Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- David Moscrop writes that the Libs' choice to break the promise of electoral reform to instead lock in an unfair and unrepresentative electoral system fits with their pattern of action:

What of the strategic questions? Do the Liberals regret their decision to abandon electoral reform? Will they be able to live with themselves if they lose the popular vote, but form government? Well, have you met them? They’ll be fine.

What if they end up hoisted on their own petard, ejected from government altogether, out of power and influence despite winning more votes than the party that takes power? Given the chance, knowing what they know now, would they do things differently? History suggests not.

Since Confederation, the Liberal Party has governed more often than not. Parties that expect to form government would typically take a four– or eight–year time out than shut themselves out from total power in perpetuity. Under PR, it would be unlikely for any party to form a majority government on their own. Instead, parties would be incentivized to negotiate and cooperate with other parties: to govern as a minority or form a coalition.

Parties with a history of governing would rather take all the power half the time than half the power all the time—it’s how they’re wired.

- Cillian O'Brien and Avis Favaro highlight how people struggling to get by with low incomes would benefit from pharmacare.

- Jason Antonio reports on the increasing dependence on Moose Jaw's food bank. And Stephanie Babych writes about Calgary's mobile grocery store which is making healthier options available in food deserts.

- George Monbiot writes that a fossil fuel industry which has lied to us for decades about the known consequences of carbon pollution has managed to avoid answering for its harm to our environment by pointing fingers at individual consumers, while Emma McIntosh points out that the oil lobby's wishlist for Canada's election would only make matters worse. And Robinson Meyer notes that California's recent blackouts represent a direct result of climate inaction.

- Finally, Amanda Follett Hosgood discusses how northern British Columbia can transition away from relying on oil and gas production. And Geoff Dembicki notes that Jason Kenney is deliberately destroying the transition plans which offered some more sustainable opportunities to workers in the fossil fuel sector.