Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Michal Rozworski writes that we need to respond to the coronavirus pandemic with investment in the society we want to build for tomorrow, not austerity to punish us today:

Our economy is ripe for transformative reconstruction. The key now will be both how much we spend and, crucially, how we spend it. First, we must ensure everyone can meet basic needs. Income supports, including CERB, cannot be cut off before the pandemic ends, and an overhauled unemployment insurance (EI) system is also urgently needed, one that covers all jobless Canadians and replaces more lost income. At the same time, sharply increasing public investment not dependent on the private market should be an immediate priority, starting with big expansions of healthcare, child care and public housing.

Women have been hit harder by this crisis in multiple ways—both losing more jobs and taking on more work in the home. We need a national childcare program with good jobs at its centre to both respond to the gendered nature of the crisis and start to revalue care work.

To prevent a lost generation among today’s youth who are also disproportionately affected, the government should launch a big public green jobs program with fair wages, training and union representation. Think how much introducing a generation of young workers to unions in their first job could do for reviving the labour movement—a movement that could then help ensure the recovery from this crisis isn’t as unequal as from the last one.

If we fail to do these things and more, it will be a choice, not because we could not afford it. The COVID-19 pandemic is largely an act of chance, but an economic depression on its heels would be largely of our own making.

- But Randy Robinson writes that the Ontario PCs, like their conservative cousins across Canada, are already looking for excuses to slash limited supports and impose grinding austerity.

- Perlita Stroh discusses how COVID-19 looks to be destroying decades of already-slow workplace progress for working mothers. And Matt Lundy points out how the impending end of the CERB may deflate the individual spending which has been kept up thanks to the presence of a reliable source of income.

- Jennifer Brown calls out Doug Ford for endangering the safety of children to try to save money on school reopening. And Alex Soloducha reports on the parents and students who aren't satisfied with shuffling deck chairs and calling it a Saskatchewan reopening plan.

- Finally, Max Fawcett writes about the recent removal of Sandip Lalli (former president of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce0 for the crime of insufficient praise for Jason Kenney as an example of the UCP's extreme crackdown on dissent in Alberta.

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Bouncer cats.

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Paola Frelich writes about the uber-rich whose habit of being strictly isolated from anybody else has allowed for life to continue as usual while workers face the risks of a pandemic. And Dominic Rushe comments on the split in the U.S.' economy between those with concentrated wealth which is only growing thanks to massive capital injections, and those scrambling to make ends meet as minimal benefits have been allowed to expire.

- Patrick Butler reports on the results of an inquiry finding a direct link between poor housing and COVID-19 death rates in the UK.

- Lynn Giesbrecht reports that Saskatchewan's pediatricians are just the latest group of experts to raise the alarm over the province's lack of a plan to ensure student and staff safety as schools reopen. Arthur White-Crummey reports on the concerns of Saskatchewan teachers about the risks of poorly ventilated schools. Kristin Rushowy reports on Doug Ford's rejection of any attempt to reduce class sizes to protect against the spread of COVID-19. And Rachel Mendleson and Jennifer Yang highlight the need to ensure that before- and after-school programs don't become an unaddressed source of viral spread. 

- Finally, J David Hughes discusses how massive subsidies to British Columbia's liquid natural gas industry have proven disastrous both for the environment and the economy. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Dan Guadagnolo calls out the spinmeisters trying to torque job availability numbers to portray workers receiving coronavirus relief as lazy rather than deserving. And Christian Favreau notes that in fact, the real danger is that any recovery plan will be used to further enrich the already-wealthy while inflicting yet another round of crushing austerity on the poor and working class.

- Angus Reid studies public health compliance among the supporters of different parties, and unsurprisingly finds that conservatives are far more likely to be "cynical spreaders" putting people at risk for no good reason. And Tyler Barton and Anand Parekh offer some lessons from around the world about reopening schools - with the rate of community transmission serving as the most importance factor in avoiding outbreaks.

- Jeff Lewis and Rod Nickel discuss how improved measuring systems are revealing that the Canadian oil and gas sector is spewing out far more dangerous methane than previously recorded. And Laura Hurst reports on the increasing number of oil and gas companies doubting that there's any point in seeking out new projects. 

- Finally, David Roberts examines new research showing to effectively use carbon pricing as part of a set of policies to avert climate breakdown - rather than relying on it as a climate policy unto itself.

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Lori Fox writes that the COVID-19 pandemic reflects a fundamental break with what had been business as usual - making it essential that we both grieve what's behind us, and work on developing what comes next:

Things aren’t going to go back to “normal.” There’s no “normal” to go back to.

More importantly, this pandemic has kicked open the factory doors of our culture and allowed us to see how the sausage is made: on the backs of the people whose labour, time and bodies we deem to be worth at or around minimum wage, but without which we absolutely could not – cannot – make it through this crisis.

Current conversations around the “safety” of going back to work right now are simply not for the lower classes. While many middle and upper class people worked from home, working class wage earners – grocery store clerks, delivery drivers, food and agriculture folk – continued on as “essential workers,” dispensing and producing the goods and services on which our entire culture runs, all the while risking continuous public exposure. They went to work – and continue to go to work – because they have to, and will continue to have to, even as we see infections spike, something we should prepare to happen, given what we are seeing in other nations, such as Germany and Australia.

...

