On barriers to cooperation

It's for the best that the NDP and Libs have been able to come to terms on a supply and confidence agreement which should at least provide for substantial material gains for people who need them, and may go further in setting up core elements of a universal health care system which have long been lacking. And it's particularly gratifying to see at least some recognition of the leadership that requires. 

But while it's well worth celebrating what looks like a turn for the better, it's also worth a reminder as to what - and who - has prevented that type of cooperation from happening in the past.

Remember that Jagmeet Singh's message after the 2019 election was one of willingness to work with the Liberals on shared priorities. And Justin Trudeau's response was...to reject any systematic cooperation with a single party, as he preferred piecemeal politics and perpetual Parliamentary chicken to acceding to any NDP priorities in exchange for ongoing confidence.

After last year's election, Singh again floated the possibility of closer cooperation, while apparently seeing it as futile to even suggest a formal confidence agreement. But even with that lesser possibility on the table, the Libs expressed at most "not a closure" in response, with nothing coming of it until talks between the leaders this year. 

And lest there be any doubt, that disparity in interest in working together is all too familiar for anybody who has hoped that Libs would treat minority Parliaments as opportunities to achieve progressive outcomes. From Paul Martin sneering that Jack Layton was "two votes short" of being worth talking to, to Pierre Trudeau torpedoing a functional confidence arrangement to manufacture a majority for himself, the history of the two parties is rife with theoretical possibilities which fell victim to the Libs' hubris and/or self-interest. 

Needless to say, that leaves reason for concern that the same factors will affect both the length of time the current agreement figures to hold up, and the expectations as to what will be achieved while it does. And while the points of agreement may make some major achievements seem like real possibilities, there's a lot of work to be done to keep pushing toward actually bringing them to life before the Libs decide to go it alone.

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- David Wallace-Wells examines the massive global toll of excess deaths from COVID-19 (likely far exceeding even the already-alarming official counts). Nele Brusselaers et al. examine how Sweden's choice to ignore science in favour of wishcasting and a strategy of deliberate infection resulted in avoidable tragedy, while Heidi Ledford looks at the possibilities and uncertainties in trying to medicate our way around long COVID. And Dr. Thomas Piggott discusses why he's still making sure to mask up to avoid not only illness for himself, but potentially deadly consequences for people who can't protect themselves. 

- Stewart Lansley examines the causes and consequences of the UK's model of extractive capitalism - with the predictable result being the concentration of wealth and power in a lucky few while everybody else faces perpetually more precarity. And Erica Pandey notes that the executive class is far more eager to force employees back to the office in person than workers are to take avoidable risks in the midst of an ongoing pandemic.

- Meanwhile, Laura Chinchilla and Maria Fernanda Espinosa discuss the importance of ensuring that the women who stand to bear the brunt of climate change are at the table in determining how best to avert and adapt to it, while Jeremy Appel writes that we can't afford to doom ourselves to a climate breakdown as part of a toxic masculinity contest with Vladimir Putin. And Donna Lu reports on satellite data showing that Antarctica's Conger ice shelf has collapsed. 

- David Moscrop writes about the hopeful prospect that the NDP-Lib supply and confidence agreement will lay the groundwork for a universal drug plan. And Jacques Gallant reports on the Libs' recognition that increased health care investment needs to be tied to specific priorities and outcomes, rather than being redirected to suit the political purposes of premiers. 

- Finally, Scott Schmidt examines the constant internal bickering and backstabbing within conservative parties which seems to have completely overtaken any interest in discussing policy choices. Graham Thomson reminds us that Jason Kenney has spent his entire time in Alberta politics courting the lunatics he now claims to need to control. And Taylor Lambert reports on the background to Jason Nixon's ascent to environment minister - featuring one of the UCP's trademark appointments of the person with the absolute worst combination of qualifications and suitability to oversee a government department. 

Musical interlude

 Gorgon City, DRAMA - You've Done Enough

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Winnie Wan Yee Tso et al. study the severity of the Omicron BA.2 COVID variant, and find that its rate of deaths and severe outcomes is no less severe than previous variants in children from 0-11 in particular. Guy Quenneville reports on the connection between the elimination of public health rules and Ontario's spike in cases. Kumanan Wilson examines the history of vaccine passports in Canada, as well as the continuing need for them even as provincial governments abandon them in favour of pandemic denialism. And Russell Wangersky writes that there's no reason for the Moe government to reject an inquiry which would allow Saskatchewan to learn from the pandemic and help keep people healthier.   

