Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Julieta Manrique et al. study the prevalence of COVID-19 after infection - and find that even in patients who aren't immunocompromised, it manages to spread and replicate in most organs. Julia Wright, Dick Zoutman, Mark Ungrin and Ryan Tennant discuss how universities are failing to take post-COVID conditions seriously. Brett McKay reports on the hundreds of COVID outbreaks in Alberta acute care facilities in 2023-24 - even as the UCP torqued any reviews to insist it should have done even less. And Freja Kirsebom et al. study the continued effectiveness of COVID vaccines in preventing symptoms and hospital admissions among pregnant individuals.

- Jenna Hennebry writes that the real problem with Canada' temporary foreign worker policy is the systemic vulnerability it imposes on workers - which won't be improved in the slightest by forcing workers to compete for fewer positions.

- Glyn Moody discusses how the first version of right-to-repair legislation in Canada is almost entirely useless since it only allows for single-use fixes rather than any sharing of solutions.

- Finally, Natascha Kennedy highlights how big money is threatening democracy in the UK and elsewhere - and how prohibitions against corporate donations are a necessary element in reducing the danger. And Jon Queally reports on Bernie Sanders' message that the most important priority needs to be to overcome the global oligarchy.

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Paul Abela writes that the continual concentration of wealth is patently unsustainable. Alex Himelfarb discusses how neoliberalism has laid the groundwork for the violent authoritarianism of Donald Trump and his fascist fellow travelers. And Karen Landmand examines how private equity's takeover of health care in the U.S. is endangering patients' lives while driving health care workers out of their professions. 

- Josh Pringle reports on a new survey showing Canadian workers see substantial benefits from remote work (even as many employers have sought to put an end to it). And Cory Doctorow juxtaposes the impetus toward in-person control and extensive supervision with Wells Fargo's complete neglect of well-being to the point of leaving a dead employee rot for days. 

- Katia Lo Innes and Tannara Yelland take a look at the double-dipped donations from the corporate elite which are funding the Saskatchewan Party's election campaign. And Ricardo Acuna discusses how the UCP is determine to avoid anything resembling fair taxation. 

- Finally, Stephen Magusiak exposes the hasty scrubbing of the BC Cons' platform, while Andrew MacLeod points out a few questions which should be directed at John Rustad if he deigned to interact with actual journalists. And Rumneek Johal notes that even the sanitized version of the party's plans includes using the notwithstanding clause to lock up people dealing with substance addiction. 

Wednesday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Melissa Lem and Samantha Green write about the push from the health care community to ensure that fossil fuel companies can't keep deceiving the public about the harm caused by their operations. And John Woodside reports on the majority popular support for a windfall tax on oil companies - even in the provinces where they've entirely captured the political class. 

- Meanwhile, Max Kozlov discusses new research showing that the oil industry's pivot to plastics stands to create a whole new set of harms to people's health. 

- Peter Walker reports on a new study showing that policies supporting low vehicle traffic produce immense fiscal and health benefits. And for anybody needing an additional push away from car culture, Kashmir Hill exposes how auto manufacturers are tracking and sharing details about drivers' activity with data brokers.  

- Ricardo Tranjan writes about the effectiveness of rent controls in reducing housing costs - while refuting the myth that they do anything to limit the supply of homes. 

- Finally, Kate Schneider reports on the private parties being held in millionaires' mansions to facilitate  Pierre Poilievre's pay-for-access fund-raisers. 

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Joshua Cohen writes that the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the first sustained streak of declining  global life expectancy in over 60 years - even as governments everywhere attempt to pretend the threat has passed. And the Washington Post's editorial board offers a reminder of the need to keep masking in order to reduce both the spread and severity of COVID. 

- Joel Lexchin writes about the lack of regulation of pharmaceutical advertising in Canada. And Andre Picard salutes British Columbia's progress in making contraception universally and freely available, while imploring other provinces to follow suit. 

- Owen Schalk discusses how the Libs' fossil fuel subsidies are merely providing fuel for an ongoing climate emergency. Damian Carrington reports on the "super-emitting" methane leaks could singlehandedly push the Earth past its carbon budget to stay under 1.5 degrees of warming. And Jeff Masters and Bob Henson explain why even relatively small temperature increases result in significantly more severe weather. 

- Gordon Laxer writes that while Canada should be investigation foreign interference in our elections, we should be paying more attention to the corporate actors who do so with a veneer of local presence while directing our policies for the benefit of foreign owners. 

- Amy Hanauer notes that the best way to address concerns about public debt is to make sure the rich pay their fair share. 

