Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Yutaka Dirks reviews Lars Osberg's The Age of Increasing Inequality, with a particular focus on how matters have been getting worse in recent decades.

- Ryan Nunn, Jana Parsons and Jay Shambaugh study (PDF) the connection between geography and inequality, including the role of decreasing migration in locking in and exacerbating existing disparities. And Danny Dorling examines the link between higher inequality and lower life expectancy around the globe.

- Mary Bousted points out how educational inequalities arise out of social and environmental factors long before students ever set foot in a classroom. And Alex Hemingway argues that at the very least, public money shouldn't be spent subsidizing those inequalities through elite private schools.

- Rachel Shabi discusses UK Labour's turn toward democratic socialism - and the resonance of the prospect of economic democracy within the general public.

- Dirk Meissner reports on the denial of cancer treatment to a homeless man as an unconscionable example of the gaps in our health care system. And Hasan Sheikh offers a response to the desire of Doug Ford and others to make the availability of necessary care even more contingent on one's wealth. 

- Finally, Andrew Coyne discusses the climate nihilism of a sadly growing number of anti-carbon-tax demagogues. PressProgress offers a reminder that we stand to lose tens of billions of dollars a year from extreme weather events caused by climate change alone. And Zoya Terstein argues that the primary problem with carbon pricing as it stands is that we're nowhere close to properly measuring the damage we're doing to our planet. 

Musical interlude

Big Wreck - Digging In

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Nicholas Shaxson writes that the UK's disproportionate dependence on the financial sector is akin to the resource curse facing Western Canada among so many other jurisdictions:

(T)he finance curse had more parallels with the resource curse than we had first imagined. For one thing, in both cases the dominant sector sucks the best-educated people out of other economic sectors, government, civil society and the media, and into high-salaried oil or finance jobs. “Finance literally bids rocket scientists away from the satellite industry,” in the words of a landmark academic study of how finance can damage growth. “People who might have become scientists, who in another age dreamt of curing cancer or flying people to Mars, today dream of becoming hedge-fund managers.”
...
To argue that the City hurts Britain’s economy might seem crazy. But research increasingly shows that all the money swirling around our oversized financial sector may actually be making us collectively poorer. As Britain’s economy has steadily become re-engineered towards serving finance, other parts of the economy have struggled to survive in its shadow, like seedlings starved of light and water under the canopy of a giant, deep-rooted and invasive tree. Generations of leaders from Margaret Thatcher to Tony Blair to Theresa May have believed that the City is the goose that lays Britain’s golden eggs, to be prioritised, pampered and protected. But the finance curse analysis shows an oversized City to be a different bird: a cuckoo in the nest, crowding out other sectors.

- Matt O'Brien discusses how current estimates of inequality miss large amounts of wealth sheltered from taxes. And Paul Krugman reminds us that Donald Trump is the ultimate example of government by and for the selfish motives of tax cheats.

- John Clarke discusses how Doug Ford's government is inflicting extreme austerity on Ontario, while Willy Nolles contrasts the Ford PCs' stinginess with injured workers against their eagerness to hand billions to businesses. And David Climenhaga comments on Ford's Very Angry White Men tour - which of course stopped in Saskatoon yesterday before arriving in Calgary.

- Ottmar Edenhofer and Johan Rockström discuss the need for a carbon price merely to avoid more than doubling the temperature increase committed to by the world's governments. But Brent Patterson rightly argues that we ultimately need to pursue climate policies far more ambitious than the pricing schemes currently on offer. And Liam Britten reports on the potentially disastrous effects of British Columbia's liquid natural gas scheme.

- Finally, Joe Virgillito highlights how carbon pricing can contribute to a reduction in income inequality. And Rob Merrick reports on the UK's plan for a digital services tax to ensure that the corporations profiting from effective online monopolies pay something approaching their fair share.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Jim Stanford discusses how abusing precarious workers has become the primary job of big business. But Owen Jones notes that strikes against McDonald's in the UK represent just the latest example of workers taking collective action to fight for a more fair economy.

- Meanwhile, Kevin Rawlinson reports on a new estimate of the amount of unpaid work performed in the UK every year.

- Alexandra Shimo reports on the contrast between Nestle's extraction of millions of litres of water from Six Nations of the Grand River treaty land, and residents' need to go without running water at all. And Brent Patterson writes that the oil industry is predictably one of the main winners in the new NAFTA.

