This week @ rabble.ca: A week of shockers in Canadian politics
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- Published on Friday, 21 March 2014 18:20
- Written by editor
s17 r18.
21 Mar 2014
Hey rabble readers!
It was a week of shockers in Canadian politics, from Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's resignation to Alberta Premier Alison Redford's announcement that she is stepping down. Read our take on what it all means for Canadian politics in our politics section.
In a dark time for politics, there was a bright light kindled this week with the launch of the Tommy Douglas Institute. In his column, co-founder Thomas Ponniah introduces the new institute and explains how it embodies Tommy Douglas's commitment to social justice.
Throughout this week we featured the special series #ItEndsHere: Confronting the Crisis of Colonial Gender Violence. Originally published by Indigenous Nationhood Movement, the collection of articles confronts the crisis of violence against Indigenous women and girls, to declare: #ItEndsHere. You can see... all of the pieces on rabble.ca here.
Dive into spring with a new selection from the babble book club! This month the book club is reading Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky, with a final discussion taking place March 28 at 2 p.m. EST. Join our online discussion in the babble book lounge here.
This weekend see two, yes two, rabble folks presenting at the Be Alternative: student and independent media conference at George Brown College. Editor-in-chief Meagan Perry and our labour beat reporter H.G. Watson will be joining other great presenters over the weekend. Come on out!
This week's top news
To help or to hinder? Sex work legislation and HIV prevention
The Canadian government has one year to draft new sex work legislation and must consider the risk of HIV infection in this decision. Which model for sex worker legislation is best for preventing HIV?
By Julia Smith
Nunavummiut speak out to feed their families
Is it really $28 for cabbage and $99 for a whole fish in Nunavut? Yes. About 70 per cent of households are food insecure in Nunavut and we need to speak out about how hunger affects these families.
By Feeding My Family
Veteran union negotiator makes bid for CLC presidency
Veteran Public Service Alliance of Canada negotiator Hassan Husseini revealed today that he will challenge Ken Georgetti for the president's position at the Canadian Labour Congress.
By H.G. Watson
Conference Board of Canada set to unveil Canadian Food Strategy
Food Secure Canada has been watching the Conference Board of Canada's progress on its "Canadian Food Strategy." This work has been under way since 2010 and is about to be unveiled at a third Summit.
By Kathleen Gibson
As peace talks flounder, Palestinians need more BDS, says Diana Buttu
Human rights laywer Diana Buttu discusses the future for Palestine and the need to move beyond negotiations with Israel and intensify the BDS movement and hold Israel accountable.
By Paul Weinberg
Harper government attacks non-profits to muzzle dissent
Canadian non-profits are really seeing love from the Harper government: increases in postage will damage their long-term financial viability and audits cost money and will distract from their mission.
By Meg Borthwick
This week's top blogs
Morgan Baskin's bid for Toronto Mayor a win for Canadian women and youth
Canada as a (supposed) representative democracy is undermined if women's and youth's needs and opinions -- and all marginalized groups more generally -- are ignored by politicians and policy-makers.
By Jessica Knowler
In prostitution, 'race, class and sex intersect in the worst of ways to subjugate Native women'
A short documentary which aired on CTV last month looks at Indigenous women and prostitution in Canada.
By Meghan Murphy
Enbridge smothers Kitimat in sleek ads leading up to local Northern Gateway Pipeline vote
While the Northern Gateway Pipeline project awaits federal approval, Enbridge is wasting no time swaying opinion at the local level.
By Emma Gilchrist
Faces of war and peace on Moscow streets
What do Russians feel about the invasion of Crimea? What impact does media control have on public opinion? Photojournalist Ilya Varlamov and I present the faces of war and peace on Moscow streets.
By Christopher Majka
Paris-Barcelona-Ukraine: No border is benign
Travelling across Europe towards Ukraine, a Canadian writer muses about migration, art and border crossings.
By Marusya Bociurkiw
Québec election, day 14: Why aren't the media paying attention to Québec Solidaire?
Recap three of the issues surrounding the Québec election.
By Nora Loreto
Ten arguments to derail the 'Fair' Elections train
Seventy per cent of Canadians have not even heard of the Fair Elections Act, and you can bet Conservatives want to keep it that way! Here are ten things you should know about the Fair Elections Act.
By Karl Nerenberg
This week's top columns
Does Ottawa believe the Salvadoran government is terrorist?
The cases of Oscar Vigil and Jose Figueroa reveal the ideological abuse of Canada's immigration system, where many who resisted tyranny in their homelands face "security inadmissibility" in Canada.
By Matthew Behrens
No justice, no transit: A missed opportunity to debate taxes in Ontario's election
Another golden moment is slipping away. I don't mean the Leafs (not only). I mean the Ontario election we might have had, the one about taxes, with a debate on what it means to be a society.
By Rick Salutin
The Tommy Douglas Institute: Igniting a commitment to social justice
In a time when the Harper government is cutting funding to Canada's health-care system -- and by extension transforming the national identity -- citizens need to be re-introduced to Tommy Douglas.
By Thomas Ponniah
Throwing the switch on scary myths and starting a tech revolution
When the power is cut to ill-informed notions about technology, we can introduce deeper, nuanced and more open attitudes to deliberation about how technology should be used, rejected or embraced.
By Wayne MacPhail
Crimea and the law of power
The crisis in Crimea is part of a larger story: the break-up of the Soviet Union, and the failure of the international community to come to terms with a post-Communist world.
By Duncan Cameron
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This week's top podcasts
Bringing red and green together: The Vancouver Ecosocialist Group
Roger Annis talks about a Vancouver group that is experimenting with new ways to bring together thought and action that are both pro-worker and pro-environment.
By Scott Neigh
Experts in constitutional democracy critique Fair Elections Act
On March 11, the National Post published a letter raising concerns with Bill C-23. It was signed by more than 150 experts in the field of constitutional democracy from universities across Canada.
By Redeye Collective
Scott Findlay on the importance of public science
Scott Findlay, co-founder of Evidence for Democracy, on public science and the importance of evidence-based decision-making.
By Erica Butler
Garment workers in struggle in Cambodia
An interview with Athit Kong from the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers Democratic Union about garment workers in Cambodia.
By Diana Beaumont and Piergiorgio Moro
This week's top rabbletv
Save our waterfront: Stop the expansion of Toronto Island Airport
An architect, a doctor, a teacher and mother, and a sailor tour Toronto Harbour and discuss the negative impacts the expansion of Billy Bishop airport would have on the environment.
By Elizabeth Littlejohn, Teresa Ascencao
This week's top books
'Clearing the Plains' confronts Canada's colonialism
Author James Daschuk discusses Canada's history of disease, deliberate starvation, ethnic cleansing, tar sands expansion, neglect of treaties and a legacy of colonialism of First Nations.
By Matthew Brett
In this issue
Upcoming events
VictoriaTake Back Our Coast Victoria
The Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline project would put B.C.'s coast, communities, and local economies at risk. The majority of British Columbians have said no -- now it’s time for Harper to listen.
By Take Back Our Coast
Ottawar12.
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