This week @ rabble.ca: Wynne's in, Hudak's out -- what's next for progressives in Ontario?

Details: Published on Tuesday, 17 June 2014 16:40; Written by editor

13 Jun 2014

Hey rabble readers!

What an election night! The Ontario election saw voters re-elect Kathleen Wynne's Liberal Party with a majority government and reject the possibility of a hard-right Conservative government. But what do the results mean for progressives in Ontario and across the country? Read our election wrap-up, and get all the reaction and analysis on our Ontario elections page!

On May 10, 2014, a group of people in Quebec began a 34-day, 700-kilometre walk across the province to voice opposition to the tar sands. Read about the Peoples for Mother Earth march and follow their journey in their rabble.ca blog here.

Our new Indie Inside this month features musicians Betty Malaise and the Mushroom-Souper! For a chance to win a prize from the band, watch their video and tweet the link @rabbleca with "#indieinside" or answer the following question: What is the character in the third pane holding throughout the video? Email answers to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Join rabble.ca this Saturday as we launch our book, Best of rabble.ca 2014 Edition: The Year of Living Consciously, and launch our supporter drive in Vancouver! The venue is accessible and child-friendly. Find out more here.

rabble.ca is a proud sponsor of Resisting a System in Crisis: Marxism 2014, happening this weekend in Toronto! Register now!

This week's top news

Liberals stop Hudak, win majority government
The Ontario election on Thursday saw voters re-elect Kathleen Wynne's Liberal Party, with a majority government, and reject the possibility of a hard-right Conservative government.
By Mick Sweetman

This Sunday: Mass protest in Ottawa against immigration detention. Here's why.
A new report released this week showed that Canada's detention system is more broken than ever. Release is entirely dependent on arbitrary review and there's no presumptive period. What's going on?
By Mac Scott

Expired food at high prices? Nunavut protesters want you to help say 'no more'
How much would you pay for expired food? Some Northern stores sell it at high prices. Feeding My Family has organized a protest, and asks that you send a letter to your MP.
By Feeding My Family

Provincial candidates commit to environmental assessment on Line 9
A coalition of grassroots groups have received confirmation from 67 provincial candidates in Ontario that, if elected, they would conduct an environmental assessment on the Line 9 pipeline.
By Lana Goldberg

UP! Labour power among the rank and file
For the first time in CLC history an incumbent presidential candidate was defeated. The house of labour has its first new president in 15 years, but what does that really mean for the labour movement?
By David Bush

Vengeance is mine: The Conservative sabotaging of Ontario
A pattern has emerged over the past 30 years in Ontario conservative politics. The pattern? A systematic sabotaging of Ontario.
By Heather Morgan

This week's top blogs

Changes to health care for refugees has denied care and threatened lives
Please join us and our allies on June 16 in cities across Canada to oppose harmful and life-threatening health-care cuts to one of our most vulnerable populations.
By Adrienne Silnicki

Why I voted against approving Trinity Western's proposed law school
In April, B.C.'s Law Society approved the accreditation of TWU's law school, which discriminates against LGBTQ students. This week, over 3,000 Law Society members voted to reverse that decision.
By Jonathan Chapnick

B.C. teacher demands government invest in public education. Now.
Nassim Elbardouh is a B.C. teacher. He believes in public education and believes his students are worth striking for in order to get the resources they need to get a good education.
By Nassim Elbardouh

How to make USask 'The People's University' once again
The recent firing of the President of the University of Saskatchewan accompanied by the resignation of its Provost is unprecedented but may represent larger problems with Canadian universities.
By Alexander Ervin, Howard Woodhouse

How unions can support pro-animal members, animals and interspecies solidarity
Union leaders and activists are trying to engage and diversify membership and support their members. However, shouldn't this also extend to pro-animal members and animal rights?
By Kendra Coulter

Bill C-36, the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act: An overview
Concerned about the five primary provisions of anti-prostitution Bill C-36? Here's an overview of the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act.
By Mercedes Allen

Aboriginal horror film depicts brutal legacies of Canadian colonialism
Jeff Barnaby's Rhymes for Young Ghouls offers a glimpse into social dysfunction that is directly linked to the way in which every aspect of life on reserve is in some way governed by the Indian Act.
By Âpihtawikosisân

This week's top columns

A number is never just a number: Voter turnout -- how low can we go?
At 52.1 per cent, the percentage of voters who cast a ballot in the 2014 Ontario election is up from the province's 2011 historic low of 48 per cent. How does it fit into voter turnout across Canada?
By Hennessy's Index

War, peace and heroism: Canada's lost military tradition on the anniversary of D-Day
The leaders who gathered in Normandy a week ago for D-Day's 70th anniversary missed the point. Military heroism is rarely as straightforward as on D-Day.
By Rick Salutin

The anti-union commitments behind Tim Hudak's job claims
Tim Hudak's folksy persona has tended to obscure two key things -- he remains committed to anti-union legislation borrowed from Arkansas and he is capable of a cynical dishonesty that is breathtaking.
By Linda McQuaig

Magazines, bound for digital
What's the future of magazines in a digital age? One thing is clear: the magazines that really want to survive understand they're in a business that puts out a magazine and a lot more.
By Wayne MacPhail

Design for Democracy: Hope begins at the ballot box
Hope is resilient; power gained by disinformation is brittle and punitive. What Tim Hudak offers is not hope for a healthier democracy or more jobs. We can do better.
By Elizabeth Littlejohn

Fighting the right-wing plague that struck Europe
In its current version the European extreme right represents the Europe of peoples, not the Europe of democracies. The threat it poses is serious because European democracy is weak and getting weaker.
By Duncan Cameron

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This week's top podcasts

Dismantling rail in Canada: N.B. gets a 15-year reprieve
Tim Hayman gives a great overview of recent Canadian rail history and shares his thoughts on the management and future of rail lines in Canada.
By Erica Butler

Radical arts, radical memory
Stefan Christoff talks about the work with multiple cultural and artistic forms by the Howl! Arts Collective in Montreal as part of broader movements for radical social change.
By Scott Neigh

The myth of Africa rising
The idea of "Africa rising" may be popular, but is it true? Political economist Patrick Bond pulls apart the "Africa rising" narrative.
By Heather Yundt

Tories' prostitution bill angers sex workers and their allies
John Bonnar spoke with Jean McDonald, Executive Director, Maggie's: The Toronto Sex Workers' Action Project about Bill C-36.
By John Bonnar

This week's top rabbletv

Outside the Sinclair Inquest: Discussing systemic discrimination and the death of Brian Sinclair
In February, Aboriginal Legal Services of Toronto left the Sinclair Inquest, saying the inquest was not addressing issues of systemic discrimination in the death of Brian Sinclair.
By rabble staff

This week's top books

'El Niño' draws attention to the issues of migrant labour
The U.S.-Mexico border. Myriad forms of suffering. Relationships between migrant workers and privileged people. 'El Niño' is a book that fits into the narrative of labour and migrant workers.
By Christina Turner