- Anna Desmarais reports on the Environment Commissioner's conclusion that Canada isn't properly tracking the disposal of businesses' toxic waste. 

- Finally, Linda Leon points out the entrenched interests trying to undermine electoral reform due to the possibility that it might make governmental capture more difficult.

New column day

Here, on the corporate sellouts in the Libs' new version of NAFTA - including a little-discussed chapter designed to turn anti-regulatory bias into official policy for an entire continent.

For further reading...
- The text of the USCMA is here, with Chapter 28 (PDF) forming the subject of most of the column. And by way of comparison, I'll point to the "regulatory cooperation" chapter of the CETA, which provides for some level of coordination without the obligation to systematically question domestic regulations.
- I've already linked to some noteworthy USCMA commentary, including pieces from Neil MacDonald, Duncan Cameron and David Moscrop. Janyce McGregor summarizes some of the key changes under the USCMA. Alex Ballingall points out the increase in drug costs arising out of Trudeau's concessions. 
- Finally, for a reminder of the attitude toward regulation driving the U.S.' position, see reporting on the Trump administration's undermining of rules governing asbestos, radiation, and mercury, as well as the Environmental Integrity Project's full list of regulatory slippage under Trump.

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Judy Paul discusses how everybody benefits from the fight against inequality:

Also of interest is the levels of trust and community life were stronger in more equal societies. There is more mixing of people from various socio-economic groups in more equal countries and this would lead to a greater sense of solidarity. When there are vast differences in income levels I think it would be hard for people to feel that “we’re all in this together.”
...
Where inequality is higher, people with lower social status tend to withdraw from society. When people compete for status, anxiety increases and struggling to keep up seems to make us less compassionate towards others. Inequality damages social cohesion, which includes trust, solidarity, civic and cultural participation and agreeableness (being helpful, considerate and trusting).
...
Greater solidarity is the only way we are going to be able to tackle the urgent challenges of climate change and environmental sustainability, says Wilkinson and Pickett. We cannot afford to have people anxiously struggling to make their way in an individualistic society that tells us we need to buy to belong.

How do we create a more equal society? An unconditional basic income would certainly help. Progressive taxation and a stronger social security system could also help.   Wilkinson and Pickett argue that the development of more democratic workplaces is key in this era of excessive CEO compensation and the weakening of trade unions.

It is important that we turn our attention to rising inequality in Canada. When we understand the significant cost of inequality and are open to learning from more equal countries, we will be better able to imagine and forge a better future for everyone.

- Hamdi Issawi and Brennan Doherty report on the benefits Alberta workers are seeing from needed increases to their province's minimum wage. And Ryan McNally notes in contrast how Saskatchewan's low-income workers continue to fall further behind.

- Alex Hemingway points out the unfairness and waste involved in using public money to prop up private school systems.

- Finally, Bill McKibben criticizes the Trump Republicans' blithe acceptance of catastrophic climate change in the name of squeezing out a few more years of oil profits. But Matt Hern and Am Johal write that in order to change toward a more sustainable path, climate activists need to speak to class concerns rather than merely pointing out the accuracy of climate science.

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Surrounded cats.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Laurie MacFarlane writes that flows of income and wealth have everything to do with bargaining power and social decision-making, rather than productivity or merit:

(A)ggregate wealth is not simply a reflection of the process of accumulation, as theory tends to imply. It is also a reflection of the boundaries of what can and cannot be alienated, priced, bought and sold, and the power dynamics that underpin them. This is not just a historical matter.

Today some goods and services are provided by private firms on a commodified basis, whereas others are provided socially as a collective good. This can often vary significantly between countries. Where a service is provided by private firms (for example, healthcare in the USA), shareholder claims over profits are reflected in the firm’s value – and these claims can be bought and sold, for example on the stock market. These claims are also recorded as financial wealth in the national accounts.

However, where a service is provided socially as a collective good (such as the NHS in the UK), there are no claims over profits to be owned and traded among investors. Instead, the claims over these sectors are socialised. Profits are foregone in favour of free, universal access. Because these benefits are non-monetary and accrue to everyone, they are not reflected in any asset prices and are not recorded as “wealth” in the national accounts.

