Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Chris Walker discusses new research showing that over half of the increase in U.S. consumer prices over the past 6 months is pure corporate greedflation. And Michael Harris warns that Pierre Poilievre is planning to use discontent among Canadian voters as to a lack of affordability to further enrich the robber barons who are causing it. 

- Alan Semuels examines the consequences of leaving an important policy project (the installation of solar panels) to the corporate sector, as the goal of converting to clean energy is in danger of being swamped by the machinations of financialization.  

- Geoff Dembicki warns that Canada is on the verge of detonating one of the planet's largest carbon bombs by pushing and subsidizing fossil gas exports. And Nichole Dusyk notes that we no longer have the excuse that "everybody else is doing it", as the U.S. has set a needed example in prioritizing a habitable planet over dirty energy exports. 

- Matthew Rosza writes about new research showing that the spread of microplastics includes accumulation in the bodies of endangered Galapagos penguins. And Joseph Winters reports on a new study showing that while recycling schemes may do little to reduce plastic contamination, actual bans work wonders in reducing the number of bags discarded. 

- Zak Vescera reports on British Columbia's steps to reduce the extent and danger of exposure to asbestos in the workplace. 

- Finally, David MacDonald examines what's included - and what's still missing - in the first step toward a national dental plan. 

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Andrew Nikiforuk writes about immunologist Chris Goodnow's belated recognition that COVID isn't over only after he was hit with acute myocarditis, while Korin Miller discusses new research showing an elevated risk of blood clots for a year after a COVID infection. And Jessica Wildfire discusses how businesses making money off of COVID are all too motivated to keep the pandemic going - though it's worth noting that even the theory about commercializing prevention and treatment is falling apart as far too many people choose to do nothing from what they've been told is no longer a problem, rather than paying to protect themselves.

- Amal Abdulrahman points out that the availability of medication is a necessary element of any plan for mental health. And Dan Darrah writes about some of the open questions still to be answered about dental care under the NDP/Lib confidence agreement.

- Alex Hemingway highlights why supply issues are a crucial part of the housing crisis - while recognizing that leaving the supply of a human need to for-profit developers alone only ensures that new housing isn't affordable. And Dennis Gruending writes that Saskatchewan is slipping toward a new system of serfdom as farmland falls into fewer and wealthier hands.

- Meanwhile, Christian Paas-Lang discusses how product inflation also needs to be met with a rethinking of how essential goods and services are produced and distributed. 

- Finally, Mark Rendell and Vanmala Subranamiam report on the call from Canada's labour movement to stop interest rate hikes intended to suppress wages. And Umair Haque writes about the perils of a new economic era defined by the throttling of any development which could possibly share prosperity with the working class.

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Danny Altmann discusses how infection with COVID-19 tends to produce weakness and long-term illness rather than immunity, while Tom Livingstone likewise notes that reinfection is worse than previously assumed. Hanna Geissler reports on the warning from experts that we're looking at another new wave in the near future, while Patrick Rail talks to Kashif Pirzada about how the worldwide petri dish resulting from a refusal to stop community transmission is producing newer and more dangerous variants on a regular basis. And Carly Weeks reports on Theresa Tam's recognition that misinformation about the severity of COVID-19 and the ongoing need to try to limit its spread is proving to be deadly.

- Hasan Sheikh and Brandon Doucet make the case to follow through on Tommy Douglas' vision for medicare by adding universal dental care. But Jeff Labine reports that the Trudeau Libs aren't even bothering to respond to provinces who are looking to move forward.

- Phoebe Stephens writes about the need for smaller-scale food providers to limit the ability of corporate conglomerates to gouge the public. And Wayne Mantyka reports on the call from Saskatchewan mayors for the provincial government to fill thousands of public housing units which have been left vacant even in the midst of a housing crisis.