- Finally, Alexander Hinton writes that spin about "lone wolf" extremist attacks serve as a dangerous distraction from the networks of eliminationist rhetoric which invariably underlie the danger. 

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.

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Jim Stanford weighs in on the need for increased worker input into economic decision-making - particularly as change is otherwise imposed by management with little regard for the people most affected.

- Nathaniel Erskine-Smith makes the case for a wealth tax to recoup some of the windfall the wealthiest few have received during the coronavirus pandemic - though it's of course worth noting that more substantial policy would be even better, and that he and his party have voted against the NDP's efforts to pursue anything of the sort. And Umair Haque rightly questions the U.S.' idolization of the people who extract the most from their communities for their own personal gain. 

- Joe Roberts offers a reminder that poverty is the result of policy decisions which can easily be changed if we care enough to ensure people have a secure income. And Marc Lee pushes for British Columbia to adopt the poverty reduction proposals - including both improved income supports and social infrastructure - proposed by that province's basic income panel.

- Max Fawcett writes about the developing conflict between an oil and gas industry seeking to keep wringing profits out of dirty energy regardless of the impact on anybody else, and a financial sector coming to terms with the broader costs of carbon pollution. And Nicholas Rivers, Kathryn Harrison and Marc Jaccard discuss the problems with relying on offset credits rather than real emission reductions in trying to avert a climate breakdown, while Alexander Quon reports on the foolishness of Scott Moe's plan to turn carbon pricing into a fossil fuel subsidy in order to avoid any emission reductions.

- Finally, Andrea Reimer discusses how Canada can keep big money out of politics - while pointing out how Saskatchewan ranks as the worst of the worst in allowing it unfettered influence over the political scene.

Saturday #yqrvotes Links

Having previously posted on voters' options, I'll offer one more roundup of the latest on Regina's municipal elections (for those who haven't joined the crowds voting early). 

- The lead up to election day has seen the Regina Public School Board take some additional steps to protect students, including by making masking mandatory at all ages and reducing the capacity of high schools by 50%. (Of course, it would help if either of those steps involved meaningful support from the province.)

- Sask Dispatch's coverage features Richelle Dubois and Michelle Stewart discussing defunding the police; John Klein and Carla Harris each writing about what the election means for transit; Joey Reynolds and Florence Stratton writing about ending homelessness; Saba Dar weighing in on the environment; and Jim Gallagher discussing Wascana Park.

- Heidi Atter reports on the appropriate calls for Regina's mayoral candidates to disclose their donors before the election - and the unfortunate choice of the main contenders to show no interest in letting people know what they're voting for.

- And Atter also reports on the results of EnviroCollective's candidate survey on renewable energy.

- Finally, Heather Persson makes the case for residents to exercise their right to shape the future of Saskatchewan's municipalities.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- The Globe and Mail's editorial board argues that the Libs should be putting their energy toward dealing with COVID-19, not setting up games of chicken over basic parliamentary accountability. And Cam Holmstrom highlights the NDP's role as the adults in the room.

- Daniele Zanotti, Safia Ahmed and Sophia Ikura discuss how to slow the spread of COVID-19 through vulnerable communities. David Salisbury writes about the dangers of relying on an immediate vaccine to control the coronavirus. Alexandra Rendely and Courtney Sas warn that we can't afford to shut down operating rooms due to a second wave. Devabhaktuni Srikrishna, Abraar Karan, David Beier and Ranu Dhillon argue that we should be ensuring that essential workers have better masks, rather than accepting the stopgaps put in place at the outset of the pandemic. And Zak Vescera reports on the growing concerns that long-term care residents will again face extended isolation due to poor policy choices.

- David Suzuki implores the federal government not to give in to fossil fuel lobbyists by weakening clean fuel standards. And Fiona Harvey reports on new research from Oxfam showing that poor countries which haven't contributed significantly to climate breakdown are incurring massive debt dealing with its consequences.

- Finally, Press Progress exposes the corporate pressure groups pushing anti-union propaganda into British Columbia workplaces. And Tara Carman reports on the effect the ban on corporate and union donations has had in ensuring parties have to engage with individual donors, rather than being able to run on institutional funding.

On national efforts

I've previously made my pitch as to why progressive people across Canada should pitch in to help support the Saskatchewan NDP's cause in this month's provincial election. But I'll highlight The Regina Mom's push to support a strong group of female candidates in particular:

We’re the Wild West of campaign financing. And the women running as candidates for the Saskatchewan New Democrats need support from Canadians everywhere if there’s any hope of ever defeating the SaskParty! Anyone living in Canada, any Canadian living abroad, and any corporation in Canada can donate to a Saskatchewan political party. So bring it, Canada, we need it. 

