Uniting for workers killed and injured on the job

Details: Published on Wednesday, 04 May 2016 15:45; Written by editor

28 Apr 2016

Hey rabble readers,

This week saw so many Big Media blunders it's hard to know where to start. Margaret Wente was -- not once, but twice -- called out for plagiarism the last couple of months, the CBC continues to sit on the Panama Papers data leak and withhold the names of Canadians who stash their cash offshore, and the National Post, still hung up on Harper's defeat, actively campaigns for Trudeau to break his election promise to not purchase F-35s.

Are you sick of this sorry state of affairs? Want an alternative to for-profit journalism in Canada? You have the power to do something about it. Help rabble build our model of non-profit journalism. Give independent media the resources it needs to grow. Become a monthly rabble donor today.

Corporate media's problems go much deeper than just Wente's woeful behaviour. Made-up sources or fabrications are one thing, but is Big Media in a big state of denial? John Miller shows us that there's something rotten with the state of journalism.

Today, Canada's labour unions unite in the National Day of Mourning for workers killed and injured on the job. rabble's labour beat reporter Teuila Fuatai files this report on how we can mourn the dead and fight for the living. And Nora Loreto put the sharing economy under the microscope, showing us that Uber accidents and injuries causing death happen too.

On May 19, join the Tommy Douglas Institute for a day of storytelling about Canada featuring Poet Laureate George Elliott Clarke in Toronto at George Brown College. Get all the details and registration here.

This week's top news

National Day of Mourning: Unions urge us to mourn the dead and fight for the living
Workers across Canada and around the world today stand united in the fight for better health and safety in the workplace.
By Teuila Fuatai

Proportional representation for Canada: A primer
What do you need to know about implementing proportional representation in Canada? Well for starters, the main differences between Single Transferable Vote (STV) and Mixed-Member Proportional (MMP).
By Anita Nickerson, Antony Hodgson

The price of acceptance: Immigrants with disabilities in a system of disadvantage
Denying people with disabilities the right to live in Canada reinforces the stereotype that disability is a "burden." We need to change this rhetoric and exclusion.
By Chavon Niles, Ilaneet Goren

Demands for change to Canada's immigration detention system mount in wake of deaths
Nearly 80 detainees staged a hunger strike at the Lindsay, Ontario facility to protest immigration detention and inhumane treatment as indefinite detention remains in Canada.
By Alyse Kotyk

From exploited to supported: Phasing out Canada's lowest wage work programs
In part two of her investigation into sheltered workshop programs exploiting intellectually disabled adults in Canada, Teuila Fuatai looks at what is next for the programs and those involved.
By Teuila Fuatai

#OccupyINAC Vancouver continues to protest in solidarity with Attawapiskat
Vancouver #OccupyINAC has vowed to stay at the INAC office until the federal government meets the demands of the Attawapiskat Youth Council. On April 19 a rally in support of #OccupyINAC was held.
By Lenée Son

Seven ways you can reduce ocean pollution right now
As population and industries (not to mention corporate greed) continue to increase, the world's oceans are at risk. Here's what you can do today to help decrease ocean pollution.
By Andrew Dilevics

This week's top blogs

B.C. publisher Dagger Editions makes queer women writers a priority
Dagger Editions is a new imprint of Caitlin Press which publishes stories by and about queer women. Enjoy this Q&A with publisher Vici Johnstone.
By Clarissa Fortin

Their bodies, themselves: Provocative new doc showcases real beauty of yesteryear's burlesque legends
'League of Exotique Dancers' follows women who, decades ago, worked as burlesque dancers, and takes the taboo step of depicting aging women as sensual beings.
By Aalya Ahmad

Working and dying in the sharing economy
In a Brave New World of unregulated capitalism, how long will it be before the first lives are taken by the sharing economy?
By Nora Loreto

Liberals' assisted dying bill is nothing short of a cop-out
Our assisted dying bill is not compatible with the Supreme Court ruling. We need to push for compatibility, including with respect to those where most Canadians draw the line.
By Bonnie Burstow

The Globe and Mail's problem goes much deeper than Margaret Wente
Her plagiarism is the least of The Globe and Mail's problems. The rot goes to the top.
By John Miller

This week's top columns

Inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women brings hope and challenges
On December 8, 2015, the federal government announced that it was launching a national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women. What can we expect from the process?
By Pro Bono, Safia J. Lakhani

The unbearable lightness of Stéphane Dion
The Trudeau team is poised to fail two significant foreign policy tests. One deals with an individual war criminal, while the other is a massive terrorism and torture trade show.
By Matthew Behrens

