Wednesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your mid-week reading.

- Jeremy Corbyn writes about the denialism involved in refusing to deal with the climate crisis with language and action proportionate to its dangers. Zoe Schlanger discusses how the breakdown we're experiencing goes far beyond what was projected even by the models which have told us we should be doing far more. Bill McKibben points out the stark difference between Jimmy Carter's leadership and forward thinking as to the value of renewable energy, and the oil-fueled anti-science of Ronald Reagan which shut down any prospect of cleaner energy which wouldn't serve to enrich a small set of oil tycoons. David Roberts discusses the work of Greenlight America in seeking to organize people to support renewable projects. And Andrew Lam reports on new research showing a correlation between proximity to Alberta oil and gas infrastructure and respiratory and cardiovascular difficulties - while noting that the province has gone far out of its way to avoid accurately assessing the harms of fossil fuels.

- Peter Bloom examines the growing body of evidence showing that neoliberal "saviors" can't protect against the spread of authoritarianism - particularly as they seek to exacerbate the concentration of wealth and power. And Matthew Green and Joseph Gubbels discuss how Justin Trudeau's abandonment of electoral reform reflects his blinkered view of democracy as entitling people only to select which representatives of the elite will control them, while Christo Aivilis rightly argues that the NDP should be loudly committing to follow through where Trudeau broke his promise. 

- Nora Loreto writes about the concerted effort to infantilize younger adults in order to prevent the exercise of collective action. Miles Klee highlights how slurs which had long been treated as unacceptable are being revived as part of the alt-right's assault on human decency. And Rafael Behr writes that Kemi Badenoch is continuing the UK Cons' descent into conspiracy theory and fascist rhetoric.

- Finally, Katie Surma and Nicholas Kusnetz discuss Bolivia's long road to extricating itself from ISDS  corporate control agreements. 

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Amy Goodman calls out the media's failure to connect the devastation of Hurricane Helene with the global warming which is exacerbating extreme weather, while Jessica Corbett talks to experts who recognize that it would serve as a blaring wakeup call if the powers that be were at all willing to let such a thing be heard. And Andrew Dessler and Kiara Alfonseca each discuss the grim reality that one of the cities hardest hit by Helene is Asheville, NC - which was previously theorized to be one of the safest cities in the face of a climate breakdown. 

- Meanwhile Keira Wright, Bernadette Toh and Charlotte Hughes-Morgan write about the impact extreme weather will have in pushing up the price of food. 

- Carl Meyer reports that fossil fuel executives are predictably demanding that Canada do nothing whatsoever to limit carbon pollution from the oil and gas sector. And Julia Conley reports on yet another example of oil-sector price fixing which has ensured that consumers pay through the nose no matter what climate policies are or aren't in place.  

- Jeremy Corbyn discusses how corporations focused on nothing but concentrating their own wealth and power have become the dominant governing entities around the globe. And Jamie Mann reports on new data from the Tax Justice Network on the world's most notorious tax havens - with UK territories continuing to rank among the worst offenders in allowing for corporate tax evasion. 

- Finally, Adam King writes that a strong labour movement in Canada needs to fight for the interests of Indigenous workers who continue to face systemic barriers. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Rob Stein discusses the CDC's recognition that new, more evasive COVID strains are becoming dominant in the U.S. Megan Ogilvie and Kenyon Wallace report on the growing calls for a return to preventative masking in Ontario, while Aline Schnake-Mahl et al. examine the connection between sick leave and other stronger public health policies, and higher vaccination rates. And Arianna Spatola et al. study the causes of long COVID, with an immune response to multiple viruses representing a key risk factor. 

- Bob Weber reports on new assessments showing that Canada is emitting far more methane pollution than it's bothering to document and regulate, while Peter Milne writes about the continuing waste of time and resources that is carbon capture and storage. Greg Jericho discusses how Australian gas companies are raking in windfall profits while contributing nothing more back to public coffers. And Ruth Michaelson reports on the influx of fossil fuel lobbyists at #COP27 attempting to stall meaningful climate action. 

- Meanwhile, Jacques Poitras and Frederic Zalac report on the revelations from the Paradise Papers showing that Irving Oil raked in a quarter of a billion dollars in profit while securing provincial and municipal tax handouts. 

- Alan Drummond writes about the crisis in Canada's emergency rooms. And Jeremy Corbyn makes the case for a national care service, even as the UK Cons instead plan to hand over the existing public health care system (including the private medical records of unconsenting patients) to the sketchiest corporate operators they can enrich. 

