Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Sara Moniuzsko reports on the World Health Organization's recognition that COVID-19 is still causing nearly 10,000 reported deaths per month (to say nothing of unreported deaths and disabilities). And Michelle Ghoussoub reports on research confirming that access to prescribed opioids results in dramatic reductions in overdoses and deaths. 

- Tim Bousquet discusses the normalization of a lack of housing which has led to the building of "temporary" pallet shelters being treated as progress rather than a sign of desperate need for change. And Drew Anderson highlights how Danielle Smith and the UCP have pushed to set a baseline expectation of increased pollution, sprawls and energy inefficiency just over the holidays.  

- Andrew Coyne writes that surrender to premiers who thumb their nose at the rule of law only encourages them. And Linda McQuaig points out how the Libs have chosen to serve big oil at the expense of any responsible climate policy (with a similar effect of emboldening its climate sabotage). 

- Karin Kirk notes that even at a time of relatively low oil prices, consumers are better served charging an electric vehicle than buying fuel at the pumps. 

- Finally, Jon Stone reports on Sadiq Khan's efforts to break the UK's culture of silence about the immense real costs of succumbing to the implausible promises of Brexit. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Glenn McConnell reports on New Zealand's continued leadership in acknowledging and fighting the avoidable spread of COVID-19. Arwa Mahdawi discusses why nobody should be bragging about continuing to work through a disease which requires rest to maximize one's recovery. 

- Peter Zimonjic reports on Statistics Canada's temporary drop in inequality when COVID benefits were relatively widely available - which surely explains the determination of the Cons and their provincial cousins to make sure nothing of the sort is ever put in place again. 

- Lijing Cheng et al. study historical trends in ocean heat content and find that our planet is in fact warming faster than previously known. Andres Picon writes about the deadly combination of heat and air pollution. And John Woodside discusses the connection between the oil and banking sectors which continues to result in money being funneled toward climate breakdown.

- David Dayen weighs in on the harm being done to the public by profiteering railroad operators. And Robin Shaban and Yunuz Emre Bozkurt discuss the importance of more public ownership - in substance as well as form - to ensure people's telecommunications needs are met. 

- Finally, Andrew Coyne writes that premiers can't expect to be handed gobs of new health care money without some commitment to ensure it gets put to its intended use. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Yasmine Ghania interviews Nazeem Muhajarine about the Saskatchewan Party's choice to produce misleadingly low COVID-19 case numbers by stifling testing. And Kelly Provost reports on one of the families facing potentially dangerous delays in necessary medical care due to Scott Moe's fourth wave, as a patient awaiting a kidney transplant has been put on hold indefinitely.  

- Andrew Coyne writes that the Cons have failed in their chance to be a responsible party when it comes to vaccines in Canada. And Wyatt Schierman discusses how the failure of Canada and other wealthy countries to ensure equitable vaccine access means that the world's poorest countries could be without vaccines for decades.  

- Fiona Harvey reports on the UN's warnings that current emission targets would produce a calamitous 2.7 degrees of global warming - and the reality that we've already failed to build back better as part of our pandemic recovery. Damian Carrington reports on Nicholas Stern's warning that existing climate plans are based on the devaluation of the lives of young people and future generations. And Emily Atkin and Molly Taft expose how fossil fuel giants are using a new round of deceptive media tactics to try to avoid accountability for their history of climate fraud.  

- Meanwhile, Emily Eaton examines how Saskatchewan can transition to a clean and prosperous future without tying our economy to the development of fossil fuels. 

- Finally, Marc Lee et al. discuss how to build a zero-waste economy by 2040 both by reducing the production of avoidable waste, and by prioritizing repair and maintenance options to ensure that consumer goods are able to last. 

#Elxn44 Roundup

The latest from Canada's federal election campaign.

- Bruce Campbell discusses the connection between the climate crisis and wealth inequality - along with the miserable failure of Lib and Con governments in responding to both. And Canadians for Tax Fairness offers a fact sheet on closing tax loopholes. 

- Erica Lentl interviews Jagmeet Singh about the NDP's plans on LGBTQ2S+ issues, including in seeking to improve on the Libs' version of a conversion therapy ban. And Max Fawcett discusses how climate change is just one of the areas where the O'Toole Cons want to drag Canada backwards, while Randy Boswell points out O'Toole's laughable attempts to distance himself from the regressive positions he trumpeted to win and hold the Cons' leadership.   

