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 - David Suzuki March 3
Image: Climate and Health Alliance/Twitter
The woman who discovered global warming -- in 1856!
David Suzuki | Eunice Foote was a physicist, inventor and women's rights advocate. In 1856, she shared her paper, "Circumstances affecting the heat of the sun's rays," at the AAAS's annual meeting.
Blog - Alberta Diary March 3
Image: David J. Climenhaga
Kenney to Edmonton: Drop dead!
David J. Climenhaga | Political revenge on Edmonton voters is far from a sound basis for economic policy, no matter what the short-term political benefits may appear to be to Jason Kenney's government.
Blog - A change is gonna come March 3
Image: Mirjam Leuze/Facebook
'The Whale and The Raven': a documentary film about First Nations sovereignty
Doreen Nicoll | "What if self-awareness, compassion and thinking were not exclusively human affairs?" asks Mirjam Leuze, director of "The Whale and The Raven."
Blog - March 3
Image: Allan Lissner
Activists give room full of miners a taste of their own exploration
Kate Klein | This week, keynote speakers at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) mining convention found themselves persistently drowned out by the sound of jackhammers.
Blog - Alberta Diary March 2
Image: Carolyn Bennett/Twitter
Can Canada's Conservatives resist temptation to try to sabotage the accord with the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs?
David J. Climenhaga | It's not too late for Conservatives in Ottawa and Edmonton to do the right thing and not attempt to sabotage Sunday's agreement.
Blog - Cathy Crowe's blog March 2
A microscopic image that shows the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Image: U.S. National Institutes of Health
Shelters are like a petri dish waiting for COVID-19 to arrive
Cathy Crowe | Public health officials continue to reassure that Canada is at low risk for virus spread. But what about the homeless?
Blog - The Views Expressed March 2
Image: Jason Woodhead/Flickr
The collapse of the Frontier oil sands project should spark debate about Alberta's extremely high emissions
Jim Harding | Following the withdrawal of the Frontier oil sands project, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney engaged in well-rehearsed political rhetoric. But political hot air is not as dangerous as a warming planet.
Blog - Alberta Diary March 1
The "Fair Deal" panel at work, in Fort Saskatchewan
Is the Kenney government trying to persuade Albertans that separation from Canada is a good idea?
David J. Climenhaga | By any standard, the Alberta "Fair Deal" panel's online questionnaire is risibly unscientific and biased to dovetail with the panel's pre-determined recommendations.
Blog - The Activist Toolkit Blog February 29
Image: Green is Not White Workshop, used with permission.
Working together to demand action on environmental racism
Maya Bhullar | The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, with chapters in Canada and the U.S., spearheads research, education and monitoring around environmental racism.
Blog - Alberta Diary February 28
Image: David J. Climenhaga
Alberta budget: corporate lobbyists return to the legislature hallways as boisterous protesters chant outside
David J. Climenhaga | Alberta's finance minister did yesterday what lots of others have done over the past half century -- tried to sound positive while he prayed for higher oil prices.
Blog - Alberta Diary February 27
Image: Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta
Jason Kenney's Bill 1 is unconstitutional. Lieutenant-Governor Lois Mitchell should refuse to sign it into law
David J. Climenhaga | The Alberta government's Bill 1 appears to be designed to criminalize dissent and make protest illegal.
Blog - Brent Patterson February 27
Image: Gitxsan Huwilp Government/Facebook
Human rights concerns mount as Gitxsan hereditary chiefs and Mohawk land defenders arrested by Canadian police
Brent Patterson | Concerns about police violence, nation-to-nation relationships and the right to free, prior and informed consent increase following arrests.
Blog - Alberta Diary February 27
Duncan Kinney, director of Progress Alberta. Image: David J. Climenhaga
Progress Alberta wins injunction against Kenney government, which tried to ban progressive news site from budget lockup
David J. Climenhaga | Justice Paul Belzil granted the injunction yesterday afternoon and awarded Progress Alberta $2,000 in costs.
Blog - David Suzuki February 25
Image: Unist'ot'en Camp/Twitter
Pipeline actions signal need for true reconciliation
David Suzuki | With actions spreading across the country, complaints about inconvenience and disruption are rife. But colonial society has been inconveniencing and disrupting Indigenous lives for hundreds of years.
Blog - rabble.ca's staff blog February 25
So close we can feel it
Kim Elliott | We're almost there! Thanks to you we're only $5K away from our winter fundraising goal of $50,000. With just a few days to go, we could really use one more push from our readers all over Canada.
Blog - Alberta Diary February 25
Image: Jason Woodhead/Flickr
What really happened to the Teck Frontier oilsands mine? It's the market, stupid!
