In December 2018, BC taxi driver Manoj Bhangu was physically assaulted at a workplace Christmas party by two of his co-workers when a business dispute got out of control. In the course of the assault, the two men attacked Bhangu not just with fists but with slurs. These slurs were not racist, nor LGBTQ-phobic, nor […]
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In February 2023, average inflation was 5.2 percent; prices are still increasing but more slowly than a year ago. However, food inflation was 10.6 percent, reinforcing the strong feeling that the big three grocery companies are profit gouging consumers. In order to appear that they are doing something, MPs summoned the heads of the big […]
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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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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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This article first appeared in the Tyee. Jean Swanson is a lifelong campaigner for renters and the working class. She was a Vancouver Councillor from 2018 to 2022. Although Jean is not a member of Socialist Alternative, we energetically supported her successful election in 2018 and worked hard trying to get her re-elected in 2022. […]
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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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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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Make the Rich Pay for the Cost-of-living Crisis! In this Issue: Ford’s Ontario: For-Profit Everything Climate Disaster and Youth Resistance Health Care on Life Support Women, Life, Freedom The Rent’s Too High! … and much more from Canada and abroad! Socialist Alternative is Growing! Starting with this issue we are moving to publishing more frequently, […]
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On Saturday, January 14, members of Socialist Alternative joined four hundred supporters of Drag Queen Story Time at Coquitlam Public Library. All were there to reject discrimination and in favour of choice. This was the second time the library hosted a Drag Story Time event in support of accessible, diverse, and culturally-inclusive family programming. However, […]
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For thousands of years Pacific salmon, in their bounty, provided plentiful food for the people of the coast. Many described themselves as “Salmon People.” After living in the ocean for several years, the salmon return to their rivers of birth to swim upstream to the gravel beds to spawn and die. Along the way, overcoming […]
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