Tim Heffernan and Jim Sugiyama Cockroaches, rotten food, patients with ulcers left bed-bound, staff moving from unit to unit wearing contaminated gear, staff afraid to ask for supplies for fear of increasing the costs to the home. Those were just some of the disturbing conditions detailed in a Canadian Armed Forces report based on the […]
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The metaphors of war have been in abundance since the onset of COVID-19. In Britain, the Queen, in a speech, evoked the WW2 song, “We’ll Meet Again.” The Italian Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, also invoked WW2 when he used Winston Churchill’s words to talk about Italy’s “darkest hour.” Donald Trump has described himself as a […]
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In 1983, The Police, recorded a song called “Synchronicity.” Some of the lyrics: We know you, they know meExtrasensorySynchronicityA star fall, a phone call,It joins all,Synchronicity The word synchronicity generally has positive connotations and is briefly defined as a “meaningful coincidence.” Could it be a coincidence, meaningful or otherwise, that the Ontario Minister of Education […]
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Before COVID-19 had become the all-consuming news story it is today, the elites of world capitalism, under the name of the World Economic Forum, were meeting in January in Davos, Switzerland. According to the WEF pronouncements, the key issues facing capitalism, in the year ahead, would be that: 1) The global economy is under pressure, […]
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Foodora Food delivery company that worked with 3,000 restaurants in 10 cities across Canada has announced the closure of its operations, effective mid-May. Foodora said it was unable to keep operating “without having to continually absorb losses.” It further said that it has not been able to reach a level of profitability in Canada that’s […]
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This article updates one from the same author from May 2019. The premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, would have us believe that the deaths of 249 people (April 20) in residential care homes are just an unfortunate aspect of the COVID-19 crisis. In reality, it’s a case of a chronicle of deaths foretold. Step back […]
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The right-wing Toronto Sun has never been afraid to foment division among workers, even when division didn’t exist. In the time of coronavirus, this hasn’t changed. Sun columnist Brian Lilley, on March 30 launched an attack on public sector workers in Service Canada offices. He wrote: “I know there are many good civil servants at […]
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As the old saying goes, “It is difficult to make predictions, especially about the future.” While this statement contains a lot of truth, it should not blind us to the fact that some clear political tendencies are emerging from the coronavirus crisis. It is safe to say that one of the big political losers from […]
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Tim Heffernan is a retired Ontario Teacher. Friday, February 21, saw the biggest show of united action by Ontario teachers since 1997. All 4 unions (elementary, secondary, Catholic and French) representing 160,000 teachers, in a one day strike closed down schools that affected 2 million students. In Toronto, an estimated 30,000 teachers, education workers, parents […]
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Tim Heffernan is a retired Ontario Teacher. Two months after the first one day strike by Ontario High School Teachers, the two sides are still miles apart. (This article gives background to the strike.) The High School teachers in the public boards, organized by OSSTF, were the first to take action with a series of […]
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