It is ironic that police chiefs uniformly oppose civilian handgun ownership, whereas this type of large-scale, militarized policing is effectively promoting the "good guy with a gun" ethos. The pitch is that there is no danger, but if there ever was, they are the only ones who can help us #cdnpoli
When I was teaching at a high school, the school liaison officer (who seemed like a nice enough guy) would periodically sit in the staff room and eat lunch with us. And I remember asking in a staff meeting: "Am I the only one who thinks there shouldn't be a gun in the staff room?"
The VPD quietly started doing this at community events nearly a decade ago. No threat assessment, no evidence to suggest it was necessary or has been useful... just a glaring detriment to the experience of a fun, festive community atmosphere. #VanPoli
There's also a 'tiger patrol' element to this. The police are explicitly billing this as a deterrent, so if nothing happens, they'll say it was a success. I'm not as up on Toronto crime stats, but in Vancouver, violent crime is the lowest it's been in my life, despite the rhetoric #vanpoli
I guarantee that there is NO DATA to support this claim. Anyone is welcome to prove me wrong.
Anyone who has gone to Europe for the first time as a adult knows it is fucking jarring to see soldiers with rifles just standing around. This does not make people feel safer, it tells them to be afraid.
This is the kind of mess you get into when you don’t have principles. David Eby decided to abandon the ideals that made him a viable candidate in the first place, in the hopes of appeasing special interest groups. As a result, I predict that the next election will be a repeat of 2001 for the NDP
This raises an interesting philosophical question: what right does the current legislature have to repeal/significantly amend a law that passed 79-0?
And not just any law, but a law that was meant to be a framework for other laws! The “inconvenience” that is occurring is the law working as-designed!
And of course, worth noting that DRIPA is/was not some fringe, ‘social justice’ position. It was passed in 2019 (unanimously!) and then the NDP won a commanding majority in 2020. Abruptly reversing course on this is tantamount to relinquishing your electoral mandate #BCpoli
bsky.app/profile/joan...
It’s worth expounding on Eby’s naïveté: no matter how the NDP modifies DRIPA legislation now, they lose…
• If they repeal/suspend it, the Conservatives will take credit for it.
• If they make a milquetoast amendment, it won’t please anyone.
Truly shambolic politicking from Eby. #BCpoli
And that is the most embarrassing element for the NDP: the Cons are playing culture war and Eby is going along with it. He's an experienced lawyer & politician but by letting the opposition set the terms of the discussion, he's already been outflanked like a rookie #bcpoli
thetyee.ca/Opinion/2026...
The Cowichan tribes decision has nothing to do with DRIPA; just the Constitution. And the concerns about private property are completely unfounded. If you listened to Conservatives, you'd think the Nuchatlaht win a court case today and could evict people from their homes next week.
It's important to note that the average Canadian doesn't understand Indigenous title at all... and I don't mean in a lawyer-type of way; I mean in a Grade 9 social studies-type of way. And instead of pressing forward with the principle of DRIPA and educating citizens, Eby and the NDP are giving up.
In his 3.5 years as premier, he has almost entirely hollowed out the goodwill that the NDP earned in 2017-20. And this article shows another example: hurriedly backtracking on major legislation and risking alienation of current NDP voters in the hopes of pulling 'moderate' voters.
I have quipped, with increasing frequency over the last few years, that Pivot Legal's David Eby would hate Premier David Eby. But I think it's a genuinely fascinating study in how this man appears to have no values or beliefs #bcpoli
Found this thanks to a recommendation from @julesboykoff.bsky.social, purchased at @massybooks.bsky.social on E Georgia St, and thank you to @genderhorizon.com and @emanabdelhadi.bsky.social for creating this beautiful work.
I have seen some criticism that this book doesn’t spend enough time on the details of making revolution, but I’d argue that’s misplaced. As we see in today’s media landscape, the first and most crucial step is helping people to recognize the possibility of and envision a better future.
Everything for Everyone: An Oral History of the New York Commune, 2052-2072. By M.E. O’Brien & Eman Abdelhadi.
Book #7: Everything For Everyone
If you, like me, spend time imagining what a more just future might look like, this book is worth reading. It’s a look at our future that doesn’t shy away from the human cost of change but is still alive with the possibility of hope, love, and care for one another.
And at a time when women’s sports is drawing significant viewership and financial support, this is a way to remind women that their participation in sport is a privilege that is granted (and can be revoked), not an inherent right that they deserve.
I’ll never forget the videos that start with “THIS is your Sierra Mist goal of the week…”
The warning signs were there: after a decade-long toxic drug crisis, the average Canadian would rather those people are criminalized (and die) than be able to access evidence-based public health measures. The electorate is focused on themselves and our elected leaders are responding accordingly.
And there’s always a tiny carrot as our elected leaders desperately try to paper over the cracks (don’t let them)…
Vancouver will put on a fireworks show this summer (at a cost of millions). Canada threw in a ‘middle-class’ tax break.
It’s all just window dressing.
We are seeing this happen in Canada as well:
Vancouver allocated millions for a police training academy but cut lifeguards for beaches.
Canada is militarizing the arctic and the border, but won’t fully-fund the healthcare system.
This country is sliding into crisis.
#cdnpoli #bcpoli #vanpoli
Yes and IMO most of them aren’t even ‘true believers’, they’re just following the path of least resistance and replicating the culture; they’ve never given this a moment’s thought. I wrote something similar about the men’s hockey team👇🏽 bsky.app/profile/hano...
I should clarify that I’m not dismissing the urgency of the circumstances for the 15+ million Canadians living paycheque-to-paycheque with no cushion. But a couple(?) thousand bucks in a year isn’t going to solve the fundamental affordability issues facing Canadians #cdnpoli
In most places, you can start officiating U7/U9 games at 10-12 years old. USAH doesn’t have a national minimum age, so “early 1990s” is probably a bit of a stretch, but not by much.
Go to any youth sporting event and you’ll see that the middle class has plenty of disposable income to spend frivolously. The government should be consolidating wealth for the betterment of our society.
The “middle class” doesn’t need a tax break, they need a government that will attack the hoarding of wealth and build a more robust social safety net.
You could quadruple my tax return and that’s still won’t materially change my circumstances.
Yet another example of this from soccer: half of a Jamaican team denied entry to the US for no reason. CONCACAF continues to be complicit in these policies that pre-date Trump and allow the US to undermine the fundamental spirit of international sport. @endofsportpod.bsky.social
Book #6: A Line in the World by Dorthe Nors
This is a dense, poetic, first-person account of the people and communities on the Danish coast. I’ve never lived more than two kilometres from the ocean and I saw a reflection — a common thread — of my home in this book. Not a fast read, but worthwhile.
I’m a big believer in not abandoning fandom to terrible people. FIFA/IOC/govts don’t own global sport: it will belong to the people. But there is a level of malfeasance that cannot be ignored in the name of sport. Unfortunately, we are well past that line. We must imagine something better now.