Protecting Eastern hemlock, our next endangered tree species
Eastern hemlock trees may be next to fall victim to an invasive alien species with the spread of the hemlock woolly adelgid. But we may still have a few years to prepare for its arrival.
By Ole Hendrickson

Rachel Notley asks Justin Trudeau to show leadership
Rachel Notley wants to know why "we're acting like a bunch of villages as opposed to a nation." There is a leadership role for Ottawa and Justin Trudeau needs to recognize it.
By Duncan Cameron

Poetic documentary 'Koneline' brings B.C. mining into focus
Koneline focuses on the "golden triangle" of land in northwest B.C. where copper and gold mining companies are busy drilling into prime territory where local people hunt and fish.
By June Chua

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This week's top podcasts

Migrant agricultural workers dreaming a better future
Min Sook Lee and Evelyn Encalada talk about organizing among migrant farm workers in Canada and about the new documentary film Migrant Dreams.
By Scott Neigh

Saving Islam for women
An American Muslim feminist's campaign to reclaim women's place.
By Melinda Tuhus

UN report slams Canada for homelessness crisis
A coalition of 30 housing advocate groups from across Canada went to Geneva in February to speak before a UN human rights committee. Kenneth Hale was part of the delegation.
By Redeye Collective

This week's top books

'Oscar of Between' pushes boundaries of identity, language and form
New publisher Dagger Editions focuses on literature produced by and for queer woman. In this excerpt, Betsy Warland delves into a personal narrative of "a person of between."
By Betsy Warland

In this issue

Upcoming events

Bowen IslandMovement(s) Art Exhibit
Bowen Island Arts Council is excited to announce Movement(s), an arts exhibition featuring the work of artist J Peachy.
By Jay Peachy Gallery and Bowen Island Arts Council

TorontoGeorge Elliott Clarke Speaks at The 4th Annual Tommy Douglas Institute - Canada: A Different Story
The 4th annual Tommy Douglas Institute at George Brown College is pleased to announce Canada's 7th Parliamentary Poet Laureate George Elliott Clarke as its keynote speaker.
By George Brown College

Peterborough Sexual Consent Conference
This conference will include expert speakers from across Ontario talking about the notion of sexual consent.
By The Sexual Consent Conference

This week's top in cahoots

Canadian money flowing to tax havens at all-time high
In the span of a single year, CAD $40 billion flowed to the top 10 tax havens –- an all-time high. Tax havens now hold at least $270 billion of Canadian corporate money, mostly untaxed.
By Canadians for Tax Fairness

Aging school buildings prompt ETFO to join call for national ban on asbestos
With asbestos in aging school buildings a leading health concern, the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario has added its voice to the call for a national ban on asbestos.
By Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario

Reducing surgical wait times: The case for public innovation and provincial leadership
B.C.'s surgical wait times are among the longest in the country. This new study provides an extensive review of research on the problems with private, for-profit surgical delivery.
By Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Active babble topics

Government-delayed study on drug safety costs hundreds of lives
By jerrym

'Between the World and Me' by Ta-Nehisi Coates: Book discussion Friday, May 13, 1 p.m. EDT
By Unionist

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This week's top tool

How you can honour the legacy of Prince Rogers Nelson
Prince's sudden death at 57 had left many of us reeling. Here's what you can do to honour his legacy.

Poll

Do you think Premier Christy Clark's salary top-up is a conflict of interest?

Christy Clark receives $192,000 for her taxpayer-funded B.C. premier salary, and also receives up to $50,000 extra from her party.

The long-standing B.C. Liberal practice is now being challenged by the B.C. NDP, which has filed a complaint with B.C.'s conflict of interest commissioner alledging the extra money comes from "exclusive" private meetings with Clark and allows "direct benefits" according to B.C. NDP MLA David Eby.

Do you think Premier Clark's salary top-up is a conflict of interest?

Choices No. The top-up is disclosed and made public. If it was a conflict, wouldn't they try to hide it? Yes. This money is coming from fundraisers and events held for the party and going right in her pocket! More importantly, why isn't her $192,000 salary enough? Is she saying you can't live in B.C. on that amount *eye roll* I dunno. It seems pretty fishy. Most other party leaders don't take this type of top-up. Clark claws back money from necessary social services with one hand and takes a nice bonus cheque with the other! When's the next election? I dunno. Kind of just seems like the opposition is playing politics. None of the above.