India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, is taking every possible step to ensure he wins a third term in the general election, which runs from April 19 until June 1. Modi’s party, the BJP, is based on far-right Hindu chauvinism, Hindutva. Modi himself rose to prominence through the fascist inspired Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which is […]
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In early November, as BC’s southern interior got cold enough to be life threatening, a group of community service organizations operating shelters sent a joint letter to municipal officials, Interior Health, and BC Housing essentially withdrawing their services. The letter calls BC’s response to the homelessness crisis “an exercise in futility, at best” and went […]
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On May 20, Stuart Kirk, Global Head of Responsible Investments for the mega-bank HSBC (2021 assets $2.9 trillion, 2021 profits $12.6 billion), gave a speech at a Financial Times (ahem) “Moral Money” conference. The talk was titled “Why investors need not worry about climate risk.” Mr. Kirk, whose job with the bank “involves considering the […]
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Lucius Cassius was an ancient Roman judge who got a reputation for wisdom and fairness in court by repeatedly asking in cases, “Cui Bono?” or “Who Benefits?” Starting the third year of the COVID pandemic, the answer to old Lucius’ question seems pretty obvious: Canadian Banks once again posted record profits and bonuses, while at […]
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The Washington Post published an op-ed piece by David Mossop on April 18 calling on Ontario’s Premier Doug Ford to resign. While it may seem odd that the call comes first from a foreign source, we should remember that they’re right next door, and suddenly, given the relatively competent leadership the US is experiencing at the moment, […]
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Florence Custance was a teacher, feminist, labour militant, Marxist educator and one of the founders of the Communist Party of Canada. Born in England in 1881, Custance was trained as a school teacher and came to Canada as a young woman. In Canada she was active in labour and feminist struggles. She was one of […]
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Recently former Prime Minister Stephen (Steve) Harper gave a speech to the Ottawa Conference on Security and Defence where he warned: “Elites are thriving and large segments of the rest of the population are not thriving,” he said. “The increase in income and wealth for the highest echelons of society has been unprecedented frankly since the […]
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On January 17, Colonial Provincial District Medical Health Officer Dr. John Harding arrived in Bella Coola with COVID-19 vaccine for the Nuxalk First Nation. At a welcoming ceremony Dr. Harding announced he had brought additional doses … enough to vaccinate the whole community. Two days later vaccinations began with the most vulnerable elders. However, there […]
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Some elected folks think it’s okay preaching obedience to public health orders, then taking off for the beach without so much as a jaunty “aloha” to the rest of us. Citizens are angry at Alberta’s Tracy Allard and her “tradition,” (undoubtedly dating back to the time of the druids), of a holiday trip to Hawaii. […]
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As COVID-19 spreads over Canada and the rest of the world, seniors are being especially hard hit. In our country, the vulnerability of our elders seems especially evident if they are in some sort of care facility. Care home after care home is being locked down due to the virus, and the death toll in […]
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