- Finally, Karen Geier discusses how the Cons' leadership race is pushing the party even further off any reasonable map of political philosophies into MAGA-land. And Luke LeBrun reports on Pierre Poilievre's choice to lead a march of COVID deniers, violent insurrectionists and secessionists in order to court their support.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Peter Smits et al. examine some of the risk factors which tend to produce particularly severe breakthrough cases of COVID-19. The Economist summarizes what we know so far - and still have left to learn - about long COVID. Mark Lieberman discusses the particularly high concentration of long COVID cases among educators in the U.S. And Melanie Borrelli reports on new research showing that children's mental health is primarily harmed by the spread of COVID rather than by public health measures to stop it. 

- Kelsey Langston makes the case for the Moe government to start funding harm reduction - though the next indication that it cares a whit about saving lives will be the first. And Zak Vescera reports on the Saskatchewan Party's appalling insistence that it won't bother to do anything to work on suicide prevention even after it passed legislation confirming the ongoing need for a strategy. 

- Clement Nocos offers a backgrounder on how to implement universal mental health care in Ontario (in advance of an election campaign where that's on the table thanks to the NDP). And Catherine Carstairs discusses why dental care remains outside of the universal health care system despite its obvious connection to health and welfare. 

- Meanwhile, Armine Yalnizyan, Pat Armstrong, Marjorie Griffin Cohen and Laurell Ritchie warn of the dangers of instead allowing the Ford PCs and other right-wing government to privatize needed care services. Philip Mirowski warns that the death of neoliberalism has been greatly exaggerated - as the mere fact that its promises have proven false doesn't mean there's a lack of corporate servants willing to keep pushing it. And Tom Perkins examines how corporations have been price-gouging consumers even while using their own greed as an excuse to try to impose public austerity. 

- Finally, Lori Culbert and Dan Fumano highlight how far Vancouver has to go in allowing families' needs to be met. And Leif Gregersen writes about the gross insufficiency of the resources being provided to help homeless people. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Tim Requarth writes about the U.S.' appalling number of COVID orphans who have lost caregivers due to failures in public health policy - and the fact that they're now being left without alternative social supports as well. And the Decent Work & Health Network points out Ontario's worsening lack of protections for workers generally, while Alex Cosh asks why British Columbia has ended measures which are vital to alleviating spread and illness among migrant workers. 

- The Canadian Press reports that British Columbia is moving toward restoring card-check certification which will make it easier for workers to take collective action. But Catherine McInyre exposes how Amazon has skirted labour and employment laws to avoid collective bargaining with the workers who allow it to function. 

- Conor Curtis and Tzeporah Berman rightly ask why the Trudeau Libs would even consider allowing massive new offshore drilling while pretending to care about averting a climate breakdown, while Elaine Anselmi takes a closer look at how the Bay du Nord project came to be approved yesterday. Kate Aronoff similarly points out the folly of the U.S. Democrats' focus on pushing oil companies to drill more. Don Pittis is rightly appalled at the spate of fuel tax breaks which are serving as a carbon pollution subsidy and handout to a fossil fuel sector already swimming in windfall profits. And Emily Chung reports that researchers learning the effects of natural gas stoves in the home are shifting away from them as quickly as possible. 

- Meanwhile, Damian Carrington reports that microplastic pollution is beginning to be found even in people's lungs. 

- Finally, Sharon Blady discusses how investments in preventative medicine - including pharmacare and dental care - produces fiscal benefits as well as improved health. 

On barriers to cooperation

It's for the best that the NDP and Libs have been able to come to terms on a supply and confidence agreement which should at least provide for substantial material gains for people who need them, and may go further in setting up core elements of a universal health care system which have long been lacking. And it's particularly gratifying to see at least some recognition of the leadership that requires. 

But while it's well worth celebrating what looks like a turn for the better, it's also worth a reminder as to what - and who - has prevented that type of cooperation from happening in the past.

Remember that Jagmeet Singh's message after the 2019 election was one of willingness to work with the Liberals on shared priorities. And Justin Trudeau's response was...to reject any systematic cooperation with a single party, as he preferred piecemeal politics and perpetual Parliamentary chicken to acceding to any NDP priorities in exchange for ongoing confidence.

After last year's election, Singh again floated the possibility of closer cooperation, while apparently seeing it as futile to even suggest a formal confidence agreement. But even with that lesser possibility on the table, the Libs expressed at most "not a closure" in response, with nothing coming of it until talks between the leaders this year. 

