Oliver Twist, desperately hungry in the workhouse, famously asked for “some more” thin gruel. Mr. Bumble is outraged and berates Oliver for his impertinence. Fast forward to 2023 Ontario, land of the business fat cats, auto makers Volkswagen (VW) and Stellantis, who do not request “more,” they demand billions in subsidies, or else. Not a […]
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In the media industry, there’s an old saying: “if it bleeds, it leads.” Sometimes the blood is real and gory, sometimes it’s a metaphor where the story in question involves drama, suspense, conflict or death, and, of course, “human interest.” The story gets top billing — the lead news story. And often it will displace […]
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Olivia Chow, former NDP MP and city councillor, is Toronto’s new mayor, the first “progressive” or left-of-centre elected since David Miller back in 2003. While issues around affordable housing, the exploding cost of living and the city’s ballooning financial deficit are worse now than they were back then, Chow’s victory marks a clear response to […]
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Climate change is global. But that doesn’t mean that all parts of the world are affected equally. To be sure, over the years, Canada has had its fair share of climate incidents such as forest fires and floods in Western Canada, hurricanes in the East, summer heat waves across the South, and ice storms in […]
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The Canadian government is giving Volkswagen Canada (VW) $13 billion to build a massive new electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in St. Thomas, Ontario. This is being hailed as a “game changer” for Canada’s auto sector as the ruling classes of various countries fight to secure investment in a broader and greener economy. Canada’s traditional […]
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On Wednesday, April 19, over 100,000 workers started their strike with pickets at least 250 workplaces. On Friday, April 7, 35,000 workers at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) voted in favour of strike action ahead of mediation talks set to take place later this month. On Thursday, April 13, they were joined by another 120,000 […]
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Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, arms spending around the world has soared. Germany and Japan have announced a doubling of spending on weapons of death. At the same time governments say there is not enough money to increase wages in line with inflation or to invest in the public health systems at risk of collapse. […]
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The Bank of Canada jacked up interest rates again to 4.5 percent. In less than a year the Bank has raised rates eight times from 0.25 percent, causing misery to millions with higher rent mortgages and debt charges. These actions make a recession, with higher unemployment, more likely. This article, written in late January, first […]
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Court Rules Wage Cap Law Illegal Two weeks ago Doug Ford suffered the first major defeat of his time in office when the strike movement of 55,000 CUPE education workers and the threat of an Ontario-wide general strike forced him to withdraw pre-emptive back-to-work legislation. That was the first black eye. The second one came […]
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The new movie from Danish director Ruben Östlund has the enigmatic title “Triangle of Sadness.” It derives from the suggestion made to Carl, in the role of a male model, that he gets Botox to rid himself of his “triangle of sadness” (the wrinkles that form in the area between one’s eyebrows) in order to […]
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