Blogs

rabble blogs are the personal pages of some of Canada's most insightful progressive activists and commentators. All opinions belong to the writer; however, writers are expected to adhere to our guidelines. We welcome new bloggers -- contact us for details.
Blog - Brent Patterson September 29
A Lockheed Martin F-35 warplane. Image: Ant Le Breton/Flickr
Warplane purchase schedule on target, while water for First Nations could be delayed
Brent Patterson | The Canadian government's purchase of new warplanes is on an "aggressive" schedule, while its promise to end long-term boil water advisories could be delayed.
Blog - The Views Expressed September 29
New Brunswick Green party Leader David Coon speaks at a climate action rally outside the office of Premier Blaine Higgs in Fredericton, September 25. Image: Joan Green​
Throne speech signals Canada's support for new nuclear reactors as opposition builds
Susan O'Donnell | Given its legacy of toxic radioactive waste, nuclear energy would not be considered "clean technology" by most Canadians. However the nuclear industry has been working hard to scrub its image.
Blog - David Suzuki September 29
Image: Veni-Vidi Vint/Unsplash
Blame game hurts wildlife
David Suzuki | The role of any animal within its ecological niche is far more complicated than the single predator-prey interaction that culling purportedly tries to control.
Blog - Alberta Diary September 29
B.C. Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson on the campaign trail flanked by B.C. Liberal candidate Helen Poon. Image: Andrew Wilkinson/Twitter
Alberta's bad economic ideas make their mark on the B.C. Liberals' election campaign
David J. Climenhaga | Andrew Wilkinson, leader of the right-wing B.C. Liberals, is campaigning on a promise to cut the provincial sales tax.
Blog - Greening the News September 28
Image: Ella Ivanescu/Unsplash​
Environmental leaders on post-COVID Canada: Greener future, or new climate denialism?
Robert Hackett | Interviews with five of Canada's environmentalist voices -- David Suzuki, Catherine McKenna, Graham Saul, Bruce Lourie and Tzeporah Berman -- on strategies and options for a green recovery.
Blog - The Views Expressed September 25
Image: Marco Verch/Flickr
Canada is no longer calling the shots when it comes to equitable global access to the COVID-19 vaccine
Adam R. Houston, Srinivas Murthy | Justin Trudeau's assertion that "to eliminate the virus anywhere, we need to eliminate it everywhere" somehow doesn’t feel like the inspirational commitment to equitable access it once did.
Blog - The Views Expressed September 25
Prime Minister Trudeau giving a speech on September 22. Image: Justin Trudeau/Screenshot of Twitter video
Throne speech: Trudeau government signals important changes, but may buckle to demands of elites
Bruce Campbell | The Liberal government will need to be pushed towards transformative change by widespread political mobilization and a paradigm shift as occurred at the end of the Second World War.
Blog - rabble.ca's staff blog September 24
That's a wrap
Matthew Adams | We've been computing all of your donations from the past two and a half months, and guess what? You did it! We've reached our $50,000 goal!
Blog - A change is gonna come September 24
Director Cheryl Foggo and rodeo champion Fred Whitfield as John Ware. Image: Shaun Robinson, used with permission
'John Ware Reclaimed' is empowering and uplifting
Doreen Nicoll | Cheryl Foggo's documentary, "John Ware Reclaimed," shatters incorrect notions of who Black people are and were historically.
Blog - The Views Expressed September 23
Protesters against the TMX pipeline. Image: Sally T. Buck/Flickr
Multiculturalism is not decolonization
Khadijah Kanji | Part four in a series addressing the myths that conflate multiculturalism and anti-racism.
Blog - The Views Expressed September 23
A street in Moss Park, Toronto. Image: marc falardeau/Flickr
It's time to address the systemic social injustices exposed by COVID
Ken Theobald | This pandemic has coincided with a dramatic struggle for racial and social justice. This struggle gives us confidence that the previous "normal" will no longer be tolerated.
Blog - The Views Expressed September 23
Adelaide Maphangane stands beside an empty water hole in the district of Mabalane, Mozambique. Image: International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies/Flickr
Are tar sands expansion and Canada's high carbon emissions anti-Black?
Bianca Mugyenyi | As attention is focused on climate-change-fuelled fires ravaging California and Oregon, a series of "natural" disasters have swept through parts of the African continent.
Blog - Alberta Diary September 22
Premier John Horgan announces a snap election on September 21, 2020. Image: John Horgan/Twitter
Riding high in the polls, B.C.'s NDP premier calls a snap election
David J. Climenhaga | The snap election call has particularly upset the provincial Greens and right-wing B.C. Liberals.
Blog - The Views Expressed September 22
Doug Ford visits a school this September flanked by Education Minister Stephen Lecce and staffers. Image: Doug Ford/Twitter
Pandemic has cleared the way for Doug Ford's plans to privatize education
Jason Kunin | COVID-19 has undermined trust in the public school system, created mass incentive for private school and homeschooling options, and achieved a level of public acceptance for e-learning.