- PressProgress points out Lib candidate Douglas Kobayashi's history of opposing not only minimum wage increases, but the existence of minimum wages at all. And Ashley Burke reports on Justin Trudeau's willingness to endorse Raj Saini despite multiple serious allegations of sexual harassment. 

- Meanwhile, 350 Canada offers its first set of endorsements for climate champions on the ballot - including Regina-Lewvan NDP candidate Tria Donaldson. 

- Finally, Andrew Coyne writes that Justin Trudeau has turned the presence of protesters into a claim of victimhood without addressing the problems with his campaign generally. And Don Martin discusses how the Libs' efforts to make the campaign all about Trudeau have backfired due to voters' increased skepticism. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Graham Thomson writes about Jason Kenney's choice to base his governing strategy on COVID denialism. William Hanage expresses his disappointment at Boris Johnson's continually woeful pandemic response - though it's hard to see why anybody should have expected anything different. And Ed Yong talks to Rhea Boyd about the U.S.' unvaccinated population - including the reality that many people have indeed held off out of hesitancy or lacked an opportunity to access vaccines, rather than being single-minded anti-vaxxers. And Katherine Wu writes about the growing recognition that people who have been vaccinated still need to take precautions to protect themselves and others - including resuming wearing a mask even after right-wing voices have declared it's time to burn them. 

- Meanwhile, Adam Morton reports on the risks facing Australia as it depends on natural gas export revenues which are set to evaporate as its customers shift to renewable energy sources. And Fiona Harvey reports on a growing coalition supporting a "global green deal". 

- David Thurton reports on a new study by the Pembina Institute showing that Canada is falling far short of even its insufficient climate change commitments. Chris McGreal writes about the corporate lobbyists blocking any path toward meaningful climate policy in the U.S. And Alex McMaster highlights how the climate breakdown is only exacerbating inequality in Ireland. 

- The Joseph Rowntree Foundation examines how the UK's system of social supports falls far short of providing people with the resources or security they need to avoid being trapped in poverty. And Derek Dunn talks to Angella MacEwen about the importance of treating housing as a human right rather than a market commodity - as well as the readily-available mans to make that happen. 

- The Star's editorial board calls out the Ford PCs for governing solely in the interests of corporate cronies rather than the public. 

- Finally, Jacques Gallant writes about the Libs' cynicism in setting up a bill banning conversion therapy to stall prior to the election they're bent on calling. And Andrew Coyne highlights how Justin Trudeau has managed to capture activists' values in the service of rank political opportunism. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Brian Owens' roundup includes reference to new research showing that excess deaths are the result of COVID-19 itself, not the lockdowns used to combat it. And Renju Jose and Byron Kaye report on Australia's soaring COVID rates, while Yasmine Ghania discusses how Saskatchewan is at risk of a fourth wave. 

- Angus Reid has unveiled new polling on vaccinations and other public health measures - including strong support for at least some form of vaccine requirement in every province/region. Blake Murdoch highlights how there are few rational arguments against vaccine passports. And Andrew Coyne writes that we may soon have little choice but to apply vaccine mandates to ensure we reach herd immunity before the Delta variant runs rampant. 

- Sara Mojtehedzadeh reports on the close connection between workplace COVID outbreaks and the use of temporary and precarious labour. 

- PressProgress exposes how Doug Ford's government has actively treated the pandemic as an opportunity for private actors to extract money from the public education system. And Mike Crawley reports on Ford's immediate end to the enforcement of licensing requirements for workers in skilled trades - signaling that for all the talking points conservatives spout about respect for tradespeople, they're the ones who wrongly believe there's no need for tradespeople to have any skills or qualifications. 

- Finally, Gabriel Zucman and others warn (PDF) that a loophole in the current international joint statement on a global minimum corporate tax may not only render the minimum ineffective, but could actually create new incentives for tax havens and the businesses who seek to abuse them.  

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Simon Holmes a Court challenges the argument that any country or industry can opt out of being part of the response to our climate crisis. And Emily Holden comments on the oil industry's control over public discussions about climate change, while Christopher Knaus examines the disinformation campaign intended to deflect responsibility for Australia's record temperatures and catastrophic bushfires.