- Finally, Max Fawcett discusses how Canadians have already suffered from the right's obsession with cryptocurrency over any activity which would actually benefit people. 

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Bruce Arthur laments the message being sent by Ontario's government that there's no need to care about other people in the face of an ongoing pandemic, while Norm Farrell discusses British Columbia's sliding back into a neglect phase. Anne Flaherty reports on the young workers losing their careers to long COVID. And Grady McGregor reports on China's development and approval of a nasal vaccine which offers the prospect of better protection to those who haven't been sacrificed to COVID-19 before it's available. 

- Meanwhile, John Michael McGrath writes that governments which have gone out of their way to eliminate COVID protections can't plausibly expect to keep any promises that schools will stay open. 

- Rosa Saba reports on the disconnect between a hot job market and the continued refusal by employers to pay people accordingly, while Nojoud Al Malles talks to labour leaders about the growing gap between stagnant (or worse) real wages and record profits. 

- Andrea Houston discusses how Canada's public health care system is being sabotaged by politicians eager to chop it up into profitable pieces. And Sanah Ashan notes that mental health - like health care generally - needs to be based on recognition of the importance of the social determinants of health. 

- Finally, John Smith writes that any hope for a better future needs to be paired with a willingness to fight for it. And Jeremy Corbyn notes that a new spokesperson doesn't serve as justification to keep repeating the same old corporatist mistakes.

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Ben Beckett interviews Max Desbris about the role a climate breakdown plays in exacerbating natural disasters, while Grace Livingstone and Ellen Tsang report on thousands of indigenous islanders in Panama who have lost their home and community to the environmental disruptions we've seen so far. Leslie Hook and Chris Campbell write about the dangerous and unexplained surge in methane levels which is increasing the pace of global warming. Mia Rabson reports on the hydrogen supply agreement between Canada and Germany - including the firm recognition by a country facing short-term supply issues that fossil-fuel-based energy isn't a viable option, even as the Trudeau Libs try to keep money flowing to the oil patch. And Chantal Hebert discusses how the Cons' leadership contenders are looking to make Canada's already confused and ineffective climate policy even worse. 

- Meanwhile, Crawford Kilian reviews Serhii Plokhy’s Atoms and Ashes as an important reminder that nuclear "accidents" are both entirely predictable and caused in part by deliberate choices. 

- Jessica Corbett discusses how profiteering by grain giants is a classic example of disaster capitalism. 

- Jose Jimenez et al. study the historical reasons explaining the deadly resistance to accepting that COVID-19 is airborne. And Science Daily reports on new research showing a connection between increased blood clotting and long COVID. 

- Finally, John Smith writes about the opportunity lost when Jeremy Corbyn's leadership - with its potential to offer hope to massive numbers of otherwise disenfranchised people - was undermined by establishment resistance (including within his own party).

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Jeremy Corbyn writes that the cause of workers remains the greatest force for hope that we have. And Hannah Appel discusses the prospect of uniting the aligned interests of workers seeking to reduce the abusive use of concentrated corporate power in the workplace, and debtors with a similar goal in the marketplace.  

- Meanwhile, Michael Scherer and Sarah Ellison discuss the dangers of putting the most important conduits for information in the hands of the world's wealthiest men. 

- Jason MacLean writes about a May 3 day of action to push Canada to at least stop subsidizing continued carbon pollution, while Natasha Bulowski reports on the Libs' continued failure to deliver on the promise of a just transition plan. And Ben Elgin calls out the sketchy explanations for treating the continued presence of existing forests as a carbon credit which is then used as an excuse to allow for greenhouse gas dumping.  

- Finally, Jacqueline Howard tells the stories of people who are now facing severe and extended cases of long COVID even after seemingly mild (or even asymptomatic) initial infections. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Lara Herrero offers a quick guide to what we know about the Delta variant - and how it should change our previous perspective on the fight against COVID-19. And Andre Picard highlights why parents shouldn't be at all hesitant to get children vaccinated at the earliest opportunity. 

- Kieran Leavitt discusses how the choice to stop governing in the midst of a pandemic has led to catastrophic results in both Saskatchewan and Alberta. David Climenhaga notes that Jason Kenney's track record of delay followed by panic makes it impossible to believe his assurances in any direction, while Max Fawcett warns that Kenney appears more interested in privatizing health care than ensuring people survive COVID. And Colleen Silverthorn interviews Brett Wasko about the need to start again limiting indoor gatherings to reduce community transmission. 

