streetfestival

Obligatory mention of proportional representation, which is the most important improvement that we could make to our democracy, but this article describes another issue - that the Prime Minister most likely has too much power in this country.

Canadian prime ministerial powers fall into two main categories. The first is the ability of the prime minister, backed by their staff in the Prime Minister’s Office—the PMO—and the Privy Council Office—the PCO—to direct and control what happens in government and in Parliament. The second is the astonishing unchecked power of patronage Canadians give their prime minister to appoint all the leading figures in the country’s public life, judiciary, and administration.

Backbenchers in the House of Commons no longer see themselves primarily as representatives of the people who elected them and therefore owing prime loyalty to the interests of their constituents. Canadian MPs see loyalty to their party and its leader as their duty beyond any other. A 2020 study by the Samara Centre for Democracy found that Canadian MPs vote as they are instructed by their party whips 99.6 percent of the time.

I have become convinced that the key to unlocking the barriers to repairing our democracy is to dismantle this electoral system that revolves around the celebrity and curb appeal of a handful of individuals. If Ottawa worked as it should—if it worked as a representative system based on discussion and resolution of communal issues—then the other problems with the Canadian polity and federation can be overcome. In a country of immense diversity, no other democratic model will work. Fundamentally, the overriding problem for Canadian democracy is the unaccountable power that has gathered into the hands of the prime minister. Until that problem is addressed and redressed, until a sustainable working relationship between the prime minister and Parliament is restored, no tinkering with the other levels of our institutions will work.

Last month, Alberta didn’t just announce it had transitioned entirely off coal as an energy source; the province kicked the fossil fuel six years ahead of a wildly ambitious schedule. The scale of achievement this represents defies exaggeration—and contains a warning for oil fans everywhere. [...] what happened to coal is coming for oil next.

Virtually every major analyst that isn’t an oil company (and even some of them, like BP) now expects global demand for oil to peak around 2030, if not sooner; McKinsey, Rystad Energy, DNV, and the International Energy Agency all agree. This places Canada in a uniquely vulnerable position. Oil is Canada’s biggest export by a mile, a vital organ of our economy: we sold $123 billion worth of it in 2022 (cars came in second, at just under $30 billion). Three quarters of that oil is exported as bitumen—the most expensive, emissions-heavy form of petroleum in the market and therefore the hardest to sell. That makes us incredibly sensitive to fluctuations in global demand. Think of coal as the canary in our oil patch.

When I see absurd prices, my mind leaps to cascading climate disasters and corporate monopolization. Someone on the other end of the spectrum might think of the carbon tax and global governance. But on one level, we’re both trying to explain away an encounter with our own insignificance as confirmed by the new price of, say, a can of Campbell’s Chunky soup.

They tell us there are a myriad of complicated kinks in the omnipotent supply chains that stretch across the earth—war, interest rates, climate events, dollar rates—that no one, not the state and certainly not you, can do anything about. The infinite web of multinational trade organized by ravenous corporations is outside of anyone’s control. Everything is to blame, so no one is to blame. We’ve built a food system that no one can do anything about other than keep making money.

This helplessness is emphasized by the impotent responses of the federal government so far: sending minister of innovation, science, and industry François-Philippe Champagne on a global hunt for competition, like some sort of disgraced royal trying to marry off his impetuous daughter, or begging said grocery overlords to sign on to a code of conduct, which I assume will be about as effective as when I asked my university roommates to sign on to a chore wheel.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe recently announced new oil and gas courses that will be offered to grade 11 and 12 students in the province to prepare students to work in those industries.

The Saskatchewan Distance Learning Centre, which provides Kindergarten to Grade 12 online education to Saskatchewan students, partnered with Teine Energy, an Alberta-based company to develop the courses. They will include 50 hours of online theory and 50 hours of work placement.

This training will directly benefit oil and gas companies and prepare students for careers in industries that other jurisdictions — like Québec — are phasing out.

As global leaders and agencies call for a wind-down of the use of fossil fuels, Saskatchewan is winding up its partnership with oil and gas in education by joining hands with an industry referred to by the UN Secretary General as “godfathers of climate chaos.”

