Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your Truth and Reconciliation Day reading.

- Michelle Cyca discusses the promise that the awareness and education shared in the course of Truth and Reconciliation Day can be a first step toward a more respectful future, while Tumia Knott writes about the resilience needed to keep Indigenous culture alive in the face of a concerted campaign to eradicate it. And Amanda Follett Hosgood reports on the rightful concerns of Indigenous leaders that John Rustad and the BC Cons are looking to set any prospect of reconciliation back by decades.  

- Meanwhile, Tim Wilton writes that the dominant current form of colonialism is the subjugation of human interests to the profit-seeking of corporate resource extractors. 

- Wenfei Xu et al. study the distribution of traffic tickets in Chicago, and find that while red light cameras allot tickets in proportion to the racial makeup of drivers, police tend to stop Black drivers at a rate three times that of white drivers.  

- Kelly Ashmore reports on the rising XEC COVID-19 variant - complete with particularly severe symptoms compared to the most recent waves. Ozgur Tanriverdi et al. study how all types of COVID infections can exacerbate the risk of developing cancer. Julie Corliss examines new research finding that even "just the flu" can increase the risk of heart conditions. And Jennifer Lee reports on the Alberta health care workers bracing for yet another fall patient surge into a woefully overwhelmed medical system. 

- Finally, Selena Simmons-Duffin reports on new research linking anti-trans laws to an increase in suicide attempts among trans teens. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Peter Smits et al. examine some of the risk factors which tend to produce particularly severe breakthrough cases of COVID-19. The Economist summarizes what we know so far - and still have left to learn - about long COVID. Mark Lieberman discusses the particularly high concentration of long COVID cases among educators in the U.S. And Melanie Borrelli reports on new research showing that children's mental health is primarily harmed by the spread of COVID rather than by public health measures to stop it. 

- Kelsey Langston makes the case for the Moe government to start funding harm reduction - though the next indication that it cares a whit about saving lives will be the first. And Zak Vescera reports on the Saskatchewan Party's appalling insistence that it won't bother to do anything to work on suicide prevention even after it passed legislation confirming the ongoing need for a strategy. 

- Clement Nocos offers a backgrounder on how to implement universal mental health care in Ontario (in advance of an election campaign where that's on the table thanks to the NDP). And Catherine Carstairs discusses why dental care remains outside of the universal health care system despite its obvious connection to health and welfare. 

- Meanwhile, Armine Yalnizyan, Pat Armstrong, Marjorie Griffin Cohen and Laurell Ritchie warn of the dangers of instead allowing the Ford PCs and other right-wing government to privatize needed care services. Philip Mirowski warns that the death of neoliberalism has been greatly exaggerated - as the mere fact that its promises have proven false doesn't mean there's a lack of corporate servants willing to keep pushing it. And Tom Perkins examines how corporations have been price-gouging consumers even while using their own greed as an excuse to try to impose public austerity. 

- Finally, Lori Culbert and Dan Fumano highlight how far Vancouver has to go in allowing families' needs to be met. And Leif Gregersen writes about the gross insufficiency of the resources being provided to help homeless people. 

Saturday #skvotes Links

 A roundup of news from Saskatchewan's provincial election as the last day of advance polling begins.

- Crystal Palmer writes about her observations and experiences losing someone close to her to an utterly broken addictions and mental health system. And Gillian Massie highlights the how the Saskatchewan Party's excuse for a suicide reduction plan - consistent with its pattern for most social policies - is designed to do the bare minimum for the sake of appearances rather than meaningfully improving outcomes. 

- Murray Mandryk sets out a few of the questions which haven't been fully answered over the course of the campaign - though it's telling that the list largely involves areas where the NDP has offered well-thought-out solutions while the Sask Party has avoided providing straight answers. 

- Safe Schools Saskatchewan publishes a letter from a new teacher frustrated with the appalling state of the province's education system. 

- PressProgress points out which Sask Party candidates bring anti-choice baggage to the election - with Scott Moe ranking as just the most prominent of an extensive list.

- Glenn Hicks reports on Glen Poelzer's prediction that the NDP will emerge with a substantial increase in seats - though how far that goes of course depends on people's voting choices over the next few days. 

- Finally, the Leader-Post and Star-Phoenix editorial boards advocate for voters to grab a mask and take health precautions, then go to the polls.

Wednesday #skvotes Links

Nearly 63,000 voters have applied for mail-in balloting packages, and those who haven't are being encouraged to go to advance polls over the course of this week. So with many people casting their ballots, let's take a look at the latest from Saskatchewan's provincial election campaign.

