, NDP MP Leah Gazan (Winnipeg Centre) introduced a bill to the house of commons
Continue readingNorthern Currents –: Omicron is here, and Canada needs to revamp its rapid testing strategy now
Thus far, it is fair to say that Canada’s strategy around rapid testing has been focused on preserving capitalist interests, while workers’ interests have been cast aside. While Canada is confronted with a looming Omicron wave, rapid tests could play a crucial role in public health, if Canadian governments would
Continue readingNorthern Currents : New Brunswick workers could have a 4-day workweek by 2028
Mackenzie Thomason, leader of the NBNDP, recently announced new policy goals that will improve the lives of working-class people. This is a dual-pronged approach; the goal is to provide a four day work week for workers, with little or no loss in pay.
Continue readingNorthern Currents : While the state arrests land defenders and the press, a new report highlights government apathy toward climate change
An all-to-familiar juxtaposition has arisen with the recent arrests of Indigenous land defenders and journalists by the RCMP. On the one hand, we have politicians like Justin Trudeau and John Horgan insisting on the importance of climate change and that we must act now. On the other, these same politicians
Continue readingNorthern Currents : Reconciliation is a sham to our political leaders
Our political leaders have a deficient understanding of reconciliation. What they want to reconcile are the contradictory interests between Capital and Indigenous self-determination. Ultimately, our political leaders, embodied by the Canadian state, side with Capital. There is a much more radical, transformative understanding of reconciliation available.
Continue readingNorthern Currents : Should Leftists and Progressives trust Pfizer and Big Pharma?
The Left has always had a strong tradition of emphasizing the importance of science and empirical understanding of the world. Remember that foundational socialists such as Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Karl Marx, and Friedrich Engels considered their approach to economics as “scientific socialism.” Marx himself admired the scientific advances made possible by
Continue readingNorthern Currents : Wake up Sheeple! How covid conspiracists miss the biggest ‘conspiracy’ of all.
What strikes me the most about the claims made by this coalition of covid-conspiracists, including anti-vaccine adherents, is just how close some of them are to understanding what is really going on. Some of them are actually on the brink of grasping broader left-wing ideas of class dynamics in society. Capitalism
Continue readingNorthern Currents : Chrétien comments show that being out of touch is a feature of the Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is out of touch with the needs of working-class and Indigenous people. More and more people are realizing this as time goes on. This is not new, either. Given the recent comments of former Prime Minister and minister the (previously named) Indian Affairs, Jean Chrétien, this out-of-touchness
Continue readingNorthern Currents : Will elections ever save us? No, but a strong Labour movement will.
Giving Labour more power within the capitalist system should be seen as a win for the Left, especially after decades of neo-liberal decay. If we are to progress as a society, building worker’s power within a strong intersectional, labour, and Indigenous coalition would be a great starting point. Change only
Continue readingNorthern Currents –: A battle of ideas surround Covid-19. Vaccine mandates offer hope for us all
Remember that the current vaccine passport system is an alternative to another lockdown situation. It is the opposite of a lockdown – lockdowns shut down society, the vaccine passport is an attempt to reopen society and get back to normal. The tiny minority of anti-vaxxers are the ones keeping this pandemic going;
Continue readingNorthern Currents –: Tearing down colonial statues is making history, not erasing it
While confederate statues get bashed down in the south, Canada’s own architects of genocide and apartheid have also come to a crumbling demise. Statues of John A MacDonald and Egerton Ryerson have been defaced and torn down across Canada. My opinion on this is very clear: this is a good
Continue readingNorthern Currents –: What if we all get Covid-19? Why vaccines are the cure to contagion
Historically, vaccines have arguably been one of the biggest success stories of the human race – and the story of Covid-19 will be no different. Despite this, there is a relatively small (yet loud) class of people who would like to see us reach herd immunity through “natural infection” which
Continue readingNorthern Currents –: The University of Toronto Mississauga is making students pay for services that are closed.
With the university caring more about its reputation and money rather than its students, we are writing this article as a demand for help from external media and external voices to showcase this issue with the hope that the university now has an actual reason to listen to their students.
Continue readingNorthern Currents –: Despite Their Roots, The Proud Boys Shouldn’t Be The Center of Canada’s Far-Right Terrorism Discussion
The Proud Boys themselves are not Canada’s largest far-right terror threat. Many progressive bloggers, writers, journalists, and anti-hate watchdogs have had mixed reactions to the wording of Monday’s House motion that included designating The Proud Boys — McInnes’ pet project — a terrorist organization in Canada. Some are calling for
Continue readingNorthern Currents –: Why the Liberal Party is Losing the Youth Vote
Many of us voted for Trudeau, giving him a majority government for four years. But since his 2015 legalization promise, Justin Trudeau has done little to help the generation that got him elected. He is losing the youth vote. The post Why the Liberal Party is Losing the Youth Vote
Continue readingNorthern Currents –: The truth about Reconciliation: it’s really not that complicated
Reconciliation with First Nations has been described as many things: complex, difficult, and multifaceted. I’ve even seen it described as a “shitshow.” But is this really the case? The post The truth about Reconciliation: it’s really not that complicated appeared first on Northern Currents –.
Continue readingNorthern Currents – : Public health over profit: Covid-19 is surging under Jason Kenny
Share this article: “The cure cannot be worse than the [virus] itself,” said Trump back in March. It seems that Alberta premier Jason Kenny and Health Minister Tyler Shandro have taken Trump’s words to heart. The dynamic between the two and Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s Chief Medical Health Officer, echoes the
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