Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- John Smith discusses the importance of recognizing and repairing the weaknesses in our social fabric which have been laid bare by the coronavirus pandemic. And George Monbiot discusses how the force of consumerism has warped the way we live.

- Rachel Aiello reports on the Auditor General's conclusion that Public Health Agency of Canada was both unprepared to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, and slow to understand the scope of the problem. And Matina Stevis-Gridneff reports on Europe's plans to restrict vaccine exports which are putting Canada's progress on that front at risk.

- Meanwhile, as variants of concern rage out of control across much of Saskatchewan, Zak Vescera reports on the northern First Nations who have succeeded in flattening the curve by valuing public health over immediate profit and convenience. Mike Moore reports on Newfoundland's immediate and effective management of a variant outbreak. And Andrew Nikiforuk highlights how it's been open to any government to be free of the worst of COVID-19 by prioritizing disease control.

- Sarath Peiris argues that Scott Moe shouldn't have much choice but to take climate change seriously now that the Supreme Court has ruled on the validity of federal carbon pricing - though it's hard to see a particularly defensible reason for his stubborn refusal to do so sooner. And Cam Holmstrom comments on the modern application of the notion of peace, order and good government.

- Finally, Robert Hiltz writes about the travesty that was the RCMP's response to the killing of Colton Boushie. And Ethan Cox recounts just one example of how the use of police to respond to a mental health crisis produced gratuitous violence without making anybody safer.

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Tracy Fuller talks to Emily Oster about the process people can follow in minimizing COVID risks in the absence of full information. And Sarah Zhang writes about the impending period of vaccine purgatory as a limited number of people begin to be protected.

- Mickey Djuric compares the current coronavirus response plans of the prairie provinces - though none offers an overall plan and result deserving of much credit. Nicholas Frew reports on the spread of the virus in Saskatchewan through multiple hockey and curling events. And Joel Dryden reports on the importance of regular testing to protect residents of long-term care homes.

- J. Edward Les points out the social and health implications of COVID-19 patients who need to rely on an already-strained health care system for treatment. 

- Achal Prabhala, Arjun Jayadev and Dean Baker discuss how relaxed intellectual property rules would facilitate the development and distribution of vaccines. And Ronald Labonte and Mira Johri call out Canada's role in prioritizing intellectual property barriers over the control and treatment of COVID-19 - particularly in less-wealthy countries.

- Jane Lytvynenko discusses how decades of misinformation have destroyed the U.S.' ability to respond to COVID-19 and other crises by undermining both institutions and social trust.

- Finally, Claire Porter Robbins writes about Jason Kenney's selective interest in Charter rights as he seeks to protect anti-maskers and COVID cranks while attacking activists seeking to protect our planet and the people who inhabit it.