- Ashleigh Mattern reports on the message from experts that people need to take responsibility for limiting the spread of COVID-19. But with Scott Moe once again showing his disregard for the most basic of public health precautions while insisting that schools don't need to bother following standard rules, it shouldn't be surprising that barely half of the province intends to get vaccinated once the option is available - though that is a large enough group to elect a more responsible government in the meantime.

- John Quiggin discusses how renewable energy is already reaching the point of being too cheap to meter (which was once wrongly assumed to be possible with nuclear power). And David Roberts points out how geothermal energy - one of the NDP's priorities for technological development - may soon put 100% renewable energy within reach while also using putting skills acquired in the fossil fuel sector to good use.  

- Meanwhile, PressProgress reveals that while the Saskatchewan Party was pretending to be neutral and removed from the Co-op refinery lockout, it in fact offered to use provincial resources to ensure more draconian action against picketing workers. 

- [Updated to add:] CUPE examines the impact of the Sask Party's privatization of services, and finds that it results in our paying more to get less.

- Jaris Swidrovich writes about the need for full and inclusive sex education to reduce mental health and suicide risks (particularly among Indigenous youth).

- Finally, Josh Sigurdson takes note of the need for additional action to eliminate poverty in Saskatchewan. And Heidi Atter reports on the Saskatchewan Disability Income Support Coalition's recognition that people with disabilities are being left with grossly insufficient supports from the province.

Sunday #skvotes Links

The latest from Saskatchewan's provincial election campaign.

- PressProgress traces nearly half of the Saskatchewan Party's donations (which are of course the driving force behind its nonstop ad blitz) back to deep-pocketed corporate donors under the lax electoral financing rules they've refused to change.

- The Canadian Press reports on Scott Moe's remarkable opposition to Joe Biden (and apparent lack of any qualms about four more years of Donald Trump's fascism, corruption and human rights abuses as long as they're accompanied by slightly better conditions for pipeline construction).

- Michael Bramadat-Willcock writes about the important discussion of Indigenous suicide - including Tristen Durocher's rightly-skeptical response to the Sask Party's hostility in the face of his walk to push for action. And Jason Warick points out how the historical dehumanization and disenfranchisement of Indigenous people continues to reverberate through their view of elections today.

- CBC News reports on the efforts of student groups to hold a debate for young voters - and their disappointment in Moe's refusal to bother showing up.

- Finally, Ben Alexander discusses the frustration and resignation of students returning to schools which haven't been adequately prepared for a pandemic. And while his age cohort may fall just short of being able to vote for change, there's ample reason to react with determination rather than resignation.

Saturday Morning Links

 Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Jack Goldstone and Peter Turchin offer an introduction to what they anticipate will be the Turbulent Twenties, while noting the need for the U.S. to develop a new social contract to shift from its current path.

- Meanwhile, Hadley Freeman rightly challenges the propensity of people in power to claim that any attempt to pursue accountability represents unreasonable politicization.

- Reuters examines how Big Pharma has sought to covertly undermine any effort to rein in prescription drug prices (including those related to a COVID-19 vaccine). And the New York Times reports on the Trump administration's interference with CDC reports to make supposedly neutral information fit the Republican agenda.  

- Sarath Peiris writes about the Moe government's grossly insufficient response to the public health dangers of HIV and addictions. And Jennifer Francis reports on the end of Tristen Durocher's brave trek to advocate for action against suicide - and Moe's callous unwillingness to cross the street to meet Durocher after his walk from Air Ronge.

- Finally, Jacob Hamburger writes about the mass cruelty which forms the basis of the U.S.' immigration detention system. And Aaron Holmes reports on the use - and abuse - of a predictive algorithm by a Florida sheriff's office to criminalize entire communities.

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.

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Robert Reich discusses how Donald Trump's insistence on pushing reopening without a plan to alleviate an ongoing pandemic has led to disaster both for the U.S.' economy and its public health. And the Economist highlights the need to make basic health precautions into social norms - even as Trump and his party, like Doug Ford and other right-wing politicians bent on pushing infectious masculinity, go out of their way to flout them.

- Yunghi Kim writes about a growing epidemic of hunger in a country more than capable of providing the necessities of life to everybody.

- Bharat Ramamurti and Lindsay Owens make the case for a fair wages guarantee to ensure workers aren't pushed into structural disadvantages as a result of COVID-19. And they particularly contrast that approach against a one-time bonus aimed at strongarming people into permanent low-wage jobs - which, needless to say, is also the Cons' plan.