The destabilizing effect of this pandemic has laid bare the economic inequality on which our society functions. Class disparity, the resistance to universal income, systemic racism, the militarization of the police and the rhetoric of the current political climate are not the result of the pandemic; they are the endgame of capitalism. We’ve merely paused the machine long enough to see them clearly.

...

(W)e might ask if the world we have lost is really as good as we remember, if it was serving the life we hoped we would have. I’m working class. I’ve experienced homelessness and poverty. I’m queer. I’m non-binary. I’m female. I know – have known for most of my adult life – that in this world some bodies are worth more than other bodies. Some lives are worth more than other lives. Some happiness is worth more than other happiness.

What we are seeing, now, in this crisis, is a perfect distillation of that, of the ways the world before did not serve – did not care about – everyone equally. This is a chance to rethink that; perhaps not only can we not return to the world before this, but maybe we don’t really want to.

...

...Even if we did all agree to go back to the way things were, they can never actually really be that way; the illusion has been dispelled.

So go ahead and grieve now. Think carefully. Fill in the holes the world before has left.

Adapt.

Be good to your neighbours and friends. Take care of them as best you can. Don’t let them go without, if it’s possible. We’re going to need each other more than ever.

- Meanwhile, Madeline Leung Coleman comments that Yun Ko-Eun's The Disaster Tourist anticipates the plight of workers told they're essential while continuing to be exploited. And Bruce Livesey discusses how the richest few are only getting richer thanks to the pandemic, even as nearly everybody else is struggling just to tread water.

- Andre Picard writes about the need to have at least some means for children to be back to school this fall, while acknowledging we need to do everything in our power to ensure the health and safety of kids, teachers and families alike. Theresa Kliem and Alicia Bridges report on the lack of any mention of ventilation issues in the Saskatchewan Party's instructions for a return to school. Amina Zafar follows up to find plenty of parents and experts worried about that glaring omission, while Kristin Rushowy reports on new polling showing the preferences of Ontario's parents. And Derek Turner points out the increased uncertainty and risk for substitute teachers who are expected to deal with different cohorts of students from day to day.

- Finally, Doug Cuthand writes that any solutions to Saskatchewan's suicide crisis among Indigenous peoples need to be based on community control, rather then merely reflecting the portions of settler-centred consultations that fit with the Saskatchewan Party's political plans.

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- As the Libs continue to stall on announcing a promised transition from an expiring CERB to a revised employment insurance system, David Macdonald details who stands to lose out if EI simply operates as it has in the past.

- Leslie Young reports on Theresa Tam's warning that COVID-19 may overwhelm Canada's health care system this fall if we're not careful. And Ruth Robillard makes the case for more protections in schools to limit its spread.

- Meanwhile, Stephanie Levitz reports on one positive initiative to ensure that surplus food which would otherwise have gone to waste will instead find its way to people who need it.

- CBC News reports on the growing movement in support of Tristan Durocher and the Walking With our Angels camp. And Michael Bramadat-Willcock's report includes Durocher's apt comparison between Saskatchewan's suicide crisis and a wildfire being allowed to burn when it could be controlled. 

- Finally, Paris Marx discusses the futility of hearkening back to earlier stages of capitalism rather than working on building a more equitable and democratic alternative.

Friday Evening Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Sara Mojtehedzadeh reports on the severe uncertainty facing far too many as the CERB is set to wind down with nothing but vaporware to replace it.

- John Paul Tasker reports on the Libs' slow response to the obvious lack of personal protective equipment at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. And Rachel Treisman reports on the recognition by CDC director Robert Redfield that this could easily be the U.S.' worst fall ever for public health.

- Andre Picard discusses the need for clear guidelines to ensure both that children are as safe as possible in returning to school, and that parents aren't confronted with avoidable anxiety about their health. And Alex Bozikovic raises the important question of what we need to do to address ventilation in schools, while Nathaniel Meyersohn writes that stores are also particularly dangerous potential sources of potential outbreaks if they don't make use of available air filtration systems.

- Finally, Robert Asselin writes about the need for Canada to develop some meaningful economic planning of its own in response to the likelihood that a Biden administration will engage in the same. And Carolyn Sissoko highlights the problems with an economic system in which new fiscal capacity is almost entirely absorbed by existing corporate monoliths rather than anybody looking to build anything new.

Musical interlude

Interpol - Obstacle 1

Thursday Evening Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- David Macdonald discusses the opportunity to transition from the temporary CERB to a permanently-improved income support system for Canadians - along with the danger that people relying on modest relief now will be left to drown if the old EI rules are applied. Tammy Schirle and Mikal Skuterud note that contrary to the usual anti-social spin, there's no evidence at all that the availability of an improved safety net has led to less searching for work. And Kate Hayman and Jesse McLaren comment on the need for paid sick leave to ensure workers can keep their families and workplaces healthy.

- Lori Johb rightly argues that Saskatchewan can and should aim higher than to value austerity over investment in care for people. And Michael Pina points out the movement for group economics which has received some unexpected attention thanks to the uniform choices of three NBA players.

- Meanwhile, Adam Saifer points out how the coronavirus has highlighted the insufficiency of charity to deal with collective needs.

- Luke Savage notes that COVID-19 has exposed the cruelty underlying the U.S. economy. And Brett Christopher discusses how the UK's handing of a massive PPE contract to an entirely unqualified political friend of the government reflects the rise of rentier capitalism.

- Finally, Justin Mikulka notes that the much-vaunted Bakken fracking boom has busted, while operators haven't bothered to clean up their mess.

