Sunday Evening Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- The OECD issues a report on the importance of avoiding climate tipping points - and the reality that we're on pace to far overshoot them. Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood notes that lobbying on behalf of fossil gas is the latest version of climate denialism masquerading as pragmatism, while Stewart Phillip and others write that David Eby has to choose between responsible climate action and fossil fuel development. And Lylla Younes discusses the unusually high cost of extreme weather events and natural disasters which are becoming ever more common.

- The Globe and Mail's editorial board points out how some conservative governments have lost their minds - though there are plenty more cringe-inducing policies across right-wing governments which presumably had to be cut for space. Althia Raj asks why any principled conservatives who may still exist aren't calling out the combination of heavy-handed intrusion and abject dishonesty underpinning Danielle Smith's power grab. Don Braid points out that Alberta itself fought against a far more limited version of sub-legislative decision-making at the federal level just last year. And Martin Regg Cohn thinks that Doug Ford will pay the price for overplaying his own hand in trampling on Charter rights and democratic structures - though the evidence to date suggests little reason for optimism.

- Russell Lansbury discusses how Australia has moved toward sectoral bargaining which figures to ensure gains are shared widely among workers. But Luke Savage calls out the U.S. Democrats for trampling collective bargaining rights while pretending to be allies of the labour movement. 

- The Economist discusses how the deliberate elimination of public testing for COVID-19 is leaving responsible people to look to indirect measures like reviews of scented candles to determine current levels of spread.

- Finally, Oliver Darcy reports on the dramatic increase in hate speech on Twitter in the wake of Elon Musk's takeover.

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Zak Vescera reports that the Moe government's push toward privatizing COVID testing has turned into such a fiasco that even the for-profit operators are calling for somebody to apply regulations to protect the public. Ninan Abraham et al. call out a Globe and Mail opinion column for feeding anti-vaxx narratives in the absence of any evidence. And Doug Saunders discusses how Europe's latest wave can be traced to politicians catering to science denialists. 

- Bruce Arthur argues that while we may need to live with anti-vaxxers, we should at least expect our leaders to have the sense not to lend them support. And the Canadian Anti-Hate Network documents how the Flu Trux Klan convoy has turned into little but a show of fascist hate on wheels. 

- George Monbiot highlights how carbon offsetting is only encouraging the continued use of fossil fuels by allowing people to treat them as climate solutions rather than the continuation of a problem. Data For Progress examines both the health impacts of poor air quality, and the public's desire to see political action to remedy it. 

- Colin D'Mello reports on Doug Ford's grant of a sole-source private vaccine clinic contract after a flurry of donations from board members and their families. And Kim Siever reports on the UCP's decision to put the son of private ambulance magnate in charge of a review of emergency services. 

- Finally, Luke Savage writes about the essential role unions play in protecting and advancing democracy far beyond the workplace. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Ryan Meili points out the unduly limited view of climate policy arising out of political posturing over the federal carbon tax. Ed Finn writes about the importance of ensuring our only home remains inhabitable. Bruce Anderson and David Colleto examine the growing importance of our climate breakdown as a ballot box question for Canadian voters. And George Monbiot suggests that ecocide should be viewed and prosecuted as a crime against humanity.

- Meanwhile, Richard Blackwell reports that renewable energy already generates more employment for Canadians than the oil sands, while Sharon Riley discusses the risk of relying on an oil industry facing a predictable decline for future economic development.

- Paul Dechene writes about the connection between climate denial and right-wing bigotry. Andray Domise questions who so much of Canada's media is choosing to amplify racist messages rather than challenging them. And Kevin Metcalf discusses the attempt by self-proclaimed right-wing "speech warriors" to silence anybody who disagrees through the courts.

- PressProgress offers some suggestions from this year's Progress Summir as to what left-wing populism should look like.

- And finally, Raquel Rolnik discusses how poverty and inequality are only getting worse in the UK under a Conservative government which has pushed nothing but domestic deprivation and international isolationism.

Just wondering...

I've generally avoided wading into the Levant/Martin attempt to remove speech issues from the Canadian Human Rights Act. But let's test just how serious that position is.

Since I haven't yet seen anybody argue that the CHRA should be wiped out altogether, it seems there's some recognition that the Canadian Human Rights Commission is needed to ensure that federally-regulated businesses don't discriminate based on prohibited grounds. Or practically speaking, if a federally-regulated business puts up a notice on its website saying "we don't serve (insert group name here)", everybody seems to agree that's deserving of investigation and, if necessary, sanction.

Can anybody then explain why a similar notice on the same site which merely removes the "we" should be such a radically different issue as to be removed completely from the Human Rights Commission's jurisdiction?