The "fare evasion" narrative on the TTC is a total fraud. Here's why.

Every year the same line is trotted out by the TTC and various civic politicians in Toronto with the damage done monetarily always increasing from 20 to 40 to now allegedly over $60 million a year. Fare evasion, they say, is a serious problem and then they tsk-tsk about the "cheaters" and the need for more enforcement and get to shift the narrative of blame about the TTC's woes from themselves and decades of mismanagement, incompetence and underfunding to those mean and nasty freeloaders, i.e. TTC riders themselves.

Never mind that the newest claim of "loss", approximately $61 million, is but a tiny percentage of the system's operating budget of just over $2 billion let alone of the many billions it needs but is not getting. It sounds impressive and politicians can pound tables and promise to stop the rot with more policing despite the risks this poses to riders and the marginalized and without, of course, mentioning that more "enforcement" does not come for free.

But the bigger point -- and the one that gets lost because of how deeply we are indoctrinated into capitalist and neo-liberal narratives -- is that these projections of alleged loss (it is at best a supposedly educated guess) are predicated on the notions that these are fares that would be collected if only there were better enforcement and that these "lost" fares therefore have a direct impact on operating costs. Both of these notions are basically false.

I have already looked at this more extensively in two pieces linked to below, but it is worth revisiting this again due to all the brouhaha now.

The first assumption is that if the TTC was able to make it completely impossible to evade fares, which would likely cost significantly more than $61 million, then all those who had been evading fares would use the system and pay to do so. This is clearly not true.

Many people evade fares either because they cannot afford to pay or they are taking trips on the system (short hopping on and off trips, for example) that they would not take if they had to pay. In other words, in the perfect neo-liberal fantasy world where buckets of money were poured into making the TTC 100% fare evasion proof the vast majority of the "lost fares" would remain lost as these riders would simply not use the system. Given the costs associated with making sure they did not the net impact of heavily policing the fare evasion would actually cost the TTC much more in real terms than they would recoup as they would be stopping people from not paying fares they were never going to pay in the first place.

This is tied to the second point that the only other way lost fares are actually theoretically a cost given that the fares are highly unlikely to be recouped in a way that would not be offset by higher enforcement costs, is if the numbers of fare evaders were significant enough to force the system to add new buses, streetcars or subways to the already existing routes and schedules. Seeing that even the latest high end estimate claims that approximately 5% of riders are not paying at any given time this is clearly not the case. The TTC obviously does not have to increase vehicles on routes for a handful of extra people per ride.

Since it is not the case, and this is the point that the politicians and planners rambling on about this either don't get or don't want you to get, that means that the allegedly lost fares have no impact whatsoever because the buses, streetcars and subways are running anyway. The costs are not going to change if an extra 3 non-fare paying riders are on a bus with 50 people or not. These costs are already there. The only costs that will increase are on the enforcement side.

Even if you believe the conveniently always advancing estimates of evasion, they don't impact the operating costs on the routes at all.

However, one thing is clear, increasing enforcement will mean more harassment of and hassles for riders. A few years ago Edward Keenan wrote about one aspect of the problem with fare crackdowns in The Toronto Star:

This isn’t because it isn’t annoying that some people cheat the system. It’s because some people will always cheat the system, and the cost and hassle of making it difficult for them is not worth it — especially since most enforcement measures make the system a hassle for all riders. And what you want to focus on, if you want more riders, more honest, fare-paying riders, is making the system as hassle-free as possible.  

With the unfolding Presto fiasco and aggressive enforcement by highly paid rent-a-cops it is important to keep this in mind. Don't let the TTC administrators and various politicians use the hugely overblown fare evasion non-issue as a smokescreen to cover their monumental and generational failures to properly fund and expand the system.

Further Readings:

The TTC 'fare evasion' fraud and Toronto's fiscal chickens coming home to roost

TTC fare fallacies -- Neoliberal delusions in transit costing

For more transit resources see our Free Transit Resource Page

Tory wins, Mammoliti out, little changes -- Toronto's election brings neo-liberal continuity

After the drama of Doug Ford's undemocratic downsizing of Toronto City Council mid-election, the new, smaller results represent neo-liberal continuity. Very little of any fundamental significance has changed.

John Tory won a landslide victory over his main opponent, Jennifer Keesmaat, which is unsurprising given that there was almost nothing that separated them. Disappointingly, neo-fascist candidate Faith Goldy garnered more votes than leftist candidate Saron Gebresellassi, though neither broke 3.5% of the vote.

Meanwhile, council races were a mixed bag.

Michael Ford's result in Ward 1 has to have been uncomfortably close for his uncle given all the political resources he invested in it. A loss would have been politically catastrophic for him though it did not happen. Ford beat another reactionary Vincent Crisanti by almost eight percent of the vote.

In a silver lining Giorgio Mammoliti, who ran a disgraceful, dog-whistle campaign and who has been a disruptive far right presence on council for all too long, went down to a richly deserved defeat. He lost to Anthony Perruzza by nearly 12 points. This was, at least, a minor setback for Ford style bombastic stupidity at City Hall.

Many of council's "progressive" establishment "heavyweights" have been returned for what that is worth.  Family heritage crew Mike Layton and Joe Cressy are still there, as are centrists like Kristyn Wong-Tam. Gord Perks won easily in Ward 4 which is a positive given that he is likely the sole Councillor that can honestly be described as a leftist. Labour Council endorsed (surprise, surprise) Paula Fletcher defeated fellow progressive Mary Fragedakis whose personal connections were perhaps not quite as close.

In a fascinating example of the paucity of politics now, Josh Matlow -- a liberal notable largely for his fierce and correct resistance to Tory's inane Scarborough subway plans -- handily defeated the supposed New Democrat Joe Mihevc in Ward 12 by over 10 points. Mihevc might be remembered by The Left Chapter readers for his relentless nonsense about alleged TTC fare evasion and his musings on making sure kids get on the Presto train. He also, in what was a truly cynical and telling move, asked for John Tory's endorsement and received it. It likely, and deservedly, did more harm than good.

Deeply ironically Labour Council endorsed Jennifer Keesmaat ganged up with John Tory to back Brad Bradford over Labour Council endorsed former NDP MP Matthew Kellway in Ward 19. Bradford won. Sadly, I doubt this will cause the Labour Council to reflect on its pattern of often terrible, short-sighted decisions.

