Canadian Author and Activist
Canada’s “left wing” party is openly opposed to negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine. In “Feds must do more to support Ukraine, say experts, Ukrainians, opposition MPs” NDP foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson repeats the party’s call to send more weapons to fight Russia and suggests the NDP formally opposes negotiations. The Monday... Continue Reading →
Eight miners in Burkina Faso have been stuck underground for nearly a month. Unlike other mining disasters, it’s received little attention outside West Africa. Over the weekend K. Diallo tweeted, “for 20 days, 8 African miners have been stranded more than 500 meters deep in a zinc mine operated by a Canadian company in Burkina... Continue Reading →
The Israel lobby has launched another odious and hypocritical attack. They’re calling on the government to expel Palestinian-Canadian activist Khaled Barakat and criminalize the Canadian branch of the Samidoun Palestinian prisoner solidarity network. Last Saturday the front page of the right-wing National Post was largely covered with Barakat’s face. Columnist Terry Glavin reported that Barakat... Continue Reading →
Canada’s Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism is designed to protect Israel from growing criticism of its violence, colonialism and apartheid. That was confirmed by the envoy hiring an individual found by a McGill University inquiry to have fabricated claims of antisemitism to smear Palestine solidarity activists. In his recent statement on... Continue Reading →
The McGill University administration and Israel lobby have waged a multiyear campaign against student democracy and Palestinian solidarity and recently threatened the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) financial arrangement after students voted overwhelmingly for the “Palestine Solidarity Policy”. A month ago, 71% of students voted for a resolution that commits SSMU to take a... Continue Reading →
Stephen Harper recently joined the chorus ratcheting up tensions with Russia. Paradoxically, the former prime minister’s crass distortion of his relationship with that country offers a sort of roadmap for antiwar forces to restrict further escalation and force Ottawa towards diplomacy. At a public talk Harper portrayed his government as having sought good relations with... Continue Reading →
The notion of ‘worthy’ and ‘unworthy’ victims is important to understanding Canada’s propaganda system and foreign policy. A common form of bias is for media outlets to concentrate on the victims of enemy states while largely ignoring those victimized by friendly governments. Contrasting Russia’s two-month-old invasion of Ukraine with the war in Yemen or the... Continue Reading →
All those who would like to support a political party working for peaceful solutions to military conflicts are being driven away from the New Democratic Party. Instead of advocating for diplomacy, the NDP has long pressed for conflict with Russia. They’ve consistently supported measures that escalate tensions in Ukraine and have prodded the government to... Continue Reading →
Canada is at war with Russia and leftists need to focus on restricting Canada’s further contribution to the horror in Ukraine. Last Tuesday prime minister Justin Trudeau announced that “Canada will be sending heavy artillery to Ukraine”. The recent federal budget earmarked half a billion dollars for arms to Ukraine (in addition to over $100... Continue Reading →
Every year since 1969 humanity’s resource consumption has exceeded earth’s capacity to regenerate those resources by an ever-greater volume. Damaging the planet’s life support systems will eventually spur the collapse of human civilization. Despite this, the CEO of CIBC Victor Dodig recently said Canada needs to be “obsessed with economic growth”. Published on the front... Continue Reading →
As more and more Canadians, including university students across the country, oppose Israel’s apartheid policies. the Liberals devoted millions of dollars in the recent federal budget to strengthen anti-Palestinian forces. They put up $5.6 million over five years for Canada’s Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism. The position was created a... Continue Reading →
Last weekend I joined Green Party of Québec leader Alex Tyrrell on the 5th stop of his tour of Quebec war factories. We traveled to Pratt & Whitney Canada’s (PWC) large facility in Longueuil in a bid to raise awareness of the Greens’ campaign to shutter the arms industry. PWC has provided engines for US,... Continue Reading →
Why has there been so little discussion of debt relief for Ukraine? Is it because powerful debt-holders support Ukraine fighting Russia but care little about that country’s economy, democracy or sovereignty? Amidst an outpouring of support for Ukraine, no Western leader has called for international debt forgiveness. But, the country owes the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World... Continue Reading →
Today I interrupted Deputy Prime Minister Christya Freeland at a press conference to ask if she’s a warmonger. I criticized her for devoting half a billion dollars in last week’s budget for new weapons to fight Russia. I also questioned her support of NATO expansion and failure to support the Minsk accords for a negotiated... Continue Reading →
Few measures better marry ecological and social justice than turning public land devoted to noisy, dangerous and polluting vehicles into social/co-op/rental housing. René Lévesque Boulevard in Montréal is a prime candidate for this type of transformation (similar examples abound in other cities). A week ago I bumped into about 500 students protesting behind a banner... Continue Reading →
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