Blog - David Suzuki September 22
A young climate striker at last year's Toronto march. Image: Lewis Parsons/Unsplash
Back to school in an uncertain climate
David Suzuki | Young people are drawing attention to the pressing need to address the climate emergency. Once more, they're asking grownups to pay attention and support the call for strong, effective climate action.
Blog - A change is gonna come September 22
Ryerson student Phyllis McKenna, who is one of the head dancers participating in this year's virtual Ryerson pow wow. Image: Nendujan Ratnarajah
Digital pow wow honours the past while reaching for the future
Doreen Nicoll | Jessica Sherk and her team have taken their Indigenous education week and pow wow online to create a safe space for sharing between Indigenous and non-Indigenous nations.
Blog - The Views Expressed September 21
Construction workers fit solar panels. Image: Science in HD/Unsplash
Throne speech recovery plan must be just, green and intersectional
Karri Munn-Venn, Brad Wassink | "Normal" has fallen apart, and one way or another, Canada will come out on the other side of this crisis a different country.
Blog - The Views Expressed September 21
Image: Michael Herren/Unsplash
Science fiction helps us to envision the future, as well as clarify the past
Ed Finn | People who eschew science fiction deprive themselves of the most effective stimulant to their imagination.
Blog - Viewpoint: Reproductive Justice September 21
Higgs on the campaign trail in New Brunswick in September 2020. Image: Blaine Higgs/Twitter
How the New Brunswick government's repeated refusal to fund Clinic 554 violates human rights
Emily Williams | Fredericton's Clinic 554 was the sole private facility offering surgical abortion in the province. The government's failure to provide abortion services outside of hospitals goes against human rights.
Blog - The Views Expressed September 18
Image: Dom ./Unsplash
Multiculturalism can't defeat xenophobia
Khadijah Kanji | Part three in a series addressing the myths that conflate multiculturalism and anti-racism.
Blog - On The Other Hand September 18
A Democrats Abroad stall in 2018. Image: Will Bakker/Flickr
U.S. Democrats urge overseas voters to cast ballots early
Penney Kome | Democrats Abroad says U.S. voters from Canada could significantly affect the U.S. national election results -- if enough of them vote.
Blog - The Views Expressed September 17
Trudeau with Marc and Craig Kielburger at a WE Day event in 2017. Image: Adam Scotti/PMO
WE scandal hurts youth and trust in government and charities
Mehdi Rizvi | The alleged corruption charges against WE have destroyed both the reputation of WE and the transparency of government.
Blog - Alberta Diary September 17
Jason Kenney unveils Alberta's economic recovery plan on September 15, 2020. Image: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr
Jason Kenney will likely use the 'climate damn emergency' to push more conspiratorial narratives
David J. Climenhaga | As hostility to fossil fuel producers grows, it will be easier in the short term for a cynical politician like Kenney to persuade some Albertans that they need to double down against critics.
Blog - The Views Expressed September 16
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at last year's NATO summit. Image: Justin Trudeau/Facebook
A plea for internationalism: why Canadian social movements must call out injustices both at home and overseas
Jennie-Laure Sully | Whatever cause we struggle for today in Canada, we have a responsibility to be consistent in criticizing the abuses of power that Canada engages in through its foreign policy.
Blog - Cathy Crowe's blog September 16
The Toronto Homeless Memorial showing levered pages to allow the 1,000 plus names to be viewed. Image: Cathy Crowe
Toronto's homeless people don't 'count' during the pandemic
Cathy Crowe | The City of Toronto has stopped tracking deaths of homeless people during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Blog - The Views Expressed September 15
A photographer looks down a road in Muskoka, Ontario. Image: Justin Main/Unsplash
It's time to connect Toronto to nearby vacation areas with low-carbon transit systems
Gordon Laxer | With the help of the Ontario and federal governments, Muskoka could live up to a new brand as a green vacation area, by cutting carbon emissions and taking better care of its scenic lakes and forests.
Blog - The Views Expressed September 15
Photo taken at a George Floyd rally in May 2020. Image: Anthony Crider/Flickr
Multicultural diversity is not racial equality
Khadijah Kanji | Part two in a series addressing the myths that conflate multiculturalism and anti-racism.
Blog - David Suzuki September 15
Image: Ella Ivanescu/Unsplash
Carbon pricing is like handwashing in a pandemic
David Suzuki | Pricing carbon, along with removing fossil fuel subsidies, stimulates investment in low-carbon energy technologies that will lead the way to a decarbonized economy and a shift away from fossil fuels.
Blog - The Views Expressed September 14
Image: Rod Long/Unsplash
Canada's dismal record on child and elder care leaves little room for national pride
Ed Finn | "Canada's children are worlds apart from the happiest, healthiest children in rich countries and worlds apart from each other due to wide inequalities," said David Morley, president of UNICEF Canada.
Blog - The Views Expressed September 14
Marc and Craig Kielburger at a WE Day event in the U.K. in 2014. Image: Paul Williams/Flickr
How Canada's charitable sector can move beyond the WE scandal
Chi Nguyen | Canada has seen the spectacular and quick implosion of one of the charity sector's biggest brands. The Kielburgers are leaving a gaping hole by pulling out of Canada.

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