On October 16, 1970, Liberal PM Pierre Trudeau enacted the War Measures Act, its only usage in peacetime. QuĂ©bec was flooded with 6,000 armed troops. The Act suspended democratic rights, allowed censorship, and authorized the police to search and arrest people without warrant. The spur for this huge attack was the Quebec Liberation Front’s (FLQ) […]
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Tim Heffernan and Martin LeBrun are Ontario and BC educators. They say that school days are the best days of our lives. This may be debatable at the best of times. But as the topic of this year’s return to school dominates media and family discussions, one thing is certain: everything is uncertain. With the […]
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World Depression Canada and the world are in the worst economic depression in at least 90 years. At the start of 2020, the world was on the edge of a deep recession – COVID-19 plunged the economy over a precipice. Canada is facing years of high unemployment and extremely low growth. Weak domestic and foreign […]
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On Tuesday, June 30th 2020 the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) will be celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of its independence from Belgian colonial rule. Celebrations are set to be subdued in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. President Tshisekedi announced that the funds destined for a grand celebration will be redirected to fight the pandemic […]
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The path to remote teaching starts with cautious curiosity, goes through enraging frustration and ends with a tired, tenacious and uninspired slog. The Cautious Curiosity COVID-19 has shutdown physical K-12 classrooms across Canada. In BC spring break ended on March 30, not with a return to school but with teachers logging onto their computers to […]
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In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, governments appear to be scrambling to come to Canadians’ rescue and to keep the economy from nose-diving into an abyss. But where are the billions of dollars in public funds that are being thrown at the COVID-19 crisis actually landing? Trudeau announced an aid package to help Canadians […]
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Martin LeBrun is a member of Socialist Alternative Canada. Robert Bielecki is a member of Rättvisepartiet Socialisterna (CWI in Sweden) . One million mainly young people took to the streets across Canada on September 27, demanding that governments take urgent action to address climate change. There were marches and rallies in at least 85 Canadian […]
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In March, QuĂ©bec’s CAQ Premier, François Legault, passed an austerity budget, giving more handouts to the rich. At the same time the government attacked religious minorities in the name of state religious neutrality. Legault’s Bill 21 (PL21) bans public sector workers (police, judges, teachers) from wearing religious clothing or symbols. If passed, it will legalise […]
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Canada was founded and formed by colonialism, capitalism and corruption countered by resistance. Unlike school history, this genuine history recognizes the central role of struggles of living people that shaped the Canada of today. From the beginnings of what became Canada, the lands and waters were exploited for resources: whale oil, fish from the Grand […]
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