Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Jessica Wildfire offers a reminder of the breadth and depth of harm continuing to be caused by COVID-19. Julia Doubleday calls out the role of the media in normalizing perpetual reinfection, while Arijit Chakravarty and T. Ryan Gregory discuss the importance of naming things in the context of the termination of any effort to identify new variants for public awareness purposes. And Paul Withers reports on new research warning of the potential for a COVID-related heart failure pandemic, while Stephanie Soucheray discusses the revelation that brain injury markers show up in the blood even of people who are lucky enough to avoid neurological symptoms during the acute phase of COVID. 

- Chris Russell and Joel Tansey interview Akshat Rathi about his optimism based on the reality that it's now cheaper to fund a clean energy transition than to keep spewing the carbon pollution that's causing a climate breakdown. And Amanda Stephenson discusses the potential for geothermal energy to be a major part of Canada's transition. 

- But Graham Thomson offers a reminder that Danielle Smith and other petropoliticians are determined to spend obscene amounts of money on laughable promises of carbon capture and storage in order to avoid the affordable and feasible path to clean energy. And Ainslie Cruickshank reports that Fernie, B.C. is now searching for potable drinking water due to the ongoing leaching of selenium from a Teck Resources coal mine. 

- Finally, Katharina Maier, Carolyn Greene, Justin Tetrault and Marta-Marika Urbanik make the case to treat violence targeted at unhoused people as a hate crime. And Kyle Swenson reports on the right's attempts to systematically punish both people facing housing challenges and the communities who make any effort to help them. 

#Elxn44 Roundup

News and notes from Canada's federal election campaign.

- Doug Nesbitt calls out Erin O'Toole's bait-and-switch scheme toward the working class. And PressProgress highlights how the Cons' policy planks for gig workers were actually written by Uber lobbyists to entrench permanent underclass status in law. 

- Meanwhile, D.T. Cochrane examines the Libs' platform from the standpoint of tax fairness and finds that it conspicuously avoids going far in that direction. And Paul Wells notes that incompleteness and incoherence are the main messages to be found in the platform of the party which controlled the timing of the election. 

- David Moscrop writes that the only meaningful answer to a worsening housing crisis is to build large numbers of non-market homes. 

- Bernie Farber argues that hate crimes should be an important issue for voters. But in case anybody was under the illusion that greater police authority is an answer, Stewart Bell reports on a newly-released intelligence report showing that extremist groups are actively recruiting members of Canada's military and police forces. 

- David Coletto offers up Abacus' polling on the "ownership" of issues - finding both a variety of top issues for voters, and plenty of room for movement in determining which party is seen as best equipped to address them. 

- Finally, Heather Scoffield writes that the common problem with the Libs' and Cons' plans is their dependence on implausible assumptions about what our economy will look like. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Andrew Nikiforuk calls out the premiers who continue to spout talking points about "balance" while failing utterly to control the spread of deadly COVID-19 variants. Jillian Kestler-D'Amours discusses how Ontario's medical calamity was entirely preventable, while David Moscrop makes the case for Doug Ford to resign due to his gross failures of leadership (though he's predictably decided to try to distract from that push with a cabinet shuffle). And René Bruemmer points out that Quebec's comparatively substantial response to the emergence of variants of concern has allowed it to reduce the harm from its third wave compared to other large Canadian provinces. 

- Meanwhile, Alexander Panetta points out that the U.S. will soon be facing an issue of having an oversupply of vaccine which people aren't prepared to accept - with Canada likely to face a similar issue within a matter of months. And Danielle Ivory, Lauren Leatherby and Robert Gebelof highlight the connection between vaccine hesitancy and support for Donald Trump.

- Jenn Jeffreys writes that Canada needs to be prepared to respond to still more waves of violent right-wing extremism - due both to continued spillover from the Trump movement in the U.S., and our own hate groups at home. 

- Finally, Vikram Dodd talks to Andy Cooke about the reality that social action against poverty and inequality serves to reduce crime as well as ill health.

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Lauren Krugel reports on a push by Alberta doctors to avoid the further lifting of public health restrictions which will increase the risk of COVID-19 transmission. Sarah Zhang notes that we're just now seeing a return to widespread recognition of the importance of ventilation in protecting against community spread - though of course more forward-thinking people have been pointing it out since last summer, particularly in trying to keep schools safe. And Jennifer Yang reports on research showing that vaccinations targeted by postal code as well as age can be far more effective in improving health outcomes.  But Robert Hiltz writes that conservatives have effectively given up on doing anything to stop the pandemic, choosing instead to focus on finger-pointing and false hopes that vaccines alone will restore us to normal.

- Robinson Meyer writes about the obvious planning failures which left Texas unprepared to cope with foreseeable changes in weather. And Molly McCracken responds to Brad Wall's attempt to push Manitoba toward the type of privatized and fragmented power system which led to that tragedy.

- Colin Gordon rightly questions the subsidies the U.S. hands out to agribusiness giants.

- Nicholas Kusnetz highlights how the UCP's anti-environmental inquiry mirrors the worst of the U.S.' climate denialists.