Overall, despite the hyperbole and the Ford machinations, the results indicate continuity. They do not appear to show any shift significantly to the right or ideologically otherwise at all. In fact, only 12 of 25 candidates endorsed by Doug Ford's de facto official organ the Toronto Sun won. The composition and balance of power between what passes as a left, the centrists and the right remains largely the same.

The lack of an organized socialist civic movement, though, is as glaring as its consequences are telling.

The council also continues to lack anything remotely like the diversity of the city it supposedly represents.

With this council we can anticipate little serious or significant resistance to the Ford provincial agenda municipally. When understood within the broader politics of disillusion in Ontario, it is clear that any fightback will have to be organized outside of and in spite of existing mainstream electoral channels.

See also: Ontario’s 2018 Election: Pessimism Today, Strategic Organizing Tomorrow

Peter D'Gama for Ward 1, Toronto -- A socialist campaign to get behind

From the D'Gama election website

Recently I took a look at the Toronto municipal campaigns of Saron Gebresellassi for Mayor and Walied Khogali Ali for Ward 13. These are two exciting campaigns that leftists should be getting behind both with their time and their donations.

They buck the deadening trend of the "say little do even less" approach of most of the milquetoast "progressives" endorsed by the Labour Council or backed by the NDP or Liberal establishments.

In Ward 1 -- one of the incumbents for which is Michael Ford, the nephew of Conservative Premier Doug Ford -- Peter D' Gama is running on an overtly and avowedly leftist platform that takes many of the positions that others should be across the city.

A member of Socialist Action and a community activist D'Gama rather stirringly asks us to "Imagine what we could accomplish by taxing the rich and giant corporations to fund programs such as free and accessible public transit, building and home retrofits, and a green economy creating jobs with a living wage."

His municipal platform includes calls for a mansion tax, making property taxes more progressive, fighting for a rent freeze and the creation of affordable housing, inclusionary zoning, decreasing the bloated police budget, $10 a day child care, working towards free transit, and much more.

You can read it in full on his website: Peter D'Gama for Ward 1

There are very few candidates that have campaigned on as comprehensive a socialist agenda for the city in the last few elections. The addition of a voice like D'Gama's to City Council would do a great deal to shift the debate in Toronto and to help to start the hard work of changing the city's direction politically as has happened in places like Seattle with the election of Kshama Sawant.

See also: Saron Gebresellassi and Walied Khogali Ali: Two Toronto Candidates to Get Excited About

Saron Gebresellassi and Walied Khogali Ali: Two Toronto Candidates to Get Excited About

In an election that has been dominated by Doug Ford's crass efforts to gerrymander the Toronto municipal outcome while the Toronto political establishment on both the right and the left lined up to defend the status quo and incumbency, there are a couple of bright spots.

These are Saron Gebresellassi for Mayor and Walied Khogali Ali for Ward 13.

Here, finally, we see municipal candidates running on issues of tremendous importance to the workers, racialized and marginalized in Toronto and doing so in spite of the lack of support from the milquetoast faux "progressive" elite that tries to control the "left" politics of City Hall.

Walied Khogali Ali has put forth a program that is all about the struggle to build community and create spaces of social justice in the neo-liberal city that is Toronto. An activist who has fought for years around many issues his platform includes direct and serious approaches to tackle the fundamentals of housing, transit and inclusion that face the city.

His website can be found here: https://www.votewalied.ca/

Saron Gebresellassi is running what is easily the most left wing campaign for mayor in a generation and it is finally starting to get some notice.

Everything about her platform is solid:

Right to Housing: Recognize that housing is a fundamental human right and that incremental targets alone are not enough. This means we must set in place aggressive plans to provide adequate and sufficient housing for everyone. My first priority will be addressing our housing crisis.
Right to Transit — Towards Free Public Transit: Yes, it’s possible! And the benefits are immense. I will focus on developing a strategy that will set Toronto on a path towards free transit. Free transit will help address climate change, urban gridlock and sprawl, and cut down on spending for road maintenance. 
Right to fair allocation of city resources: Re-prioritize our spending towards more targeted youth employment as well as arts and cultural programming so that no one is left behind, especially from low-income areas and the inner-suburbs
Right to employment outside of the downtown core:  We have to develop proper and sound incentives for businesses to invest outside of downtown Toronto, among other strategies.
Right to Mental Health and Accessibility: Develop an overall mental health and accessibility framework that underpins all aspects of city planning and budgeting. This means that our city’s budgeting should also be filtered through an overall mental health framework that assesses how our policies contribute towards developing positive mental health outcomes.
Right to Diversity in City Politics and City Hiring:  Increasing Diversity in Our Politics and City Hiring. I will call for electoral reform that will create space for fresh faces and voices that reflect diverse backgrounds. I will move towards creating a city-wide employment equity regime that will ensure our city’s workforce and senior leadership reflects the city itself.

Her website can be found here:  https://saronformayor.ca/

These are left candidates that at last strike out past the deadening nothing politics of the NDP downtown establishment, that are not running because of some family last name, and that are running on serious platforms regardless of the empty do-nothing faux endorsements of the "labour council".

There is a lot of work to be done to build a serious left alternative in Toronto.

A solid start would be getting behind these two candidates.

Notwithstanding, Indian Protests, Tesla & more -- The Week in News, Opinion and Videos September 9 - 16

This week's list of articles, news items, opinion pieces and videos that I see as a must if you are looking for a roundup that should be of interest to The Left Chapter readers.



This list covers the week of September 9 - 16.



1) 10 Most Damning Quotes From the Court Ruling Striking Down Doug Ford’s Law Rigging Toronto’s Election

Press Progress

Ontario’s Superior Court just ruled Doug Ford’s gerrymandering law is undemocratic and unconstitutional.

2) Premier Doug Ford to use notwithstanding clause to cut size of Toronto city council

John Rieti · CBC News

Ontario Premier Doug Ford will invoke the constitutional notwithstanding clause to override a judge's decision that blocks his government from slashing the size of Toronto city council nearly in half.

3) Doug Ford Says the Government of Ontario Does Not Need to Respect the Constitution or the Rule of Law

Press Progress

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he will override Canada’s Constitution to overturn a court decision that ruled his move to redraw Toronto’s political boundaries in the middle of the city’s municipal election is “unconstitutional.”

