Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Alexandre Tanzi highlights how the 1% in the U.S. made out like bandits even as the country suffered through a pandemic year in 2020. And Karim Bardessy reminds us that there's plenty we can do to remedy the problem.

- Bruce Arthur writes that the third wave of COVID has arrived - and that there's precious little indication that we've learned from the previous two, raising a strong likelihood that this will be the worst yet. Andrew Nikiforuk weighs in on the Auditor General's findings as to how Canada has failed on a national level in its response to COVID-19, while the Canadian Press reports on Theresa Tam's urgent call for far stronger public health measures as variants increase the danger we face. Diana Zlomisic reports that even after an investigation has been conducted into last year's devastating death toll in long-term care homes, the Ford PCs continue to lack of any idea of the scope of the risk facing the residents still in the system. 

- Kelly Grant writes about the spillover effects of COVID-19 on our health care system, including the development of backlogs which may require years to be cleared. Nina Lakhani reports on the thousands of U.S. deaths which could have been avoided if people hadn't been cut off from water supplies. And Kaamil Ahmed points out that among other markers of growing inequality in education, millions of children around the globe have been delayed in developing basic skills due to the pandemic. 

- Ken Rubin points out how governments have cynically been using the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to restrict access to information - even as they've also treated the public health threat as an opportunity to ram through unpopular policies while it's more difficult for the public to organize any resistance.

- Finally, Doug Cuthand discusses how the RCMP Civilian Review and Complaints Commission's report into the investigation and handling of the killing of Colton Boushie reveals the continuing effects of structural racism. And Mim Fatmi comments on the hate against Muslim women in Alberta, while also emphasizing the importance of claiming a place in public spaces rather than being hidden.