...

Saskatchewan will head to the polls on October 26. NDP leader, Dr. Ryan Meili, has gathered an incredible team of talent. Almost half the candidates around him are women and all candidates are committed to a progressive people first platform that includes pay equity legislation, a $15 minimum wage, $25/day childcare, and the return of the Saskatchewan Transportation Company (STC).

...

This is a crucial election in Saskatchewan, one with great potential. We know that women’s voices need to be heard. We in Saskatchewan know that by working together, we can make a better world. 

Sunday #skvotes Links

The latest from Saskatchewan's provincial election campaign.

- PressProgress traces nearly half of the Saskatchewan Party's donations (which are of course the driving force behind its nonstop ad blitz) back to deep-pocketed corporate donors under the lax electoral financing rules they've refused to change.

- The Canadian Press reports on Scott Moe's remarkable opposition to Joe Biden (and apparent lack of any qualms about four more years of Donald Trump's fascism, corruption and human rights abuses as long as they're accompanied by slightly better conditions for pipeline construction).

- Michael Bramadat-Willcock writes about the important discussion of Indigenous suicide - including Tristen Durocher's rightly-skeptical response to the Sask Party's hostility in the face of his walk to push for action. And Jason Warick points out how the historical dehumanization and disenfranchisement of Indigenous people continues to reverberate through their view of elections today.

- CBC News reports on the efforts of student groups to hold a debate for young voters - and their disappointment in Moe's refusal to bother showing up.

- Finally, Ben Alexander discusses the frustration and resignation of students returning to schools which haven't been adequately prepared for a pandemic. And while his age cohort may fall just short of being able to vote for change, there's ample reason to react with determination rather than resignation.

Tuesday Evening Links

This and that for your Tuesday evening.

- Crawford Kilian examines the UN's advice on how to keep school safe from COVID-19, while the Saskatchewan Medical Association and Saskatchewan College of Family Physicians (PDF) both urge the Saskatchewan Party start paying attention to what's needed to keep people safe. And The New York Times' editorial board points out that even the U.S. could get control of the coronavirus by this fall if there was any competence or caring to be found among its decision-makers.

- The Star's editorial board writes that COVID-19 has highlighted the need for an income support system which goes far beyond EI as it stands.

- The Canadian Press reports on the death of Canadian James Hill as a result of the uncontrolled spread of COVID while in ICE custody. And lest anybody think Canada's immigration system is wanting for cruelty, Doug Schmidt reports on the threat of kidnapping and deportation used to prevent a migrant farm worker in Ontario from reporting employer abuse.

- Joseph Stiglitz offers a reminder as to why GDP fails to measure the well-being and sustainability which should be the focus of our public policy choices.

- Finally, PressProgress points out the Saskatchewan Party's outright bragging about relying on massive corporate donations to drown out other voices. And Geoff Leo catches them promising that donations will be personally reviewed to allow donors to get into Scott Moe's good graces.

Friday Afternoon Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Amanda Follett Hosgood reports on the environmental damage being done to Wet’suwet’en territory as (pointless) pipeline construction is again being given precedence over environmental protection. And Reuters reports that Zurich has become the latest insurer to decide it doesn't see TransMountain as an acceptable risk, leaving the public holding the bag even as the Libs continue to push forward.

- Leah Stokes reports on the $61 million bribery scandal - including both the Speaker of the House and corporate executives - that resulted in Ohio providing massive handouts to nuclear and fossil fuel power operators while shutting down any transition to clean energy.

- Megha Rajagopalan writes about the cosmetic industry's attempts both to push skin lightening as a necessary cosmetic step, and to bully into submission anybody who questioned it.

- Andrea Germanos writes about the Federal Court of Canada's decision striking down the Safe Third Country agreement between Canada and the U.S. on the basis that the latter doesn't actually provide effective protection for refugees.

- Finally, PressProgress discusses the Saskatchewan Party's reliance on corporate donations from Alberta and elsewhere - and the result that Saskatchewan's citizens have been ignored in favour of oil tycoons.

On foreign interference

Of course, while Scott Moe is accepting the plans of pseudo-separatists to hand Saskatchewan over to Jason Kenney, it's also worth asking what he's getting in return for his subservience.

On that front, the Breakdown has reported that public funds funnelled by Kenney into Alberta's War Room have been used to push citizens to hand over their personal data to both partisan and ideological cronies. And Jason Markusoff (citing Taylor Vaisey) has pointed out that the UCP has also been caught violating federal election law by failing to register as a third-party advertiser.