- Nichole Dusyk points out that the Canada Energy Regulation's assumptions about future oil production represent an all-in bet on humanity's failure to stop the climate breakdown. And Robyn Allan exposes how the Trudeau government's Trans Mountain pipeline purchase was designed to leak public money to fossil fuel tycoons from day one - and is succeeding in that task.

- Matt Elliott offers a reminder that the costs of infrastructure don't stop merely because a project's initial photo ops have come to an end. 

- Matthew Stanley writes about the long and ongoing struggle to address structural inequalities in the U.S.

- Robert Raymond discusses the well-funded campaign to portray extractive capitalism as a solution rather than a source of inequality. And the British Medical Journal takes note of new research showing that a modest minimum wage increase can substantially reduce suicide rates (among other social benefits).

- Finally, Andrew Coyne writes about the advantages of minority governments compared to the zero-accountability model which is the norm in majority Parliaments.

[Edit: fixed typo.]

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- As affordability takes a central place in most Canadian election campaigns, Kofi Hope and Katrina Miller propose a definition based on public health:

Health is the great equalizer. No matter where we’re from, what our values are, what our age or our political beliefs, we all want to have a healthy and long life. And if we agree on that, then we can say affordability is about the amount and type of resources we need to live a healthy and thriving life.

...
To thrive means to be able to have time for family and friends, pursue a hobby and travel occasionally, along with covering the basic necessities. Individual income is only one component of a broader social safety net that supports a thriving population; employers, government and community all play pivotal roles too.

For example, if the government covers some essentials, like prescription drugs and tuition, and subsidizes others, like housing and recreation programs, its contributions would all count toward the resources needed to live a healthy life. Our government can play a critical role in closing the gap between the haves and have-nots, not only by making basic goods more affordable but also by expanding public services and supports.

Viewing affordability as a commonly shared and holistic goal of health provides stable footing to consider an important question: Is our government making a healthy life possible for the many, or for the few?

- Meanwhile, Andrew Coyne writes that the Libs' signature tax cut fails by any measure other than that of electioneering.

 - Kendall Latimer reports on Provincial Auditor Judy Ferguson's findings about the desperate need for improved mental health supports in northern Saskatchewan. Max FineDay and Doug Cuthand implore our governments to act in response to the crisis of Indigenous suicides. And Marcus Gee notes that a culture of toxic masculinity feeds into addictions and deaths for many workers.

- Yasmin Jiwani reminds us that the Ecole Polytechnique massacre represents just one example of the violence which confronts women every day.

- Finally, Alex MacPherson reports on the Saskatchewan Party's shoot first, ask questions later approach to illegal fund-raising tactics.

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Robert Frank reports on the latest galling threshold in wealth inequality, as millionaires consisting of less than 1% of the population now control effectively half of the wealth on Earth. And Steven Greenhouse asks why actual workers aren't being included in talks about the future of work and the economy.

- Neil Macdonald warns Justin Trudeau that he can't keep substituting evasion for meaningful answers and conversations about his poor decisions. And Andrew Jackson is rightfully aghast at the Libs' choice to prioritize tax cuts over anything which might actually help Canadians:

The major reason to not support this tax cut is that it is costly since a small cut is spread across so many people. Annual federal government revenues will fall by about $6 Billion per year, a significant chunk of change which will increase each year as and when the economy grows. Moreover, the federal government’s fiscal base is likely to be ratcheted down in perpetuity since it is unlikely that any party will propose a future across the board increase in personal income taxes.

Most progressives would prefer the Liberals to abandon their tax cut, and use it to fund other priorities such as investment in affordable housing, clean and renewable energy, public transit, public health care, child care, or post secondary education. $6 Billion added to seriously inadequate Liberal promises to fund a national pharmacare program would be sufficient to make the promise a reality.

The opposition parties in Parliament, the Conservatives aside, would likely agree. But the Prime Minister seems to have already made up his mind.

Call me a cynic, but this looks like yet another case of the Liberals campaigning from the left, and governing from the right. After just two days!

- Linda McQuaig notes that Jason Kenney is trying to crush the climate concerns of two thirds of Canada (not to mention the well-being of our living environment) in the name of a fabricated threat to unity. And Aaron Wherry notes that it's the Cons who have an obvious reason to revisit their functional denialism in light of this week's election.