- But then, Zak Vescera reports that the Sask Party is continuing to show its lack of interest in avoiding easily preventable deaths by refusing to fund Prairie Harm Reduction. And Connor O'Donovan reports that nine of the people who found refuge in Regina's Camp Hope have died of drug poisonings since it was eliminated. 

- Mitchell Thompson highlights the Ford PCs' plan to demand that health support services in the education system be carried out by staff without health training.

- Kate Aronoff discusses how designing our living environments to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels would produce massive improvements in our quality of life. But in case anybody was hopeful we'd take steps in that direction in Saskatchewan, Bryan Eneas reports that the Moe government is planning to funnel carbon price dollars to the oil sector rather than either allowing people to receive the rebates now available, or investing in a transition to clean energy. And Sharon Riley reports on Alberta's refusal to ensure fossil fuel operators clean up their own messes when they can instead extract profits and leave the public to pay for their liabilities. 

- Finally, Katherine Scott et al. examine whether the supply and confidence agreement between the NDP and Libs may lead to a new Pearsonian era of progressive government. But Geoff Dembicki notes that Pierre Poilievre is looking to plunge both the Cons and our political system as a whole into the Trumpist gutter instead. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Katherine Wu warns that another U.S. COVID wave may severely test what's already proven to be an alarming willingness to accept injury and death. Sophia Stocklein et al. find that the effects of COVID-19 include impeding prenatal lung development. Amanda Follett Hosgood reports on B.C.'s failure to track spread in and from work camps. Jessica Wong reports on polling showing that over two thirds of parents recognize that governments have overlooked children's health and wellness, while Alicia Abelson and Sarah Jacobson report on a court's conclusion that the political blocking of masking measures is discrimination against immunocompromised students. And May Warren discusses the options for individual "risk budgeting" - though it's pathetic that our political leaders have refused to engage in the task at the social level. 

- Dylan Short reports on the exodus of doctors from Jason Kenney's Alberta already - and the prospect of far more following suit if the UCP isn't replaced by a government with some interest in a functional medical system. 

- Markham Hislop writes about the International Energy Agency's plan to quickly slash fossil fuel use - with the twin benefits of both facilitating a clean energy transition, and making people less vulnerable to oil sector price gouging. And both Alex Chapman and the Guardian's editorial board point out the comparative folly of cutting gas taxes, which redistributes wealth upward, incentivizes continued pollution and enables the fossil fuel sector to seize even more windfall profits. 

- Finally, Amanda Schepak discusses Mary Annaïse Heglar's work trying to break the oil industry's stranglehold on public policy decisions. 

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Dayne Patterson discusses the continued recognition among doctors that the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over (and indeed approaching another particularly dangerous phase). Sumathi Reddy reports on new research showing a starkly more severe risk of diabetes following infection. Nathaniel Dove reports on the spread among Saskatchewan children, while Reuters highlights how Italy has been able to reduce transmission in schools by 82% with proper ventilation. And Nicola Davis reports on Danny Altmann's warning that the prevalence of long COVID (and lack of any meaningful effort to address it) stands to create a generation of people with avoidable disabilities. 

- Armine Yalnizyan discusses why temporary inflation is likely to resolve itself with time, rather than serving as a basis for attacks on wages and social supports. Stephen Wentzell takes note of new CCPA research showing that provincial deficits during the pandemic have been a matter of choice rather than structural concern. And John Nichols discusses how the richest few have been the beneficiaries of a massive pandemic windfall. 

- Aaron Wherry examines how the supply and confidence agreement between the NDP and Liberals will allow the current Parliament to function - much to the apparent chagrin of other parties and pundits eager to posture over the constant threat of an election. But Adam King notes that there's plenty of work to be done in holding the Libs to their commitments, including to finally implement anti-scab legislation. 

- Dan Calverley and Kevin Anderson find that an equitable transition will need to include a rapid phaseout of fossil fuels by wealthier countries, while George Monbiot writes that UK Con spin about a just transition being unaffordable is being proven wrong by successes across Europe. David Wethe points out that oil sector workers aren't seeing their wages keep pace with windfall profits, and are increasingly eager to find better career opportunities.  And Sara Hastings-Simon notes (PDF) that electric vehicle adoption is happening at a faster pace than was previously assumed to be possible. 