Wednesday Evening Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Nicole Lyn Pesce examines the growing evidence that people with even minor cases of COVID-19 may face neurological symptoms lasting for months. And Lauren Pelley writes about the need to start thinking about how to deal with a full winter of the coronavirus - though I'd argue we need to go further and start planning for the anticipated multi-year period of distancing and protective measures.

- Joseph Magnet discusses the inevitability of COVID-19 outbreaks in schools. John Michael McGrath writes that parents aren't expecting miracles, but have every right to demand effort, competence and compassion from the governments who have children's health and safety in their hands. Alex Soloducha reports on the rightful calls of Saskatchewan parents to have the province ensure an effective plan for any return to school rather than foisting blame (but no resources) on school boards. Amina Zafar surveys some doctors as to how best to check viral spread in schools, while the Alberta Federation of Labour recommends a workplace health and safety approach to minimize the prospects of a Cargill-style calamity.

- Jessica Yun examines why share prices are staying at all-time-high levels in the course of a pandemic which has severely reduced economic activity - with attacks on workers and wages looming large in the equation. And Don Pittis discusses the reality that assets available for fire-sale prices only further enrich the people who have spare wealth to acquire them.

- David Roberts writes about new research showing that the effects of air pollution are so severe as to make a transition to clean energy a clear economic benefit even if we ignore the climate crisis.

- But that makes it particularly depressing that Canada is handing out massive fossil fuel subsidies even compared to our international counterparts, rather than planning for any meaningful move toward renewables. And that goes doubly for Alberta's plan which is based on trying to extract temporary wealth from a greenhouse gas emissions path which will lead to an inevitable climate disaster.

- Finally, David Climenhaga warns us not to be taken in by promises of small nuclear reactors which serve only as a delay tactic rather than a viable part of the transition.

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Blissed cats.

Tuesday Evening Links

This and that for your Tuesday evening.

- Crawford Kilian examines the UN's advice on how to keep school safe from COVID-19, while the Saskatchewan Medical Association and Saskatchewan College of Family Physicians (PDF) both urge the Saskatchewan Party start paying attention to what's needed to keep people safe. And The New York Times' editorial board points out that even the U.S. could get control of the coronavirus by this fall if there was any competence or caring to be found among its decision-makers.

- The Star's editorial board writes that COVID-19 has highlighted the need for an income support system which goes far beyond EI as it stands.

- The Canadian Press reports on the death of Canadian James Hill as a result of the uncontrolled spread of COVID while in ICE custody. And lest anybody think Canada's immigration system is wanting for cruelty, Doug Schmidt reports on the threat of kidnapping and deportation used to prevent a migrant farm worker in Ontario from reporting employer abuse.

- Joseph Stiglitz offers a reminder as to why GDP fails to measure the well-being and sustainability which should be the focus of our public policy choices.

- Finally, PressProgress points out the Saskatchewan Party's outright bragging about relying on massive corporate donations to drown out other voices. And Geoff Leo catches them promising that donations will be personally reviewed to allow donors to get into Scott Moe's good graces.

On risky responses

Plenty of people have taken note of the Saskatchewan Party's "Kate" data collection scheme - and it's given rise to much due mockery, as well as some important recognition of the underlying system. But if it's true that the Sask Party's plan for now is to blast messages out to mobile numbers, it's worth noting how any direct responses to the scheme may lead to election-campaign mischief.

If indeed the marketing group behind the messages knows nothing about respondents besides the randomized number dialed initially, then even a humorous response provides some significant data.

Presumably most of the texts will go without responses. As a result, anything written back is likely to be read, and to mark a recipient as having an interest in Saskatchewan politics. And any negative or mocking response figures to flag the number as being linked to someone less than enamoured with Scott Moe's government.

Which is a problem, since systematic information about non-supporters can be an extremely dangerous thing in the hands of a political party's third-party operatives.

For the primary Canadian example, one need only look to one of the associated companies of the Sask Party's contractor, which employees exposed as having called non-Conservative voters with false information about polling station relocations. That led in turn to an investigation which stalled only due to an issue in proving the specific intent of the people ordering and making the calls - but which confirmed both the calls themselves, and the Cons' awareness that they would include incorrect information. 

Lest there be any doubt, it's entirely fair and normal for political parties to seek to contact voters for both persuasion and voter identification.

But it's also well worth noting how any information can be misused in the hands of unscrupulous operators - particularly when the Saskatchewan Party seems to see no issue putting its voter outreach in the hands of a group responsible for past misinformation. And Saskatchewan voters will need to be aware of the risks of handing them the data to make a voter suppression scheme work.

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Kat Devlin and J.J. Moncus point out how people were justifiably pessimistic about burgeoning inequality even before a pandemic which has further consolidated wealth and power in the hands of the obscenely rich. Vanmala Subramaniam reports on Statistics Canada's data showing that visible minorities have borne the brunt of the COVID-19 disruption. And Food Banks Canada's Hunger Count both documents the widespread use of food banks in Canada, and makes important recommendations on child care, housing and income supports to address the root causes of hunger. 

- Al Etmanski and Kathleen O'Grady write about the importance of unifying a movement of Canadians with disabilities in the face of neglect from all levels of government.

- Christine Montross discusses the need to respond to mental health concerns with compassion and harm reduction rather than violence and incarceration. And CBC Radio reports on one mother's fight to treat the opioid addiction crisis with the urgency it deserves.