4) Ford’s legislation to cut Toronto council passes first reading as protests rock the Ontario legislature

Robert Benzie and Kristin Rushowy, The Toronto Star

Doug Ford’s unprecedented overriding of Charter freedoms triggered mayhem in the legislature — with protesters handcuffed and turfed, and most New Democrat MPPs ejected for banging on their desks and shouting.

5) CORPORATE INTERESTS BEHIND FORD’S ATTACK ON LOCAL DEMOCRACY

David McKee, People's Voice

In the morning of September 10, the Twitterverse exploded with 280-character celebrations, after an Ontario Superior Court judge struck down Doug Ford’s legislation cutting Toronto’s city council in half. Within hours, however, Ford had announced that he would invoke Section 33 of the Constitution, the “notwithstanding clause,” to force the legislation through.

(Related: Petty, vengeful and crass, bully boy Ford's toddler tantrum a dangerous sign of things to come)

6) Involving everyone in the commemoration of Havana’s 500 years

 Yaima Puig Meneses, Granma 

Involving everyone, the population as well as national, provincial, and municipal entities, in efforts to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Havana is a challenge, but the key to a better realization of the project.

Michael de Adder, Chronicle Herald

7) ‘Of course Serena Williams was angry’: writer Soraya Chemaly on why women should unleash their rage

Coco Khan, The Guardian

In Chemaly’s book Rage Becomes Her, she writes that women are taught from birth to suppress their anger. It’s time now, she says, to let it all out.

8) Twitter users slam 'repugnant, racist' cartoon of Serena Williams

Al Jazeera 

A cartoon depicting Serena Williams has triggered uproar after it was compared with racist illustrations of the Jim Crow character and images of black people in the Sambo books from the early 20th century.

9) For black women at church, it's more than the Aretha Franklin eulogy

The Canadian Press

A black pastor's controversial eulogy at Aretha Franklin's funeral laid bare before the world what black women say they have experienced for generations: sexism and inequality in their houses of worship every Sunday.

10) Kaepernick Thanks 1st NFL Players to Kneel for National Anthem

Telesur

Kaepernick is the most visible face among NFL players who have been using the anthem over the past two years to protest against social injustice and police brutality.

11) Even terminal illness won’t guarantee a spot in Toronto’s subsidized housing

Gilbert Ngabo, The Toronto Star

Rona Achilles’ apartment is filled with boxes and bags stuffed with all her belongings. Apart from a few books and papers scattered on shelves and tables, some shoes and a computer — on which she watches political speeches and browses Facebook — plastic bottles of medical pills are the only other things visible in her living and study room.

12) The FMLN Announces Its Presidential Formula for El Salvador

Telesur

The FMLN announced for a third consecutive term of office Hugo Martínez for the Presidency and Karina Sosa for the Vice Presidency.

13) Abortion activists are sending Susan Collins a grim reason not to vote for Kavanaugh

Carter Sherman, Vice News 

Susan Collins’ office has been deluged with a grim reminder of the days before Roe v. Wade, thanks to abortion rights advocates.

14) Unions call for four-day working week

Rebecca Wearn, BBC News

A four-day working week will be possible this century if businesses are forced to share the benefits of new technology with their workforce.

15) Israeli music festival left in shambles as 20 acts — including Lana Del Rey — withdraw in support of BDS

Josef Federman, The National Post

The cancellations turned the weekend festival, held in the bucolic setting of an Israeli kibbutz, into the latest battleground between Israel and the boycott movement that says it seeks to end Israeli rule over Palestinians.

16) How can we defend human rights while selling arms to Saudi Arabia?

Noah Aboueldahab, The Globe and Mail

If Canada is to maintain any kind of credibility when it conducts its foreign policy and calls for the protection of human rights around the world, ending its arms sales to Saudi Arabia is a first and concrete step that must be taken. So far, Ms. Freeland seems quite comfortable in honouring this unjustifiable arms deal. It is difficult, then, to take seriously her outrage at the arbitrary arrests of Samar Badawi and others, while Yemeni lives are taken daily by a Saudi-led coalition that Canada actively supports.

17) Canadian politicians lead unprecedented smear campaign against advocate for Palestinian rights

Yves Engler, Mondoweiss 

On Thursday lawyer Dimitri Lascaris called on two Liberal MPs to denounce death threats made by B’nai B’rith supporters against a number of other Liberal MPs and the Prime Minister. But instead of condemning those who called for racialized politicians to face the “guillotine” or “stoning”, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) and Canadian politicians smeared the individual drawing attention to the death threats.

Hélène Laverdière, just stop. Stop tweeting about Palestinian rights with one hand and opposing progressive Palestinians and our left-wing allies with the other. Tweeting all day does not make up for voting against the Palestine Resolution at NDP convention; supporting Palestine on Twitter does not make it okay to befriend and work with those who safeguard Israel’s occupation here at home. Stop insulting our intelligence:

via Facebook and Twitter

18) Correcting the record on China and Africa

 Ian Goodrum, China Daily

In 1971, when the People’s Republic of China’s United Nations status was put to a vote, it was newly independent African countries who provided the crucial majority and ensured China was able to take its rightful seat on the UN Security Council. Thanks to the goodwill of its “African brothers”, as Chairman Mao Zedong called them, China could finally join the global family of nations. With that vote — and with the Communist Party of China’s earlier support for liberation struggles across the continent — an unbreakable bond between China and Africa was forged.

19) India's Opposition Parties Join Strike Against Fuel Price Hike

Telesur

Over 20 opposition parties participated in “Bharat Bandh”, a nationwide strike Monday to protest against the sharp increase in fuel prices in India.

20) HUGE PEOPLE’S PROTEST IN NEW DELHI AS RESISTANCE GROWS

People's Voice

Tens of thousands of workers and farmers from different states in India marched in New Delhi on September 5, to protest the government’s anti-people policies and demand higher wages and relief from debts.

21) Remembering Canada’s support for the right wing coup in Chile

Yves Engler

On Sept. 11, 1973, the democratically elected president of Chile, Salvador Allende,was overthrown by General Augusto Pinochet. In the aftermath, 3,000  leftists were murdered, tens of thousands tortured and hundreds of thousands  driven from the country.

22) Sweden’s elections and the mounting far right threat in Europe

Vladimir Unkovski-Korica, Counterfire 

Ever since Donald Trump’s election victory in November 2016, the right has felt emboldened internationally. The latest headline to hit Europe has been the rise of the Swedish Democrats.

