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 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.
Blog - Brent Patterson July 22
Image shows fishermen spotted by G̲aandlee Guu Jaalang, "Daughters of the Rivers," who are the Haida women who have responsibility to protect Haida Gwaii. Image: G̲aandlee Guu Jaalang/Screenshot of Facebook video
Haida hereditary chiefs say luxury fishing lodge on Haida Gwaii puts profit before life
Brent Patterson | The Haida Nation had a population of tens of thousands of people prior to contact. It then dropped to 600 people. Now, they are protecting themselves from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Blog - Alberta Diary July 22
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney at the wheel of his rented recreational vehicle from the video of his recent Southern Alberta tour. Image: Screenshot of Facebook video
Was Jason Kenney's southern Alberta RV tour fake news?
David J. Climenhaga | On the road with Jason Kenney: Campfires and RVs, or crisp sheets and brunch on the patio?
Blog - The Views Expressed July 21
Image: Tim Mossholder/Flickr
Laughter in the middle of a pandemic is not a cure, but it helps us endure it
Ed Finn | During the COVID-19 pandemic, it's getting harder to maintain a good sense of humour. But laughter is important, even in these morbid times.
Blog - Alberta Diary July 21
Tyler Shandro gives a press conference on June 23, 2020. (Image: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr)
Alberta government looks to side deals with specialists in war with provincial medical association
David J. Climenhaga | Efforts to explain the depth of the government's animus and aggression towards the Alberta Medical Association during a global pandemic have not cast much light on the conflict.
Blog - David Suzuki July 21
Atlas Coal Mine, near Drumheller, Alberta. Image: Heidi G/Flickr
Coal power should be relegated to the ash heap of history
David Suzuki | More and better jobs could be created by facilitating clean tech and renewable energy industries than relying on outdated, destructive energy sources that the world has agreed must be phased out.
Blog - The Views Expressed July 20
Aerial photo of the 2013 Lac-Megantic rail disaster. Image: Transportation Safety Board/Flickr
Here's why oil train derailments and pipeline spills keep happening
Liette Gilbert, Anna Zalik | Inconsistencies in reported data present a major obstacle to proper monitoring and auditing, even though the available information provides superficial comfort to some.

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