What do the recent developments in the federal Green party tell us? It would appear as though their leader, Annamie Paul, is holding on to her position, at least for the time being. On the evening of June 15, the party’s federal council met for almost four hours. It did so in the wake of…
Category: Canadian politics
The legacy of residential schools is not history
Content warning: This story has disturbing details about Indian residential schools. Survivors and their families can call the toll-free National Indian Residential School Crisis Hotline at 1-866-925-4419. On Thursday, May 27, Chief Rosanne Casimir of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Nation announced that they had located the unmarked burial sites of 215 children on the site…
Call me a climate change optimist
In the last week I have become cautiously optimistic that the world may have turned the corner on global warming. On May 18, 2021 the International Energy Agency (IEA), long considered close to the fossil fuel industry, made an announcement that would have been unheard of until recently. They called on all energy companies and…
Bring back Carter’s brilliant proposal for Israel/Palestine
Israel is not the Middle East’s only theocracy. It is arguably also not the Middle East’s only apartheid state. It is, however, the Middle East’s only nuclear-armed country. Not only is it the only nuclear-armed nation in the Middle East, but its military is by far larger and more powerful than that of all other…
End sweetheart deals for Vancouver developers
I have long been concerned about the sweetheart deals a majority of Vancouver City Council has given developers when approving developer rezoning applications. Two of Vancouver City Council’s best councillors, Jean Swanson and Pete Fry, kindly took time out of their busy schedules to assist me with researching the policy details involved. Here is what…
David Eby: A big heart and no fear when it comes to housing
In the past, I’ve been very critical of the provincial NDP with regard to housing, with one notable exception — NDP Premier Dave Barrett’s 1972-75 administration. I still remember the day, while on a high school field trip to Victoria, I had the good fortune of running into Premier Barrett outside the legislature. In a…
Lessons in humanity — and inhumanity
The other night my partner, Penny, and I watched “The Mauritanian” — a new film that’s getting a lot of buzz, and for good reason. I don’t normally blog about movies, but this exceptional movie is worth making an exception for. Most of us have at least heard about the Guantánamo Bay detention camp in…