The influence of the private sector paid off for business owners, as they received more pandemic relief money collectively than individuals did. Justin Trudeau’s federal government came out with a slew of programs to help those in Canada, but many of these predominantly favoured employers. According to a new CCPA
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Northern Currents –: How capitalism made the pandemic worse, every step of the way
The internal logic of capitalism has tainted our government’s response to the pandemic. Corporate profits were preserved, while the interests of the working class were disregarded. Pandemic austerity and vaccine nationalism were the primary themes of government responses, and have grave consequences for the working class and health of humanity.
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Kenney’s New Modus Operandi: Goodbye Peter Lougheed; Hello Donald Trump
There was a time when Jason Kenney pretended to be the modern-day manifestation of Peter Lougheed, notwithstanding his conviction that Lougheed’s programs were akin to “neo-Stalinist make-work projects.” He’s since dropped the charade. He no longer pretends to be anything other than what he is. A Trump admirer. Recently he’s
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – David Bush discusses how the latest wave of COVID-19 would have been entirely avoidable if we hadn’t allowed corporate interests to suppress vaccine availability and turn workplaces into super-spreaders, while Andreas Laupacis confirms that we had (and have) more than enough knowledge to
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Ominous Omicron variant, prime minister Justin Trudeau, and rival Brian Jean all throw sand in Jason Kenney’s gears
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney hardly seemed to know what to do yesterday. As a result, he did nothing. Mr. Kenney was scheduled to make a big announcement about health care – widely assumed based on hints dropped by the premier himself to be a relaxation of holiday restrictions just in
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 readingAccidental Deliberations: On priorities
While I’ve pointed out the absurdity of yet another round of anti-coalition scaremongering, it does seem clear that any discussion between the NDP and the Libs will instead involve a confidence and supply arrangement. And that may well be for the best, as it maximizes the policy outcomes the NDP
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Alberta signs on to federal child care deal its premier once mocked as ‘9-to-5, urban, government and union-run institutional daycare’
Premier Jason Kenney didn’t look all that cheerful at yesterday’s announcement Alberta had finally signed on to participate in the Trudeau Government’s national $10-a-day-child-care program. While the premier fidgeted in the background, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the other federal Liberal politicians at the morning news conference in Edmonton seemed
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Rest in Peace, ‘Grassroots Guarantee’ – Jason Kenney’s famous promise is gone with the wind
You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but, as Abraham Lincoln is reputed to have observed, you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. Back in the summer of 2017, when he stood up
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Mark Armstrong reports on the G20’s agreement on a painfully-unambitious vaccination target for poor countries which is still unlikely to be reached. And Tahir Amin draws a connection between the dystopia of Squid Game and the reality of vaccine exclusion. – Jennifer
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Halloween in Alberta
In its Halloween message the Kenney government said today is a day filled with costumes, pumpkin carving, scary movies, and tasty treats. They encouraged everyone to follow the advice of our health officials so we can all enjoy the spookiest time of the year. Sounds nice but the rest of
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Jason Kenney will try to spin his anti-equalization referendum vote as a huge victory – don’t believe him
Deeply unpopular with Alberta voters, distrusted by many in his own divided caucus, and with his United Conservative Party in financial disarray, Premier Jason Kenney will try to spin the 62-per-cent yes vote in his dishonestly worded, constitutionally meaningless, low-turnout, anti-equalization referendum as the hugest victory in the history of
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 readingThe Daveberta Podcast: Episode 79: Everything you wanted to know about Equalization * But were afraid to ask
University of Alberta political scientist Dr. Jared Wesley joins Dave Cournoyer on the Daveberta Podcast for a deep dive into Alberta’s October 18 Equalization Referendum, why it is being held, what Premier Jason Kenney hopes to accomplish (and why he’s been absent on the campaign trail), and what the ramifications
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The View From Olympus
As I tried to suggest in my post the other day, rich people really are different from us, and people like Justin Trudeau, part of that rarified group, have no desire to really disrupt their status quo. While it might seem reductionist, in my view that fact goes a
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: They Really Are Different From The Rest Of Us
H/t de Adder Canada Justin Trudeau has rightly earned severe criticism for his holiday in Tofino on National Truth and Reconciliation Day. However, in my view there is another very important story here as well, one that imparts a lesson we would all do well to bear in mind,
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 readingThe Daveberta Podcast: Episode 78: Orange and Red in a Sea of Blue
Brad Lafortune joins Dave Cournoyer on the Daveberta Podcast to discuss the federal election results in Alberta, including NDP candidate Blake Desjarlais‘ spectacular win over Kerry Diotte in Edmonton-Griesbach, and the ongoing troubles in the United Conservative Party and how many more days Jason Kenney might have as leader. We
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Katherine Wu, Ed Yong and Sarah Zhang set out six rules which will shape how we handle the next wave of COVID – including recognition that vaccination alone isn’t going to be sufficient to avoid a tragic human toll. – Yasmine Ghania reports
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