- Meanwhile, Alex McKeen writes about the efforts of Canada's COVID Zero movement to get us to stop accepting avoidable losses of life and health in the name of imaginary economic gains. 

- Hasan Sheikh writes that the Trudeau Libs have no more excuses when it comes to finally delivering on their decades-old promise of national pharmacare. 

- Bruce McAdams and Rebecca Gordon recognize that any spin about a "labour shortage" in face reflects the refusal of employers to provide acceptable pay and working conditions. 

- Finally, Luke Savage interviews George Monbiot about the effect decades of atomization have had on the willingness and ability of people to resist conspiracy theories. And Jeremy Corbyn writes about the need for social movements to lead the push for change where political parties abandon the cause. 

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Doug Cuthand calls out the Kenney and Moe governments for prematurely and irresponsibly declaring victory over COVID rather than paying any attention to how they've put their citizens at risk. And Nesrine Malik highlights how decades of anti-government rhetoric have laid the groundwork for vaccine hesitancy in the midst of a pandemic.

- Darren Shore reviews Jonathan Gauvin and Angella MacEwen's Share the Wealth as an important read in understanding both the reality of wealth inequality, and the policy choices which can address it. Kim Siever discusses the overwhelming popular support for the principle that the wealthy should pay their fair share. And Katherine Scott examines the NDP's pre-campaign policy commitments in addressing social and economic inequality. 

- Sask Dispatch comments on the need to start talking about - and planning for - the failure of the climate system we've relied up to support us. And Jeremy Corbyn discusses how climate change is a class issue - both in its disproportionate impact on vulnerable people, and the need for class struggle to combat it.

- Finally, Jason Vermes reports on the reality that the growth of global temperatures is only accelerating even as the base temperature reaches higher levels than any seen in recorded history. And Bonnie Allen and Theresa Kliem report on what's becoming one of the worst droughts in Canadian history - even as farmers are forced to brace for the prospect of it turning into the new normal.

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- CBC News reports on the expert response to deaths caused by the spread of the Delta COVID-19 variant in a Calgary hospital - including needed warnings that vaccinations aren't a bulletproof line of defence against it. And Mary Van Beukesom discusses how the combination of the Delta variant and increased spread among younger demographics is driving a new surge in the UK. 

- Jeremy Corbyn and Niki Ashton question the G7's willingness to prolong the COVID-19 pandemic in order to preserve the pharmaceutical industry's plans to turn the coronavirus into a long-term profit centre. And Grant Robertson reports on the data gaps which have reduced the effectiveness of Canada's vaccination efforts. 

- Kerry Campbell reports on the conclusions of the House of Commons' standing committee on human resources that Canada's EI system needs to be reworked to ensuring benefits are available for all types of workers. 

- Marc Lee discusses how spin about distant and selective "net zero" emission targets serves only to distract us from the need to actually reduce carbon pollution as soon as possible. 

- Finally, Tristin Hopper discusses a few of the systemic choices which have resulted in decent housing being unaffordable for far too many Canadians. And Martine August points out the rise of institutional landlords (driven by preferential tax treatment) which is driving up the cost of rental housing. 

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Adam Hunter talks to epidemiologists about Saskatchewan's pitiful COVID-19 response and the avoidable disease and death that have resulted. Gary Mason warns that we shouldn't expect to be into a post-COVID period by this summer. And Crawford Kilian writes that not only can we not rush in pretending we're back to normal, but we also shouldn't accept what we put up with as normality before.

- Linda McQuaig reminds us that the Libs' infrastructure bank is designed to turn needed public services into a windfall for wealthy investors. And Shoo Lee, Brian Rowe and Sukhy Mahl study how privatized health care produces worse results for everybody other than the people extracting profits from the system. 

- Emily Dwyer writes about the futility of a mining "watchdog" which has been denied any authority to actually investigate complaints.

- Finally, Dan Darrah highlights how there's no reason for Niki Ashton (or anybody else) to be shy about engaging with Jeremy Corbyn in the development of the Progressive International. And Joe Roberts warns against allowing hostile and politicized actors to determine who's entitled to be involved in movement-building.

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Steven Greenhouse writes that COVID-19 may produce a wave of unionization as workers see how little they're valued, and how cavalierly they lives are put at risk. And Ed Yong follows up on the plight of coronavirus "long-haulers" who have faced a constantly-changing series of symptoms for a period of months.