And lest there be any doubt, that disparity in interest in working together is all too familiar for anybody who has hoped that Libs would treat minority Parliaments as opportunities to achieve progressive outcomes. From Paul Martin sneering that Jack Layton was "two votes short" of being worth talking to, to Pierre Trudeau torpedoing a functional confidence arrangement to manufacture a majority for himself, the history of the two parties is rife with theoretical possibilities which fell victim to the Libs' hubris and/or self-interest. 

Needless to say, that leaves reason for concern that the same factors will affect both the length of time the current agreement figures to hold up, and the expectations as to what will be achieved while it does. And while the points of agreement may make some major achievements seem like real possibilities, there's a lot of work to be done to keep pushing toward actually bringing them to life before the Libs decide to go it alone.

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Umair Haque is rightly frustrated that we haven't learned and applied obvious lessons about how to fight COVID after two years, while also warning against any assumptions that the Omicron variant will go easy on us. Ian Bogost writes about the realization that due in large part to reckless government choices, we may never make it to a post-COVID future. But Nesrine Malik pushes us to keep fighting to limit the damage we do to the people around us. And CBC News interviews David Fisman about the role of improved masking in stopping the spread of a more contagious variant. 

- Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon talks to Colin Furness about the need to finally acknowledge - and act on - the reality that ventilation systems need to be upgraded to respond to an airborne pathogen. And Kathryn May reports that the federal government has delayed plans to push public employees back into common office spaces. 

- Matt Stoller discusses how the factors causing the U.S.' supply chain disruptions include warped corporate incentives which make it profitable for some companies to cause a cargo traffic jam.

- Paul Mason writes that the fall of Boris Johnson is the result of a toxic party ideology which is incapable of acting in the public interest.

- Brandon Doucet argues that it's long past time for Canadians to have truly universal health care, including public coverage for prescription drugs and dental care. And Alex Hemingway writes that fiscal responsibility means making positive investments in people's health and well-being - not imposing punitive austerity. 

- Finally, Patricia Callahan, James Bandler, Justin Elliott, Doris Burke and Jeff Ernsthausen trace how wealth concentrated in the Scripps, Mellon and Mars families in the early 20th century has turned into a twelve-figure pile of assets steered away from any tax responsibilities.

#Elxn44 Roundup

The latest from Canada's federal election campaign.

- Khalden Dhatsenpa and Gavin Armitage-Ackerman write about the need to treat housing as a human right rather than a commodity. 

- PressProgress reports on an internal Health Canada report showing how the NDP's plan for dental coverage would remove crucial barriers to access to dental care while also reducing health costs.  

- Andrea Perrella and Brian Tanguay make the case to follow through on ending the first-past-the-post electoral system in favour of a proportional system. 

- Markham Hislop highlights the parties' positions on a just transition to a clean economy - with particular attention paid to the failure of either the Libs or the Cons to make anything of the sort a priority at what may be the best possible time to plan the transition. And David Climenhaga reports on the Alberta Oil War Room's apparent breaches of election financing requirements in demanding indefinite fossil fuel production and data mining for Conservative-connected groups. 

- The Care Economy offers a fact sheet on care issues in the election, as well as questions worth raising with candidates. 

- Finally, Leyland Cecco writes about Jagmeet Singh's growing appeal - along with the NDP's ability to influence policy in another likely minority Parliament. And Nick Taylor-Vaisey examines where the parties stand after last week's debate - with Singh emerging as the victor in public perceptions. 

Sunday Evening Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Marianne Guenot reports on a World Health Organization-backed report confirming that political leaders could have averted the spread of COVID-19, but failed to do so. And CBC News reports on the fears of workers facing unmasked customers and management unwilling to look out for their health.

- Adam Peleshanty takes note of the spread of another season of extreme drought across the Prairies. And Max Fawcett writes that Alberta is engaged in delay tactics against making oil companies clean up their messes at the worst possible time. 

- Duncan Fraser McLachlan reports on the work tenants have done organizing against renovictions in one Montreal apartment building.  

