Happy Chinese New Year! Today we welcome the Year of the Horse and bid adieu to the Year of the Snake, although serpentine behaviour will doubtless continue among Canada’s political class. Read on to find out what happened this week in politics and activism and how rabble.ca‘s bloggers covered today’s most pressing issues.
During his visit to Israel earlier this month, Stephen Harper equated any criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism. Gerry Caplan addresses the falsity of this equation by citing several instances of Israeli politicians criticizing Israeli policies. He then shows Harper’s rhetorical move for what it really is: another example of how the Conservatives have “shamelessly played the anti-Semitism card as a partisan wedge issue.” Geoffrey Stevens explains why: Harper’s BFF-with-Israel stance turns a thorny and grey geopolitical issue into a black-and-white one, an obvious move to court the Jewish vote in 2015.
Last week former AFN Chief Phil Fontaine was prevented from speaking at an event in Winnipeg by a group of protesters who objected to his new affiliation with TransCanada. The issue has proven to be divisive, with some prominent Indigenous figures defending Fontaine while others praise the protestors for making their voices heard. On Policyfix, Jim Silver teases apart this complicated issue, arguing that “we also need to ask: who is being heard, and who is not, on the great issues of our times?”
On Wednesday of this week, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau raised eyebrows around the country when he formally expelled all Liberal senators from his party’s caucus. Some are naming this a bold and daring move while others see it as a mere juvenile party trick. Parliamentary reporter Karl Nerenberg weighs in on the situation, arguing that while Trudeau’s move has the potential to improve the senate, it doesn’t address the heart of the parliamentary issue. “A Senate full of independent, non-partisan, well-qualified and knowledgeable people could, in theory, act as a counterweight to a House of Commons that has become too dominated by the Prime Minister and his entourage,” Nerenberg writes, “But to make Canadian democracy more vital and more effective — and to head off abuses such as the current government’s massive omnibus bills — what we need is a truly democratic and democratically elected House of Commons.”
Predictably, Rob Ford’s latest round of antics has managed to distract from larger issues unfolding both at Toronto city hall and around the province of Ontario. As Toronto City Council began to debate the 2014 budget this week, the TTCriders coalition rallied outside to protest unacceptably high fares, as John Bonnar wrote on his blog. And as frigid winter temperatures continue to batter the entire eastern half of the continent, Cathy Crowe reveals the differences between the emergency warming centres meant for “regular” Torontonians during the recent ice storm and those intended for the homeless.
Also in Ontario, the 2014 Minimum Wage Advisory Panel released its report this week. Trish Hennessy reviews the issues so far. There appears to be a sea change in progress on minimum wage across the country, as, for example, “efforts are underway to raise the minimum wage in some 30 states right now.” And many parties on Ontario, from workers themselves to doctors, have spoken up about the health, social and economic benefits of increasing the minimum wage to $14. Nevertheless, speculation remains that Wynne will only move on an $11 increase.
The planned cuts to Canada Post’s services appear to be unfolding as parliamentarians discuss the issue to little effect. David Bush thinks that real change can happen to reverse these cuts if everyday Canadians (most of whom support home mail delivery) organize and take action. Check out his ideas for action over here.
The Sochi Olympics are only one week away, and as preparations wrap up, issues of homophobia, corruption and terrorism continue to surface. Brent Patterson discusses the environmental impact of the Games on his blog: “A quarry near the village of Sochi, Russia that had been used as a source of materials for the construction of venues and luxury hotels for the 2014 Winter Olympics is now a gigantic landfill site for construction waste related to the Games.” Members of Russian punk bank Pussy Riot were also released from prison in December (a move they termed a public gimmick meant to soften Vladimir Putin’s image ahead of the games). Andrea Jackson of The Whirling Girlish reviews Masha Gessen’s new book on the Riot Grrl band. Gessen’s story, Jackson writes, “paints a portrait of the broken social and political system of the eighty-three regions that constitute the Russian federation headed by authoritative and hyper-conservative leader, Vladimir Putin.” Stay tuned for more coverage on the Olympics from Rabble’s bloggers over the next two weeks.
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