- Meanwhile, Janyce McGregor digs into what should be the most fundamental criticism of the Libs' attempt to push students into sub-minimum-wage labour by classifying work as "volunteering".

- Susan Wright compares Jason Kenney's sad excuse for a rebuilding plan to the prospect of an energy transition which he refuses to consider. And Max Fawcett points out how Alberta's people are being sacrificed on the altar of supply-side zealotry.

- Finally, Sam Camping reports on the work activists are doing to raise awareness of the suicide crisis which the Saskatchewan Party has blithely chosen to ignore. And Morgan Modjeski reports that in addition to stockpiling prohibited weapons for no remotely plausible reason, Scott Moe's Highway Patrol has also been putting tactical training for its officers in the hands of an anti-LGBTQ trainer.

Saturday Morning Links

This and that for your weekend reading.

- Jason Markusoff writes about the absurdity of Jason Kenney's continued bluster about attacking the rest of Canada rather than working on improving the lives of Albertans. And Shama Rangwala and Danielle Paradis discuss the warped idea of "freedom" underlying the ideology of extractive capitalism.

- Julia Raifman, Laura Sampson and Sandro Galea study how higher rates of gun ownership lead to a higher number of completed suicides. Which means it's especially antisocial for Scott Moe to be funding a position pushing the proliferation of assault rifles and undermining municipal efforts at gun  control, while opposing any additional work on suicide prevention.

- Meanwhile, PressProgress highlights Moe's defunding of vaccines and protections for workers in the midst of a pandemic. And Arthur White-Crummey reports that the Saskatchewan Party's combination of free-flowing money for the oil sector and the police state with austerity for anything that might benefit people is only leading to cuts in Saskatchewan's credit rating.

- Finally, Matt Simon writes about the environmental threat posed by microplastic rain which is reaching even into remote and protected park areas.

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Ryan Hayes and Edward Hon-Sing Wong discuss both the importance of collective action to protect workers' rights, and the strategies which are proving most effective. Hamilton Nolan writes about the increasingly strong case for sectoral bargaining. And Chelsea Nash examines the gig-worker unionization campaign at Foodora which led it to flee Canada rather than being required to deal fairly with its workers.

- Meanwhile, Samantha Melamed points out how people are being pushed into gig work by a lack of other alternatives. And Kait Bolongaro and Shelly Hagan discuss why Canadian farms are having difficulty recruiting the seasonal migrant workers who are normally relied on to harvest crops - though it's worth noting the problems with a sector being structured to rely on insecure labour.

- Rob Shaw reports that John Horgan is both pushing the federal government to implement paid sick leave so that workers aren't pressured to endanger themselves and others, and planning to ensure B.C. workers have that level of income security if Justin Trudeau can't be bothered. 

- David Bernstein reports on the false promise that massive tax breaks for a new Sears headquarters would lead to any sustainable jobs or economic development. And Christopher Reynolds reports on WestJet's demand to be handed the right to lay off thousands of employees without liability even as it's already receiving a 75% wage subsidy to keep people employed.

- Jack Hicks writes about the travesty that is Saskatchewan's current excuse for a suicide prevention plan.

- Finally, Kai Kupferschmidt writes about the factors which result in the "superspreading" of COVID-19 while many infected people don't pass it along at all. Andre Picard notes that while we should turn mask-wearing into a social norm, it's far from the only action we need to take in order to minimize the harm from the coronavirus. And David Fisman points out that the success we've had in limiting the spread of COVID-19 so far means that there's all the more to lose if we abandon the effort prematurely.

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Simon Holmes a Court challenges the argument that any country or industry can opt out of being part of the response to our climate crisis. And Emily Holden comments on the oil industry's control over public discussions about climate change, while Christopher Knaus examines the disinformation campaign intended to deflect responsibility for Australia's record temperatures and catastrophic bushfires.

- Nichole Dusyk points out that the Canada Energy Regulation's assumptions about future oil production represent an all-in bet on humanity's failure to stop the climate breakdown. And Robyn Allan exposes how the Trudeau government's Trans Mountain pipeline purchase was designed to leak public money to fossil fuel tycoons from day one - and is succeeding in that task.

- Matt Elliott offers a reminder that the costs of infrastructure don't stop merely because a project's initial photo ops have come to an end. 

- Matthew Stanley writes about the long and ongoing struggle to address structural inequalities in the U.S.