- The Canadian Press reports on the push from the NDP and health care providers to get the Trudeau Libs to live up to their promises (and indeed the recommendations of their own panel) on pharmacare. And Brandon Doucet notes that the Libs are standing in the way of any move toward universal dental care as well.

- Meanwhile, Michael Geist writes about the problems with the Libs' Bill C-10 (and the gaslighting campaign being used to try to push it through Parliament).

- Finally, Arthur White-Crummey reports on the massive backing from one Alberta oil contractor which funded more than half of the Buffalo Party's emergence in Saskatchewan - showing that the risk of parties developing as wholly-owned subsidiaries of one or more wealthy people is coming to pass.

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- A group of doctors and scientists offers an open letter calling for a strategy of maximum COVID-19 suppression.

- Matt Gurney writes about the latest report documenting the utter failure of Ontario's long-term care system. PressProgress notes that tens of thousands of violations of health and safety standards by Ontario employers in the midst of a pandemic gave rise to a paltry 24 stoppages of work. And Lynn Giesbrecht reports on the danger that the fallout from COVID may include an exodus of teachers (among other vital workers who have largely been abandoned by their governments).

- Rob Carrick highlights how soaring housing prices are making a small number of homeowners wealthy while pricing the necessities of life out of the reach of many people (and particularly younger workers). 

- The Canadian Press reports on the supply agreement reached between the NDP and the Libs in the Yukon - featuring a cap on rent increases, a public dental insurance plan and a minimum wage increase among other much-needed supports for citizens. 

- Finally, Leah Gazan discusses the importance of controlling the narrative around a basic income, and particularly the opportunity to treat it as a way of ensuring the protection of everybody's rights rather than an excuse for failing to do so.

Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Kamran Abbasi makes the case to treat the avoidable deaths resulting from the mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic as a form of social murder. And Jonathan Goodman writes that inequality has spread in tandem with COVID-19 and its variants.

- Gary Mason and Douglas Todd each argue that the findings of British Columbia's expert panel weighs against relying on a basic income as an immediate response to poverty and inequality. But Andrew Coyne notes the conclusion is more nuanced, including the recognition that there are other social goods which need to be addressed first before a basic income will fulfill its intended purposes.

- Bonnie Allan reports on the continued benefits of housing first programs where they're available for people in need of homes. And Marc Lee writes that vacancy control needs to be paired with rent control to keep housing affordable.

- Dylan Scott discusses how even relatively small co-pay requirements lead to the underuse of needed medications. And Graham Isidor makes the case to include dental care among the health care available by right to Canadians. 

- Corey Mintz writes that while the pandemic has alerted more people to the burdens delivery apps impose on restaurants, we should take the opportunity to highlight how they've always been based on imposing unacceptable risks and working conditions on workers. And Erica Johnson reports on the class action lawsuit arising out of TD Bank's pressure on employees to meet sales targets at the expense of honest dealings with customers. 

- Finally, Doug Cuthand points out that the lack of action against people who encouraged further violence following the death of Colten Boushie represents just the latest example of anti-Indigenous racism at work in Saskatchewan.

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Chris Giles reports that even the IMF is warning governments not to engage in avoidable austerity. And Richard Kozul-Wright and Nelson Barbosa write that governments face a choice between investing in a recovery now, or facing years of stagnation and uncertainty - which is particularly worth noting as a deficit hyena demands to be kept in power in Saskatchewan due precisely to his refusal to invest in people:

[I]nflationary hawks and deficit hyenas are once again warning of dire consequences if fiscal consolidation – “austerity” to the general public – is unduly delayed.

This was the policy advice followed after the 2009 crisis with damaging consequences – not only in terms of growth and incomes but also public finances, as governments took on more debt to compensate stagnant or falling tax revenues.

Recovering better this time will need to follow a different path, with an emphasis on jobs, wages and public investment. But an accompanying increase in public-debt ratios should not be a reason for panic or doomsday scenarios, provided that the purchasing power created by the government is put to good use. In the long run, the additional public debt incurred to finance a better recovery will be paid for by the increase in the potential output of the economy.