- Jeff Gray writes about the possibility that a model of providing shelter hotels to homeless people may be one of the COVID-19 responses worth continuing - though as a longer-term plan it should surely make sense to provide housing which isn't so temporary.

- Finally, a group of economists including Joseph Stiglitz, Mariana Mazzucato, Robert Reich and Gabriel Zucman agrees on the need to end the carbon economy as we build back better in the wake of COVID-19.

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- The Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (via Behind the Numbers) examines how women are bearing the brunt of homelessness and insecure housing in the midst of a pandemic, while Victoria Gibson reports on the increasing number of children in Toronto's homeless shelters. Ben Miljure reports on just one of the landlords ignoring any prohibition against evictions to try to force people out of a home. Conor Dougherty warns of the impending wave of evictions as the U.S.' protections for tenants expire. And Naomi Klein warns about the risks facing a lockdown generation - while noting that housing solutions which worked during the Great Depression would provide more support than the government is bothering with now.

- Meanwhile, Nill Kaplan-Myrth discusses the need for the workers and experts in all areas of social policy to work together in solving the social problems which have been exposed by COVID-19. Marta Zaraska is hopeful that we can emerge from the pandemic with a renewed focus on kindness and social responsibility. And the Guardian points out a plan by Stephen Machin and Lee Elliot Major to ensure the wealthiest few pay their fair share to fund the assistance people need.

- Kiera Krogstad expresses her disappointment in the Moe government's sad excuse for a back-to-school plan from the perspective of a high school student, while Carla Shynkaruk reports on the plight of a family with an immunocompromised child. Adam Miller surveys a group of experts on what's missing from provincial plans so far, while Tess Kalinowski reports on the thorough federal-level recommendations which aren't reflected in provincial choices. And Jack Power and Jack Horgan-Jones report on Ireland's large-scale teacher hiring and capital grants to ensure that distancing is possible within schools.

- Finally, David Shukman writes about the impending future in which the summer is too hot for humans to survive over large swaths of the planet. And Moira Warburton reports on the collapse of the Milne Ice Shelf as just the latest climate disaster which shows how we're failing to avert a complete breakdown of our natural environment.

On temporary measures

It should never be a surprise to see the Libs talking about big progressive plans - particularly in the context of a mooted election - while making no effort to follow through on them. But it's worth noting how it's the Libs who have chosen to avoid making any plans lasting more than a couple of months - with the result of creating uncertainty for the people who need it most.

Faced with an income support system which was woefully inadequate (both in covering far too few people and in being too clunky to process a rush of applications), the Libs eventually got around to implementing the CERB, providing a source of income for the people who needed it most. But they've refused to maintain it for a period of more than a couple of months at a time - meaning that people without alternative income lined up have never been far from an impending cliff.

At the beginning, it might have been justifiable to set the CERB up for speed, and worry later about what came next. But as the time frame for the pandemic has extended to a period of years, any responsible government should be expected to ensure that workers have a new normal other than constantly staring down the barrel of impending doom.

And it's not as if the Libs would have to look far for models of policies designed to last the duration of the pandemic. The Libs' current plan is to make a wage subsidy available to businesses until at least the end of 2020. And for a Saskatchewan example, the Moe government's suspension of pay in lieu of notice is set to last for the period of the public health emergency, plus another two weeks.

It would take little effort to tell Canadians that the CERB will be available for a similar time period (subject to transitioning to a different income format if that proves appropriate). But when it comes to individual income supports, Trudeau has preferred to keep people who have lost their income from knowing they'll have support for more than a month or two at a time.

For the moment, that means people have to count on some unspecified EI reform being developed and implemented by the end of August. And if that weren't bad enough on its own, the fact that the Libs are relying on a system built to limit the availability of benefits offers a worrisome signal that what gets developed next will keep people dangling at the edge of the abyss.

In sum, while Trudeau's insiders may be trying to burnish his progressive credentials, their choice to leave Canadians in as precarious a position as possible says far more than the political message they've laundered through the press. And the fact the Libs can't even commit to a sound safety net for a full season offers every reason to doubt their longer-term commitment to basic personal security and income equality.

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Andrew Nikiforuk writes about the public's lack of familiarity with exponential growth which is proving lethal in its application to both COVID-19 and climate change. Jillian Horton points out the importance of continuing to treat the coronavirus as the emergency that it is rather than letting our guard down. And Sophie Black writes about the fear hanging over Melbourne as a second wave hits what had previously been a relatively lightly-affected country.

- Doyle McManus discusses his experience with Canada's quarantine rules and enforcement to curb the spread of COVID-19.

- Rob Breakenridge writes that universal masking is essential to any hope of avoiding another COVID-19 lockdown. But Don Braid notes that masking is merely necessary, but not sufficient, to avoid the spread of the coronavirus in schools. Megan Ogilvie and Rachel Mendelson report on the school safety recommendations of the Hospital for Sick Children - which include control over class sizes as an essential element. And Leyla Asadi points out that a responsible plan to reopen schools should include careful consideration as to what other means of community transmission can be minimized.

- Pete Evans reports on the effects of the pandemic on large businesses which are seeking creditor protection to try to weather the storm. And Don Pittis writes that we shouldn't mistake consumer spending supported by relief efforts for a full economic recovery - though we should be even more careful about thinking we can afford to turn off the tap.  

- Finally, Rick Smith sets out a path toward recovery which includes a needed transition to a green economy.