- Smriti Mallapaty highlights the factors needed to safely reopen schools - with minimal community spread being the most crucial point, while masking, class sizes and hygiene also loom large. And Nicole Bogart reports on the school bus drivers who are being asked to take serious risks with little apparent consideration for their health.

- Victoria Gibson reports on the worrisome correlation between COVID-19 cases and eviction proceedings among Toronto neighbourhoods.

- Shelly Hagan discusses how a drop in immigration to Canada as a result of border restrictions may threatens our social and economic development. And Beatrice Paez and Palak Mangat report on a push by some MPs to ensure that farm labourers are able to seek permanent residency, rather than being trapped in precarious and temporary work.

- Stuart Trew is optimistic that the Libs' prorogation of Parliament can create space for discussion about a just recovery. Linda McQuaig argues that the NDP should use its balance of power to push for a Canadian Green New Deal. Jagmeet Singh writes about the importance of investing in child care. And Eric Hoskins offers a reminder of the net benefit to be won by investing in a universal pharmacare program.

- But Matt Korda points out that rather than investing a healthy population and environment, the Libs are instead pushing forward with expensive purchases of armed surveillance drones. Hawa Mire notes that the Libs have continued to stall on action against systemic racism. And Arnold August observes that the Trudeau government is one of the few international supporters of armed regime change in Venezuela.

- Finally, Grace Blakely offers some lessons from Jeremy Corbyn's tenure as leader of UK Labour - including the importance of fighting for social justice in the face of establishment opprobrium.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Laurie Macfarlane writes about the interconnected economic, democratic and environmental crises facing the UK - and the opportunity voters have to address all three in today's election. And a group of political and thought leaders from around the globe lends its support to Jeremy Corbyn and UK Labour as offering needed hope for the many.

- Isabel Sawhill reviews Binyamin Appelbaum's The Economists' Hour, and points out how the dogma of laissez-faire economics has produced intolerable human costs for no apparent economic benefit. And Jim Hightower argues that the moment has come to ensure that the richest few pay their fair share through higher taxes.

- Cassandra Szklarski reports on the connection between where a person lives and their likelihood of suffering an avoidable death.

- Finally, Marc Lee calls for social housing which provides needed homes without building in a layer of profit for developers. And Brittany Andrew Amofah and Rebecca Cheff highlight how a true universal pharmacare program would make life more affordable for the people who most need it.

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- David Leonhardt discusses how the U.S.' tax system has become definitively regressive, featuring this chart as to how the wealthiest few now pay a smaller share of their income than anybody else.

- Ann Pettifor highlights how society suffers when rentier capitalism is allowed to dictate our policy options. And Matthew Goodwin writes that in the UK - as here - voters are eager to see alternatives which result in a more democratic distribution of wealth and power.

- David Macdonald reminds us of the continued blight of child poverty in Canada three decades after Parliament voted unanimously to eradicate it. Laurie Monsebraaten reports on Campaign 2000's update on the state of poverty and inequality. And Yolande Cole takes note of new research showing that half of Calgarians are struggling to pay for basic needs such as food and shelter.

- Colin McClelland reports on BDO Dunwoody's latest survey showing the spread of precarity and personal debt. And Kevin Camichael notes that the Libs' and Cons' focus on targeting first-time homebuyers at the expense of everybody else will only stand to make matters worse.

- Finally, Kathy Tomlinson points out how the trucking industry is exploiting immigrants and endangering the public by charging fees to hire drivers with no regard for safety.

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your Labour Day reading.

- Hassan Yussuff discusses what's at stake for Canadian workers in this fall's election campaign. And Binyamin Applebaum and Damon Winter rightly point out that while one job can be difficult enough, there are added stresses where workers need to try to satisfy more than one employer in order to scrape by.

- Alyssa Battistoni and Thea Riofrancos write about the importance of a Green New Deal oriented toward economic as well as environmental justice. And Matt Bruenig examines how UK Labour's inclusive ownership funds would serve to keep some wealth in the hands of the workers who generate it, while Jim Pickard and Robert Shrimsley take a look at Jeremy Corbyn's plans for a more fair economy and society in general.

- Trevor Tombe calls out a few of the more glaring falsehoods behind Jason Kenney's separatist messaging.

- Finally, John Michael McGrath offers a reminder that neither the Libs nor the Cons has any reason to brag about their record on same-sex marriage.