...

With these conditions in place, policymakers can get down to the real business of shaping their spending plans to build back better. There is no shortage of challenges to be met: repairing the environment degraded biosystems with massive reforestation and heavy investments in recycling and waste management systems; regional renewal and transformation, especially through better and greener transportation links and improving local housing, water and sanitation conditions; decarbonization of power generation and increased energy efficiency; and expansion and improvement in public health and education.

In UNCTAD’s recently released Trade and Development Report 2020, we showed that a strong public spending package combined with wage rises tied to productivity growth and a progressive reworking of tax structures will not only boost incomes and jobs over the coming decade compared with a turn to austerity – it will also guarantee a fairer distribution and leave government finances in better shape.

- Meanwhile, Lachlan Carey points out that investing in a just transition today will help reduce the environmental and fiscal challenges we're already facing down the road. And Mitchell Anderson points out that we can fund some of the steps required to meet people's basic needs by cracking down on tax avoidance.

- Brandon Doucet writes about the need for national and universal public dental care. And Dave McGinn reports that instead of being funded as part of a recovery plan, child care is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain.

- Linda Nazareth warns that one of the effects of an increase in remote work will be to allow employers to try to attack wages and working conditions under the threat of moving jobs offshore.

- Finally, Kate Kelland writes about the devastating effects of "long COVID" at a point when much of Canada is facing alarming outbreaks. And Emily Pasiuk reports on the mental health impact of coronavirus-related restrictions on people alone in long-term care.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Marc Lee examines the folly of the B.C. Libs' plan to slash the province's PST rather than investing in any recovery. And Chris Giles reports that even the IMF is pushing governments to boost public spending, rather than going through still more harmful rounds of austerity and tax cuts. 

- Max Fawcett discusses the emerging recognition that Canada has little to fear from right-wing threats about fiscal discipline. And Jason Hickel suggests that MMT is entirely consistent with both a move toward responsible degrowth, and a fairer distribution of income and assets.

- Amberley T. Ruetz, Evan Fraser and John Smithers make the case for a national school food program as part of Canada's recovery. And the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer studies (PDF) the eminently affordable cost of ensuring everybody has access to dental care. 

- Jeff Tollefson discusses how U.S. science could take decades to recover from the damage inflicted by Donald Trump in a single term.

- Finally, Mark Campanale and Tzeporah Berman propose a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty to prevent bad actors from undermining any effort to avert climate catastrophe. And Jillian Ambrose reports on the energy sector workers who are eager to be part of a lasting transition to clean energy as long as reactionary governments aren't standing in the way.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Thomas Christopher Lange studies (PDF) the costs and effects of two dental care options, and concludes Canada would be best served with a universal dental care system. And Colleen Floyd and Jane Philpott highlight how increased reliance on private payments would do nothing but harm to our health care system.

- Greg Jericho rightly points out that a willingness to relax coronavirus restrictions does nothing to help anybody's economy if the virus continues to spread. Rachael D'Amore reports on the obvious risk that we'll see a spike in poverty in Canada as relief is terminated while a pandemic continues to rage. And Jennifer Yang and Brendan Kennedy discuss the impossible dilemma facing lower-income families who have to choose between their health and their children's education.

- Meanwhile, Forward Together proposes a plan to ensure that Canadians are taken care of through the continuing pandemic and its aftermath, while the Atkinson Foundation offers some pillars for a federal throne speech. And the Canadian Press reports on Toronto's first step to offer a dedicated shelter for people unable to self-isolate at home.

- Alyson Krueger warns that the demands developing around work from home under a quarantine threaten the concept of time off work as we know it.  

- Amina Zafar discusses the toll COVID-19 has taken on female immigrant health care workers in particular. And Indi Samarajiva calls out the racism underlying media coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

- Finally, CBC News reports on the record number of children dying in the care of Saskatchewan's child welfare system. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Jeremy Rifkin sets out how Canada can implement a Green New Deal - while also reminding us of the costs of failing to do so. And Brett Dolter charts the path toward net zero emissions from Saskatchewan's perspective - even as Scott Moe's government confirms the sad reality that it's chosen to hit the snooze button for another decade.

