COVID-19 has obviously changed our lives in the short term, and now there is a growing consensus that the pandemic will also bring more long-lasting changes to our society—how we value workers, how we treat our seniors, how we house the homeless, how we protect the environment, and more. One topic that is surfacing more and...

By Andrew Longhurst  and Kendra Strauss, from “Policy Notes” via the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives The coronavirus pandemic has shone a light on serious problems in Canada’s seniors’ care system, as nursing homes quickly became the epicenters of the outbreak. These problems are not only due to the greater vulnerability...

Dear editor, The tragedy of this pandemic has inadvertently become a important opportunity for our society to slow down and think carefully about how we live. Before this event we were struggling with another deadly situation albeit one that is occuring much more slowly and is not as obvious or immediate in our perception but...

Hello friends and neighbours, These are unusual and uncertain times. Every one of us is experiencing a lot of upheaval, change, and stress. Our government is working hard to address the many challenges facing British Columbians, even as they change and develop by the day.  I understand the deep impacts these changes can have-...

Open letter to the people of B.C.: When an outbreak hits a community, one of the most urgent things people want is information. This is human nature, as information allows us to protect ourselves, our families and our loved ones. Information is at the heart of public health: knowing what our risks are, where they are coming...

Dear Editor, My name is Amy and I am a recent Selkirk College graduate. When I say recent, I mean recent. I graduated February 28, 2020 and, within days of said graduation, COVID-19 started its climb to the pandemic that it is currently. I am writing to you because recently-graduated students have been forgotten in the emergency...

OPEN LETTER: UBCIC demands immediate release of all non-violent offenders as part of COVID-19 pandemic response and emergency state of Indigenous incarceration Dear Ministers, Dr. Ivan Zinger, Canada’s Chief Correctional Officer, has called the current rates of Indigenous incarceration in Canada a national travesty, with...

The District Recreation Officer for Trails and Recreation Sites BC  has ordered that all day use shelters, overnight-use cabins, and other facilities that would make it difficult for users to observe the two-metre social distancing measures, be closed until further notice. That means that everyone out exercising in the...

I am writing this from my small Ottawa apartment.  It’s Sunday and the spring sun is shining, beckoning me to walk down to the river.  But I’ll obey my doctor’s orders and stay inside—although I received the good news yesterday that my COVID-19 test results came back negative, I was told to stay in self-isolation one more...

A decal of a cartoon Greta Thunberg being sexually assaulted was posted on social media with the name of an Alberta-based company prominently on display. When questioned about it, the owner both acknowledged he was aware of the sticker and downplayed the clearly violent imagery of the rape of a minor. On the cusp of […]