23) Greenpeace suing Ontario government over cancellation of cap-and-trade program

CBC News

Leading environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against the Ontario government over the cancellation of the province's cap-and-trade program.

24) We will take this party back

Jacq Brasseur, Briarpatch 

We are young people clamouring for a party that supports survivors, values consent, uplifts marginalized voices, and unapologetically shouts down abusive men. We will not be the downfall of the Saskatchewan NDP, as so many of the loyalists claim. If this party collapses, it will be because of the actions of change-fearing party members who protect men like Erin Weir and Adam Duke. And I promise you this: we – who are standing up against the status quo, harassment, and violence – will re-build this party on those ruins. We will remember this story. The story of what happens when oppressive party brass protects people who abuse our political family. The story of a left-wing provincial party falling behind its federal peer, and what happens when you abandon the same young, innovative people who brought you success to begin with.

25) Ethiopia-Eritrea border opens for first time in 20 years

Al Jazeera 

Ethiopian and Eritrean troops will withdraw from the border as the rapprochement between the one-time enemies continues in rapid fashion.

26) Tesla workers speak out: 'Anything pro-union is shut down really fast'

Michael Sainato, The Guardian

Elon Musk has said he is ‘neutral’ about a union but former employees blame their firing on their efforts to organize while current workers say a ‘culture of fear’ persists.

27) Emperor Musk

Meagan Day, Jacobin

The disappearance of kings and emperors didn’t end domination by powerful individuals — capitalism just transformed it. Julius Caesar has given way to Elon Musk.

28) My Response to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Smear: Sir, I Will Not Be Deterred From Defending Human Rights

Dimitri Lascaris

I am a proud, anti-racist advocate for human rights, yet I now find myself in a situation familiar to so many defenders of the human rights of Palestinians: I am being defamed as an anti-Semite by pro-Israel organizations and pro-Israel politicians, including Canada’s own Prime Minister.

29) The Sad, Timid Failure of Rachel Notley

Mitchell Anderson, The Tyee

Imagine if you decided to sell your soul and no one wanted to buy it?

30) Lula: Jailed ex-leader pulls out of Brazil election

BBC News

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has pulled out of next month's presidential election to allow his running mate to stand in his place.

31) Dallas Police Release Affidavit Contradicting Neighbors’ Account of Shooting: It’s ‘Very Self-Serving’

Atlanta Black Star

Attorneys for the family of a black man who was shot and killed by a white Dallas police officer who says she mistook his apartment for hers are criticizing an affidavit that gives a narrative of what happened.

32) Migrant crisis: Scores drown off Libyan coast

BBC News

More than 100 migrants died in a shipwreck off the Libyan coastline earlier this month, an aid agency says.

33) “Pinochet via Fujimori”: Wall Street’s New Man In Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro

Brasil Wire

New York Times, July 1993. In an article called “Conversations/Jair Bolsonaro; A Soldier Turned Politician Wants To Give Brazil Back to Army Rule“, Journalist James Brooke interviewed a 38 year old congressman. Brazil was struggling, a President gone, in the third year of directly elected Government since the coup of 1964, and the already infamous former Army Captain Bolsonaro was proposing a return to Military Rule.

34) The IHRA anti-Semitism definition won't protect Israeli apartheid

Shahd Abusalama, Al Jazeera 

History will judge Israel's apologists the way Theresa May is now judged on apartheid South Africa.

35) Argentina Announces Ministry Cuts But More Military Spending

Telesur

The Mauricio Macri administration released its communique that reveals expected funding cuts for at least six ministries, and increased budgets for military forces.

36) North Carolina didn't like science on sea levels … so passed a law against it

Erin Durkin, The Guardian

In 2012, the state whose low-lying coast lies in the path of Hurricane Florence reacted to a prediction of catastrophically rising seas by banning policies based on such forecasts.

via Facebook

37) Canada Post workers vote in favour of strike action

Canadian Press

Postal workers across the country have given the green light to their union to call a strike and could walk off the job before the end of the month.

38) TKP – The hope lies in the party which is both the oldest and the youngest

Communist Party of Turkey

The Communist Party of Turkey was founded during the days when Anatolia was still under imperialist occupation and the resistance against the occupation was still ongoing. At around the same time, under the leadership of communist parties, the workers made their mark on history in 1917 with the Great October Revolution, and stepped in to drive the final nail in the coffin of crumbling capitalism.

39) THE U.S. GOES TO WAR AGAINST THE ICC TO COVER UP ALLEGED WAR CRIMES IN AFGHANISTAN

Murtaza Hussain, The Intercept

THE UNITED STATES has never been a friend of the International Criminal Court. While relations between the U.S. and the ICC have fluctuated over the course of different administrations, the American government has steadfastly refused to take the step that 124 other states have of ratifying the Rome Statute and thus becoming a member of the international legal body. The ICC’s mandate to investigate war crimes has thus been hampered by the unwillingness of the world’s sole superpower to commit to the organization.

40) Anti-Corruption Protests Take Over Guatemala City

Telesur

For a second day, thousands march in the capital to demand President Morales and Congress resign, saying they are giving themselves legal impunity.

41) Dalai Lama says 'Europe belongs to Europeans'

France 24

The Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, said Wednesday that "Europe belongs to the Europeans" and that refugees should return to their native countries to rebuild them.

42) Brett Kavanaugh accused of sexual misconduct in secret letter

Sueng Min Kim and Elise Viebeck, The Toronto Star

The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee said Thursday that she received a letter from a person about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and referred it to federal investigators.

43) Ukraine's 'baby factories': The human cost of surrogacy

Madeline Roache, Al Jazeera 

After India, Nepal and Thailand banned surrogacy, Ukraine soaks up demand. But women on both sides report exploitation.

44) How Canada’s growing anti-abortion movement plans to swing the next federal election

Anne Kingston, Maclean's 

Anti-abortion lobbyists cheered Ontario’s election as evidence of success. Next up: an ambitious strategy for 2019.

45) Conservatives condemned by British Jewish leaders after MEPs vote to defend Hungary's far-right Orban government

Joe Watts, The Independent

The organisation has said the Conservative support for Mr Orban's authoritarian regime is 'very concerning'.

46) Mexican workers say they are victims of abuse on Canadian farms

CBC Radio

Every year, thousands of foreign farm workers come to Canada for eight months as part of the seasonal worker program. Since 2017, the federal government says it is intensifying its inspections on farms where these workers are hired to ensure their proper treatment.

