Why Is the West Spoiling for a Fight with Russia?
At a time where the commercial media, or much of it, serves to whip up hysteria over challenges from ISIS, the so called aggressive actions of Putin and other US/Nato…
Canada
Some notes on precarious work
Here’s a few more notes on a point that seems to be made with increasing frequency: working for a wage has always been precarious. The current focus on precarity as…
International Women’s Day 2015: Ontario’s bold anti-sexual violence plan
This powerful anti-sexual violence ad, released just in time for the 2015 International Woman’s Day, is part of Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s ambitious $41-million plan to combat sexual violence. The…
Being a Better Ally: #IWD
Click me; it’s good for you! International Women’s Day is a check-in point for me: I try to take stock of what has improved or worsened since last year. Doing…
On whistleblowers and whistleblowing…
Remember when the Harper government™ created the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act (PSDPA), the supposed whistleblower protection law? Of course, the Harper government™ is keen on whistleblowers and whistleblowing… Allan…
Why is the Globe and Mail the only Canadian news agency to implement SecureDrop?
Why is the Globe and Mail, as of March 4, 2015, the first—and the only—Canadian news agency to implement SecureDrop? One would think that more Canadian news agencies would have…
David Suzuki: Let’s not sacrifice freedom out of fear
Harper government can’t silence activists by labeling them “extremists”, creating police-state legislation such as Bill C-51, argues renowned scientist David Suzuki. The post David Suzuki: Let’s not sacrifice freedom out…
Podcast: First Nations and the political economy of land
https://politicalehconomy.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/podcast-150306-first-nations.mp3 This episode looks at the political economy of land in Canada and the Canadian state’s relationship with First Nations as mediated by land. I’m happy to bring together two…
Suzuki: Bill C-51 could treat fossil fuel critics like terrorists
84 year-old retried librarian Barbara Grant getting arrested at Burnaby Mountain (facebook) A scientist, or any knowledgeable person, will tell you climate change is a serious threat for Canada and…
Premier Wall Takes Potshot at First Nations Leaders’ Pay #skpoli
.@TDellerCBC I'd have to agree with the FSIN leader that @PremierBradWall took a pot shot at leaders' pay, rather than offering to help. — John Klein (@JohnKleinRegina) March 4, 2015…
Can’t Tolerate Bigotry…
Time to put the brakes on our slide to intolerance: Tim Harper A government which deals with only symptoms and refuses to look at root causes is part of the…
How Marx Presaged Today’s Canada
“The bourgeoisie has through its exploitation of the world market given a cosmopolitan character to production and consumption in every country,” wrote Karl Marx and Fredrich Engels, in 1848, in…
Republished: The Christians are coming!
Another old article, this one a review of Marci McDonald’s 2010 expose on the influence of the Christian Right in Canadian politics. Still relevant given that Harper has since gained…
More Debates, Not Fewer Debaters
The unethical fools at the Broadcast Consortium will probably gladly keep Elizabeth May away from the debates this year too. Especially amusing is the Conservative spokes-tool saying more participants would…
Canada’s Trans* Rights Bill Now Endorses Bans in Washroom and Gendered Spaces
Canada’s trans* human rights bill C-279 was amended by a Senate committee, in a way that makes it legal to ban trans* people from washrooms and gendered spaces appropriate to…
Canada’s Trans* Rights Bill Now Endorses Bans in Washroom and Gendered Spaces
Canada’s trans* human rights bill C-279 was amended by a Senate committee, in a way that makes it legal to ban trans* people from washrooms and gendered spaces appropriate to…
Stop Bill C-51 #StopHarper
Introduced into Parliament on Jan. 30, 2015, Bill C-51 is an omnibus bill that will undermine constitutionally protected rights and freedoms of Canadians in the guise of combating terrorism. Prime…
The Pony Express Government
CSE has undertaken a domestic spy operation that is illegal in Canada, because it’s spying on communication of Canadian citizens. CSE is supposed to only spy on foreigners, and the…
C-51 Being Pushed by “Fascist” language
A former Mountie and CSIS operative thinks Harper’s so called anti-terrorism bill is scary and unnecessary. Mr. Lavigne, 55, left government in 1999, but follows intelligence news closely. He spent…
Stagnant wages for over 80% of Canadian workers
Are wages in Canada stagnant or growing? The short answer is another question: do you live in an oil boom province? There’s a fairly common meme that while Canada, like…