Indigenous women survive, flourish, work for needed change The Strength of Women: Âhkamêyimowak, Priscilla Settee, Coteau Books, Regina, 2011. * * * “There is a force among women which I call Âhkamêyimowak, or persistence, that provides the strength for women to carry on in the face of extreme adversity. Âhkamêyimowak…
While concerns about Canada’s innovation gap have become cliché, too often these observations ignore the elephant in the room: funding for Canadian Researchers is based on a broken funding system. We hope to re-ignite a longstanding conversation in Canada about how to better use limited research dollars to support more…
New, dirty gas drilling method threatens drinking water A technology used by the oil and gas industry to obtain natural gas is raising major concerns across the United States and is equally suspect for areas being drilled in Western Canada. Called hydraulic fracturing (or “fracking” in the trade), it allows…
The Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) was a hot topic of debate at the recent Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) annual conference, held in Halifax. Leading up to the June 3-6 conference, the Union of BC Municipalities called on the FCM to seek a “clear, permanent exemption” for…
Each year up to 400 mostly Mexican workers come to Manitoba under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP) to work on local farms. They perform physically strenuous work on vegetable farms and in greenhouses for up to eight months, year after year. Workers regularly toil twelve hours per day, six…
NGOs and unions must unite to set stage for 2015 revival The 2011 federal election was historic in many ways, and most of us are still trying to process the outcome. It is crucial that we pause to reflect on its meaning and think carefully about the next steps we…
The recession won’t be over till people get back to work The next time someone says the “recession is over,” ask them exactly what they mean. Because it’s increasingly clear that it means different things to different people. And it’s equally clear it doesn’t usually mean that the unemployment crisis…
Lessons from WestEnd Commons Stable and affordable housing is a central component in improving people’s quality of life. In light of a severe housing shortage facing low-income renters, it is clear that Manitoba has work to do to ensure that all citizens have access to a warm and secure place…
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL REPORT OTTAWA—Given the fragile economic recovery and the weak job market, now is not the time for a sharp turn to spending cuts, says a study released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). “It would be a huge mistake to significantly…
A major issue getting scant debate An election should be a time to discuss key policy directions. One of the biggest policy transformations in the Harper era has been the enormous growth in Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) –– “guest” workers who come to Canada for short periods, generally tied to…
I hung out a while yesterday at the Vancouver Occupation, and was impressed with their efforts at radical democracy. Many in the mainstream press have been quick to pile on for how time-consuming decision-making can be under this model, but perhaps they have not spent enough time in legislatures and…
I hung out a while yesterday at the Vancouver Occupation, and was impressed with their efforts at radical democracy. Many in the mainstream press have been quick to pile on for how time-consuming decision-making can be under this model, but perhaps they have not spent enough time in legislatures and…