- Andrew Coyne offers a reminder how first-past-the-post turns elections into high-stakes bets for unaccountable power, rather than meaningful opportunities to discuss policy choices. And David Kilgour writes that this week's results in particular demonstrate how Canadians would be better represented under a proportional system.

- Finally, Michal Rozworski comments on both the missed opportunities to move our political discussion further toward social and climate justice before election day, and the prospect of building the needed movement now that our political leaders face a minority Parliament.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- George Monbiot argues that it's time to cap the amount of wealth any person can accumulate, while highlighting the importance of accepting that there's a point where we have enough.

- Donovan Vincent writes about the rental housing crisis in Toronto, while David Common reports on the stresses facing people in desperate need of affordable rental housing. But Aaron Hutchins points out that the Cons and Libs are instead focusing on non-rental housing with schemes that would drive prices even higher.

- Andrew MacLeod compares the prescription drug promises on offer from the NDP, Libs and Greens. And Thomas Walkom writes that we shouldn't confuse Justin Trudeau's back-of-a-napkin sketch of insufficient funding for an actual pharmacare plan.

- Finally, Aaron Wherry discusses how Andrew Scheer is offering nothing more than stale reruns from the Harper era. Bill Henderson writes that Justin Trudeau's duplicity and poor judgment were well established long before the blackface scandal emerged, while Chris Selley notes that young voters in particular have every reason to demand better than Trudeau's empty promises. Andrew Coyne contrasts the Cons' bad policy against the Libs' lack of any meaningful plans at all. And Karl Nerenberg comments on Jagmeet Singh's strong start to the election campaign.

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Meghna Charkabarti interviews Branko Milanovic about the destructive amount of inequality embedded in capitalism as it's currently structured. Connor Kilpatrick and Bhaskar Sunkara argue that the corporate class has only tolerated an acceptable distribution of income and wealth when it's been accompanied by the credible threat of expropriation and nationalization. And Robert Frank reports on Thomas Piketty's push for a substantial wealth tax based on the principle that every billionaire represents a policy failure.

- Meanwhile, Denise Balkissoon highlights how our political system all too often excludes people who don't already enjoy a significant level of economic status and privilege.

- Sandy Garossino discusses how Jason Kenney has joined the club of strongman figures seeking to criminalize any attempt to protect our planet from environmental destruction. And the Globe and Mail's editorial board recognizes the threat Kenney poses to democracy.

- Jeremy Gong highlights the importance of closing the loopholes which have resulted in gig workers being treated as "independent contractors" rather than employees. But Sharon Block and Benjamin Sachs write that such recognition is only the first step toward providing the opportunity for collective bargaining.

- Finally, Christopher Guly wonders whether Justin Trudeau will pay a price for his betrayal of voters who believed his oft-repeated promise of electoral reform. And Andrew Coyne rightly laments another election campaign in which most voters are seen as superfluous to deciding who will hold power.

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Derrick O'Keefe highlights how Canada's election would look if coverage focused on the issues which feature strong public support, rather than the two painfully unappealing perceived front-runners who ignore them:

(T)he Ipsos poll results released Thursday...show an enormous potential for class-based demands aimed at reducing economic inequality in Canada. A whopping 67 per cent of respondents agreed with the statement “Canada’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful,” while only 10 per cent disagreed.

Relatedly, polling done earlier this year for North 99 found 67 per cent in support of a wealth tax on the super-rich. A mere 14 per cent were opposed to the hypothetical new tax, which would apply at a 2 per cent rate on fortunes over $50 million. (The NDP has included a wealth tax in their election platform, proposing a 1 per cent surtax on fortunes over $20 million.)
...
Last month, author and researcher Seth Klein released polling he had commissioned from Abacus looking at public opinion on climate and a potential Green New Deal in Canada. The results showed 72 per cent support for a Green New Deal here and only 12 per cent opposed. However, the polling also found limited awareness. “In Canada, only a minority are aware or think they have heard of the term ‘Green New Deal.’ Fourteen per cent say they have definitely heard something about it while 19 per cent think they have heard something.”

In other words, the Green New Deal is wildly popular, but only a small minority actually know much about it. This gap is the most important polling result of all, and it points to the great potential for a surge in support for parties and candidates who wholeheartedly push Green New Deal policies. Taken together with the poll numbers on the wealth tax and the rigged economy, we can see there’s a significant and largely untapped potential in Canada for a politics that unabashedly pushes for tax fairness and climate justice.

