Canadians are serious about climate change : in the news this week

Details: Published on Wednesday, 05 June 2019 10:12; Written by editor

body.

While Jason Kenney’s “blue-ribbon panel” -- an “independent” panel of “experts” -- gets to work advising Alberta’s new UCP government on how to balance the province’s budget, Ontario premier Doug Ford is busy axing everything from social programs to legal aid services and public education to, ostensibly, deal with the province’s deficit.

But as Linda McQuaig points out, Ontario’s deficit is the result of too little revenue, not too much spending. In fact, Ontario already has the lowest program spending per capita of the provinces. The problem, she explains, are tax cuts and loopholes for high-earners, industry, and corporate interests.

Austerity isn’t the only thing Kenney and Ford’s governments have in common. Climate denial is another policy parallel. But on that front, they may be missing the significance of recent developments on the West Coast.

As Karl Nerenberg reports this week, in a wake-up call for Canada’s political class, Green candidate Paul Manly has won the federal byelection in Nanaimo-Ladysmith on Vancouver Island, a seat formerly held by the NDP's Sheila Malcolmson.

Many Canadians, it turns out, are serious about climate change and expect more from progressive politicians than the NDP may be poised to deliver.

One byelection doesn’t tell the full story. But as Canadian politics start to get serious ahead of this year’s federal election, we hope you’ll follow our election coverage for independent reporting and progressive perspectives.
Can you afford $1/month to support rabble? Click here! TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

New research shows that while the government records close to 1,000 work-related deaths across Canada annually, the actual number is approximately 10 to 13 times greater. Zaid Noorsumar, rabble’s labour beat reporter, reports that while many forms of cancers and diseases have a direct link to workplace environments, they only count towards work-related fatalities if they are compensable by the provincial or territorial compensation boards. In other labour news,

When it comes to the political turmoil in Venezuela, two things can be said for certain, according to Bill Blaikie. First, that the U.S.-orchestrated coup to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro hasn’t gone exactly according to plan. Second, that the Canadian government and mainstream media have adopted an “outrageously uncritical” perspective.

Read an excerpt from Derek Mascarenhas's new short story collection, Coconut Dreams. The collection follows the lives of the Pinto family as they immigrate from Goa, India, to Burlington, Canada, and tackle experiences of community and love, as well as racism and exclusion, as first-generation Canadians.

News from our In Cahoots partners:

A Canadian Green New Deal could put the concerns of labour and environmental groups together to work in a mutually reinforcing way, the United Steelworkers report.

Inter Pares asks what if, this year, we take Mother’s Day back to its roots: a celebration of women as changemakers and contributors to society.

Indigenous women have been working for almost half a century to eliminate the sex discrimination in the Indian Act. Lynn Gehl describes how loss of Indian status registration makes Indigenous women more vulnerable to poverty, homelessness and sexual violence. It’s time for the prime minister to do the right thing.

And more! Here are the top six (because we couldn't choose just 5) items of interest on rabble this week!

1. 'Outside In' -- Libby Davies reflects on her life of social justice and public service.

2. Quebec's Bill 21 is about fear of difference, not being secular.

3. Robots and new forms of employment.

4. When Pan American Silver bought the Escobal mine, it bought a legacy of violence.

5. Peace activist Murray Thomson's lasting legacy.

6. See our toolkit on the ride share drivers strike this week.

Please donate to support rabble. Click here. rabble.ca