- Finally, Adam Morton reports on Andrew Macintosh's warning that Australia's carbon credit scheme is an utter failure in actually reducing carbon emissions. And Rosa Lee and Carla Ellern report on the risks of gas infrastructure both a threat to cause explosions, and as a constant source of greenhouse gas emissions. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Cats dreaming big.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Crawford Killian writes about the dangers of becoming unduly relaxed about a new COVID wave (with particular reference to South Korea's experience). Bruce Y. Lee notes that Austria has reinstated mask mandates based on its belated recognition that it couldn't afford to abandon public health measures. And Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon reports on a push for improved case reporting and transparency in New Brunswick, while David Shield reports that the lone source of ongoing reporting which Scott Moe hasn't been able to squelch is showing an explosion of transmission driven by the BA.2 Omicron variant. 

- Meanwhile, Zak Vescera reports on the growing number of children being born with syphilis and/or HIV in Saskatchewan as the Moe government ignores the need for prenatal care. 

- William Barber writes that the participation of poor and marginalized voters is a must for any remotely democratic system. 

- Lindsay Owens highlights how businesses are engaging in blatant price-gouging while falsely blaming inflation and other economic factors. Abe Asher discusses how the fossil fuel sector is taking its cue from anti-BDS laws to try to stifle any climate action based on holding corporations responsible for the damage they're doing to our planet. 

- Finally, in a column which is obviously relevant to how we view recent developments in Canada, John Harwood discusses how Obamacare has become an accepted fact of life in the U.S. even among the Republicans who once railed against it. 

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Umair Haque discusses how the corporate-driven surrender to COVID - like so many of the choices which value profit over well-being - reflects idiocy in the original sense of the word. Davide Mastracci discusses how we're learning nothing more now than how to suffer from or die with COVID. And John Michael McGrath warns that Ontario's trajectory toward another wave is probably locked in - particularly given a stubborn government's unwillingness to take steps to protect people no matter how obviously they may be needed. 

- Jillian Kestler-D'Amours weighs in on the deference of authorities to the #FluTruxKlan and its white supremacist organizers. 

- Fiona Harvey reports on the scientific community's justified alarm in the face of simultaneous unprecedented heat waves at both of the Earth's poles. The Observer points out how the UK Cons' elimination of energy efficiency policies is imposing ongoing costs on every household in the country. And Harvey also reports on a call by hundreds of academics for universities to stop accepting money from - and being subservient to - fossil fuel companies. 

- Dan Darrah discusses the social pressures and predatory lending practices designed to force people into unmanageable debt. 

- Finally, John Hogan offers a hopeful view that the success of organizing campaigns at Starbucks in the face of gross corporate abuses may bode well for the prospects of far more widespread unionization. 

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Lauren Pelley and Adam Miller discuss the reality that Canada has never seen its previous COVID wave fully recede even as a new one looms, while the Ottawa Citizen asks people to exercise the responsibility and judgment that's sorely lacking from their governments in taking precautions to avoid further spread. And Ziyad Al-Ali interviews Stephanie Desmond about the reality that even mild cases can result in prolonged heart issues, while Jessica Wildfire writes about the folly of surrendering to a disease that affects people's cognitive function in all walks of life. 

- Meanwhile, Alison reviews Nora Loreto's Spin Doctors as an essential read on the pandemic and how it's been misdiagnosed in the media even as right-wing governments seize on the harm to our health care system for their own ideological ends. Jake Johnson discusses how a growing takeover by private equity has led to resident neglect in U.S. care homes. And a group of labour federations calls for the public to take action against any move toward U.S.-style profit-driven health services. 

- Karl Nerenberg makes the case for Canada to stop allowing oligarchs to shelter their fortunes in secrecy here. 

- Christine Berry highlights how corporations are making a killing by raising prices while falsely blaming outside economic factors. And Megan Devlin reports on Mark Lee's call for a windfall profit tax to prevent the fossil fuel sector from profiteering in the face of war and a pandemic. 

- Drew Anderson reports on the plight of a Yorkton family which has seen the value of its home and business lost to environmental contamination, while the two corporate giants responsible stonewall and the government tries to relieve them of any liability. 

- Finally, Ian Welsh offers a concise summary of the features which make for good leadership - and which are all too often lacking in the people who do exercise authority. 