Unfortunately, due to the Saskatchewan Party's choice to keep its coffers full from outside corporate contributions, it's not clear to what extent UCP meddling would actually be a violation of Saskatchewan law. And the War Room's secrecy in particular makes it a certainty that inteference in the election campaign will be impossible to trace until after the fact.

But having chosen to facilitate outside interference, Moe can't expect the benefit of the doubt when it gives rise to questions. And Saskatchewan voters confronted with a blizzard of advertising - from both partisan and pressure-group sources - should be wary of where the money and direction is coming from.

On national interests

PressProgress highlights how Scott Moe and the Saskatchewan Party are continuing to rely heavily on corporate donations from outside the province. But it's worth noting how people across Canada who are worried about Moe and his extraprovincial puppetmasters have the opportunity to fight back.

As I've written before, Saskatchewan has extremely lax political donation laws. And Moe (like Brad Wall before him) has chosen to keep them in place based on the perceived advantage of being able to exploit corporate donations from outside businesses seeking to buy their way into the province.

But those rules also leave the door open for grassroots donors from outside the province to have an impact. So in addition to working on organizing in their own communities, Canadians are also able to contribute to change for the better in Saskatchewan in an election scheduled for October.

And that change can't come a moment too soon.

After all, the Saskatchewan Party's corporatism has had ramifications stretching far beyond our provincial borders. When every other Canadian jurisdiction was able to reach agreement on climate change policy, it was Moe who served as a roadblock to consensus on behalf of oil barons. And that was in keeping with the Saskatchewan Party's role in blocking then delaying any CPP expansion.

One might have thought that Jason Kenney's taking power in Alberta would have allowed Moe to moderate Saskatchewan's position. Instead, Moe has chosen to echo and amplify Kenney's most destructive messages even when they have absolutely no movement behind them in his own province - including by musing about snatching pensions and imposing a provincially-run police force. (That latter threat is particularly jarring as Moe's own highway patrol has been exposed stockpiling prohibited weapons and lining the pockets of bigots.)

The October election is fast approaching, and the province is braced for another Saskatchewan Party ad blitz over the summer. Which means that now is the time to ensure that Ryan Meili's NDP is able to hold its own in presenting its plans for a people-centred COVID-19 recovery, and defining Moe as he answers to the province's voters for the first time. And if enough people pitch in, what might seem like a small amount of money by the standards of larger provinces could make a huge difference in charting a healthier path for Canada as a whole.

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Bethany Lindsay reports on the start of B.C.'s inquiry into money laundering through casinos. And PressProgress offers a reminder as to how the Saskatchewan Party has chosen to operate under the "Wild West" of election financing rules to ensure it can rely on big corporate donations from out of the province.

- As for what those donations have secured, Arthur White-Crummey reports first on the remarkable declaration that a multi-million-dollar investment fund for First Nations and Metis run by a Saskatchewan Party insider was never intended either to make money or to create jobs, and then on the multi-billion-dollar backlog of maintenance in schools resulting from the Sask Party's focus on tax slashing and corporate giveaways.

-  Meanwhile, Susan Delacourt writes that a pandemic should be the type of event which reminds us of the need for a functional government. And Tara Carman reports on the national crisis of under-resourced shelters which leave people attempting to flee violence with nowhere to turn.

- Finally, Mitchell Anderson ponders how our political and economic standing would look better if we'd spent the last few decades focused on pursuing treaties rather than gambling on fossil fuel subsidies.

New column day

Here, on the attempt at a hostile takeover of the U.S.' political system - and the need for Saskatchewan to update its campaign finance rules to avoid the same fate.

For further reading...
- Libby Watson wrote about the decline of the U.S.' public financing system once candidates decided they could raise more money from other sources. 
- Edward Helmore reported on Tom Steyer's move to buy his way into one set of Democratic presidential debates. And FiveThirtyEight's ad buy tracker is just one of many sources showing the wildly disproportionate ad spending by Steyer and Michael Bloomberg.
- Leslie Albrecht discusses Bloomberg's leveraging of his wealth through multiple types of donations into political support. And Bloomberg News has been serving the cause of its owner with headlines like "Bloomberg Campaign Says It’s a Two-Man Race for the Nomination".
- Finally, David Dayen writes about the risk of people supporting Bloomberg solely as a matter of partisan loyalty. And Tom Scocca argues that Bloomberg is the cause of the U.S.' democratic illness, not a cure.

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Chris Hatch discusses the glaring contradictions between Canada's lip service to the fight against climate change, and its actions in pushing to expand dirty energy production for decades to come. The Globe and Mail's editorial board rightly recognizes that increasing the production and consumption of natural gas isn't an answer to our climate emergency. And Shanti Nair reports that Chevron and other major oil companies are accounting for a dim future for fossil fuels in their asset valuations.