Plant-based proteins produce, on average, 70 times less greenhouse gas emissions than an equivalent amount of beef, and use more than 150 times less land [1], making them a significantly more climate friendly choice. [...] The benefits of a transition to a plant-based food system are not only environmental, with research from The Vegan Society earlier this year finding that every one million people who switch to a vegan diet would generate an estimated £121 million of health care cost savings [2].

The society’s manifesto asks policy makers to follow the lead of countries such as Denmark and South Korea, who are taking advantage of the opportunities presented by plant-based diets with clear plans to boost the plant-based industry and begin the transition away from animal agriculture.

In order for the UK to follow suit, the manifesto outlines clear steps that the future government can take to support a plant-based transition. These steps include recognising the need to promote plant-based diets and food as crucial to meet net zero targets, supporting animal farmers in a transition to plant-based crop farming and setting a target to reduce meat and dairy consumption by 70% by 2030.

We’ve seen lots of progress towards plant-based alternatives and the United Kingdom is well placed to lead the world in the growth of the plant-based food and drink sector. More people than ever are open to changing their diets, but we need change on a bigger scale, so there is an urgent need for political leadership on this issue.”

Nothing contributes more to the affordability crisis than low-paying jobs.

Like so much this premier does, the basic animating force appears to be a zealous desire to privatize, to hand over ever more of our province to private interests, to further cannibalize Ontario’s strong tradition of public services and public enterprises that have served the province well. Ford is following the path of former Progressive Conservative premier Mike Harris, whose needless privatizations produced some disasters for Ontario.

The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), a crown corporation, has been doing a fine job selling alcohol — not exactly a risky enterprise requiring a lot of innovation — through its 677 outlets across the province. And since it is publicly owned, its healthy annual profit — $2.5 billion in 2023 — goes into the public treasury, where it pays for things like health care and education. Ontarians have long seemed satisfied with this reasonable arrangement.

But business interests and the pro-business media have long been opposed. In an editorial this week, The Globe and Mail objected to the very existence of the LCBO, insisting that governments should raise revenue through taxes, not through competing with the private sector. Yet the Globe is quick to denounce any tax increase (certainly any tax increase that impacts corporations or rich people). Indeed, given the business community’s hostility to taxes, it would be quite a challenge to raise taxes enough to replace the $2.5 billion in revenue the government receives each year from the LCBO. Furthermore, it’s doubtful that Ontarians would want to pay higher taxes so that more profits from alcohol sales could go to highly-profitable grocery store chains.

The power to exclude students from school indefinitely, at a principal’s total discretion, comes from a little-known provision of Ontario’s Education Act, Section 265 (1)(m). It offers principals a broad, unspecified authority to bar “detrimental” individuals from the school or classroom. There’s no limit on how long a student can be excluded, and no stipulated requirement for schools to provide alternative support. (In Layla’s case, the PDSB had offered to cover child care costs for the period of exclusion.)

A student who is excluded under the provision is granted none of the contingencies or reprieves that accompany a suspension or expulsion. If a student in Ontario is suspended or expelled, they can find a clear roadmap for what should happen next: the process, from an appeal to an action plan to a hearing, is laid out in the Education Act. School boards are mandated to offer educational programs for both suspended and expelled students, and a student who is expelled must also be offered non-academic support, like counselling. If a student is suspended, the discipline is time-limited, and if they’re expelled, it’s the school’s duty to help find them an alternative plan.

I made homemade pickled beets for the first time. It was easy: wash, peel, boil, slice, and marinate in a simple brine (vinegar, water, garlic cloves, peppercorns, salt, etc.). A wide-mouthed mason jar is ideal. And then you have a tasty homemade side/ garnish/ pickle on-hand that you can add to any meal. Yum! Would recommend. I feel there's a lot of margin for error on this recipe, and also that I could improve my brine game over time :P. The one warning: be careful of beet juice stains! Don't let beet juice sit on something stainable if you don't want it to stain!

Palestinians calling home to Gaza on Skype have had their digital lives destroyed, after Microsoft closed their email accounts without warning.

BBC News has spoken to 20 Palestinians living abroad who say Microsoft, which owns the voice and video chat app, kicked them out of their accounts. The total number affected is thought to be much higher.

In some cases, these email accounts are more than 15 years old and the users have no way to retrieve emails, contacts or memories.

Microsoft says they violated its terms of service - but will not say how - and the decision is final.