- Brandon Doucet writes that it's long past time for Canada to provide universal dental care to its residents.

- Owen Jones writes that UK Labour's promise of free universal broadband access hearkens back to its great nation-building work of the past. And Miranda Hall comments on the broader social and economic benefits of making sure everybody can connect to the world.

- Jim Stanford points out that rather than representing a particularly new development, the gig economy is based on all-too-familiar principles including workers supplying their own equipment and taking the risk of work not materializing.

- Finally, Jim Tankersley, Peter Eavis and Ben Casselman report on the U.S.' precipitous drop in revenue from large corporations - including Fedex taking its taxes paid down to zero - which hasn't been matched with any discernible investment. And Robert Reich writes about the laughable attempt by billionaires and their paid flunkies to pretend that fair taxes on the wealthy would lead to anything but a more equitable distribution of income and wealth.

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your election day reading.

- Jagmeet Singh makes his case for Canadians to vote for what we believe in. Don Martin discusses how Justin Trudeau and Andrew Scheer have hurt their own causes as well as each others' by focusing on negative messages. And Nora Loreto discusses the need for traditional political parties to reinvent themselves to speak to and for people rather than merely reciting focus-tested talking points at them.

- Herman Rosenfeld discusses how free public transit is an essential element of any effective Green New Deal. And Angela Carter, Truzaar Dordi and Yonatan Strauch write that the federal election represents a crossroads for Canada's energy future (save for the incumbent trying to go in all directions at once).

- Katherine Scott examines what the federal parties have on offer to fight against poverty. Karl Nerenberg assesses their respective plans to address inequality. And the Tyee offers election readers on issues including pharmacare and dental care and electoral reform,

- Finally, Nav Persaud and Danielle Martin write about the cruel experiment being performed on Canadians who can't afford necessary medications - and the need for a universal pharmacare system to make sure nobody faces that predicament.

New column day

Here (via PressReader), on how the Parliamentary Budget Officer has confirmed that Canadian voters can choose substantial social and environmental progress that's well within our means - even if the two main parties are determined to offer far less.

For further reading...
- Jeffrey Brooke wrote here about the origins of the PBO.
- The PBO's most recent Fiscal Sustainability Report (showing tens of billions of dollars in annual federal fiscal capacity) is here. And PressProgress reports on the analysis showing that we could raise $70 billion over a decade with the NDP's modest wealth tax.
- Andy Blatchford has pointed out the lack of much deficit panic from any side in the campaign. And Kevin Milligan wrote about why there's good reason not to be worried.
- Mia Rabson reports on the Cons' latest set of tax trinkets in lieu of meaningful plans to address any problem. And Michal Rozworski discusses how they're calculated to eliminate the fiscal room for more important action.
- And finally, David Thurton summarized what the NDP has on offer based on the federal government's resources. 

Monday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Bess Levin comments on the self-serving attempts of the Davos class to shut down any call for progressive taxes. And Keith Brooks points out the absurdity of a PR campaign on behalf of a largely foreign-owned fossil fuel sector attempting to vilify environmental activists for not stopping their connections at national borders.

- Brendan Maton discusses Stephanie Kelton's call for governments to invest in a balanced society rather than obsessing solely over their own balance sheets. And Roderick Benns examines how Ontario's small basic income project allowed people to seek out basic health care which had otherwise been unaffordable.

- Ben Beckett writes about the vital role played by U.S. federal workers in ending the government shutdown.

- CBC News reports on a renewed push for drinking water to be fluoridated - with provinces stepping in if necessary to ensure it happens.

- Finally, Jason Wilson talks to David Niewert about the dangers of the U.S.' increasingly bigoted and reactionary right wing.

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Gary Younge comments on the highly selective willingness of far too many privileged people to acknowledge suffering around them. And Paul Krugman calls out the Trump administration's gratuitous cruelty toward the people who already have the least:

There’s something fundamentally obscene about this spectacle. Here we have a man who inherited great wealth, then built a business career largely around duping the gullible — whether they were naïve investors in his business ventures left holding the bag when those ventures went bankrupt, or students who wasted time and money on worthless degrees from Trump University. Yet he’s determined to snatch food from the mouths of the truly desperate, because he’s sure that somehow or other they’re getting away with something, having it too easy.
...