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Moira Wyton writes about the growing chorus of experts warning that we're on the verge of another deadly wave of COVID-19. Shira Lurie laments the epidemic of individualism that's standing in the way of needed collective responses. And Alexander Quon reports on the people suffering from long COVID who have been completely abandoned by Scott Moe's government, while a team of doctors is offering at least some mechanism to collect and share information about its prevalence and effects in Saskatchewan. 

- Adam Barnett and Michaela Hermann discuss the ties between nationalism, anti-environmentalism and corporatism which have contributed to effectively all of the forces destroying our well-being and our living world. And Justin Ling offers a reminder that the #FluTruxKlan was based on far more sinister motivations than opposition to vaccine mandates. 

- Matt McGrath reports on the link between wildfire smoke and melting in the Arctic region. And Jason Samsonow and Kasha Patel report on the unprecedented heat wave in eastern Antarctica which is baffling even the scientists who have been warning about the effects of global warming. 

- Bill McKibben makes the case to stop burning things as fundamental step needed to avert climate breakdown. And the Breach assembles a hypothetical retrospective as to how Canada could implement a just transition by 2025.  

- Finally, Erica Johnson, Katie Pedersen and Tiffany Foxcroft report on the neglect and abuse Canadian seniors have faced while relying on home care from corporate operators. 

Musical interlude

Diplo feat. Amtrac & Leon Bridges - High Rise

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Ed Yong laments the U.S.' particularly dangerous spin through the pandemic cycle of panic and neglect as it is eliminating all federal funding even as the most dangerous COVID-19 wave yet begins to crest, while Phil Tank calls out Scott Moe's cherry-picked appeal to public opinion as overriding any sense of responsibility to keep people safe and healthy. And Maija Kappler discusses how the Omicron BA.2 variant is taking over as the dominant strain in Canada, while Chris Herhalt and CTV News report on its rise in Ontario and Alberta respectively. 

- Joel Dryden writes about the fallout from the #FluTruxKlan's heavily-armed assault on the Coutts, AB border crossing. And Jessica McDiarmid and Mark Fawcett investigate how much of the Facebook content claiming to reflect grassroots local concerns from a right-wing perspective is in fact the product of Conservative-affiliated political operatives, while Geoff Dembicki reports on the role of Canada Proud in particular in systematically disseminating climate misinformation. 

- Meanwhile, Thom Hartmann writes about the role of the libertarian message injected into the political mainstream by Ronald Reagan in enriching the already-wealthy while making life ever more precarious for everybody else. And Patrick Radden Keefe discusses how Vladimir Putin's oligarch cronies have found welcoming servants in London (and elsewhere) when throwing around the money extracted from their home country.  

- Finally, Victoria Gibson reports on new research showing that the Libs' model for privately-developed housing development is allowing private rental landlords to access federal funding while still charging above-market rents. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Tim Loh discusses how Europe's premature end to public health measures is resulting in another COVID wave. Lei Lei Wu notes that nearly two-thirds of U.S. children hospitalized with the Omicron variant had no other underlying condition, while Natalie Huet reports on the substantial proportion of children whose symptoms lead to long COVID. Juliet Pulliam et al. study the growing risk of re-infection by the new variants, while Gili Regev-Yonchay et al. find that a fourth dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine is both safe and effective in protecting against symptoms. And Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz discusses why any "focused protection" theory (i.e. letting the pandemic run rampant other than seeking to protect only the most vulnerable) has always been doomed to fail. 

- Anna Bawden reports on new research showing the connection between air pollution and auto-immune diseases.  

- Anne Applebaum discusses how the U.S.' coddling of kleptocratic governments in Russia and elsewhere has undermined any goal of promoting democracy around the globe. 

- Meanwhile, Thomas Piketty writes that we would have little trouble identifying and seizing the assets of Russia's oligarchs through an international financial registry if the wealthiest few weren't determined to avoid having their own riches known (and potentially taxed). Transparency International Canada examines (PDF) how secrecy is at the core of Canadian "snow-washing" of offshore wealth. And Rita Trichur discusses how transparency is the only way to avoid being a haven for financial crime. 

- Adam Johnson calls out the U.S. media's eagerness to cheerlead for war - thereby serving the interests of the military-industrial complex in the name of holding politicians to account. 

- Finally, Anne Helen Pedersen examines how to marshal collective strength in response to the U.S.' seemingly relentless stream of individual-level stress and social regression.

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Noushin Ziafati reports on the continuing challenges facing people suffering from long COVID - particularly as governments attempt to pretend the pandemic which infected them never happened. And Eric Topol writes about the continued denialism in the U.S. as another wave is cresting. 

