Cities are the world remade by society. So why are they so inhospitable? The high cost of living, air and noise pollution, the many barriers to accessibility, the scarcity of communal gathering places and green space, the high rate of traffic accidents, washrooms and drinking water for customers only, narrow or no sidewalks — all […]
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But His Persecution Proves That No One Is Truly Free Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has been released from prison and allowed to go home to his wife and children in Australia after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit espionage. His sudden release ends a legal nightmare for Assange during which he was involuntarily confined for […]
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This year marks the 30th anniversary of the climactic battle in the long simmering “War in the Woods” in Clayoquot Sound. On March 12, 1993, protesters stormed the legislature building to demand that the BC NDP fulfill their election promise to protect what was — even back then — some of BC’s last remaining old […]
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BC’s NDP government recently announced a $12 million budget increase to the Employment Standards Branch (ESB) — an 85 percent boost! This is a win for BC workers, who depend on the ESB to enforce their rights: without it, they are often at the mercy of their bosses, who profit from exploiting them. And this […]
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Tell the NDP to Enforce Employment Standards! Socialist Alternative, alongside groups like the Worker Solidarity Network, recently waged a campaign in BC for ten paid sick days per year for workers in the face of the ongoing COVID pandemic, in the end, winning five. This partial victory represents an incremental step toward a truly fair […]
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A tragic shootout at my neighbourhood Bank of Montreal, near Victoria, recently left two people dead and six injured, grabbing national headlines. And news coverage of this event casually mentioned that this same bank — which is just across the street from the bank I use — had been successfully robbed just four months before: […]
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The recent announcement that possession of up to 2.5 grams of certain illicit drugs will be exempted from criminal prosecution in BC has rightly been called a historic “forward step” towards addressing the ongoing toxic drug deaths. But in emergency situations, “forward steps” are not good enough — not if they are too slow and […]
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