- And Andrew Coyne comments on the lack of a meaningful distinction between the Trudeau Libs and the Scheer Cons.

- Mike Scott points out that the global transition toward electric vehicles stands to make almost all current oil production uneconomical. And Barry Saxifrage writes about Canada's dirty fleet of vehicles, along with the opportunity for economic development as part of the much-needed transition to EVs.

- Finally, Brian Hennigan discusses the criminalization of poverty and homelessness as a prime example of the exploitation of the working class.

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Aditya Chakrabortty writes about the consequences of the UK's choice not to fund its or social infrastructure:

We are right in the middle of an infrastructure breakdown – we just haven’t named it yet. You’ll know what I mean when we list the component parts. More than 760 youth clubs have shut across the UK since 2012. A pub closes every 12 hours. Nearly 130 libraries were scrapped last year, and those that survive in England have lopped off 230,000 opening hours.

Each of the above is a news story. Each stings a different group: the books trade, the real-ale aficionados, the trade unions. But knit them together and a far darker picture emerges. Britain is being stripped of its social infrastructure: the institutions that make up its daily life, the buildings and spaces that host friends and gently push strangers together. Public parks are disappearing. Playgrounds are being sold off. High streets are fast turning to desert. These trends are national, but their greatest force is felt in the poorest towns and suburbs, the most remote parts of the countryside, where there isn’t the footfall to lure in the businesses or household wealth to save the local boozer.
...
When it comes to transport or energy or sewage, Britain has a National Infrastructure Commission that monitors the country’s needs and guides parliament on where to direct spending. After all, the quality of such hard infrastructure influences where multinationals set up shop: it is money-making. But parks and libraries don’t generate cash. Social infrastructure has no lobby, no registry of assets and certainly no government agency. No Whitehall official monitors how much of it has closed or withered away – that relies on civil society groups to file freedom of information requests or badger town halls with survey. Everyone knows we need it, yet just as our economic model prizes shareholder returns over investment in the National Grid, so our politics relies on drawing in the voters with unfeasibly low taxes. Until one day, something breaks and all hell breaks loose.

So here is a suggestion for Jeremy Corbyn or Nicola Sturgeon or Adam Price or whoever else fancies it. Talk about the importance of social infrastructure. Promise to set up a commission explicitly to audit what we have and help protect it. Commit public money to it, alongside gentle pressure on the private sector to do its bit. That way, we can publicly mark the public institutions we all know we need – and show the esteem due to the people who keep them going and use them. The spirit we need is that summed up by the librarian who rhapsodises to Klinenberg about his branch: “The library really is a palace. It bestows nobility on people who can’t otherwise afford a shred of it. People need to have nobility and dignity in their lives. And, you know, they need other people to recognise it in them too.”

- Chris Varcoe reports that the UCP's corporate tax giveaways are predictably leading to no economic benefit to anybody other than shareholders and executives. And Jessica Elgot reports on UK Labour's plans to give municipalities the power to restore abandoned shops to public use.

- Andrew Mitrovica highlights the significance of Justin Trudeau's ethical violations. The Globe and Mail's editorial board lists the many failings which went into the Libs' attempt to twist laws and constitutional principles to serve SNC-Lavalin. And Andrew Coyne zeroes in on the deception involved in Trudeau's interventions - including toward the Attorney General he'd appointed to uphold the rule of law.

- Ben Smee reports on a prime example on the contempt fossil fuel spokesflacks have for the lives of people affected by a climate breakdown. And Rick Salutin calls attention to Canada's appalling support for anti-democratic corporate repression in Honduras.

- Finally, Oliver Franklin-Wallis discusses the limited effectiveness of plastic recycling.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Ben Parfitt comments on the dangers of captured regulators such as B.C.'s Oil and Gas Commission who end up serving corporate "clients" rather than the public interest. And Bryan Walsh discusses the discounting effect which makes it all too frequent for people to avoid seriously considering the long-term effects of a climate breakdown (among other policy choices).