- Robert Raymond discusses the well-funded campaign to portray extractive capitalism as a solution rather than a source of inequality. And the British Medical Journal takes note of new research showing that a modest minimum wage increase can substantially reduce suicide rates (among other social benefits).

- Finally, Andrew Coyne writes about the advantages of minority governments compared to the zero-accountability model which is the norm in majority Parliaments.

[Edit: fixed typo.]

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Kate Aronoff offers a reminder that the right's constant bleating about limiting government spending never applies to the cost of wars of choice.

- Laura Glowacki reports on how Doug Ford's choice to allow rent increases will only make matters worse for Ontario's poorest residents. And Andrea Horwath and Sol Mamakwa discuss the urgent need for a mental health strategy for Indigenous people facing high suicide rates.

- PressProgress highlights how Canadians have to make do with far fewer paid vacation days than people throughout most of the developed world. Robert MacDonald discusses how the gig economy fits into the broader deterioration of working conditions. And Paul Willcocks rightly argues that it's past time for Canadian jurisdictions to follow the lead of California and other governments which are legislating protections for gig workers.

- Finally, Lee Drutman makes the case for a proportional electoral system from the U.S.' perspective - with lessons which we'd do well to learn in Canada as well.

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- As affordability takes a central place in most Canadian election campaigns, Kofi Hope and Katrina Miller propose a definition based on public health:

Health is the great equalizer. No matter where we’re from, what our values are, what our age or our political beliefs, we all want to have a healthy and long life. And if we agree on that, then we can say affordability is about the amount and type of resources we need to live a healthy and thriving life.

...
To thrive means to be able to have time for family and friends, pursue a hobby and travel occasionally, along with covering the basic necessities. Individual income is only one component of a broader social safety net that supports a thriving population; employers, government and community all play pivotal roles too.

For example, if the government covers some essentials, like prescription drugs and tuition, and subsidizes others, like housing and recreation programs, its contributions would all count toward the resources needed to live a healthy life. Our government can play a critical role in closing the gap between the haves and have-nots, not only by making basic goods more affordable but also by expanding public services and supports.

Viewing affordability as a commonly shared and holistic goal of health provides stable footing to consider an important question: Is our government making a healthy life possible for the many, or for the few?

- Meanwhile, Andrew Coyne writes that the Libs' signature tax cut fails by any measure other than that of electioneering.

 - Kendall Latimer reports on Provincial Auditor Judy Ferguson's findings about the desperate need for improved mental health supports in northern Saskatchewan. Max FineDay and Doug Cuthand implore our governments to act in response to the crisis of Indigenous suicides. And Marcus Gee notes that a culture of toxic masculinity feeds into addictions and deaths for many workers.

- Yasmin Jiwani reminds us that the Ecole Polytechnique massacre represents just one example of the violence which confronts women every day.

- Finally, Alex MacPherson reports on the Saskatchewan Party's shoot first, ask questions later approach to illegal fund-raising tactics.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Ann Pettifor discusses how a Green New Deal will pay for itself while making use of readily available sources of financing. And Clive Thompson points out the positive social impacts of Dunkirk's decision to offer free transit.

- Meanwhile, Emily Holden reviews some of the most severe health issues caused by an ongoing climate breakdown. And Damian Carrington reports on the Food and Land Use Coalition's study into the massive agricultural subsidies which are contributing to environmental devastation.

- Matt Bruenig writes that the U.S.' existing welfare state is already doing plenty to alleviate poverty - and that it's entirely possible to eradicate poverty altogether by making better choices with current budget numbers:

(T)he market income poverty gap is $512 billion, which is to say that poor families are collectively $512 billion below the poverty line based on the distribution of market income. For disposable income, the poverty gap is $173 billion. This means that the welfare state cut the poverty gap by 66 percent.
...
(I)ncomes get above the poverty line at the 13.1st percentile, indicating that the disposable income poverty rate is 13.1 percent. But notice how much information you miss out on by only doing a head-count measure.

The head-count measure implies that only the red wedge between the 13.1st percentile and the 24th percentile matters when we are talking about poverty reduction. But clearly all of that red to the left of the 13.1st percentile also matters. Indeed, that is the majority of the poverty reduction delivered by the welfare state.

What these poverty gap figures show us is that the welfare state is perfectly capable of cutting poverty dramatically. We just need to make it bigger.

- But then, Melissa Healy points out how the rural counties facing the most ongoing poverty also suffer from higher suicide rates.

