The Americas' section of the Public Services International met this past week in Mexico City. Hundreds of union delegates representing the entire continental region – from Canada to Chile – discussed a wide range of issues including free trade, attacks on union rights, climate change, retirement security, tax justice and corruption.
Ontario Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne has decided to embrace classic Thatcher (and Harris/Hudak) neo-liberal Conservative ideology for electricity policy. This week, ex-TD banker and new privatization czar Ed Clark released a government report calling for the complete corporatization and privatization of Hydro One. Hydro One is the public transmission and rural distribution arm (also known as 'the grid') of Ontario's electricity system.
It is not just in Ontario that privatization has lead to increased costs. Examples from around the world show partial and whole privatization of electricity assets lead to rate increases.
Resident Citizens' Press contributor Jeffrey Bate Boerop will be taking on the role of Marx in Howard Zinn's acclaimed “Marx in Soho” at Saint Thomas University's Black Box Theatre in Fredericton New Brunswick. If you're in the area between April 30 and May 2, you should check it out.
John Oliver misses the mark in Edward Snowden interview: Last week television host and comedian John Oliver sat down with Edward Snowden to discuss surveillance and the media's coverage of Snowden's revelations that the US, UK, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand governments have been collecting and analyzing pretty much every single piece of electronic text, audio, and video communication. While Oliver was right to point out the need for an educated debate on the merits and dangers of comprehensive state surveillance, his criticisms of Snowden's actions missed the mark on several fronts.
Last week television host and comedian John Oliver sat down with Edward Snowden to discuss surveillance and the media's coverage of Snowden's revelations that the US, UK, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand governments have been collecting and analyzing pretty much every single piece of electronic text, audio, and video communication. While Oliver was right to point out the need for an educated debate on the merits and dangers of comprehensive state surveillance, his criticisms of Snowden's actions missed the mark on several fronts.
The Toronto Community Housing Corporation has released a report showing the comprehensive social policy case for government-funded community housing. The TCHC is a public company that houses 60,000 families, many of whom are youth and/or live in poverty.
This past year has been rich in opportunities for feminist organizing, from high-profile stories of sexual violence on campuses, to high-profile individuals being held accountable for sexual harassment at home and in the workplace, to the growing solidarity amongst women online around rape, assault, and combating misogyny.