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Mia Rabson reports on a new Climate Action Network report card showing that Canada's plans for greenhouse gas emissions are as bad as any in the G8, projecting to lead to the same 4 degree temperature increase which would result from from Donald Trump's outright denialism. And Marc Jaccard concludes that the Cons' excuse for a climate plan will actually result in increases in Canada's greenhouse gas emissions over the next crucial decade.

- Meanwhile, Eliane Brum highlights how humanity as a whole is facing severe risks from Brazil's deliberate destruction of the Amazon rain forest in the name of short-term profits.

- Alicia Bridges reports on new research showing how even conventional oil production in Saskatchewan may be resulting in serious risks to drinking water. And Stephanie Tobin examines the false promise of offshore oil spill cleanup - where even ideal conditions result in 90% of what's dumped into water being left there to contaminate marine areas.

- Olivia Tobin reports on Jeremy Corbyn's warnings about the generation of young people being left behind by the UK's Conservative government, while Jagmeet Singh comments on the similar problem with the increasing precarity facing young Canadians. And Heather Scoffield writes about the experience of poverty among people being told they should be grateful for stagnant gaps between the wealthy and the rest of us.

- Finally, Jill Filipovic discusses new research showing how "pro-life" positions are primarily about asserting male dominance over women.

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading.

- Susan Bradley reports on Dave Phillips' observations as to how Atlantic Canada is already facing the effects of a climate breakdown. Cameron Brick discusses the importance of seeing ourselves as more than consumers in developing a response to our climate crisis. And David Roberts highlights how Jay Inslee has provided the details of a plan to meet the goals of a Green New Deal for the U.S. (which should in turn be adaptable for use elsewhere).

- Kate Bratskeir points out the large amount of plastic being burned in the U.S. (and the resulting harms to health and the environment). But Lisa Friedman reports that the Trump administration's response to deaths caused by air pollution is to make up numbers to cover up the problem. And Jeff Lewis reports that the Libs are teaming up with Jason Kenney to facilitate the dumping of toxic water from tar sands tailings ponds into sources of drinking water.

- Christine Berry and Joe Guinan offer a look at what a Corbyn Labour government could mean for UK politics and society.

- Bobby Hristova reports on levels of drunkenness as one of the areas in which Canada stands out dubiously among our peers - and this before the plans of right-wing governments to substitute increased alcohol consumption for responsible governance are fully implemented.

- Finally, Eliza Mackintosh reports on Finland's success in educating children to recognize and respond to propaganda.

New column day

Here, following up on these posts as to how the federal NDP is leading the way in setting policy in line with the realities of an impending climate breakdown.

For further reading...
- Mia Rabson reported on the NDP's push to halve Canada's greenhouse gas emissions in the next decade, including by ending the subsidies which would otherwise lock us into continued pollution.
- Geoff Dembicki discusses how the Libs' climate policies would leave us on pace for a climate disaster as some worthwhile ideas are more than outweighed by the failure to account for major sources of carbon pollution. - Cameron Brick comments on the significance of inertia in our personal habits which affect our own contributions to climate change. But Alex Boutilier reports on polling showing that even Conservative voters don't buy their party's obstructionism, recognizing the importance of carbon pricing and other policies to avert climate disaster.
- Finally, Alexander Kaufman examines Jay Inslee's detailed climate plan - which should serve as an example for others to emulate. And Peter Walker reports on UK Labour's plan for a massive investment in solar panels on millions of homes as part of a green industrial revolution.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Andrew Phung highlights how important it is for younger voters to be heard in Alberta's election. Travis Benson offers plenty of suggestions as to why even people who aren't always NDP supporters should be happy to re-elect Rachel Notley. And PressProgress rounds up just a few of the ways in which Jason Kenney plans to enrich corporations and their wealthy shareholders at the expense of workers, while Emma Graney examines how Kenney's plan to slash the minimum wage for younger workers has done nothing but undercut wage rates when applied elsewhere.

- Emma Simpson writes about the dangers of "presenteeism" in workplaces which don't allow workers to take care of their physical and mental health. And BBC News reports on new EU rules intended to offer at least some protection to gig workers.

- Bridget Yard reports on the growing debts being foisted on Saskatchewan university students due to a lack of public funding. And Eleanor Busby writes about the growing number of UK students avoiding school altogether due to the consequences of conservative-inflicted poverty. 