- Nancy Olivieri, Michael Hurley and Natalie Mehra call out the Ford government's quiet privatization of health care. Marc Spooner warns that the Moe government is laying the groundwork to turn Saskatchewan's universities into subcontractors for corporate employers. And Kathryn Joyce points out the concerted attack on public education in the U.S. centered on a single conservative Christian private college. 

- Jen St. Denis writes about the causes of B.C.'s deadly heat dome last summer - and the steps needed to prepare for more to come. And Matt Elliott discusses the folly in Doug Ford's plans to add still more lanes of traffic which only stand to increase gridlock and sprawl. 

- Dru Oja Jay interviews Seth Klein about the needed fight to wean ourselves off fossil fuels. Kate Aronoff calls out the fossil fuel sector for its greed and arrogance in response to Russia's attack on Ukraine, while Katherine Fung reports that the Koch empire continues to stand out in its corporate villainy by acquiescing in Vladimir Putin's war. And Charlie Angus writes that we can't afford to keep clinging to the laughable theory that it's possible to avert a climate breakdown while subsidizing the increased production and export of dirty oil and gas. 

- Finally, Giulia Gipponi and Steve Machin study labour market inequality in the UK, and find that the middle class of workers has seen effectively no increase in income over the past four decades. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Homemaking cats.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Nora Loreto discusses the collective trauma which is following from the combination of a pandemic and a determined effort by our ruling class not to limit the harm it causes. And Dan Sinker writes about the impossibility of reaching anything approaching normal when war and disease are the leading factors shaping our lives. 

- Luke Taylor offers a warning to the Americans not to lower their guard against COVID. Brooklyn Neustaedter reports on the recognition that there's no going back to the way things were prior to the pandemic, while Jean Laroche reports on the expert pushback against lifting mask mandates in Nova Scotia. And Maria Godoy writes about the obvious potential for improvement in air quality standards in classrooms and elsewhere.

- Katherine Scott points out how the pandemic has confirmed the need to take profit motives out of long-term care - as the same businesses responsible for tens of thousands of deaths through resident neglect and poor planning managed to keep their profits at entirely typical levels. And Robert Williams reports on the organizing drive to keep Ontario's health care system from being sold off. But the Canadian Press reports that Loblaws is giving effect to the dangers of for-profit care under corporate control by buying up a major provider of uninsured services. 

- Meanwhile, John di Nino writes about the pattern of privatization of public transit, while Natasha Bulowski reports on the Libs' choice to continue that trend for a major VIA Rail corridor. 

- Finally, Jake Johnson observes that a massive majority of Americans wants to see corporations pay windfall taxes based on their jacking up prices and profits in the midst of a crisis. And John Nichols makes the case to apply that principle to the fossil fuel sector in particular. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Steven Woolf examines the inescapable connection between political choices and avoidable COVID-19 deaths between U.S. states. And Christopher Blackwell discusses how the pandemic may never end in prisons where authorities are even less interested in ensuring the health of the people whose lives depend on their decisions. 

- Luke Savage makes the case to tax the windfall profits being greedily accumulated by the fossil fuel industry. And Scott Schmidt writes that the Kenney UCP's refusal to consider any budgeting philosophy other than crushing austerity even in the midst of an oil boom proves that there's no time it will ever invest in the well-being of Albertans. 

- Naomi Klein discusses the use of toxic nostalgia to keep us tethered both to the continued of fossil fuels, and the extractive mindset needed to overlook its harms. And Philippe Fournier writes about surveys showing a large number of Con and PPC members who have fully bought into Trumpism. 

- Tim Louis writes about the growing scientific consensus around the reality - and imminent danger - of climate feedback loops. 

- Finally, David Moscrop argues that it's long past time to decriminalize drug use and focus on harm reduction rather than gratuitous criminalization and stigmatization. 

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Kit Yates discusses how the lifting of COVID-19 public health protections in the UK has predictably precipitated another wave of infections. Natalie Grover writes about the two-year-long battle to get decision-makers to accept that COVID-19 is transmitted through the air. And Catherine Pearson examines the factors which have allowed people to avoid becoming infected through the pandemic so far - with the effectiveness of public health measures (even when they haven't been recommended or required by governments) serving as the most important factor. 

- Meanwhile, Annie Lennon writes about research showing how COVID-19 can cause lasting nerve damage. And Adnan Qureshi et al. find that it can be responsible for new onset dementia. 