A similar effect is observed with pension provision: while private pensions (funded through capital markets) are included as a component of financial wealth in the OECD’s figures, public pensions (funded from general taxation) are excluded. As a result, a country that provides generous universal public pensions will look less wealthy than a country that rely solely on private pensions, all else being equal. The way that we measure national wealth is therefore skewed towards commodification and privatisation, and against socialisation and universal provision.
...
All statistics tell a story, but stories can be told from different perspectives. Embedded in the definitions of all economic statistics are value judgements about what is desirable and what is undesirable, which in turn shape the way we think about the economy. At the moment, the way we measure the wealth of nations mainly reflects the fortunes of capitalists and landowners rather than workers and tenants. Britain looks wealthier than Germany on paper, but this does not reflect the lived reality for most people. While it’s important not to overstate the extent to which statistics can influence the real world, this is important for at least three reasons.

Firstly, it illustrates how seemingly objective metrics often have ideological assumptions baked into them. While there is already a well-established literature on alternatives to GDP, many economic metrics are used in economic analysis and policy appraisal without any critical appraisal of their underlying ideological assumptions. This needs to change.

Second, it highlights how paper wealth has in many places become decoupled from productive capacity, and how conflating the two can be highly misleading. This is particularly the case where zero sum rentier activity is widespread, as in the case of Britain. Such discrepancies raise the question of whether the way that we currently measure wealth is really the most sensible.

But most importantly, it illustrates that the distribution of wealth has little to do with contribution or productivity, and everything to do with politics and power. As J.W. Mason states: “It’s bargaining power, it’s politics, all the way down.”

- Meanwhile, Anna Tims offers a reminder that a cashless and financialized society imposes disproportionate costs on the people who aren't catered to by big banks.

- Allison Alberto discusses a new study from the Alberta Federation of Labour showing how a $15 minimum wage will boost the economy as a whole as well as the standard of living of some of the people who need it most. Michael Speers implores the Ford PCs not to reverse planned minimum wage increases in Ontario. And Emily Klatt reports on the Saskatchewan NDP's push to finally follow suit with a living hourly wage for all workers.

- Finally, Michael Spence comments on the balkanization of international trade flows. Neil MacDonald writes that contrary to the Libs' spin, the new NAFTA represents almost total capitulation to the U.S.' bullying - including by limiting Canada's ability to seek out trade agreements with new potential allies. David Moscrop concurs that Canada has both made painful short-term concessions, and increased our future vulnerability to the U.S. And Duncan Cameron outlines the changes for the worse in the Trump NAFTA.

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Jim Stanford writes that the D-J Composites lockout should offer Canada a much-needed reminder as to the reality of labour conflict:

Through 640 emotional days, the picket line has remained peaceful: the only injury was a union member hit by a vehicle charging through the line during a snowstorm. But genuine economic violence is being done every day to 32 workers separated from their livelihoods by an aggressive employer. The employer's position is all the stronger when it can hire others to keep working for less -- but no replacement worker should ever think they can participate in that process without facing scrutiny or challenge.

Ironically, Newfoundland Premier Dwight Ball has a promising solution to this mess sitting right on his desk, in the form of recommendations from an Industrial Inquiry Commission convened by the provincial government in 2010 following a long dispute at Vale's nickel operations in Voisey's Bay. Headed by labour lawyer John Roil, and advised by Prof. Gregor Murray, labour-relations specialist at the University of Montreal, the commission recognized the traditional balance of power between employers and workers has been disrupted by the power and flexibility exercised by global corporations. They recommended modernizing labour law to ensure foreign firms understand and respect Canadian practices. They also proposed a fallback mechanism to arbitrate settlements in intractable disputes, so long as certain conditions are met, including failure to bargain in good faith.

Those sensible recommendations were never implemented, but they were tailor-made to prevent long work stoppages such as this one. Prohibiting replacement workers -- especially during management-led lockouts -- would also promote faster settlements; British Columbia and Quebec already do this. In the end, provincial intervention of some kind is essential to end this conflict.

The D-J Composites lockout, while small, is a telling reminder that employers hold the upper hand in most modern industrial disputes -- and Canadian labour law has failed to address this imbalance. Economists and politicians alike bemoan persistently weak wage growth and stagnant household incomes. But this nasty little quarrel reveals exactly why this is happening. Governments across the country, starting with Mr. Ball's, should watch and learn.

- Claude Wittmann discusses the Ford government's blame-and-shame approach to poverty and the people who face it.

- David Moscrop comments on the folly of falling in line with the U.S.' destructive War on Drugs. And Tessie Castillo points out that the criminalization of drug use is precisely what makes it more dangerous than other potentially addictive activities.

- Brent Patterson offers a reminder (if perhaps one which came too late) as to why we're best served walking away from NAFTA.