- Francine Kopun reports on the warnings the Ford PCs received - and ignored - about the long-term costs of pulling funding from public health.

- Finally, Robert Borosage discusses the possibility that Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn could jointly revolutionize the political economy of the English-speaking world.

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Oliver Bullough writes that the combination of increased wealth concentration and the free flow of money across borders to attacks currencies and governments represents an urgent threat to democratic governance. And Owen Jones argues that now is the ideal time to push for a transformation of the UK's economy:

What is striking about [the IPPR's] demands isn’t just how much more radical they are than only four years ago: it’s who has endorsed them – from the archbishop of Canterbury to business leaders. The IPPR’s polling shows that, from a radical clampdown on tax avoidance to publicly owned investment banks, to borrowing to invest, there is overwhelming support for the junking of the old neoliberal order.

Against this backdrop, the left needs to demand more radicalism from Labour. The very few sympathetic commentators have felt reluctant to do so because of the unrelenting attacks on a besieged Labour leadership. Some fear that any criticisms of the party from its left flank will offer succour to its increasingly hysterical opponents. But public appetite for radical reform – with even business figures endorsing it – means there is space to go further. Labour’s commitments on income and wealth taxes are insufficient to fully reverse Tory austerity and benefit cuts. The case for free movement of people in Europe has, sadly, largely been abandoned. By demanding more boldness from Labour, the political debate can be shifted further left still.

The report calls for a paradigm shift as radical as those achieved by Attlee and Thatcher. Both built a new consensus, forcing their opponents to surrender to their underlying philosophies. To avoid its flagship policies being unpicked by another Tory administration, a future Labour government must seek to do the same.

- Andrew MacLeod writes that we can't expect to deal with the opioid addictions without recognizing and addressing the underlying social causes. And David Crow reports that one of the major manufacturers of the opioid crisis has now claimed patent rights over a new treatment.

- Kelly Crowe comments on the hundreds of shortages of medications faced in Canada just this year, with most resulting from weaknesses in the corporate pharmaceutical supply chain. And MacLeod discusses the difficult choices around "orphan disease" drugs which are available only for exorbitant prices through private sources.

- Laura Paddison takes note of a new report which highlights the implausibility of addressing the problem of climate change with the same capitalist principles which created it. And James McClintock discusses how greenhouse gases are acidifying our oceans in addition to heating up the planet.

- Finally, Jennifer Zwicker and Stephanie Dunn question why decisions about disability supports are being made by the CRA rather than departments better positioned to address them.

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Peter Gowan discusses UK Labour's push for greater social control over economic development. And Rainer Kattel, Mariana Mazzucato, Josh Ryan-Collins and Simon Sharpe set out a useful framework to evaluate policies which are intended to shape markets rather than merely attempting to fix them.

- Anis Heydari reports on the choice far too many Albertans face between food and housing when neither is affordable. And Glen Pearson comments on how poverty can trap people in a cycle of deprivation and pessimism:

What do kids in low-income situations do, for instance, when school is out? For many, camps are beyond reach because of the expense, vacations to other regions virtually impossible, and for some, hunger pangs will increase with the loss of school breakfast and feeding programs. It’s a sad irony of our times that agricultural growing seasons flourish at the same time as kids go more hungry than usual.

For working parents pressed down with precarious or vulnerable work, inquiring as to what their plans are for the summer can prove to be a moment of insensitivity. They possess no cottage, boat, travel agenda or, for some, even a car. They can enjoy the sun like everyone else, but not in those more exotic locations most citizens can get to.

This is what modern-day poverty looks like — not just a lack of resources but also a loss of hope.

It is this psychological state that presents democracy and politicians with one of their greatest challenges because there seem to be no solutions if the economic status quo prevails. And those losing faith in their future are frequently working adults, trapped in vulnerable employment, unable to escape their situation.
...
The longer we put off pressing for change, the closer the tentacles of poverty come to us. We all know people in our neighbourhoods and among our friends and families who have become increasingly vulnerable to low-income pressures, despite their best efforts to retrain, finish their education and work unbearable hours. There is more of this to come.

- But on the bright side, Matt Robinson reports on Vancouver's action to expropriate slum hotels to ensure they can be properly maintained and made available for people who need the housing. And Cami Kepke reports on a push by several Regina city councillors to stop further commercial development in Wascana Park. 

- Finally, Michael Harris weighs in on Doug Ford's choice to impose chaos on Toronto's municipal governance.