Musical interlude

William Prince - The Spark

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Carla Holinaty highlights how Saskatchewan's teachers and students deserve a well-thought-out plan for their return to school - rather than the most negligent one in the country.

- David Giles reports on the Saskatchewan NDP's call for a continued rental eviction moratorium. But in case there was any doubt where the Saskatchewan Party stands on throwing people off of land, Mickey Djuric reports on the Moe government's order that "Walking With Our Angels" movement abandon Wascana Park.

- Meanwhile, Adam Hunter reports that private-sector management hasn't been able to push interest in the Global Transportation Hub about zero - leaving the province with yet more debt and nothing to show for it. 

- Zeke Hausfather and Richard Betts write about the need to stay on the path between doom and optimism in discussing how we can avert a climate breakdown. And Bob Berwyn warns that the worst-case scenario from past climate modeling matches our current greenhouse gas emission levels. 

- Finally, The Globe and Mail's editorial board comments on the worthy goal of building cities where people can reach all basic services within a 15-minute walk or bike ride.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Chuck Collins asks why the billionaires who have seen their fortunes continue to grow during a pandemic aren't giving anything back to their communities. And thwap points out that to the contrary, it's been a non-negotiable demand that even the slightest bit of relief for everybody else needs to be more than matched with giveaways to the rich.

- Joel Lexchin examines the likely effect of a pharmacare program - which if it merely reduced Canadian drug prices to the OECD average would save billions of dollars while still leaving room for massive profits for big pharma. (Of course, that continued set of gratuitous profits would also hint at the further benefits of a public drug manufacturer.)

- Ryan Patrick Jones reports on Theresa Tam's entirely justified warnings that we'll need to keep carrying out precautions against COVID-19 for a period of years even if a successful vaccine is developed - making for a stark contrast against the determination of so many governments to impose business as usual before there's anything of the sort.

- Peter Beaumont and Rosie Scammell report on the growing body of evidence showing how superspreading events can happen in schools. But PressProgress reports that the Moe government's austerity and neglect are forcing already-stretched school divisions to further cut back on cleaning.

- Finally, Rae Cooper examines the disproportionate effect of COVID-19 on women from an Australian perspective, while offering some suggestions for the questions we should be asking to reverse the trend.

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Ed Yong examines how the coronavirus has been allowed to run rampant in the U.S. And the Globe and Mail's editorial board warns that we can't have much confidence that Canada is prepared to deal with pandemics either.

- Paul Krugman discusses how Republicans are deliberately refusing to acknowledge the ugly economic reality facing unemployed workers, while Doug Henwood laments the consequences of being governed by callous morons.

- Michael Bloomberg makes the case for making fossil fuel site remediation as a core priority in rebuilding.

- But Andrew Nikiforuk writes about the decades of responsible resource management policy scrapped by Jason Kenney in order to make a coal mining push. And Bob Weber reports on the agreement between Kenney and Jason Trudeau to actually reduce the already-insufficient monitoring of the environmental effects of the tar sands.

- Finally, Terry Boehm offers a reminder of the disastrous effects of the Harper Cons' selloff of the Canadian Wheat Board.

Anything but normal

Plenty of people are rightly wondering how the Saskatchewan Party could possibly have hyped up an announcement about what we'll see as students return to fall, then unveiled what remains the least substantive excuse for a plan in the country. And while there's no doubt that the lack of concern for students, teachers and their families is a matter of political calculation rather than reasonable governance, there are a few noteworthy theories about how a pitiful excuse for an education plan now fits into the prelude to a fall election.

One of the theories being floated is that Scott Moe and company never planned to be quite as negligent as they made themselves sound yesterday - but that they think offering nothing to begin with will allow them to seem reasonable by then making minimal concessions in the face of public outcry.

But if that theory was remotely plausible on its face, it seems an unlikely one given what happened the last time the same party used that exact line of reasoning.

Remember that the 2017 budget included all kinds of sudden and unexplained austerity measures - including attacks on everything from libraries to funerals for the poor to parks to spiritual care. And the result was a massive wave of protests - which resulted not only in the Sask Party reversing course on many of the cuts, but also in Brad Wall having to flee the political scene as his association with such callousness permanently tarnished his reputation.

To be sure, some of the worst elements of the budget were still rammed through, particularly the destruction of the STC. But even if the tradeoff of a leader's public image for a few austerian policy objectives was seen as worthwhile just after a provincial election, surely it would be seen as far too dangerous immediately before one.

That leads to the question of whether there's some political interest being fed by the non-plan. In particular there's been some speculation that any mandatory masking policy or limitation on full school operations will be seen as a betrayal by Moe's core voters.

But the problem with that view is that it doesn't seem to fit with the evidence as to how most Canadians actually see the pandemic. For the region covering Saskatchewan, significantly more voters see provincial governments as moving too quickly rather than too slowly in reopening.

Moreover, roughly half the population outright supports mandatory mask requirements, with another third being willing to go along with it. And while Conservative voters are the least enthusiastic about masking, they're not all that far off of their fellow citizens even with their political leaders failing to make much of a case for joining in the collective cause.

And there's also an additional option beyond (or in addition to) masking which the Sask Party has refused to consider, being investments in school facilities and staff to reduce the risk of community spread. That would avoid the conspiracy theories of any anti-maskers, and wouldn't face any obvious constituency in opposition other than extreme anti-government cranks.