- Josh Rubin reports that far too many business are following cues from governments eager to declare the pandemic over in the face of any scientific evidence. Charlie Smith reports on research showing how racialized people suffer disproportionately from the elimination of public health protections, while the Canadian Press reports on the impossible situation facing parents of children under 5 who lack the protection from vaccination that the rest of the population is relying on to avoid the worst effects of COVID-19. And Adam Miller discusses how our mental health care system is in crisis while lacking any new resources to deal with new cases and issues arising out of the pandemic. 

- Finally, Markham Hislop contrasts Canada's largely empty words about transitioning to a clean economy against Europe's developing plan to make the shift over a decade or less. And Max Fawcett points out that Canada's oil industry is beholden to exactly the same Russian interests which its political puppets are claiming to be able to replace.

#SKNDPLDR 2022 Overview - No Certainty, or No Contest?

I've posted previously about the loss for party and province that is Ryan Meili's resignation from the leadership of Saskatchewan's NDP. And as I'll discuss in this and posts to come, that factor will cast a long shadow over the new leadership campaign and beyond.

But with Meili stepping down - and with multiple top-tier candidates having ruled out runs or even declined movements to draft them into the race - the main question now is whether the leadership will be contested seriously (or at all).

Anybody else considering entering the race will need to have a plan to compete against a strong frontrunner. Carla Beck has started the campaign by assembling substantial support both within the current caucus and among prominent members. And she easily meets a basic checklist for the leadership position as a well-liked and effective MLA who can boast strong connections throughout the party, an urban base and rural roots, and the appealing prospect of finally breaking the gender barrier for the NDP's permanent leadership.

But then, there's the reminder of the shoes the new leader will have to fill:

I'll let this speak for itself. pic.twitter.com/3dxxqiMggC

— Steve Boots (@steve_boots) March 10, 2022

For all Beck's merits, it's a high bar for her - or anybody else - to approach Meili's principled opposition, especially when it comes to the fundamental building blocks of a healthy society. And it's unlikely we'll see Beck tested much under the type of safe, low-content campaign which she's run so far - and which she'll have every incentive to continue running as long as there isn't any serious competition. 

I'd thus think even Beck's own supporters would recognize the value in ensuring there's a contest rather than an acclamation. But who can plausibly make that happen?

Most obviously, the past two leadership campaigns have been marked by the success of Saskatoon MLAs against Regina competitors. And that may be in part due to a structural advantage for somebody who starts out with greater name recognition in Saskatchewan's largest city, while also spending enough time in Regina during legislative sessions to make connections. 

With Betty Nippi-Albright having already (if unfortunately) ruled out a run, that still leaves a few intriguing possibilities. I'd view an environmentally-focused campaign from Erika Ritchie as a particularly desirable counterweight to the unfortunate view of some within the party that the next leader should be even more deferential to the oil sector than is currently the normal practice. But any of Ritchie, Jennifer Bowes, Vicki Mowat or Matt Love could run a competitive campaign while offering a voice to people who want to expand the range of possibilities for the party. 

In contrast, any candidate running a campaign based primarily in Regina figures to face an uphill battle due to both Beck's own prominence locally, and the immediate boost to her campaign provided by much of the city's NDP establishment. With the stress on parents of younger children being a major them in both how the campaign was precipitated and who's ruled out a run so far, it may be too much to hope for Meara Conway to throw her hat in the ring - and it's hard to see who outside of caucus would pose much of a challenge. 

Outside of geographic considerations, there's also the question of policy positioning. Beck herself is roughly in the middle of the road within the NDP, and it's hard to see much of a push coming from the neoliberal centre in the absence of a clear path to power. But the progressive wing which helped build behind Meili will surely be looking for somebody to challenge Beck while also building a profile for battles to come. 

There's also the prospect of some generational considerations coming into play. With the party apparatus largely in the hands of an older generation and Beck having taken on the status of the establishment candidate, there's a prospect that younger supporters and voters might work on providing an alternative while carving out their own places within the party. 

Of course, all the arguments for a competitor run into the realities of a campaign in which Beck already has a head start - and where there will be little time in which to try to sign up new members to make up the gap. 

For now, the above leaves more questions than answers as to who else might join the race. But the hope for now has to be that the election of a new leader doesn't devolve into an acclamation - and that both Beck and the party are strengthened for it regardless of how the campaign turns out.