47) Julia Salazar overcomes controversy to notch another victory for democratic socialists

Libby Nelson and Zack Beauchamp, Vox

She’ll be headed to the New York State Senate after toppling a long-serving incumbent in her Brooklyn district.

48) With help from Ontario teachers, Vancouver cleaners took on a corporate giant — and won

Sara Mojtehedzadeh and Alex McKeen, The Toronto Star

It’s not glamorous work, but Khin Kyi describes her Vancouver janitorial post as a godsend after having spent most of her life struggling just to keep her family safe.

49) What happens when the ‘alt-right’ starts believing in climate change?

Casey Edwards, People's World

Last September, as record-breaking hurricanes thrashed the Caribbean and the southeastern U.S., the white nationalist magazine American Renaissance asked its readers a question: “What does it mean for whites if climate change is real?”

50) What I Know About Jian Ghomeshi

Ruth Spencer, The Cut

Before anyone knew anything else about him, it was charm that made Jian Ghomeshi a big deal. It began in the mid 2000s, when he hosted a Canadian arts-and-culture radio show, Q. In one episode, the actor Billy Bob Thornton was a guest, and a singularly obnoxious presence; but in the face of his monosyllabic answers and looks of blank hostility, Ghomeshi retained his composure and his warmth. Eventually, the actor accused Canadians of being boring audiences, like “mashed potatoes without the gravy,” and Ghomeshi gently pushed back, replying: “Oh we’ve got some gravy up here.” The YouTube clip, of this good-natured radio host defending his country’s honor against a discourteous megastar, went viral, cementing Ghomeshi’s place as a national icon and skyrocketing Q’s popularity. And so when, five years later, in the course of an onslaught of sexual allegations against him, the public discovered that behind the scenes of their beloved show, Ghomeshi was allegedly telling his producer he wanted to “hate fuck” her and terrorizing his staff, the sense of disjunction was severe. “Captain Canada,” as he sometimes called himself, had turned out to be an alleged monster.

51) Ontarians rally in support of $15 minimum wage: ‘We cannot survive’

Sara Mojtehedzadeh, The Toronto Star

Workers rallied in support of a $15 minimum wage, across Toronto and 15 other cities Saturday, as the Ontario government doubles down on its pledge to cancel what it’s calling a “crassly political” wage bump scheduled for January 2019.

52) Kids Don’t Damage Women’s Careers — Men Do

Jessica Valenti, Medium

One of the most pernicious modern myths about motherhood is that having kids will damage your career. Women are told that we need to choose between our jobs or our children, or that we’ll spend our most productive work years “juggling” or performing a “balancing act.”

See also: Corbyn Attacks, India, Brazil, Bolivia & More -- The Week in News, Opinion and Videos September 2 - 9

Doug Ford, Hammer and Sickle Vodka, the NDP and BDS & more -- June and July on The Left Chapter in review

June and July saw 55 posts of various kinds on The Left Chapter.

Included among these was an interview with playwright Brandy Baker. There was also a first time article from Nathaniel Laxer whose piece Toronto mayoral contest off to dispiriting start came very close to making our top six list (in terms of hits).  So did the posts Greyhound Canada shows the imperative to build intercity public transit networks, Vote Communist in twelve ridings and other thoughts for election day in Ontario and End Game -- The Ontario Election and Doug Ford. A first article on The Left Chapter from Gabriel Haythornthwaite did make the list.

The period also saw our ever popular annual mid-year round-up of the 10 Best Songs of 2018...So far.

Meanwhile our three part series on Revolutionary Cuba 1975: Sixteen Years of Socialist Construction Part I -- Photographs and Chronology (you can view Part II and Part III) was our most successful vintage photography series to date. There were posts to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Nelson Mandela and the 90th anniversary of the birth of Che. We also posted a speech from Nelson Mandela on the anniversary of the revolutionary attack on the Moncada Barracks, Cuba.

Thanks very much to all our readers and contributors.

If you have an article, editorial, analysis, recipe or story you would like to contribute there are details on how to do so on our Submissions page as well as at the end of this post.

Without any further ado, here are the top six posts, in terms of hits, from June and July.

1) Chaos Theory: For Doug Ford disruption will be the plan

What exactly will be targeted and when remains to be seen, but now that it is about to be unleashed the Ford proverbial bull in the china shop will attempt to leave a path of total devastation in its wake over the next four years and -- for all of the times it will appear aimless or mindless -- this will have been its overarching ideological objective.

Read more! 

2) News of the absurd: NDP MLAs get "Hammer and Sickle" vodka pulled from Alberta stores

In the latest -- and one of the most absurd -- example of "social democrats" and others pandering to cartoonish anti-communism, two Alberta NDP government MLAs have successfully pressured the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission to have a Russian vodka brand pulled from Alberta stores.

Read more!

3) Socialist International backs BDS. When will Canada's NDP?

In a surprisingly strongly worded statement from them, the Socialist International (SI) -- which "brings together 140 global political parties, including 35 parties in government" -- has denounced recent actions by Israel and called on "all governments and civil society organizations to activate Boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against the Israeli occupation, all the occupation institutions, and the illegal Israeli settlement including the total embargo on all forms of military trade and cooperation with Israel as long as it continues its policies of occupation and Apartheid against the Palestinian people."

Read more!

4) In the wake of another mass killing in Toronto we have to keep talking about male violence

An horrific act of mass violence in Toronto last night. It is hard to find the words. The victims include an 18 year old woman who was celebrating her birthday and heading to university in the fall and a ten year old girl. The cruelty of it is unimaginable.

Read more! 

5) A call for the NDP to withdraw from the Canada-Israel Interparliamentary Group

The undersigned are appalled by the recent deaths in Gaza. At least 110 Palestinians have been killed and thousands injured by sniper fire and noxious gas used by the Israeli military. The recent violence takes place alongside ongoing land theft, destruction of olive groves, construction of Jewish-only roads, imprisonment without due process and a blockade of Gaza. During its 70-year history Israel has been as unjust towards Palestinians as the white-ruled apartheid state was to Black South Africans.

Read more!

6) Ontario’s 2018 Election: Pessimism Today, Strategic Organizing Tomorrow

By Gabriel Haythornthwaite


The merry-go-round of Ontario's corporate politics is reaching its dizzying conclusion today and I imagine I am not the only one who wants off this shitty ride.

Read more!

Our top food related post was: Clay Baked Peameal Bacon Roast.

