dan soucy @danso@mastodon.social

If we want to solve climate change, there's no other option.

It’s this cultural love of cars—and the political influence of the automotive industry—that has so far prevented the public pressure necessary to provoke widespread change in many developed nations.

For Germany to meet emissions targets, “half of the people who now use their cars alone would have to switch to bicycles, public transport, or ride-sharing”.

https://newrepublic.com/article/150689/modern-automobile-must-die

British Columbia needs proportional representation.

Our current electoral system is broken. It severely distorts our political choices, prevents us from working together with the long-term in mind, and hands total governing power to politicians who often fail to win even half of our votes. As well, our votes go to waste far too often, with most of us living in “safe ridings” where the outcome is a foregone conclusion.

https://www.policynote.ca/the-case-for-electoral-reform/

Montreal city council unanimously adopted a motion calling for a nationwide ban on handguns and military-style assault weapons.

The move, which follows a similar motion by Toronto, unites Canada’s two largest cities in pressuring the federal government on its proposed gun-control legislation, Bill C-71. Montreal’s motion goes further than Toronto’s, which called only for a handgun ban within the city.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-montreal-calls-for-national-handgun-ban/

Never before has the concept of tax fairness been so prominent in the Canadian consciousness.

Canada loses $3 billion annually from uncollected taxes from individuals alone, and estimated Canadians have squirreled away as much as $240 billion in offshore tax havens.

A 2016 study from Canadians for Tax Fairness estimated Canada's corporations have sheltered $270 billion from taxes offshore.

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2018/08/17/tax-fairness-poll-cra-professionals_a_23504141/

Opponents of the B.C. government’s referendum on the voting system have been chanting “stacked deck, rigged game” pretty much from the outset.

Both the NDP and Greens campaigned in the 2017 provincial election to change the voting system, and a majority of voters supported those parties. NDP Leader John Horgan promised during the campaign that there would be a referendum on the issue and it would be decided by 50%+1 of the votes.

https://vancouversun.com/opinion/op-ed/dennis-pilon-b-c-s-eminently-fair-referendum-process

Heat: the next big inequality issue

Urban areas are reaching these killer temperatures faster than those that are less populated. Cities absorb, create and radiate heat. Asphalt, brick, concrete and dark roofs act like sponges for heat during the day and emit warmth at night. Air conditioning is a lifesaver for those who can afford it, but it makes the streets even hotter for those who can’t.

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/aug/13/heat-next-big-inequality-issue-heatwaves-world

Why We Can't Stop Hating The Poor

A T-shirt that says "I HATE POOR PEOPLE" is considered unsuitable attire for most occasions. That's because it's a sentiment most non-shitheads won't express out loud. What we will do instead is make snide comments about the girl with fucked-up teeth, or bad hygiene, or poor grammar, or "trashy" clothes.

The reality is that, well, we kind of do hate poor people. And there's a reason for that.

http://www.cracked.com/blog/why-we-cant-stop-hating-poor/

Canada doesn’t have an inheritance tax. For the sake of democracy, that needs to change.

Part of the reason wealth is becoming so concentrated in Canada is that the country doesn’t have an inheritance or gift tax. Nothing. The gentle, progressive, egalitarian country of foreign lore doesn’t redistribute inherited or gifted wealth even though each and every one of its Group of Seven counterparts does, including the United States, Britain, France and Japan.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-opinions/wp/2018/08/07/canada-doesnt-have-an-inheritance-tax-for-the-sake-of-democracy-that-needs-to-change/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.030a29a28218

Craft brewers turn down Doug Ford’s buck-a-beer plan

As for Ford’s buck-a-beer policy, Great Lakes Brewery has no interest in participating in the experiment, regardless of the incentives.

“We haven’t even given two thoughts about this. Why would anyone do this?”

Ambarish Chandra, assistant professor at the University of Toronto who researches advertising in the brewing industry, called Ford’s announcement a populist move that will probably achieve nothing.

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/08/07/craft-brewers-turn-down-doug-fords-buck-a-beer-plan.html

‘We did not break a promise’ by cancelling basic income project, social services minister insists

“We did not break a promise,” MacLeod insisted in question period. “That fake news that was in the news today totally mischaracterizes what we’re doing.”

The denial came a day after MacLeod conceded that axing the basic income pilot program contradicted a promise in writing from Progressive Conservative spokeswoman Melissa Lantsman during the election campaign.

https://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2018/08/02/we-did-not-break-a-promise-by-cancelling-basic-income-project-social-services-minister-insists.html

Doug Ford — wasting taxpayer money to own the libs

In a minute-long back rub to Doug Ford published Monday, Ontario News Now documented the new premier's activities during his first month in office, including a meeting with the prime minister and handshakes with police college grads.

There is no purpose to the video other than to hail the congeniality of Ford — and the whole thing was paid for using taxpayer money, as the government confirmed to Global News.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/opinion/ontario-news-now-opinion-1.4770244

PC's plan to scrap Ontario basic income pilot project called 'shameful' by NDP leader

Green Party leader Mike Schreiner similarly slammed the cuts.

"Ontario's social assistance programs are not working. The most efficient and effective way to reduce poverty and government bureaucracy is to experiment with new solutions such as the basic Income guarantee pilot program."

Prior to the election, the PCs had indicated they would see the program through to its conclusion.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/lisa-macleod-announcement-1.4768626

Nazis, are bad (12017)

America’s relationship to violence is so bizarre and two-faced as to be almost incomprehensible. We worship it. We have the biggest military in the world by an almost comical margin. It’s fairly mainstream to own deadly weapons for the express stated purpose of armed revolution against the government, should that become necessary, where “necessary” is left ominously undefined.

But… violence is bad.

https://eev.ee/blog/2017/08/13/nazis-are-bad/

What You Need To Know About the BC Electoral Referendum

The evidence shows that proportional representation countries perform better on just about any indicator you could think of. What is more, they do so based on a more consensual form of democracy involving co-operation among parties instead of the hyper-partisan approach that we have become used to in Canada.

The B.C. referendum provides an opportunity to finally get this right.

https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2018/07/26/Need-Know-BC-Electoral-Referendum/

Extreme global weather is 'the face of climate change' says leading scientist

Asking if climate change causes specific events is the wrong question: “The relevant question is: ‘Is climate change impacting these events and making them more extreme?’, and we can say with great confidence that it is.”

Other senior scientists agree. “No one should be in the slightest surprised that we are seeing very serious heatwaves and associated impacts in many parts of the world.”

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jul/27/extreme-global-weather-climate-change-michael-mann

Premier to Ford Nation: You voted for this, and eventually we’ll tell you what ‘this’ is

The short-term immunity conferred by voters’ lack of interest in the elite-endorsed rules and procedures doesn’t last forever. If Ford’s bold moves trail endless lawsuits behind them, he won’t look so bold after a while. If a trimmer Toronto Council magically still disagrees on big issues — and nobody should be shocked if that happens — his cure for politics won’t seem like a cure.

https://www.macleans.ca/politics/doug-ford-toronto-city-council-wells/

How Rob Ford’s brother campaigned—and won—on an anti-sex-education platform

Doug Ford’s tough-guy affect is in stark contrast to Trudeau’s politeness, and it can feel like cognitive dissonance knowing the same country could elect both. But just as some centrists can overlook Trudeau’s arms trading with Sauda Arabia and focus on his social-justice rhetoric, so too can others overlook Ford’s ties to Charles McVety because someone needs to “shake things up.”

https://harpers.org/blog/2018/07/northern-disposure-ontario-sex-ed-curriculum/