- Gary Mason writes that Alberta's claim to have some inherent fiscal advantage has been exposed as a lie. And Scott Schmidt points out that we shouldn't trust right-wing excuses to use deficits as a basis to slash needed services and supports.

- Finally, Amira Elbaghawy discusses how the reported data on hate crimes - worrisome as it is is - severely understates the real damage hate groups inflict on communities. And Osita Nwanevu warns that it's wrong to presume white supremacism and conspiracy theories are spreading only among lesser-educated populations.

Parliament in Review: December 13, 2011

Tuesday, December 13 served to confirm the range of concerns that hadn't yet been taken into account in the Cons' seat redistribution bill - even as debate came to a close and the bill was rammed through against the protests of a united opposition.

The Big Issue

In response to the start and end of third reading debate on C-20, Stephane Dion and Mike Sullivan wondered why the Cons had been unwilling once again to countenance any amendments. And Scott Reid answered the latter question with a remarkable assertion:

Mr. Speaker, I have been around here for five Parliaments now and three of those were minority Parliaments. Two of them were Conservative minority Parliaments. My experience was that it was very difficult to get any legislation through at all.

I think I am correct in saying that aside from legislation initiated by the opposition, no legislation went through unless it was being presented on the condition that should it be defeated on a bill, the government would fall and have an election.

Of course, that can be disproved simply by looking at the progress of the first substantive bill ever introduced by the Cons after they took power, not to mention dozens of other examples (as a stroll through the progress of bills in the 39th and 40th Parliaments on LegisINFO would reveal to anybody concerned about facts). But it doesn't come as much surprise that Reid and other Con MPs have been instructed to wilfully ignore what actually happened in order to portray themselves as victims of democracy.

Meanwhile, Alexandrine Latendresse pointed out the obvious flaw in the Cons' statement that the bill had to pass immediately, since on its face it includes transitional provisions to allow for different possibilities as to when it would take effect. Francoise Boivin spoke about how Ed Broadbent convinced her of the need for proportional representation. Pat Martin discussed what consultation really means and looked forward to an NDP government putting the principle into action. Martin then noted the need for specific representation for different types of communities of interest - intriguingly adding socio-economic needs to the usual list based on culture and geography. David Christopherson noted that part of the effect of the Cons' bill would be to limit the time for public input on the redrawing of riding boundaries. Peter Julian pointed out a noteworthy correlation between provinces who elected Lib MPs and those who would lose seats under the Libs' proposal. Jamie Nicholls noted that pure representation by population (absent regard for provincial and cultural concerns) was never the basis for agreement on Canada's historical development.

Selective Benefits

Alexandre Boulerice spoke on his bill to bring federal parental leave up to par with that provided under provincial jurisdiction, with Christine Moore pointing out the existing gap. Kellie Leitch confirmed that the bill would do nothing more than to bring federal standards in line with provincial ones - but nonetheless declared that the Cons have no interest in bothering. And Rodger Cuzner similarly declared his party would rather see a uniformly lower standard of benefits for employees under federal jurisdiction than try to ensure equity within each province.

Pop Quiz

Terence Young compared the Cons' seat reallocation bill to which of the following events?

A. the Arab Spring
B. the fall of the Berlin Wall
C. the French Revolution
D. the war of 1812

The answers are: A and C. Which would raise far more questions about the Cons' total lack of perspective if anybody were paying attention.

In Brief

Kennedy Stewart presented a petition for a more systematic approach to combating hate crimes, while Claude Gravelle offered one seeking improved rural access to communications technology. Elizabeth May lamented the Cons' decision to tear up the Kyoto Protocol. James Rajotte was entirely unabashed about declaring the Cons' fealty to bankers. Nycoel Turmel wondered whether the Cons would reconsider their determination to shred the data underlying the federal gun registry under threat of legal action by Quebec, while Francoise Boivin noted that the Cons' own vandalism in refusing to ensure the current registry was accurate didn't provide an excuse to do otherwise. Libby Davies challenged the Cons' unilateral plan to limit health care transfers. In a series of questions on the latest report from the Environment Commissioner Megan Leslie wondered why the Cons had no interest in enforcing the law when it came to environmental offenders, Laurin Liu asked about dangerous goods transportation only to be met with the clearest indication yet that the Cons couldn't care less about preventative measures before an accident actually happens, and Philip Toone highlighted the need for accurate data about fish stocks in order to make decisions about Canada's fisheries (then followed up in adjournment proceedings). Carolyn Bennett reminded the Cons of the "99 other Attawapiskats" which have just as much need for federal action even if they aren't in the headlines at the moment. Peter Julian contrasted the virtuous circle of investment in needed services and infrastructure against the Cons' vicious cycle of handouts to the corporate sector coupled with an eroding standard of living for most Canadians. Andrew Scheer delivered his decision letting the Cons off the hook on technical grounds for their attempt to push Irwin Cotler out of his seat. Larry Miller introduced a private members' bill to prevent the bulk export of transboundary waters - but with a noticeable lack of interest in extending the standard any other types of water. And Wayne Easter slammed the Cons' disrespect for the law in forcing through their attack on the Canadian Wheat Board.