- Finally, Max FineDay highlights the need to push back against weaponized misinformation such as residential school denialism.

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Lana Payne offers a reminder (with reference to Lars Osberg's new book) that extreme and growing inequality is a choice rather than an inevitability - but that it also represents a self-reinforcing trend:

“The Age of Increasing Inequality: The Astonishing Rise Of Canada’s 1%” doesn’t merely detail years of data about how inequality has grown in Canada, but argues why ever-increasing equality is so harmful to our democracy.

Osberg has been saying that for some time. It is a predictable outcome. Those with money get more say and the more money they get, the more say they get. The rich also have no trouble exercising their unlimited access and influence over the political class and political decisions.

Osberg argues that Canada is at risk of instability because of rising wealth disparity. There is little doubt this is also at the root of the rise of populist politics across much of the world, including Canada.

The bottom half of Canada’s population is economically stuck. While the top half have improved somewhat over the past several decades, they find themselves further and further behind those at the very top, the 1 per cent.

That’s because the 1 per cent are taking an ever-growing share of income and wealth. This reinforces a sense of unfairness and insecurity as those at the top are so far ahead of everyone else.

- Meanwhile, Gauri Sreenivasan rightly argues that Canada should know better than to race the U.S. to the bottom when it comes to corporate tax rates and regulations.

- Doreen Nicoll reports on Doug Ford's closed-door meetings to sell off even more of Ontario's fresh water over the objections of affected municipalities. And Ed Finn discusses how corporatist politics are destroying natural forests.

- Finally, Aaron Saad comments on the tragi-comic state of carbon pricing politics in Canada. And Cameron Fenton is dubious that an already-compromised National Energy Board can carry out any meaningful review of a Trans Mountain pipeline expansion within the rushed timeline set by the Trudeau Libs.

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Oliver Milman reports on new indications that we're far beyond any reasonable pace in trying to rein in climate change. 

- The Star's editorial board discusses why lower-income Ontarians are right to feel like they're under attack from Doug Ford's government. And Noah Smith writes about the combination of income inequality, immobility and stagnation that's leading to millenial dissatisfaction with the U.S.' economy.

- Meaghan Craig reports on new research showing how unstable housing alone correlates to a large proportion of health care costs in Saskatoon.

- Finally, Andrew Coyne points out that New Brunswick's election result provides one of the best arguments yet as to the problems with first-past-the-post politics. The Globe and Mail's editorial board is also recognizing that we should be demanding a more representative electoral system. And Tom Parkin draws a connection between proportional representation and a return to genuinely responsible government:

Under first-past-the-post, legislative majorities are too easily given, sometimes with as little as 37 per cent support.

And now fixing that problem has added urgency—because the political right now often rejects the norms and customs that previously held a check on majority power.

While well-meaning people debate which things Ford really won a ‘mandate’ to do, Ford is using his 75 MPPs as proxy votes to do whatever he wants.

Ford never mentioned anything about changing municipal elections—which normally would be discussed in the campaign and Throne Speech. But his 75 proxies stood ready to carry out his wish.

When a court quashed his bill, his 75 proxies stood ready to support a replacement bill suspending some charter rights and freedoms. When the opposition said his replacement bill violated rules of the legislature, his 75 proxies stood ready to change the rules.

And when Ford stood for pictures with a group of white supremacists—and took four days to give a half-assed denunciation under duress —none of his 75 proxies objected.

This is new. Very new.

On the right, legislative majorities are now being interpreted as a right to one-man rule—with the power to suspend charter rights and freedoms. Because he can.

So our legislatures and parliaments need to matter again. Proportional representation would result in less frequent majorities and make premiers more accountable to the legislature again. A premier’s need to find support in the legislature can play the role norms and customs used to.

Musical interlude

PVRIS - What's Wrong

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Matt Bruenig discusses how UK Labour's plans to ensure workers have an ownership stake in major corporations fits into the wider principle of common wealth:

The Labour Party’s John McDonnell recently unveiled a policy that would require large corporations with more than 250 employees to gradually place 10 percent of their shares into Inclusive Ownership Funds (IOFs) owned by workers. Under the plan, workers in each firm would exercise the ownership rights of the IOF shares and annually receive up to £500 of their shares’ dividends.

