Late last month there was a motion introduced by MP Yves-François Blanchet of the Bloc Quebecois advocating for theabolition of the monarchy. I have been somewhat busy thismonth due to municipal elections in New Brunswick and wasnot able to get to it right away. As it turns out the Parliamentof Canada
Continue readingTag: NDP
Accidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Melody Schreiber writes about the perfectly awful timing of Joe Biden’s wrong-headed declaration that the COVID-19 pandemic is “over” even as a particularly damaging wave was cresting. And Troy Farah reports on new research showing that the treatments which previously offered some means
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Xue Cao et al. find that infection with COVID-19 produces accelerated physical aging among its other alarming effects, while Jan Hennigs et al. discuss the development of respiratory muscle dysfunction as a product of long COVID. Which means – as noted by Moira Wyton
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On historical echoes
Ontario’s ongoing provincial election is presenting some interesting echoes from previous campaigns – particularly the 2015 federal election which similarly involved a seemingly vulnerable Conservative majority, an NDP official opposition and a Lib attempt to jump back into default-government status. At the outset, I’ll reiterate my longtime view that contrary
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Abdullah Shihipar discusses why there’s every reason to resist the pressure from self-serving politicians and business groups to succumb to COVID-19. Hannah Flynn discusses the long-term brain injuries traceable to long COVID in primates. And Steve Schering examines the hospitalization rates for children
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Jennifer Rigby and Julie Steenhuysen report on the latest COVID-19 wave and its direct connection to the elimination of public health protections. Eric Topol writes about the role additional boosters may play in somewhat mitigating the second Omicron wave, while Paulina Kaplonek et
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Laura Spinney offers a reminder that the few places which actually made an effort at a COVID Zero strategy have fared far better than those trying to get a rightly-concerned public to accept COVID Unlimited. Nature points out the folly of eliminating the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On barriers to cooperation
It’s for the best that the NDP and Libs have been able to come to terms on a supply and confidence agreement which should at least provide for substantial material gains for people who need them, and may go further in setting up core elements of a universal health care
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – David Wallace-Wells examines the massive global toll of excess deaths from COVID-19 (likely far exceeding even the already-alarming official counts). Nele Brusselaers et al. examine how Sweden’s choice to ignore science in favour of wishcasting and a strategy of deliberate infection resulted in
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Winnie Wan Yee Tso et al. study the severity of the Omicron BA.2 COVID variant, and find that its rate of deaths and severe outcomes is no less severe than previous variants in children from 0-11 in particular. Guy Quenneville reports on the connection between
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Majority government – who would have thought?
I was pleased indeed to read about the agreement between the Liberals and the NDP to create a stable government until 2025. This will be the first time in almost 40 years that we will have a federal government that represents a majority of the voters. One might almost think
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Dayne Patterson discusses the continued recognition among doctors that the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over (and indeed approaching another particularly dangerous phase). Sumathi Reddy reports on new research showing a starkly more severe risk of diabetes following infection. Nathaniel Dove reports on
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: A Great Day For Canada
About fricken time the Liberals and NDP came to an agreement to stop the never-ending short election cycle. This should have happened last year. Now let’s get some movement on electoral reform, the #ClimateCrisis, and reconciliation, among many other files the parties can agree on. The Greens are also likely
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Thomas Bollyky et al. examine the factors which have led to reducing the spread COVID-19 and resulting harm – with trust in fellow citizens and government ranking at the top of the list in improving vaccination rates and limiting transmission. And Wei-Bi Shen
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – John Paul Tasker reports on Dr. Theresa Tam’s warning that cases of the Omicron COVID variant are set to escalate rapidly. Blake Murdoch and Christopher McCabe discuss why waiting for full confirmation of Omicron’s dangers before responding will result in action being
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 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 readingAccidental Deliberations: This is why we can’t have even minimally acceptable things
Here we go again. And somehow, the latest round of hysteria includes the Cons learning nothing from the failure of their attacks on coalitions or other forms of inter-party cooperation in the past, while the defence of a principle which has always enjoyed strong public support is getting weaker with
Continue reading