- Meanwhile, Janet French reports on Jason Kenney's layoffs of agriculture and forestry workers - presumably in keeping both with his party's austerity and his hostility toward evidence-based decision-making. And Steve Thomas points out that Ireland offers one of many examples of the ill effects of the two-tiered health care being pushed by the right.

- Joseph Zeballos-Roig highlights how the U.S. has systematically transferred money from workers to employers by replacing corporate tax revenue with payroll deductions. And Dan Fumano reports on the predictable use of bundled individual donations to skirt British Columbia's new donation limits. 

- Finally, Sirvan Karimi notes that Canada's federal election saw yet another set of gross distortions between voter preferences, party support and seat counts. And Royce Koop discusses the opportunities to be found in a minority Parliament, while noting that they'd be far more regularly found under a proportional electoral system.

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- As affordability takes a central place in most Canadian election campaigns, Kofi Hope and Katrina Miller propose a definition based on public health:

Health is the great equalizer. No matter where we’re from, what our values are, what our age or our political beliefs, we all want to have a healthy and long life. And if we agree on that, then we can say affordability is about the amount and type of resources we need to live a healthy and thriving life.

...
To thrive means to be able to have time for family and friends, pursue a hobby and travel occasionally, along with covering the basic necessities. Individual income is only one component of a broader social safety net that supports a thriving population; employers, government and community all play pivotal roles too.

For example, if the government covers some essentials, like prescription drugs and tuition, and subsidizes others, like housing and recreation programs, its contributions would all count toward the resources needed to live a healthy life. Our government can play a critical role in closing the gap between the haves and have-nots, not only by making basic goods more affordable but also by expanding public services and supports.

Viewing affordability as a commonly shared and holistic goal of health provides stable footing to consider an important question: Is our government making a healthy life possible for the many, or for the few?

- Meanwhile, Andrew Coyne writes that the Libs' signature tax cut fails by any measure other than that of electioneering.

 - Kendall Latimer reports on Provincial Auditor Judy Ferguson's findings about the desperate need for improved mental health supports in northern Saskatchewan. Max FineDay and Doug Cuthand implore our governments to act in response to the crisis of Indigenous suicides. And Marcus Gee notes that a culture of toxic masculinity feeds into addictions and deaths for many workers.

- Yasmin Jiwani reminds us that the Ecole Polytechnique massacre represents just one example of the violence which confronts women every day.

- Finally, Alex MacPherson reports on the Saskatchewan Party's shoot first, ask questions later approach to illegal fund-raising tactics.

Thursday Evening Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- David Dayen highlights a rare moment of honesty from the payday loan sharks in their recognition that fair wages would reduce the consumer desperation underpinning their business model. And Brendan Greeley discusses the wealth tax - the merits of which are only proven by the theatrical outrage coming from the people exploiting the public and the planet to add to their own useless hoards of money.

- Lisa Friedman reports on the Trump administration's plan to avoid having industry-led environmental destruction derailed by accurate science.

- William Rees offers his suggestions for the elements needed in an effective Green New Deal. And Kirsten Patrick notes that Canada's twin voter priorities of improving health and ameliorating the climate crisis go hand in hand.

- Finally, Robin Sears argues that we need to plug the loophole enabling large-scale anonymous political advertising in Canada. And Gary Dale offers a reminder of the problems with an electoral system in which most votes are wasted.

Sunday Morning Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Jim Coyle lists a few of the lies voters tell themselves around election time. And the Angus Reid Institute counts the large number of voters who cast a ballot for a party they don't actually support - with the Trudeau Libs as the main beneficiary of begrudged ballots. 

- Luke Savage discusses how the NDP can build off a campaign in which substantial progress on policy discussions and leadership approval led to disappointing vote and seat totals. And Ed Broadbent offers his suggestions as to how the NDP can exert influence in a minority Parliament, while Stefan Avlijas writes that an essential element of the balance of power is strengthening left-wing parties so they're in a position to fight another election campaign at any time.

- Meanwhile, Roberto Rocha points out how a financing system requiring parties to fund-raise through a large number of relatively small donors has affected Canadian politics.

- Emma Gilchrist discusses what we can expect on environmental issues from the new Parliament. And Chris Hall writes about the regional fault lines within Canada's new group of MPs.

- Finally, Greta Moran discusses the value of public ownership of utilities such as power grids. And an even more widespread planned blackout which will leave millions of Californians without power only confirms how poorly people are served when profit motives conflict with essential needs.