So let's turn to what seems like the most plausible explanation: that the issue is one of the Saskatchewan Party's aversion to both treating COVID-19 with any sense of importance, and acknowledging the role the government can play in responding to it.

Among the other observations from yesterday's announcement was that the Sask Party's spin includes a large dose of "normal" language. And that looks to foreshadow the mood of complacency Moe wants to set for the election period: sit back, watch our attack ads, and let us take care of business as usual.

But if Moe's spinmeisters thought that Saskatchewan's residents were prepared to accept "move along, nothing to see here" as a response to a continuing pandemic, the rapid public response would seem to offer a compelling refutation of that theory. And the more it becomes clear that Moe is still minimizing both the threat of COVID-19 and the need for government leadership in response, the more likely Saskatchewan's voters are to turn to a party which is actually willing to do the work to  answer essential social concerns.

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Feline hangouts.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Vaughn Palmer discusses how British Columbia's Site C megaproject had gone awry long before the coronavirus pandemic hit. And CBC News reports on new research showing that thousands of earthquakes can be traced to the province's push toward fracking with no regard for the environmental consequences.

- Meanwhile, Robert Halliday warns that Scott Moe's multibillion dollar irrigation scheme projects to be a giant white elephant.

- Marc Tyndall and Zoe Dodd examine how puritanism and structural violence have prevented the development of appropriate harm reduction measures in response to the opioid crisis. And Mohy-Dean Tabbara comments on the social determinants of justice - and how racial and economic inequality lead to disproportionately large numbers of Indigenous people and people of colour being trapped in a cycle of incarceration.

- Curtis Fric discusses how fair and proportional electoral systems tend to lead to party relationships based on cooperation rather than combat.

- Luke Savage highlights how the WE scandal represents a perfect metaphor for the Trudeau government. Tyler Glavine explores how WE's PR machine is no longer deflecting from important questions around its organization. And Paul Waldie discusses the understandable response of the partners who hadn't been aware of the problems.

- Finally, Kim Kelly writes about the new forms of union-busting through misdirection with a polished exterior, rather than outright hostility.

On ongoing failings

Andrew Leach has pointed out how Alberta's economy has been the worst in the country since Jason Kenney took power. But it's also worth noting which provinces have seen similar results:

In other words, leaving aside the problems with Moe's non-response to the COVID crisis, Saskatchewan's GDP and employment situations already ranked among the worst in Canada for the previous two years. And it already projected to be third-worst in both categories for 2020, in each case as one of only three provinces set to face negative economic development across the board.

Of course, it can hardly escape mention that in both cases, the other provinces with poor performance and projections were the other two most dependent on fossil fuel exports.

And that's in addition to the reality that a government trying to pitch itself as fiscally prudent (as an excuse to be stingy with workers) was piling up debt even before COVID-19 hit. 

Now, it's always fair to question which metrics we should use to evaluate our progress. And by all means we should be looking to improve on the reality of a province where poverty, inequality, and all kinds of indicators of ill health are festering at unacceptable and exceptionally high levels.

But when a government's core appeal is supposed to be based on jobs, the economy and the budget, it's entirely damning that Moe's leadership has seen nothing but woeful underperformance even on those fronts.

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading.

- Christopher Cheung examines the privilege involved in being able to stay home during the course of the coronavirus pandemic. And Kate Allen, Jennifer Yang, Rachel Mendleson and Andrew Bailey report on the stark gap between wealthier Toronto families who were able to avoid COVID-19 during a lockdown, and poorer ones who saw their exposure continue to increase.

- Sara Mojtehedzadeh reports on one migrant worker who was threatened with deportation for daring to report that his roommate died of COVID-19 - and the reality that many more workers are being intimidated into silence without receiving the reprieve he eventually secured. Chinenye Anokwuru reports that as a result of the pandemic, the Regina Food Bank is seeing an alarming increase from its already-worrisome usage rates. And Conor Dougherty examines the particularly devastating effect of COVID-19 where people are making do with overly cramped housing.

- Eystein Jansen et al. study the reality that climate breakdown is likely to occur through abrupt events rather than incremental differences - and that the Arctic is undergoing just that. And Tim Flannery writes about the damage done by a single year of Australian wildfires exacerbated by man-made climate change.

- Finally, Oliver Milman highlights how the U.S.' presidential election may represent a point of no return if we're to have any hope of avoiding catastrophic climate change. Mary Robinson writes that Canada can become a climate leader - but that we first need to start ensuring that our actions match our words, rather than subsidizing the continued use of dirty energy while claiming to be concerned about the climate. And Jennifer Ann Brown and Aimée Bouka point out how Alberta (like other jurisdictions) can position itself for the future by focusing on clean energy as its core investment in rebuilding from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

On preemptive action

Others have rightly pointed out Norlaine Thomas' thread about the threat Stephen Harper and his acolytes pose to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. But I'll take the opportunity to expand on the prospect of stopping that crusade in its tracks in Saskatchewan's provincial election (which, to be clear, is scheduled for October 26).

First, there's more than just an outside chance of a vote for change.

While the Saskatchewan Party has generally remained ahead in the polls (other than after the 2017 budget which resulted in Brad Wall fleeing the scene), this fall's election will feature new leaders on all sides, as well as a vote being conducted under unprecedented circumstances. And that's without going into the strengths of Ryan Meili and the NDP's team of candidates - who I'd argue offer the strongest prospect for change in the public interest seen in Saskatchewan in half a century.