Along with nationalizing certain utilities, giving workers representation on corporate boards, and reinvigorating the trade union movement, collectivizing the ownership of a portion of company stock through the IOF scheme is meant to be a step towards democratizing the ownership and control of the UK economy.
...
(T)he need to come up with practical socialist governing ideas seems to be what is motivating the recent renaissance of the idea in the last 6 years or so. The surprising success of Jeremy Corbyn in the UK Labour Party has prompted policy organizations like IPPR to reinvigorate the idea so that it can be adopted ahead of the next UK election. In the US, a burgeoning socialist movement sparked by Bernie Sanders has pushed think tanks like People’s Policy Project to do the same thing.
...
Nonetheless, it is heartening to see the Labour Party pick up this long-standing socialist idea and run with it in earnest. The Inclusive Ownership Funds offer a promising strategy for gradually shifting ownership of the economy out of the hands of an oligarchic class and into the hands of Britain’s workers and its society as a whole. It is not a panacea to all that ails the British economy, but it does set it down the path towards a democratic socialist future.

- Bill Curry reports on the latest report of Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux indicating that while the federal government has money to spare, there's an urgent need for increased transfers to ensure provinces can meet their responsibilities. And the CCPA's Alternative Federal Budget offers a road map toward ending poverty and transitioning toward a sustainable economy in the relatively near future.

- Meanwhile, Katherine Scott points out the need for far more than sporadic awareness and action in pursuit of gender equity.

- Emilee Gilpin reports that the Libs' response to the Trans Mountain court decision about insufficient consultation and regulation has been to give interested parties a grand total of a week in which to register for a new hearing. And Jim Bronskill reports on the federal government's attempts to stifle any public knowledge of the steps taken to spy on environmental activists.

- Finally, Thomas Walkom writes that Canada should be walking away from NAFTA talks ather than keeping up the laughable pretense that the U.S. - particularly under Donald Trump - can be counted on to respect its continental commitments.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Patrick Kingsley points out how children are feeling the effects of the UK's austerity, including by being driven into avoidable poverty. And Michelle Bellefontaine reports on the predictable damage to Edmonton's schools even from the cuts being bandied about by Jason Kenney long before an election.

- Marshall Auerback discusses some important warnings that the use of political and financial power to further enrich the wealthy few while ignoring inequality only stands to push us toward predictable economic crises.

- Thomas Walkom writes about the rise of right-wing populism in New Brunswick as an example of the type of campaign which tends to be used as cover for corporatist policy. And Anita Anand discusses how Doug Ford is looking to undermine investor protections in the name of enriching the financial sector, while Sara Mojtehedzadeh reports on Ford's choice to hand billions to employers at the expense of injured workers (even as he also plans to halt a legislated minimum wage increase).

- Finally, George Monbiot argues that we can't expect to make a needed transition away from fossil fuels without challenging the industry-funded assumption that perpetual growth - including in polluting industries - is the only available economic goal.

New column day

Here, on the Frontier Centre for Public Policy's unapologetic role in trying to minimize the harms of residential schools - to to mention otherwise undermining any attempt at truth and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.

For further reading...
- Tammy Robert's post exposing the recent radio ad is here, with CBC following up here and here. And the Frontier Centre's only apparent response is the statement reproduced here absolving Roger Currie of any editorial role - but acknowledging no concerns about its own content. 
- Beyond the latest ad and related report, the Frontier Centre's own content on Indigenous issues includes such gems as other posts minimizing the effects of residential schools and the Sixties Scoop; a call to relocate First Nations to unwanted settlements; a push to take away socially-funded housing on reserves; a statement of opposition to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; and an apparent endorsement without comment of the White Paper calling for an end to any official status.
- For some other background on the Frontier Centre and its funders, DeSmogBlog has a handy summary here. And Barrick Gold's contempt for Indigenous rights has been well documented.
- By way of contrast to the Frontier Centre's response to its cavalier attitude toward residential schools and the racism behind them, see Alberta's response to the inclusion of a similarly-ahistorical question on a distance learning assignment. And Robyn Pitawanakwat and Garret Smith contrast the Saskatchewan government's forcible removal of the Justice for our Stolen Children camp against Calgary's welcoming of a similar initiative.
- Finally, Greg MacDougall discusses how colonialism continues to be a cause of alarming Indigenous suicide rates, while Kathleen Martens reports on the RCMP's stunning treatment of Brittany Martel's death as non-suspicious as an example of how Indigenous lives continue to be treated as disposable. And anybody looking for a reminder as to how residential schools actually fit into Canada's treatment of Indigenous peoples would be well-served to give another read to the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Update: See also Murray Mandryk's column today. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Jean Swanson writes about the success of Vancouver tenants in pushing to limit the rent increases which can be forced on them. But any win for collective action will come attempts to stifle more of the same - and Dan Taekema reports on the move by a landlord in two Hamilton high-rises to wall off the common rooms which had served as gathering places for striking tenants.