- But if we needed an example as to how pollution affects people every day, Allison Aubrey discusses new research showing that smog and other air pollution can be as harmful to a person's lungs as being a heavy smoker. Pheobe Weston reports on the spread of microplastics to the most remote areas of the globe. And Jillian Ambrose reports on new research showing how fracking results in the emission of large quantities of methane with severe climate consequences.

- Meanwhile, Michael Salmato points out that plenty of coal workers (among other people currently tied to fossil fuels) recognize the need for a just transition to more sustainable energy sources.

- In the wake of the Ethics Commissioner's report finding Justin Trudeau to have broken the law by pressuring Jody Wilson-Raybould in SNC Lavalin's interests, Paul Wells highlights the reminder that a government's decisions and actions have consequences beyond immediate public relations effects. And Andrew Coyne notes that the problems with Trudeau's actions also extend beyond a conflict of interest alone.

- Finally, Paul Karp and Ben Butler take note of the attempt by Australian corporate giants to avoid any use of the Panama Papers which revealed their tax evasion - along with the rejection of that argument by the courts.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Mark Rice-Oxley points out the observations of the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Health as to the stress and mental illness caused by austerity. Robert Booth reports on the recognition that yet another round of giveaways to the rich and clawbacks from everybody else would represent a needless tragedy for the UK. And Frances Ryan discusses the inhumanity involved in a cap on benefits intended to control family sizes for people receiving social benefits.

- Tom Metcalf reports on a call for a wealth tax from multiple American billionaires who recognize that everybody ends up worse off when a wealthy elite isolates itself from the population at large. And Damian Carrington reports on the imminent risk of "climate apartheid" as concentrated wealth is used to shield the main contributors to a climate breakdown from its most severe effects.

- Jeff Berardelli points out the connection between climate change and the increased frequency and severity of heat waves. And Sarah Wesseler discusses how the increased use of air conditioning in response to higher temperatures only stands to exacerbate our climate crisis.

- Lisa Friedman reports on the latest revelations from the longstanding Taylor Energy oil leak, which include the underreporting of the scale of the leak by a factor of a thousand. And George Monbiot reminds us that we shouldn't buy the attempts of Shell and other oil giants to present themselves as planetary saviours when they've been knowingly destroying both our planet and our ability to act collectively to preserve it.

- Finally, Andrew Coyne notes that unelected Senators are again preventing our elected representatives from doing their jobs in passing legislation in the public interest - and this time merely through filibustering rather than any consideration of bills on their merits.

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- The Globe and Mail's editorial board points out the gross dishonesty of Jason Kenney, Scott Moe and other spokesflacks for the oil sector who are looking to turn the slightest hint of consideration of the environment and Indigenous rights into grounds for a civil war. And Melanee Thomas discusses the dangers of deliberately inflaming anger over fabricated slights as a political strategy. 

- Meanwhile, Sharon Riley and Sarah Cox expose the massive amount of lobbying the oil industry poured into the unelected Senate to undermine any consideration of the public interest. And Riley also points out how the biggest oil companies and their executives are conspicuously avoiding the slump being used an excuse for attacks on public services and workers.

- Dominic Dudley reports on the continuing trend of fossil fuels becoming unaffordable compared to renewable alternatives. And in contrast, Brendan Haley writes about the opportunity for Canada to lead in the industries of the future by investing in green technology rather than a dying fossil fuel sector.

- Andrew Coyne notes that the Libs' recently-announced refusal to follow through on a necessary next phase of a carbon price can only be taken to signal that they're abandoning even Stephen Harper's emission reduction targets.

- Finally, Thomas Walkom writes that pharmacare makes sense now just as it did five-plus decades ago when it was included as part of Tommy Douglas' plan for medicare - meaning that it's long past time to implement a universal pharmacare system.

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- CBC examines the obscene corporate subsidies doled out by Canadian governments - with Alberta ranking as the worst offender even as it also takes in less revenue than other provinces. And Jeff Gray reports on the growing gap between Doug Ford's budget promises and the revenue available to keep them - even as he hastily backtracks on a few of his most antisocial cuts.

- Meanwhile, Michael Ungar points out how resilience depends on social supports, rather than being a matter of individual choice or merit as it's so often portrayed.

- Murray Mandryk discusses the Saskatchewan Party's telling refusal to evaluate the effect of its much-criticized "lean" program imposed on the province's health care system - as well as the research confirm that it was an utter waste.

