Fire and Smoke

While Alberta’s deeply divided election rolls on, the province is suffering from fire and smoke. A dry winter and a hot spring have left much of the province tinder dry. The fires, that started in early May, by May 21 have already burnt over 940,000 hectares of land. This is more than any year since […]

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Vancouver Students Say, “No Cuts, No Closures!”

Students and teachers are struggling in BC with underfunded and understaffed schools. The public school system faces teacher shortages and increasing enrolment, but the provincial NDP government didn’t provide enough funding to address these shortfalls. This has led to widespread concerns that this year’s Vancouver School Board (VSB) budget will include cuts to programs and […]

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VW: Beyond Corporate Giveaways

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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Alberta’s Election: It’s Going to be a Nail-Biter

After a few years of turmoil, Alberta faces a dangerously close election on May 29. The reversal of the deep hatred for the United Conservative Party (UCP) that gripped the province is astonishing. Replacing Premier Jason Kenney (the hated elitist) with Premier Danielle Smith (quietly, a former corporate lobbyist, but loudly, a reactionary right-populist) meant […]

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The War in BC’s Woods

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the climactic battle in the long simmering “War in the Woods” in Clayoquot Sound. On March 12, 1993, protesters stormed the legislature building to demand that the BC NDP fulfill their election promise to protect what was — even back then — some of BC’s last remaining old […]

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Fighting Caste Discrimination in BC

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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Protect Renters: Vacancy Control Now

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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