Second, there's no reason for Canadians to be fatalistic about the outcome rather than taking an active role.

As I've mentioned before, Saskatchewan's lax electoral financing laws allow people (and corporations) outside the province to make donations. And so far, the result has mostly been a pipeline of corporate money helping the Saskatchewan Party to run attack ads.

But people who recognize that the provincial election has constitutional ramifications for the whole country can do something about it. 

Anybody preferring to contribute their time can volunteer to help in a campaign where phone and social media contact matter more than ever. And people able to pitch in financially can donate to the Saskatchewan NDP and its candidates - to make sure the election is decided based on what's best for people, rather than what serves the provincial interests of corporate contributors, and the destructive national plans of Harper and his heirs. 

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Jen Gerson rightly argues that we should be closing bars - and otherwise limiting dangerous contacts within our communities - in order to ensure safer school environments for students this fall. And Jana Pruden discusses how the coronavirus pandemic has forced people to rethink what's most important - even as corporations and governments try to push us back toward a profit-focused status quo ante.

- Doug Nesbitt highlights how WE fits into a pattern of charities which substitute upper-class noblesse oblige for solidarity, while Shree Paradkar calls out its white saviourism complex. And PressProgress looks into the connections between WE, Scott Moe, and one of the Saskatchewan Party's largest donors.

- Meanwhile, Paul Wells and Marie-Danielle Smith discuss how WE fits into the Libs' culture - including both a restrictive inner circle, and a focus on showmanship over substance. And the Globe and Mail's editorial board argues that if Justin Trudeau was actually told he had no other options but to let WE handle a student volunteer program, he should have insisted on testing that implausible claim.

- Meanwhile, Jolson Lim reports that the Libs' other most prominent attempt to outsource COVID operations has met a similar end, as the much-questioned deal with Amazon to distribute supplies has fallen apart due to its inability to do the job.

- Finally, Tom Blackburn writes that neoliberalism has no answers for an increasingly unequal economic system which can only be fixed through structural change. And Ian Welsh writes that we can't understand the U.S.' elites without recognizing their predatory nature.

On disproportional representation

Yes, it's bad enough that fully 10% of the election candidates for the Saskatchewan Party have impaired driving convictions - including the Premier, and one individual who was convicted based on actions while he was in Cabinet.

But it's even worse when those numbers are compared to the Saskatchewan Party's inclusion levels for other identifiable types of people:

The Saskatchewan Party has named 55 candidates for the 2020 election. [Note: Per the party's own news feed, this has been updated by two candidates who make no mention of being a visible minority.]

Of those, 10 are women, four are visible minorities and two are Indigenous.

That's right: the Saskatchewan Party is providing as much of a platform for drunk drivers as for visible minorities and Indigenous people combined. (Indeed, more so given Scott Moe's inclusion in the first group.)

Which means that voters will have a stark contrast before them in determining which party reflects the province they want to see.

On denialism

To date, most of the response to Scott Moe's multi-billion-dollar irrigation scheme has focused on the immense cost for uncertain return, as well as the lack of consultation with people who stand to be severely affected. But there's another major problem worth noting with the Sask Party's plans to dust off a plan developed before the development of the science we now understand around climate change.

It's generally well recognized that the effects of the present course of climate change include hotter temperatures and a drier climate for Saskatchewan. Which leads to these warnings from Elaine Barrow about any increase in irrigation (emphasis added):

• Carefully consider the advisability and sustainability of any future irrigation projects.
• Saskatchewan should evaluate its plans for increased irrigation very carefully in light of reduced water availability from Alberta due to increased consumption and climate change. But more efficient water use for irrigation or a reduction in irrigated acreage in Alberta could compensate for the reduced water availability.

There's certainly no indication that Alberta has any interest in reducing its own agriculture for Moe's benefit. And given that the project is being pitched as "based on the vision of John Diefenbaker", and that immediate work was announced with no environmental review, there's zero reason for confidence that even the changes in our climate to date have been properly accounted for - let alone the continued thrends which should be guiding the province's water management in the decades to come.

Which is to say that there's a third major flaw with Moe's scheme: at its core, it depends on ignoring decades of scientific evidence, and indeed effective climate denialism, as the basis for its assumptions. And Saskatchewan's voters should be extremely wary of letting its future be dictated by the ghost of megaprojects past.

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- John Metta discusses how low-income workers have been barely treading water for decades even before the coronavirus collapse. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives points out how we can take the failure of EI during the pandemic as a signal that we need to build far stronger income replacements for the future. And Roberta Bell reports on how the pandemic - and the resulting strain on already-threadbare support systems - has exacerbated Regina's existing addictions crisis.

- Avery Zingel talks to Michael Miltenberger about the dangers of the choice of both the Kenney UCP and the Trudeau Libs to suspend water quality monitoring. And Ben Parfitt points out how governments will need to step in to remediate the environmental damage the natural gas industry has inflicted on Fort Nelson, BC.

- Linda McQuaig discusses how decades of giveaways to big oil have left Alberta poorer. Andrew Leach weighs in on the folly of the UCP's War Room. Bryan Carney digs into the public money spent by Alberta - and the dubious tactics used - in its propaganda blitz seeking federal approval for the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. And Wallis Snowdon reports on the municipalities facing massive property tax hikes to paper over the handouts the UCP has gifted to the fossil fuel sector. 