Do you have a left point-of-view or opinion, event or petition, a recipe or a story you want to share?

Send them to The Left Chapter via theleftchapter@outlook.com!

See also: Toronto Misogynist Terror Attack, Gaza, Doug Ford & more -- April and May on The Left Chapter in review

Toronto mayoral contest off to dispiriting start

By Nathaniel Laxer

The final day for mayoral nominations has passed, and, for all intents and purposes, we can say that the election has begun. So who are the candidates?

Well for starters, there is the incumbent: failed mayoral candidate, turned failed candidate for Premier, turned Mayor of Toronto, John Tory, whose fairly uninteresting rise to power in the 2014 election has resulted in a fairly uninteresting and stagnant tenure. This has been characterized by failures -- such as the joke of a transit plan that was SmartTrack -- and really not much else.

With Tory being pretty mediocre, who are the other choices? There is former Toronto chief planner Jennifer Keesmaat, who’s big “bold” ”policy” pledge so far to solve Toronto’s ill’s is to tweet that Toronto should somehow separate into its own province. What area would this province encompass? Is it just Toronto or the entire GTA? How would this be possible constitutionally? And how will this actually accomplish anything and genuinely help Torontonians with the issues of transit, housing prices and poverty?

Who knows? If Jennifer Keesmaat does we have yet to see it with her leading point for the idea being “why shouldn’t a city of 2.8 million have self governance?”. Using this same logic, there would be 20 new American states, ranging from New York to Orlando.

Needless to say, a "province of Toronto" would not actually solve systemic issues in this city. Who is to even say this new province would have progressive politics, given that this is the same city that elected Rob Ford only 8 years ago and has John Tory as Mayor with plenty of right wing councillors.

Who else is there? The only other candidate getting any real media attention at the moment is reactionary, islamophobic Rebel News contributor, turned “Euro-Canadian Catholic Nationalist” (weird way to spell fascist) Faith Goldy. Her main campaign plank is (surprise, surprise) to bring back TAVIS and carding. She also wants to end bike lanes and supports the usual racist anti-immigrant malarkey typical of her type. She has gone full steam ahead trying to capitalize on the tragic Danforth shooting to promote her brand of dangerous nonsense. She even tweeted in defense of the man recently arrested for his racist harassment and assault of a Muslim family at the Jack Layton ferry terminal.

This kind of disgusting candidate should not get any support, but unfortunately she just might in a climate of increasingly open racism in Canada and the west generally.

There are a couple of interesting and progressive candidates in the race such as community activists Sarah Climenhaga and Saron Gebresellassi (who has some solidly left platform planks). Unfortunately, as is to be expected, neither has received any major coverage from the media or pundits, and they are unlikely to going forward.

This may end up also being true for issues like poverty, income inequality and so many other important discussions we need to be having. This mayoral race is shaping up to be something of a dispiriting one, with a boring right wing "centrist", a faux progressive and a reactionary white nationalist getting all the attention and derailing serious debate.

That Ford's attack on Toronto is dangerous does not mean the status quo is healthy or democratic

It is pretty easy to show that Doug Ford's undemocratic attack on the city of Toronto has nothing at all to do with the council being somehow bloated and has everything to do with the vindictive settling of scores by a petty man.

Doug Ford never understood or liked Toronto outside of his frame of reference in his part of Etobicoke and the city rejected him in favour of a more stable conservative in John Tory. During his brother's years as mayor the council also prevented Rob Ford from implementing some aspects of his destructive agenda and ultimately stripped him of many of his powers.

A number of people have pointed to the lack of representation that residents of Toronto will now have versus other communities in the province and a quick table I made below shows that this will become very pronounced should the change go ahead.

Sault Ste Marie: 1 Councillor per 6,114 residents
Peterborough: 1 Councillor per 8,177 residents 
Niagara Falls: 1 Councillor per 11,008 residents
St. Catharines: 1 Councillor per 11,092 residents
Thunder Bay: 1 Councillor per 12,162 residents
Sudbury: 1 Councillor per 13,461 residents 
Whitby: 1 Councillor per 16,293 residents
London: 1 Councillor per 27,416 residents
Hamilton: 1 Councillor per 35,794 residents
Ottawa: 1 Councillor per 40,620 residents

Toronto AFTER Doug Ford's attack: 
from 1 Councillor per 58,119 to one per 109,263 residents

This is personal. It is not about anything else.

The changes Ford wants to bring in, as others have again pointed out, are also totally outrageous given that they are happening during an ongoing election, with absolutely no public consultation and having just come out of a provincial contest where he did not raise the idea even once.

But, as awful as Ford's destructive agenda is, the problem for his opponents is that there really are some very deep issues with municipal democracy in Toronto. These issues alienate many from their council and councillors and I suspect that Ford's line about Toronto's government as "dysfunctional" will resonate because it is not entirely false.

Toronto wards are like fiefdoms and the power of incumbency in the city is such that getting elected to one is akin to inheriting a feudal duchy. The narrow political visions this promotes lend themselves to NIMBYism, nepotism and cliques of city power brokers. These issues effect the city's political class across the board on the both its right and its often sad, milquetoast "left".

It is remarkable how profoundly ineffectual the council has been on issues of fundamental importance to Toronto residents from transit to housing to infrastructure. To not recognize this is to fuel resentment and detachment from civic government.

It is also pointless to try to claim these problems are due specifically to the individual councillors involved. They are clearly more systemic than that.

Ford's slashing of the council's size will not remedy this at all, of course. The power of incumbency will likely be increased by having larger wards as incumbents will be harder to challenge financially and tactically. There is no reason to think doubling the geographic and population size of the wards will make their representatives any less prone to NIMBYism or make the council any less dysfunctional.

Still, simplistic narratives resonate when only one side in a debate are willing to acknowledge that a real problem actually exists.

While the left should do what it can in Toronto against this attack on the city it should also be fighting for other reforms to make Toronto more democratic and its government more responsive to the residents of the city as a whole.

Three ideas, among several, we could be looking at are:

Ranked Ballots 

Ranked ballots were actually supposed to happen for this election, though predictably the idea was dropped in the end. While ranked ballots do not necessarily work against incumbents what they do do is hurt the city's power brokers and cliques as well as undermining nepotism.

They do this by allowing people to vote with their hearts by ranking the candidates in order of preference. If no candidate gets 50% of the vote based on first choices, second and then third choices, etc., are counted until someone does.