- Stuart Trew highlights how spin about "Good Regulatory Practices" in the new NAFTA serves only to limit the ability of governments to act in the interest of citizens and workers. 

- Finally, Andrew Coyne points out that the unelected Senate's interference in bills dealing with preventing oil spills and ensuring effective environmental assessments represents just another instance of obsolete political structures thwarting the will of Canadian voters.

Deep thought

Sure, on the surface one might expect refugee claimants to be displeased to be deported and subsequently killed based on Justin Trudeau's decision to outsource their assessments to the Trump regime. But won't they feel better for having received an empty reassurance they were welcome in the meantime?

(See also: Andrew Coyne and Martin Patriquin.)

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Robert Reich offers a reminder that the Trump administration is just the most glaring example of the utter breakdown of any pretense of meritocracy in the U.S.

- Daniel Zamora interviews Niklas Olsen about the dangers of replacing the idea of government representing the outcome of communal decision-making with a series of consumer-style brand choices.

- Carla Santos Kandier writes that it's unrealistic to expect a climate crisis to be averted by the version of a market system that's biased heavily in favour of polluting industries. And Seema Syeda discusses the importance of the movement to get financial institutions to stop funding the destruction of a habitable climate.

- Duncan Kinney discusses how Jason Kenney's exclusionary social conservatism is far out of touch with most Alberta voters. And Jen Gerson notes that even small-c conservatives are understandably concerned about the UCP's questionable ethics and bizarre moral crusades.

- Finally, Andrew Coyne writes that the most important concern arising from the Libs' SNC-Lavalin scandal is their attempt to normalize political meddling in all types of independent decision-making. Tom Parkin argues that it will be impossible to see our constitutional order as safe without a complete about-face from Justin Trudeau - including genuine contrition under circumstances where's he's treated it first as a strategic possibility to be focus group tested, then something that's entirely beneath him. And the Ottawa Citizen's editorial board points out how the entire remaining Lib caucus opted for a cover-up, rather than maintaining any interest in discovering the truth behind a serious issue.

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Jake Bittle writes about rural homelessness as a seldom-discussed issue which calls out for a strong policy response to ensure the right to housing is met regardless of whether one's community is urban or rural:

While the trigger events that cause homelessness are similar everywhere—foreclosure, unemployment, addiction, illness—small towns have far fewer job opportunities and mental-health resources. And although the housing shortage in rural areas is not as severe as in large cities such as New York City, Seattle, or San Francisco, rural houses are older and more dilapidated on average than urban houses, according to HUD data. As a result, even though the housing crisis left thousands of vacant homes in rural areas, service providers often have trouble finding housing that meets HUD’s standards. This leaves advocates with an uncomfortable choice: Work with the limited resources available in their area, or advise homeless individuals to relocate, which can mean leaving their families and social networks behind.
...
(U)nless the federal government makes an attempt to tackle rural homelessness as a distinct problem, the issue will only worsen. Roman said NAEH helped Congress sketch out a special HUD program to solve rural homelessness, but that Congress never actually gave the department money to set the initiative up. Under President Barack Obama, the department reversed a years long rise in homelessness, and homeless aid is one of the few parts of the HUD budget that the Trump administration has not slashed. Still, Roman says, without a concerted effort to tackle rural America’s “hidden homeless,” the question of shelter in the United States will only be partially answered.

- And Bernie Sanders notes that the gap between the rich and the rest of us applies to agricultural communities, as agribusiness giants are extracting massive profits from increasingly precarious farms.

- Luke Savage discusses how the real working class - as opposed to an all-white male version of the same - receives virtually no attention from the U.S.' media. Andrew Coyne comments on Quebec's blatantly discriminatory Bill 21, and wonders whether Canada's federal politicians will start talking about what can be done at the national level to restrain bigotry at the provincial level. And Salimah Kassam writes about the dangers of white supremacists and the politicians who enable them, while Chauncey DeVega highlights the connection between Donald Trump's campaign appearances and racist violence.

- Pamela Palmater points out how the Libs' budget has once again put off the urgent needs and glaring disparities facing Indigenous women and children.

- Finally, Lana Payne rightly calls out the Cons as being the most faux of feminists - though it's worth noting that their obvious lack of genuine interest in addressing inequality doesn't mean there isn't ample reason to criticize the Libs' track record.