David J. Climenhaga | For Teck's executives, the national "crisis" of the past couple of weeks was a useful opportunity to ditch the Frontier oil sands project with their corporate reputation intact.
Blog - The Views Expressed February 24
Image: Doug Ford/Twitter
Doug Ford's attacks on labour are an attack on public health
Fernando Arce | While income is one of the most important determinants of personal health, strong labour laws are also important for protecting the health of the broader public.
Blog - Alberta Diary February 24
Image: Andrew Scheer/Flickr
Are the federal Conservatives a national government in waiting or a separatist bloc? Andrew Scheer must decide
David J. Climenhaga | If Andrew Scheer is unprepared to deal with the separatist contagion in his caucus, the Conservative Party of Canada will be dismissed as nothing more than a Prairie province bloc.
Blog - Alberta Diary February 24
Calgary Nose Hill MP Michelle Rempel Garner. Image: Andrew Scheer/Flickr
The state of the art of Conservative victimhood in Alberta
David J. Climenhaga | If Alberta and Saskatchewan want more representation in Ottawa, the best way to go about it would probably be to elect a few MPs from a couple of other parties.
Blog - Greening the News February 22
Wet'suwet'en solidarity event in Toronto on February 8, 2020. Image: Jason Hargrove/Flickr
Wet'suwet'en solidarity blockades: corporate media's punditocracy is yesterday's news
Robert Hackett | The solidarity blockades may indicate a political tipping point in the struggle against extractivism and climate change. But corporate media and their paid pundits don't get it.
Blog - Taking Sides February 22
A man ice skating in Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto. Image: Brendan Church/Unsplash
Giving migrants a voice -- and others a history lesson
Sara Speicher | The clamour for racial diversity in the newsroom is growing, not just in the United States, but in other migrant destination countries like Canada.
Blog - rabble.ca's staff blog February 21
Highlights from our webinar with Leah Gazan and David Macdonald
Kim Elliott | Karl and guests provided a powerful and insightful discussion on the Wet'suwet'en struggle, reconciliation, and how these movements merge with economic concerns and the soon-to-come federal budget.
Blog - Alberta Diary February 21
Image: Government of Alberta/YouTube
UCP launches blitzkrieg on physicians as health care in Alberta returns to its normal state of chaos
David J. Climenhaga | The UCP is unique in the history of Alberta and Canada: it will fight with anyone except Big Oil.
Blog - The Views Expressed February 20
Image: TOWetsuwetenSolidarity/Twitter
Protests by Indigenous peoples a culmination of centuries of political abuse and neglect
Ed Finn | If protests awaken citizens and prod governments to take appropriate remedial action for abuse and neglect against Indigenous peoples, economic damage may come to be regarded by many as justifiable.
Blog - Alberta Diary February 20
Image: David J. Climenhaga​
The war room will war on, vows Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage
David J. Climenhaga | The Canadian Energy Centre's problems are all the result of the nefarious work of "environmental activists and the green left," energy minister tells journalists.
Blog - Brent Patterson February 19
Image: Pavel Vanka/Flickr
Billions earmarked for fighter jets another strike against climate justice, peace and a Green New Deal
Brent Patterson | The CANSEC arms fair in Ottawa will be a key moment to mobilize against the Trudeau government's planned multi-billion dollar purchase of fighter jets.
Blog - The Views Expressed February 19
Image: DraconianRain/Flickr
Patients lose when lifesaving drugs are distributed by lottery
Adam R. Houston | Drug companies need to offer their wares at a fair price for everyone, everywhere, rather than letting some patients draw lots for a shot at life while keeping the financial jackpot for themselves.
Blog - rabble.ca's staff blog February 19
rabble takes on Ottawa: chip in to tune in tonight
Kim Elliott | So you don't miss out on your exclusive invite to this webinar, sign up now to support Karl and keep him on the Hill.
Blog - Judy Rebick's Blog February 19
Image: TOWetsuwetenSolidarity/Twitter
Something's happening here
Judy Rebick | Solidarity with the Wet'suwet'en is the result of both the organizing of Indigenous peoples and young environmentalists who understand the links between Indigenous sovereignty and saving the planet.
Blog - The Journalism Doctor February 18
Unist'ot'en Matriarchs burn the court injunction in ceremony. Image: Unist'ot'en Camp/Twitter
Legacy media's shameful 'whitesplaining' of the Wet'suwet'en land defence
John Miller | Substituting stereotypes for facts is not good journalism. Legacy media influencers are overlooking facts and centuries of injustice towards Indigenous people.

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