In the end, I don’t believe there’s any policy justification for the attack on food stamps: It’s not about the incentives, and it’s not about the money. And even the racial animus that traditionally underlies attacks on U.S. social programs has receded partially into the background.

No, this is about petty cruelty turned into a principle of government. It’s about privileged people who look at the less fortunate and don’t think, “There but for the grace of God go I”; they just see a bunch of losers. They don’t want to help the less fortunate; in fact, they get angry at the very idea of public aid that makes those losers a bit less miserable.

And these are the people now running America.

- Meanwhile, CBC News reports on the continuing effects of the Saskatchewan Party's destruction of STC on people with disabilities who relied on it. 

- Sheila Block points out the longstanding gap between what Ontario governments have invested in health care and what's needed to properly care for patients - while noting that voters will have a chance to set the province on the right track in this spring's election.

- Lauren Pelley highlights the barriers to dental care faced by low-income seniors in Toronto - and the resulting social costs. And Ake Blomqvist and Frances Woolley make the case for universal dental coverage.

- Finally, Bob Weber reports on new research showing that the environmental impact of the oil sands is larger than previously known. And Jodi McNeil reminds us that the public will likely end up paying for the mess left behind by oil operators who can't be bothered to keep their promises once any profits run out.

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Tom Parkin discusses the need for a new Tommy Douglas to start leading the way toward national social programs - and the hope that Andrea Horwath can earn that role in Ontario's provincial election:

Since Douglas’s time, Canadian health care has been defended from periodic rounds of cuts. But only the rare politician has picked up the threads of Douglas’s legacy in an attempt to extend health care. One of those rare times may be coming.

If she is elected premier next month, Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath vows to end the cuts causing the current bout of hallway medicine. But she’s also pledged to build on Douglas’s medicare legacy by adding pharmacare and dental care. And those plans—and her child care pledge—could set in motion a new era in co-operative federalism that takes those plans across Canada.
...

(W)ith 80 per cent of voters repeatedly telling pollsters they want change, between Horwath and Ford there couldn’t be a more stark contrast. If Horwath is the new Tommy Douglas, PC Leader Doug Ford is the exact opposite.

Horwath sees social programs as critical to our prosperity. Ford views them as costs to be cut. Horwath promises to add new drug and dental plans, paying for it with higher taxes on incomes over $220,000. If she can pull out a win, that’ll build on Douglas’s legacy. Ford offers more corporate tax cuts and a continuation of Wynne’s privatization schemes. His election would result in billions and billion in cuts—eroding what Douglas built.
...
(W)ith provinces bickering and the Trudeau Liberals off course, a Ford win would bring even more confrontation and division to federal-provincial politics. But initiatives by a Premier Horwath could revive co-operative federalism and get Ottawa back on track. Her ideas offer the hope of a more co-operative federation and a stronger Canadian identity. Douglas’s efforts sure did.

- Meanwhile, Gary Mason is genuinely pleased to thrilled to see John Horgan's government making housing more affordable through a more fair property tax system. And David Camfield discusses the importance of building a stronger progressive movement on the prairies.

- Robert Cribb, Carolyn Jarvis and Andrew Bailey report on the embarrassing pollution from Canadian refineries compared to their southern counterparts nearly two decades after Canada was supposed to adopt U.S. standards.

- Doyle Rice reports on the unsurprising news that greenhouse gases are at their highest point in human history (and far beyond). James Wilt points out the credibility problems with the climate change data the Libs have recently unveiled. And Aaron Wherry figures there's now a consensus on the need to reduce emissions - though I'd think it's more likely the Cons' plan is once again merely to criticize any form of action which seems like it could possibly be implemented.

- Finally, Andrew Crosby and Jeffrey Monaghan offer an important reminder about the criminalization of dissent - and particularly the Indigenous movement seeking to protect land and water.