When people can vote with their hearts candidates can no longer make the ultimately ugly and disempowering claim that they are the only "realistic" alternative to either an incumbent or challenger.

This one step would promote a much greater diversity of voices and candidates coming forward and being taken seriously as it would no longer be possible to paint voting for any candidate as somehow "wasting" your vote.

City Wide Lists

While I agree that slashing the size of city council -- especially in such a reckless way -- is a mistake, that does not mean continuing with the narrow focus ward system exclusively is necessarily a good idea.

A very strong case can be made that municipal democracy would be greatly enhanced with the addition of a certain number of city wide councillors elected from a general list to either compliment or equal a number, possibly reduced, of neighbourhood based wards.

City wide councillors would not be anywhere near as likely to be beholden to the NIMBYist narratives or local power brokers of specific neighbourhoods as ward based politicians are, and this would help in creating policy that is aimed at benefiting residents across Toronto as a whole.

Term Limits

Term limits would be so obviously beneficial in ending the absurdity of councillors who hang around election after election after election that it is abundantly clear why those with power don't want to talk about them.

No single change to Toronto's municipal government would do more to make City Council more democratic, diverse, open to new ideas and visions, and less driven by a desire to get reelected for life, than would term limits.

It is for this very reason that we do not have them.

Leftists in Toronto absolutely need to mobilize to stop Ford's dangerous assault on Toronto's democracy. But we should not stop there. There is a reason that Ford's message will resonate with more city residents than some would care to believe. While even many progressive city politicians have a vested interest in stating otherwise, Toronto's municipal democracy is not terribly healthy, dynamic or diverse.

Whether we succeed in stopping this specific attack or not, we should acknowledge that change is needed and that we should be discussing what this could look like and working towards it as opposed to simply defending a deeply flawed status quo.

See also: Chaos Theory: For Doug Ford disruption will be the plan

TTC fare fallacies -- Neoliberal delusions in transit costing

The start of the 2018 election season is nearing and fanciful neoliberal narratives about transit fares and the TTC are in full swing.

As 2017 ended an internal TTC report of questionable accuracy was obtained by the media stating that fare evasion allegedly "cost" the service $50 million a year (approximately 4.3% of fare revenue of around $1.16 billion) as opposed to the $20 million (or approximately 1.72%) previous studies and audits had stated. Councillors like Joe Mihevc said that they felt "vindicated" in their previous claims that fare evasion was a more serious issue than some claimed it was.

Meanwhile the TTC is moving ahead with a project to allow 2 hour transfers meaning that people will be able to pay a single fare and get on and off the system at will, in any direction and with stopovers in between, for a full two hours. This is projected to allegedly "cost" $20 million. Councillor John Campbell described the idea as more of an "open-ended cheque" and then displayed a total lack of understanding of who uses transit by claiming it would primarily benefit the well-to-do and tweeting a bunch of rubbish about Bay St. executives hopping on-and-off buses between power lunches. 

As we will see, both of these assessments of "cost" are predicated on notions of revenue that frame the TTC in ways that make no sense for what should be viewed as an essential public service.

To return to Campbell though, the point of a 2 hour fare window is to allow people to make trips to get groceries, take the kids to school, shop locally, etc. and return home without the burden of paying an extra $2.05 to $2.10 (for teens and seniors) or up to $3.25 for everyone else. It is not the well off who will take advantage of this, but rather students, people who do not own cars, the elderly and people making short trips.

In many cases these will end up being people who simply would not have used and are not now using the system in the absence of this fare window for these types of trips. This is a key point that also applies in the case of fare evasion and that renders many of these "cost" assessments fundamentally questionable.

As a personal example, I do not own a car. As I work out of home I also do not buy a Metropass generally. Some days  I still have to take my kids into school and their school is actually over 20-25 minutes away by foot. While in inclement weather I will use the TTC, if the weather is nice I will walk both ways to save the total cost of $6 - $6.50 (depending on if I use Presto or not). However, if the cost were only $3 - $3.25 for the entire trip due to the fare window I would be far more likely to use the TTC meaning that, in fact, on many school days over the last few years the TTC has lost at least my single fare because I would rather walk than pay for the trip both ways. This equally applies with a lot of local grocery shopping I do. I can assure you that I am far from alone on this.

In other words, many people cannot afford or do not want to pay as much as $6.50 for a local two (plus) way trip and so instead of possibly getting one fare from each of these people the TTC ends up getting nothing on routes that are running anyway. 

What we see here is that not only will having the fare window encourage positive things like local shopping and allow greater social mobility for those with low or fixed incomes, but that some of the "cost" assumptions (other than fixed ones like setup changes to systems) are based on the false idea that the return fare is being "lost" when in the much greater number of cases there would simply have been no fare to begin with.

Even if Campbell is right and some suits due to a new fare window suddenly want to use the TTC to gallivant around at lunch that would be better for the TTC in terms of revenue generation than them deciding not to use the system at all!

His argument fails not just in terms of social fairness and policy objectives, but also in terms of his own frame of fiscal reference.

Keep in mind what I said above as well. The buses, streetcars and subways are running regardless of whether any specific person uses them. These routes and the costs of running them as a service are already in place. These costs do not decrease if either I, a local elderly shopper or a Bay St. bistro enthusiast chose to walk instead of getting on for a ride. The only thing that changes is potential revenue and the opening of different transit opportunities for people, something that someone with an actual understanding of who uses public transit and why would be more likely to grasp.

This is the same problem with the way many exaggerating the significance of fare evasion frame matters as well. The primary cost that ends up being associated with fare evasion will almost always be the expense involved in trying to catch or prevent it.

All studies show that the vast majority of riders, whether it is 96% or 98% of them, pay their fares via the established and normal safeguards/waypoints in place. To begin with, this means that calls to spend more on enforcement are also calls to harass and make transit less pleasant for the overwhelming majority in order to attempt to "catch" a tiny, tiny minority. As I said in a previous piece related to this the "point is both that the enforcement measures are very expensive and that they don't only deter so-called 'cheats', they also deter everyone else" from using the system in the first place.

But further, regardless of how one views the small numbers of those evading the fares, the notion of lost revenue is, again, predicated on the idea that they would have paid to use the system if there was sufficient enforcement in place to totally prevent fare evasion (a notion as absurd and impossible as it would be exceptionally expensive to achieve).