- Finally, David Macdonald examines how the Cons' tax slashing plan - like so many before it - tries to use language about helping lower-income Canadians to shovel money toward the upper middle class while doing nothing for people actually living in poverty.

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Charles Smith and Larry Savage write that Justin Trudeau's use of back-to-work legislation against postal workers may have far more significant consequences than he seems to have anticipated. And Christo Aivalis examines the next steps for Canada's labour movement - as well as their importance for the country as a whole:

...In a time of growing inequality, all Canadians need to think about the questions unions face: At what point does the concentration of economic power in the hands of massive multinational corporations limit workers’ ability to respond through the traditional means of collective bargaining? At what point does this power threaten to control the destinies of entire communities and regions, rendering the democratic will of Canadians, if not irrelevant, then certainly compromised? And will endemic automation – even if it’s farther away than some people fear – only serve to disenfranchise the masses in favour of an ever-consolidating elite with more control than ever? These were the essential forces that led to these setbacks for UNIFOR – after all, how could an American company unilaterally decide to gut a Canadian town, leaving both workers and government holding the bag? – but those issues will come to workplaces and communities everywhere before long.
...

When it comes down to it, we need economic systems that reflect the democratic principles we so cherish, the ones through which we define so much of our Canadian identity. Unions have been a force for generations, giving workers at least some input into the operation of their workplaces, and organized labour will always have an irreplaceable role in building and preserving a democratic spirit that goes beyond the ballot box. It is in all our interests that unions succeed in organizing the workplaces of the present and future, that our governments enact policies that assist in this process, and that we as citizens retain a skeptical eye towards the further concentration of economic power in unaccountable private hands.

If unions fail, our democracy may well be at stake.

- Helia Ebrahimi discusses the connection between economic stressors and a hundred thousand suicide attempts in the UK in the last year alone. And Kwame McKenzie points out how it's only the people already facing the most challenges who are being asked to sacrifice by Doug Ford's government.

- Henry Grabar writes about Minneapolis' decision to end single-family zoning which has long served as a major source of housing segregation. And Douglas Todd comments on the complex relationship between immigration and housing in Vancouver - including the reality that more for-profit development does nothing to ease the lack of housing availability for the people who most need it, regardless of their place of origin.

- Roberta Lexier and Avi Lewis argue that it's long past time for Canada's corporate welfare bums to start paying their fair share for a country that serves the best interests of its citizens. And Yanis Varoufakis and David Adler highlight the need to fundamentally reshape and empower sources of collective decision-making - including international institutions - in order to be able to respond to our common problems.

- Finally, Peggy Nash and Tracey Raney point out how more equitable representation and power-sharing is a necessary component of any plan to end gender-based violence.

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Martin Lukacs offers a reminder that Doug Ford is nothing but a mercenary for his fellow children of privilege, while Andrea Horwath's NDP actually offers a platform which will benefit the 99%. And Michal Rozworski observes that Ontario's election is properly focusing on contrasting priorities rather than an obsession over deficit numbers. 

- David Climenhaga challenges Rachel Notley's attempt to scupper any discussion about pharmacare - even when it stands to save money for Alberta and the other provinces - in the name of putting pipelines first. And the Narwhal publishes an open letter challenging the approval of the Trans Mountain expansion in the absence of meaningful scientific support.

- Paul McKay notes that new rules governing sulphur content for shipping fuel may take a substantial bite out of the market for dilbit from the oil sands. And Damian Carrington reports on new research showing that the global cost of climate change will far exceed the price of reining in greenhouse gas emissions.

- Bridget Yard reports on the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission's survey of Saskatoon renters, including its finding of explicit discrimination against Indigenous people, single mothers and people receiving social assistance.

- Finally, Wendy Stueck reports on FSIN's newly-announced suicide prevention strategy - while noting the need for the provincial and federal governments to care enough about Indigenous people's lives to contribute.

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Paul Krugman discusses how the Republicans' latest attempt to undermine U.S. health care is built on a foundation of cruelty and lies - and is entirely consistent with their usual modus operandi. And Joe Watts reports on new polling showing how popular Jeremy Corbyn's progressive policy agenda is with the UK public.

- Richard Forbes rightly argues that ending tax avoidance should be a multipartisan issue. But Murray Dobbin notes that the preservation of unfair tax preferences is instead cutting across party lines, with the Libs' Finance committee chair Wayne Easter trying to undercut even his own party's insufficient attempt to close some glaring loopholes.