- Finally, even the Globe and Mail's editorial board is recognizing the need to start talking about increasing public revenues as part of Canada's path toward recovery - while the Libs continue to insist nothing of the sort is under consideration. And Bill Campbell notes that both the potential to raise income from the uber-wealthy and the ability to carry debt represent important reasons not to obsess over temporary deficits at the expense of rebuilding.

Musical interlude

Dilly Dally - Desire

Thursday Evening Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Thomas Powell makes the case for ensuring that families are able to maintain connections to loved ones in long-term care as part of our rules governing the COVID-19 pandemic. And Karen Wang argues that we need a national mask requirement in place immediately to make school opening as safe as possible this fall, while Zak Vescera reports on the Saskatchewan NDP's plan for schools (in response to the Moe government's complete lack of effort).

- David Macdonald writes that the mobilization of public resources in response to the coronavirus pandemic shows that there's no excuse for refusing to fund a just transition to a clean economy. And in case there was any doubt whether investors have any appetite for a dirty fossil fuel economic strategy, Patrick Collinson and Jillian Ambrose report on the UK National Employment Savings Trust's move toward divestment, while Dan Healing reports on Total's writedown of its tar sands assets (and disaffiliation from CAPP).

- But lest anybody hoped the fossil fuel sector would be replaced without a fight, Dana Drugmand exposes how natural gas operators are attacking the electrification of buildings.

- Finally, Jason Markusoff highlights why whataboutism isn't a legitimate response to the Libs' WE scandal. And Paul Wells writes about the jarring refusal to listen to the public which resulted in the Libs trying to substitute a vaguely-defined review for an full inquiry into the Portapique shooting spree.

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Donald McNeil discusses how inconsistency in state-level policies and a lack of federal leadership have combined to result in the coronavirus epidemic manifesting in radically different ways across the U.S. And Karen Wang points out the ticking clock facing Canadian students, parents and teachers as schools are set to resume operations with far too few precautions. And CBC News reports on Alberta's excuse for a forum to answer questions about its plan (which stands to be mirrored by Saskatchewan) - though it omits the justified dissatisfaction of participants.

- Robert Reich points out that Donald Trump's attempts to create distractions from a pandemic are doomed to failure. And James Politi notes that any economic rebound resulting from premature reopening looks to have come to a quick and disappointing end.

- Brigitte Pellerin discusses how Ottawa's altered use of streets arising out of the need for social distancing has made its public spaces far more welcoming and functional. And Paul Shaker examines how the same trend is playing out across Canadian cities.

- Meanwhile, Nick Falvo writes that the pandemic offers opportunities for our governments to ensure the availability of housing for everybody, particularly in meeting commitments to provide supportive housing for people who need it.

- Finally, the Globe and Mail's editorial board offers a reminder of the opioid epidemic which has thus far killed more people in the western provinces than COVID-19 - and is especially critical of Jason Kenney's government which (like Scott Moe's) refuses to fund any harm reduction measures to save lives.

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Sprawled cats.

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Grant Robertson exposes how the Cons and Libs alike destroyed Canada's pandemic warning and response system just when we could least afford it. Kelly Cryderman writes that we should be able to agree on a common goal of returning children safely to school - with the main obstacle being right-wing governments who aren't willing to dedicated either funding or regulatory power to the "safely" part.

- Paloma Pacheco discusses what a small boost in benefits has meant for people with disabilities, while also noting the impending return to precarity as that increase is set to expire. And Adam Radwanski identifies the difficulty in trying to plan out a recovery strategy which accounts for the often-divergent goals of climate progress and gender fairness - though that should serve as a compelling reason not to waste money on fossil fuel infrastructure which is harmful to both.

- Varshini Prakash and John Podesta discuss why we should be eager to fight for a Green New Deal against the politicians trying to make political hay out of climate obstruction. Seth Borenstein writes that wealthier people are doing far more harm to our climate than people with less money to burn. And Nina Lakhani points out how the fossil fuel sector has funded police groups to crack down on activists.

- The Guardian's editorial board writes that a wealth tax is worth pursuing, but doesn't go far enough on its own in ensuring the equitable distribution of social resources.

- Finally, Paul Krugman discusses how the U.S.' pitiful response to COVID-19 - like many of its social ills - can be traced to the Republicans' cult of selfishness. And Susan Wright calls out Jason Kenney for putting Alberta up for a fire sale - though in that case, there appears to be far more public backlash.

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Zach Carter highlights how jurisdictions whose governments have rushed to reopen businesses in the wake of COVID-19 have been rewarded with nothing other than mass death. And Peter Hartcher calls out Australia's for right-wing government for lacking any plan for a recovery.

- Meanwhile, Jeff Gailus warns Alberta about the horrendous odds facing Jason Kenney's bet on continued fossil fuel development with no regard for either environmental impacts or superior alternatives. And Jason Warick points out some of the more glaring problems with Scott Moe's choice to focus on an out-of-date irrigation plan rather than the economy of the 21st century.

- Jesse Brown looks into the question of what WE Charity actually does in its supposed core area of international development - and finds much less than would be suggested by its prominence. And PressProgress reports that Moe's contract with WE for educational services doesn't appear to have been known to the people working in Saskatchewan's education system.

- Daniel Xie discusses how the revelation that police put Shannon Phillips under surveillance for doing her job as environment minister fits into the history of the security state spying on progressive leaders in Canada.

- Finally, Rebecca Traister writes about the joint effort of Republican politicians and the corporate media to dismiss Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other women who dare to call out abuse by their male counterparts.