Peer-reviewed medical journal The Lancet has just published an article “conservatively” estimating that the death toll from Israel’s assault on Gaza could be 186,000 people or more. Photo by Humberto Patrick/Wikimedia Commons. A new study by the peer-reviewed medical journal The Lancet estimates that the current death toll from Israel’s
Continue readingAuthor: Owen Schalk
Canadian Dimension: Israel is stoking all-out war, and Canada is complicit
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Artillery Corps operating near the border with Lebanon. Photo by Sgt. Ori Shifrin/IDF Spokesperson’s Unit/Wikimedia Commons. Israel’s genocide in Gaza is catapulting the Middle East, and the broader world, toward further destabilization. Only a few months ago, open war between Israel and Iran seemed like a
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Poverty rising in Canada as Ottawa boosts military spending
Ottawa’s updated military policy allocates an additional $8.1 billion to military spending, with a promise to increase the defence budget from $30 billion to $50 billion by 2029. Photo by Sgt. Michael Wilson/US Army/Flickr. In April 2024, the Canadian government released its updated military policy, Our North, Strong and Free:
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: How will Canada deal with new Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum?
Claudia Sheinbaum will be Mexico’s first female president and the first president from Mexico’s Jewish community. Photo by EneasMx/Wikimedia Commons. On June 2, Mexico held elections for president and parliament. The results were a historic victory for the left-wing “Fourth Transformation,” launched by sitting President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO)
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Canada is still blocking aid to Afghanistan
A Taliban soldier in Kabul, August 21, 2022. Photo by Callum Darragh/Wikimedia Commons. It has been almost three years since the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan. Since then, the United States and its allies, including Canada, have attempted to diplomatically and economically isolate the new government at every turn—with disastrous
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Barrick Gold bristles at Mali’s new mining code
Recent reports indicate that the relationship between Mali’s military government and Canadian mining companies are growing more strained, particularly around the investments of mining giant Barrick Gold. Canada is a major player in the West African mining sector. In 2022, 98 Canadian mining companies operated across the entire continent of
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: In blow to Canadian mining companies, Ecuador rejects international arbitration
Members of Mujeres Amazónicas, an Indigenous environmental rights collective, march in Quito, Ecuador. Photo courtesy Mujeres Amazónicas/Instagram. On April 22, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa held a public referendum on 11 proposals, most of which concerned the country’s collapsing security situation. Since Ecuador turned away from socialist-oriented policies in 2017, it
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Keffiyeh bans and the fragility of apartheid supporters
Independent Ontario MPP Sarah Jama wearing a keffiyeh. Photo by Liam Casey/CP On April 25, independent Ontario MPP Sarah Jama wore a keffiyeh, a checkered scarf traditionally worn in parts of the Middle East, during question period in the Ontario legislature. Speaker Ted Arnott demanded that she leave. Jama refused,
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Rift between US and Niger reveals failure of ‘counterterrorism’ in West Africa
A formation of Nigerien soldiers from the 322nd Parachute Regiment march to a training site where they will learn combat and counterterrorism skills from US Army soldiers during Operation Flintlock, US Africa Command’s premier and largest annual special operations exercise. Photo courtesy US Navy/Wikimedia Commons. On March 16, the military
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: NDP motion on Palestine a step forward, but not nearly enough
NDP MP and Foreign Affairs Critic Heather McPherson rises to introduce a motion on the situation in the Middle East, Monday, March 18, 2024. Photo courtesy Heather McPherson/X. On March 18, the House of Commons passed an opposition day motion put forward by Heather McPherson, the NDP’s foreign affairs critic,
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Did Mulroney really ‘lead the fight’ against apartheid?
Prime Minister Brian Mulroney speaks after a visit to the United States, 1984. Photo from Wikimedia Commons. On February 29, former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney passed away at the age of 84. A champion of free trade and neoliberal economics, Mulroney’s premiership resulted in widespread deregulation, the privatization of more
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: AMLO’s push for environmental reforms angers Canadian mining sector
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador waving the flag of Mexico. Photo from Wikimedia Commons. In early February, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) proposed a package of 20 constitutional reforms. Though the entire package is unlikely to survive congressional pushback—AMLO’s MORENA party lacks a two-thirds supermajority—the proposed reforms
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: The NDP is incoherent on Gaza genocide
While criticizing the Trudeau government’s military exports to Israel, NDP leadership has largely adopted Israel’s framing of the war and condemned voices speaking out in support of Palestinians. This has occurred at both the federal and provincial level. Photo courtesy Jagmeet Singh/X. On February 10, The Maple published a story
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: How Canada benefits from instability in Ecuador
Military personnel stands guard at Canela Radio in Quito. Photo by Franklin Jacome/Agencia Press South. On January 7, infamous drug lord Adolfo Macías (Fito), leader of the Los Choneros cartel, escaped from prison in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Newly elected President Daniel Noboa declared a state of emergency, prompting a nationwide and
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Ottawa shrugs off ICJ genocide verdict while cutting funds to Palestinian refugees
Health center operated by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the southern Gaza Strip. UNRWA was established by the General Assembly in 1949 and mandated to provide assistance and protection to some 5.6 million registered Palestine refugees. Photo by United
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Events in Iraq and Niger put spotlight on Canadian troops abroad
Special Forces Operators from the Canadian Special Operations Regiment alongside soldiers from the Forces Armées Nigériennes in Niger, 2016. Photo courtesy Canadian Armed Forces/Facebook. In the latest episode of On Contact, Scott Taylor’s video series for Esprit de Corps military magazine, the journalist and former infantryman drew attention to two
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: While Canadian workers struggle, CEOs keep getting richer
While living conditions across Canada decay and the future looks increasingly grim for many, the richest CEOs in the country continue to fatten their pockets at the majority’s expense. Image from Shutterstock. A new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) has shined a light on the disturbing
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: As French embassy closes in Niger, West Africa charts a new course
French embassy in Niger. Relations between the two countries have broken down since a July coup d’état overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum. Photo courtesy France24. Over the past few years, numerous West African states have taken steps toward greater economic and security sovereignty, often in opposition to Western (specifically French) designs
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Refaat Alareer: Literature as resistance
“If I Must Die.” Illustration by @beqararkarke/X. In contexts of class struggle, national liberation, and the fight for self-determination, art is a cultural weapon. It is a tool for educating, for inspiring change. It gives voice to the injustices of the past and present and gestures toward a more just
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Canada votes against democracy, human rights at UN—promotes mercenaries, sanctions
United Nations General Assembly hall in New York City. Photo by Patrick Gruban/Wikimedia Commons. On November 7, the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) convened to vote on 12 draft resolutions, nine of which were presented by Cuba. The Third Committee deals with pressing social, humanitarian, and
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