- Betty Ann Adam discusses the urgent need to reduce First Nation youth suicide rates in Saskatchewan. And Joel Willick reports that Saskatchewan is set to fall short of its target for high school graduation rates both in general and among Indigenous students in particular.

- CBC reports that despite a continued need for support, a Swift Current teen shelter is being forced to close due to a lack of funds. But in contrast, Brodie Thomas reports that Calgary's investment in Housing First has led to a significant decrease in the use of emergency shelters.

- Finally, Meagan Gilmore highlights the continued problems with the federal government's Phoenix pay system, which has failing to actually pay employees while costing the public hundreds of millions of dollars. And D.C. Fraser reports on how the Saskatchewan Party has left the province's civil service with a bloated administration and far less workers actually providing public services.

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Leslie McCall and Jennifer Richeson offer another look at what happens when Americans are properly informed about the level of inequality in their country:

What effect did this information have? First, more respondents came to believe that “coming from a wealthy family” and “having well educated parents” were essential or very important to “getting ahead” (43 percent, compared with 27 percent among those who did not get the information).

Conversely, fewer respondents who saw information about inequality said that individual factors, such as “having ambition” and “hard work,” were essential or very important (81 percent vs. 90 percent).

In short, being told about rising inequality made Americans a bit less likely to believe that economic success was about individual effort and much more likely to think it was about luck.

Information about rising inequality also changed people’s views of economic policy. In particular, we asked separate questions about whether “the government ought to reduce the income gap between the rich and the poor” and “major companies ought to reduce the pay gap between employees with high pay and those with low pay.” Respondents could answer on a scale of 1 to 7, ranging from strong opposition to strong support. Among the people who read about inequality, 53 percent indicated some degree of support for government efforts to reduce the income gap, compared with 43 percent among those who did not read about inequality. Similarly, people became more likely to support efforts by major companies to reduce pay gaps (58 percent vs. 51 percent).
...
(I)nforming Americans about the extent of economic inequality, or simply making the issue salient, can change attitudes about economic opportunity by foregrounding the role of luck in getting ahead — and that in turn tends to increase support for policies designed to reduce inequality. For this reason, the instinct to focus on economic opportunity instead of inequality seems misplaced. In the minds of Americans, the two can be linked quite readily.

- Matt Bruenig examines who is poor in the U.S. and why - with the lack of an adequate welfare state serving as the overwhelming cause of poverty. Luke Williams writes about the connection between low incomes, precarious work and suicide. And Leslie Young notes that Canada's latest census shows 1.2 million children living below the poverty line, while Roderick Benns offers a look at poverty in action while asking why we continue to put up with it.

- Mark Suzman reviews how greater financial equality for women leads to overall economic and social progress. And Lizzie Buchan reports on a push by UK unions to punish employers for perpetuating pay inequity.

- Michael Harris warns Justin Trudeau and his entourage that they are supposed to be accountable public servants, not royalty to be catered to at public expense. And Stephen Maher writes that Dean Del Mastro is now in jail due in large part to his bringing political hubris to his defence for election law violations.

- Finally, Brent Patterson points out how Trudeau is falling short on his promises to rebuild Canada's environmental regulatory structure. And Helena Bottemiller Evich discusses how soaring greenhouse gas emissions are making our food less healthy.

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Janine Jackson interviews Sarah Anderson about the lack of any public return on massive U.S. corporate tax breaks. And Greg Jericho discusses a new IMF study finding the same result for high-end tax cuts in developed economies generally, as giveaways to the rich fall short of promises of paying for themselves while harming public well-being.

- Monia Mazigh comments about the infiltration of our public policy by a neoliberal ethos. And Yves Engler discusses how the fight against fair taxes on professional corporations can be traced back to a historical push by far too many doctors to treat medical care as a matter of profits rather than public interests.

- Mariana Mazzucato suggests that the elites using Caribbean islands as tax havens should foot the bill for their reconstruction in the wake of the ongoing series of hurricanes. And Peter Frumhoff and Myles Allen discuss how to quantify the specific harm major corporations have inflicted on our climate.

- Meanwhile, Ed Pilkington writes about the divide between rich and poor Miami residents in responding to impending disaster, while Elizabeth Renzetti discusses how a crisis can expose and exacerbate existing inequality. And Kiley Kroh reports that some Florida Republicans are finally asking why their party's national leaders have so recklessly contributed to climate change while doing nothing to prepare for it.

- Finally, Gerry Georgatos argues that Australia needs to move beyond mourning to take action against a suicide epidemic among Indigenous people - a lesson which applies with equal force in Canada.