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 - A change is gonna come August 10
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Image: PMO
Trudeau needs to keep the Canada Emergency Relief Benefit in place
Doreen Nicoll | Four million people will transition to an EI system that is not up to the task. The feds need to keep $500 per week flowing to workers impacted by COVID until a universal livable income is in place.
Blog - The Activist Toolkit Blog August 10
Image: nrd/Unsplash
An opportunity to change how corporations treat the workers who put food on our table
Maya Bhullar | Activists are working to demand changes to improve the lives of workers in the food production industry across Canada.
Blog - rabble.ca's staff blog August 7
We need to be vigilant
Monia Mazigh | rabble.ca is a platform that helps us to stay informed and well informed.
Blog - Alberta Diary August 7
Curriculum advisory panel chair Angus McBeath during his rambling remarks yesterday. Image: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr
Alberta UCP's K-12 curriculum news conference by turns bizarre, deceptive, incoherent and a comedy classic
David J. Climenhaga | No one who watched Adriana LaGrange's news conference on her plans for Alberta's K-12 curriculum yesterday could come away with the impression this province's education system is in capable hands.
Blog - Alberta Diary August 6
Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage at a recent Keystone XL related announcement. Image: Chris Schwarz/Alberta Newsroom/Flickr
Good union jobs! Green jobs! UCP supporters need not panic, they're not for anyone around here!
David J. Climenhaga | Alberta's "war on unions" continues, but the United Conservative Party is happy about the creation of good union jobs in the States because, you know … pipelines!
Blog - Child Care Canada Now August 6
Image: Marcin Jozwiak/Unsplash
Rebuilding child care in Canada must include a national strategy
Martha Friendly, Morna Ballantyne, Lynell Anderson | The shuttering of child care in Canada has put parents and providers in an untenable position, but has also given policy-makers critical insights.
Blog - Brent Patterson August 5
Image: Zach Stern/Flickr
Nuclear disarmament remains an imperative 75 years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Brent Patterson | The memory of those killed should be not be historicized, but instead situated in the present day struggle against the threat of nuclear militarism.
Blog - Alberta Diary August 5
Alberta Education Minister Adriana LaGrange on Tuesday, August 4, 2020. Image: Government of Alberta/Flickr
Alberta education minister changes tune on masks when schools reopen
David J. Climenhaga | Public pressure for a safer school reopening got Jason Kenney's government to budge -- a little. The question is, will worried Albertans decide it budged enough?
Blog - David Suzuki August 5
Image: NESA by makers/Unsplash
Four-day work week can spur necessary transformation
David Suzuki | Transforming work-life balance through a well-being lens can lead to significant health benefits, contribute to gender equality, improve work redistribution and have important environmental benefits.
Blog - Brent Patterson August 4
Image: U.S. Airforce
Ontario and N.B. teachers' pension plans hold $4 million in shares in world's largest weapons manufacturer
Brent Patterson | With Lockheed Martin seeking $19 billion from the Canadian government to build new warplanes, now is an ideal time for teachers to divest from the war machine.
Blog - A change is gonna come August 4
Image: Black Creek Community Farm/Facebook
Leticia Ama Deawuo is feeding the Black Creek Community
Doreen Nicoll | Black food security doesn't benefit from capitalism. Land, seed, resources and opportunity equal power. Black food sovereignty is power that benefits everyone.
Blog - Alberta Diary July 31
Alberta Health Minister Tyler Shandro. Image: Chris Schwarz/Alberta Newsroom/Flickr
Pincher Creek doctors agree to stay for another 90 days
David J. Climenhaga | Harsh words about Alberta's UCP by local elected officials in the party's rural heartland are extremely unusual. A fight over how to keep local doctors has sparked some in Pincher Creek.
Blog - rabble.ca's staff blog July 30
Everything we do is because of your support
Matthew Adams | Take a journey through 2019 with us through our annual report.
Blog - Alberta Diary July 30
Jason Kenney and Jason Nixon with a big stack of paper yesterday. Image: Jason Kenney/Facebook
Kenney government brags about how much legislation it has passed in 2020
David J. Climenhaga | How odd Alberta's red-tape-hating UCP, steeped in the anti-government rhetoric of the old Wildrose party, should be bragging about smothering the province in legislation.
Blog - Alberta Diary July 29
Deutsche Bank AG headquarters in Frankfurt. Image: Thomas Wolf/foto-tw.de/Creative Commons
Whatever happened to the UCP's belligerent response to inconvenient European bankers?