The Gazans say they have no links to Hamas - designated as a terrorist organisation by some Western countries, including the US, where Microsoft is headquartered - and accuse the technology giant, the most valuable company in the world, of persecuting them unfairly.

I got some bloodwork done recently and in the words of my physician my results were great. This news has put me in a good, affirming, and reflective mood about the journey so far.

Going vegan seemed like a big deal at first, when I considered it before taking the plunge (I was already vegetarian) and afterwards when learning to socialize around food with non-vegans, but after a couple years it's just become what I do. And it's not a big deal to me that my diet isn't the norm. I do live in a big cosmopolitan city, which definitely makes being vegan easier.

It took me a couple years before I clued into supplementing. PSA: If you're vegan, you should take a B12 supplement of some form. Supplementing other things isn't as important.

Just about my only frustration is the greater cost of prepared goods and sweets, which I privately dub the ‘vegan tax’ lol. Vegan donuts or ice cream are twice or thrice the price of their equivalents. That kind of thing. It add ups if you have a sweet tooth like me :P, although maybe the added financial cost has some health-related benefits related to number of donuts consumed per year, etc.

I've never thought about going back, as in eating animal products again. I do do a couple non-vegan things for cost reasons at the moment, like I buy jeans from Winners that have the leather patches on the rear that jeans are seemingly are obligated to bear. My cosmetics and bathroom products are probably not all vegan, although many are. I recently learned that my water-based sexual lubricant probably isn't vegan due to glycerin. That's a new frontier of learning for me :)

In the last couple years I’ve started only using the term vegan with other vegans, as a shorthand, or when I want to refer to the underlying philosophy. In everyday conversation I use "plant-based", as I don't want non-vegans to feel judged, because I think many feel judged simply by hearing the word regardless of my intent, and I ultimately think their feeling judged is counterproductive.

I think going vegan changed me a little in ways I didn't expect, like it generally made me a more critical thinking, conscientious, and compassionate person over time. If I could have cloned myself before I went vegan and compared two versions of me - with and without being vegan the last 8 years – I think the vegan me would score higher on a measure of anti-racism or anti-ableism or egalitarianism, know more about greenwashing, and be more critical of the effects of capitalism – just as examples. That’s just a guess. And I might be confusing cause and effect. As I understand it now, veganism is more central to my identity and worldview than practically anything.

To celebrate my veganniversary I think I might try to make my first vegan pizza! I’ve had delicious vegan pizzas before with vegan cheese, nooch, slices of potato, and pesto as a base versus tomato sauce. Other toppings as well, but I highlight those as I think they combine cheesiness, creaminess, and saltiness to approximate traditional pizza cheesiness quite desirably. Time for me to try making it on my own!

Thanks for listening to my rambles. Feel free to chime in with your own!

Here's the full roster with their current pro teams:

• Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Minnesota Timberwolves)
• RJ Barrett (Toronto Raptors)
• Khem Birch (Basquet Girona, Spain)
• Dillon Brooks (Houston Rockets)
• Lu Dort (Oklahoma City Thunder)
• Melvin Ejim (Unicaja, Spain)
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder)
• Trey Lyles (Sacramento Kings)
• Jamal Murray (Denver Nuggets)
• Andrew Nembhard (Indiana Pacers)
• Kelly Olynyk (Toronto Raptors)
• Dwight Powell (Dallas Mavericks)

The Women's National team, which has a much longer history of success than the Mens', announced their roster on July 2nd. Canada will also be sending a Women's 3x3 basketball team to the Paris Olympics

Armed conflicts have indirect health implications beyond the direct harm from violence. Even if the conflict ends immediately, there will continue to be many indirect deaths in the coming months and years from causes such as reproductive, communicable, and non-communicable diseases. The total death toll is expected to be large given the intensity of this conflict; destroyed health-care infrastructure; severe shortages of food, water, and shelter; the population's inability to flee to safe places; and the loss of funding to UNRWA, one of the very few humanitarian organisations still active in the Gaza Strip.^8^

In recent conflicts, such indirect deaths range from three to 15 times the number of direct deaths. Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death^9^ to the 37 396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186 000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza. Using the 2022 Gaza Strip population estimate of 2 375 259, this would translate to 7·9% of the total population in the Gaza Strip.