More Doctors and Nurses, Less Waiting
I went to the CCAC yesterday after my surgery on Tuesday – the Community Care Access Centre – an agency I only heard about when they had a local whistleblowing…
unions
Neoliberalism restructures work and pensions
On today’s show, two sociologists talk about aspects of neoliberal restructuring. First, Nicole Aschoff, sociologist, author of The New Prophets of Capital and until very recently managing editor of Jacobin…
Foundations for an Alberta Alternative Budget
An Alberta-based volunteer working group, of which I’m a part, recently released a document titled Foundations for an Alberta Alternative Budget (for media coverage, see this Metro article). Working group…
Repeating history—the new need for unionization
For all Donald Trump’s failings, and they are profound and many, he deserves credit for one thing. He acknowledged the anger and despair of those Americans in the Rust Belt…
Repeating history—the new need for unionization
For all Donald Trump’s failings, and they are profound and many, he deserves credit for one thing. He acknowledged the anger and despair of those Americans in the Rust Belt…
Requiem for the American Dream
This is Chomsky’s last long-form documentary. It came out in January, but I hadn’t heard about it until recently. I paraphrased/transcribed the 72 minute video liberally with links to further…
Requiem for the American Dream
This is Chomsky’s last long-form documentary. It came out in January, but I hadn’t heard about it until recently. I paraphrased the 72 minute video liberally with links to further…
No shortcuts: Jane McAlevey on organizing that can transform unions and society
Today’s epsiode was recorded live at an event with union organizer and author Jane McAlevey in Toronto last week to launch her new book, No Shortcuts: Organizing for Power in…
Ten things to know about the CPP debate
This fall, Canada’s Parliament will debate a proposal to expand the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). And over at the Behind the Numbers web site, I’m co-author of a blog post…
Never mind the evidence! Full speed ahead! An expert unpacks Alberta’s unending experiment in health care staffing
PHOTOS: Nursing professional responsibility advisor Joshua Bergman addresses UNA’s annual general meeting in Edmonton Wednesday (Dave Cournoyer photo). Below: Conservative premier Ralph Klein, whose government began the province’s long experiment…
VICTORY: Parliament Repeals Harper’s Anti-Union Bills C-377 And C-525
The Trudeau government’s promise to repeal former prime minister Stephen Harper’s vicious anti-union laws is fulfilled as Parliament votes to adopt Bill C-4. The bill repeals Bill C-377 and Bill…
Jokers to the Right
It’s time we learn more lessons from Archie Bunker. While the right wing continues to become increasingly clownish, we need to go back to Norman Lear’s classic 1970s sitcom, All…
Dear Canada Post, settle. Don’t be as stupid as I know you can be
Wherein I plead with Canada Post to do the sensible thing and settle. As if corporations are guided by rational thought.Read more
Working in the Homeless-Serving Sector
Over at the web site of the Calgary Homeless Foundation, I’ve reviewed an excellent new book written by Professor Jeannette Waegemakers Schiff. The book is written for people who do…
Podcast: Where is Quebec going after the strikes, where is Canada’s economy going after the oil crash?
I have two Canadian updates this week. The first is from Nora Loreto on what’s happening in Quebec after the fall’s anti-austerity strikes. Nora is a Quebec City-based journalist…
On Unions and Boycotts
The elementary schools in our board have decided to boycott the local paper because one columnist has been known to take a decidedly negative view of teachers. So a local…
Liberal government moves to repeal Harper’s anti-union bills C-377 and C-525
This week, the Trudeau government moved closer to fulfilling its promise to repeal Stephen Harper's vicious anti-union bills C-377 and C-525. They introduced introduced Bill C-4, An Act to amend…
Trudeau Government Blocks Harper’s Draconian Bill C-377
The Liberal government has announced what appears to be Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's first step towards repealing Harper's Bill C-377, a draconian law that sought to weaken Canada’s labour movement.…
Former Tory labour minister and deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk enters the farm safety fray with ‘Bill 6 Taskforce’
PHOTOS: Thomas Lukaszuk in the summer of 2014 when he was running for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta. Below: A group of farmers and their supporters…
Empty Conservative Rhetoric on Pipelines
Letter to the editor in today’s Regina Leader–Post (page A10): A Tory Stunt The Oct. 9 photo accompanying the story “Tory candidates laud pipeline industry” showed pipe produced at Evraz…