- Alex Therrien reports that for the first time since the UK began keeping track, overall life expectancy is stagnating rather than increasing - with some areas seeing decreases. And Lucie Russell and Carl Packman comment on the need for fairness by design to ensure that people living in poverty don't face inflated expenses.

- Douglas Todd discusses the problem of wasted votes as one of the main issues to be solved by a proportional electoral system.

- CBC News reports on the inability of smaller, community-based liquor retailers to compete with large corporate chains due to the selective availability of supplier discounts.

- Finally, Sara Mojtehedzadeh reports on the pay equity victory achieved by Ontario midwives. But Andre Picard writes that there's still plenty to be done to address pay equity in health care work.

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Cats at play.

Tuesday Evening Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Aditya Chakrabortty discusses how UK Labour is pursuing genuine and positive class politics by promising to ensure that workers have a share in both the decision-making and the spoils of major corporations.

- Duncan Cameron offers a reminder of the lack of any meaningful distinction between the Libs and Cons on many points, including their ultimate devotion to capital over people. And Tamara Khandaker discusses the Trudeau Libs' choice to sign on to a U.S. declaration renewing the deadly "war on drugs", even as the Global Commission on Drug Policy calls for responsible controls through legalization and regulation.

- Kelsey Litwin reports on new research measuring the effect human-caused ozone depletion and greenhouse gas emissions have had on the warming of Antarctic waters - and showing that their impact exceeds that of all other causes. Josh Gabbatiss reports on a new study documenting how lobbying funded by fossil fuel money has overwhelmed U.S. politics. And Carl Meyer notes that scientists haven't yet begun to quantify the damage Donald Trump is inflicting with his administration's climate-destroying policies, while Marieke Walsh writes that it's not too soon for Ontario's Environment Commissioner to weigh in on Doug Ford's destruction.

- Meanwhile, Trish Hennessy and Ricardo Tranjan highlight how a Ford-ordered report is purely an ideological excuse for austerity to come, rather than an honest or reasonable assessment of Ontario's finances.

- Finally, Paul Krugman discusses how Republicans aren't even pretending to be able to defend their policies.

Monday Evening Links

Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading.

- Evelyn Forget discusses the international outrage at the Ford PC's cancellation of a basic income pilot. And Paul Waldeman writes about Republicans' shock that voters are smart enough to recognize their giveaways to the wealthy for what they are.

- Doug Cuthand makes what should be the obvious point that residential schools intended to suppress Indigenous culture didn't have any redeeming features. But Tammy Robert's post makes clear that not only is there a worrisome lack of consensus on the basic harms of genocide, but right-wing ideologues are spending money to try to undermine the development of anything of the sort. And Steven Zhou reports on similar attempts to cultivate racism within Chinese Canadian politics.

- Meanwhile, Nick Loenen notes that a shift to proportional representation will help to ensure that extremism and bigotry aren't rewarded with artificial majorities.

- Anne Price and Jhumpa Bhattacharya write that a public wealth fund should account for and close existing racial wealth gaps.

- Finally, Michael Harris writes about the Libs' failures on the environment - and David Suzuki's role in holding them to account.

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Ann Pettifor discusses the need for a Green New Deal to build an economy that's both socially and environmentally sustainable. And Sharon Riley writes about the economic and environmental implications of impending public hearings into what might be the largest tar-sands mine ever.

- George Eaton comments on the ambitious futurism of UK Labour under Jeremy Corbyn - in contrast to the failed, backward-looking campaigns under other recent leaders.

- Allan Clarke points out that both reconciliation and the alleviation of poverty among Indigenous people will require a federal government which recognizes and engages with historic Indigenous rights.

- Umair Haque highlights how social democratic policies in Europe have led to broad-based prosperity, while corporatist US policies have utterly failed to accomplish the same. And PressProgress points out how corporate interests which already receive billions in federal tax giveaways have the nerve to be demanding even more to match the Trump administration's preference for the wealthy over everybody else.

- Finally, Denise Balkissoon offers a reminder that "voter fraud" is nothing more than a myth used as an excuse for real and wide-range voter suppression.