David J. Climenhaga | Now that it's the government, Jason Kenney's United Conservative Party is strangely passive when foreign banks cut off the oilsands and environmental activists drag them into court.
Blog - David Suzuki July 29
Image: Matt Thomason/Unsplash
Language shapes our relationship with nature
David Suzuki | Western culture and the English language primarily view nature as something owned by humans that can be exploited.
Blog - The Views Expressed July 28
Image: Taylor Wilcox/Unsplash
Some teachers are preparing for school by preparing their wills
Jason Kunin | The desperation to reopen schools is creating a climate where too many people looking for short-term relief are prepared to throw caution to the wind.
Blog - Alberta Diary July 28
It should be a crazy week under the socially distanced dome of the Alberta legislature. Image: David J. Climenhaga
Canada, keep your eye on Alberta -- it won't be pretty, but it should be instructive
David J. Climenhaga | Alberta is the test bed for what Canadians will be subjected to if the Conservative Party of Canada somehow manages to get another kick at the national can.
Blog - Alberta Diary July 28
Suncor building in Calgary. Image: Bernard SpraggNZ/Flickr
Alberta announces seven charges against Suncor
David J. Climenhaga | No information was to be found in Sunday's terse news release about why it took two years to lay charges.
Blog - Cathy Crowe's blog July 28
An affordable housing building in Vancouver with inspiring signage such as "dignity, vision, work, home." Image: Cathy Crowe
Musing with uncertainty
Beric German | Cathy Crowe's longtime friend and colleague Beric German offers words of wisdom during the pandemic on neoliberalism, capitalism and calls for a new green deal.
Blog - A change is gonna come July 27
Cheyenne Sundance on the farm. Image: Submitted
Sundance Harvest is revolutionizing the food system
Doreen Nicoll | Cheyenne Sundance has overcome barriers to land and learning as well as gender norms to become a very successful Black femme farmer. Now she's sharing her knowledge and skills to empower BIPOC folk.
Blog - rabble.ca's staff blog July 24
I hope you can join the call to support progressive media
Paul Taylor | I don't know about you, but I'm feeling hopeful and inspired by progressive social movements and the organizing taking hold this year.
Blog - Pulpit and Politics July 24
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh. Image: Submitted
The NDP and COVID-19 politics
Dennis Gruending | Canada's NDP has a long tradition of pushing governing parties to do more for people in need and the party is playing that role during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Blog - Alberta Diary July 24
Rachel Notley and Sarah Hoffman when they were Alberta's premier and health minister -- admit it, don't you wish they still were? Image: David J. Climenhaga
Alberta NDP raises dramatically more in donations than the UCP during second quarter
David J. Climenhaga | Every afternoon we're told surging COVID-19 rates are a wake-up call for Albertans. Every morning the Kenney government sleeps through the alarm.
Blog - The Views Expressed July 23
Image: frankie cordoba/Unsplash
Unionized workers are essential allies in the fight to protect vulnerable front-line employees
Melissa Johnston | Now is the time for unionized workers to advocate for the protections of unionization to be afforded to all, especially the most vulnerable and marginalized.
Blog - The Views Expressed July 23
Image: Larry Farr/Unsplash
Here's why we can abolish most of the criminal justice system now without endangering public safety
Jeff Shantz, Eva Ureta | A very small proportion of criminal justice activity actually deals with stopping or even responding to violence.
Blog - Alberta Diary July 23
Premier Jason Kenney and Minister of Education Adriana LaGrange during a news conference on May 28, 2020. Image: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr
UCP rush to reopen Alberta schools despite summer surge in COVID-19 cases
David J. Climenhaga | The Alberta government isn't prepared to spend the money needed to ensure physical distancing, more aggressive cleaning or even to provide masks.
Blog - The Views Expressed July 23
Image: Christin Hume/Unsplash
Canadian journalism is plagued with racism and classism. It's time for systemic change
Rayne Fisher-Quann | The astronomical cost of J-school and the endless class- and race-privileged opportunities that follow serve as a near-impenetrable barrier to keep marginalized young people out of the media industry.
Blog - Taking Sides July 23
Image: Chris Yang/Unsplash
COVID-19 monitoring tools risk normalizing state surveillance even further
Philip Lee | Intrusive monitoring tools adopted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic may further normalize the surveillance of individuals by governments and private entities.
Blog - A change is gonna come July 23
Image: Lloyd Dirks/Unsplash
'What The Fest?!': Hamilton Fringe Festival goes virtual
Doreen Nicoll | What The Fest?! is Hamilton's online version of its annual fringe festival. Virtual plays can be wonderful, but only when there's good material.

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