Remember, as with the fare window riders, all the TTC routes are running whether 2-4 % of those riding them find ways to get on for free or not. As I have also pointed out in the past, creating the type of enforcement network that would put a serious dent in fare evasion "still would not generate new revenue for the system as in most cases these are riders who are hopping on to go a few stops or who do not have the money to afford to pay. If enforcement does succeed in deterring them all the time, they will simply not use the system. They will walk or find other means instead. The net gain financially to deterring this type of behaviour is actually negative as the TTC will have to spend a lot of money to stop people who were never going to pay in the first place."

These are truly examples of failing to see the forest through the trees.

The broader point is that public transit is something that we as a society allegedly want to promote and expand for essential environmental, social justice and social inclusion goals. We want to encourage people to get on buses, streetcars and subways. If we make it onerous (financially and in terms of scheduling) and unpleasant (in terms of over-enforcement or making it hard to board, etc.) to use transit fewer people will do so. If we make it easier, more flexible and more enjoyable more people will take "the better way".

We will go a long way towards achieving this if we always frame transit as a fundamentally important basic service and right for the public and the public good of the city and stop seeing it through a neoliberal lens that places the emphasis on "costs" as opposed to people.

Further Readings:

The TTC 'fare evasion' fraud and Toronto's fiscal chickens coming home to roost

Free transit: Three reasons it is an idea whose time has come

TTC fare increases continue Toronto's war on transit riders

Reality again derails Tory's fantasy SmartTrack plans

Joe Mihevc and Toronto politicians are "ripping off" the TTC -- Not transit riders!

Ontario Minimum Wage, Black Mirror, Woody Allen and more -- The Left Chapter Sunday Reading List December 31 - January 7

This week's list of articles, news items and opinion pieces that I see as must reads if you are looking for a roundup that should be of interest to The Left Chapter readers.

This list covers the week of  December 31 - January 7. It is generally in order of the date of the article's release.


1) Germany's largest union escalates fight for 28-hour work week

AFP

The largest union in Germany is bracing for a combative start to the new year as it presses demands for a 28-hour working week, warning employers to expect mass strikes in the battle for a better work-life balance.

Read the full article.

2) Canada's top CEOs earn 200 times an average worker's salary: report

 Sophia Harris, CBC News

​Shortly before 11 a.m. today, the average top-earning CEO in Canada will have already earned — in less than one work day — what the average worker makes in an entire year, says a new study.

Read the full article.

3) With shelters packed and people at risk of freezing to death, why can’t we do more?

Edward Keenan, The Toronto Star

We have community centres, libraries, civic centres. We have City Hall and the great hall of Union Station. We have heated buildings that the city owns that sit mostly empty at night. If people are freezing, let them in, Edward Keenan writes.

Read the full article.

4) Tory now willing to open Moss Park armoury to homeless

David Rider, The Toronto Star

Less than a month after voting against opening armouries as emergency shelter for homeless Torontonians, Mayor John Tory says the city is talking to Ottawa about quickly opening the Moss Park armoury until spring.

Read the full article.

5) Barry Sherman’s donations sometimes used to wield political influence

Victoria Gibson, The Toronto Star

Barry Sherman was the philanthropist who once yanked back more than $25 million in promised donations — to a university, two hospitals and an aid group — because he was unhappy with decisions made on Parliament Hill.

Read the full article.

6) Windsor council leader calls for removal of homeless before royal wedding

Harriet Sherwood, The Guardian

The leader of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, home to Windsor Castle, Eton College and Ascot racecourse, has demanded police use legal powers to clear the area of homeless people before the royal wedding in May.

Read the full article.

7) Freed to kill again – and again: Theodore Johnson and the truth about domestic violence


Paula Cocozza, The Guardian

This week, Theodore Johnson pleaded guilty to murdering his ex-partner – the third woman he has killed. Is this a uniquely tragic triple crime, or a systemic failure to take domestic violence seriously?

Read the full article.

8) Sen. Lynn Beyak publishes ‘outright racist’ comments about Indigenous people on her Senate website

Andrew Russell, Global News

Conservative Sen. Lynn Beyak, who faced a string of controversies in 2017 for defending residential schools, has published more than 100 “letters of support” on her individual Senate website, with dozens  containing language that First Nations advocates call racist or offensive.

Read the full article.

9) I read decades of Woody Allen’s private notes. He’s obsessed with teenage girls.

Richard Morgan, The Washington Post

Woody Allen is wrapping up a new movie. Just kidding: He doesn’t make new movies. What he’s editing now, “A Rainy Day in New York,” about a college-age love triangle, could, like any of his movies, instead be titled “A Woman Gets Objectified by a Man.” This, in his view, is the pinnacle of art, its truest calling and highest purpose. Especially when it involves young women who are compelled to lackluster men merely by the gravity of the men’s obsession.

Read the full article.

10) 'Black Mirror': How the New Season's Breakout Episode Guts Toxic Fandom

Jenna Scherer, Rolling Stone

It's a familiar image: a strapping, confident young white guy seated in the captain's chair of a spaceship, blaster at his hip, hair coifed just so, one elbow on the armrest, legs spread wide as if to say, "Mine is no tiny penis you are dealing with." He's a hero we all know, love and trust do the right thing in the end, whether it's James T. Kirk or variants like Han Solo, Peter Quill or Mal Reynolds. This is his story. He takes the lead. He gets the glory, and ever it shall be.

Except when it's 2018. And except when it's Black Mirror.

Read the full article.

11) Mumbai-Dalit strike latest: City plunges into chaos as workers from India's lowest caste walk out in spontaneous protest

Harriet Agerholm, The Independent 

Violence erupted in Mumbai and parts of the city ground to a halt after workers from India’s lowest caste went on strike to protest against attacks by right-wing groups.

Read the full article.

12) Former Manitoba grand chief files $1B class-action suit over bread price-fixing

Kelly Malone, CBC News

Derek Nepinak, the former grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, has filed a $1 billion class-action lawsuit against multiple Canadian grocers after Loblaw Companies said it participated in industry-wide bread price-fixing for 14 years.

Read the full article.

13) Oceans suffocating as huge dead zones quadruple since 1950, scientists warn

Damian Carrington, The Guardian

Ocean dead zones with zero oxygen have quadrupled in size since 1950, scientists have warned, while the number of very low oxygen sites near coasts have multiplied tenfold. Most sea creatures cannot survive in these zones and current trends would lead to mass extinction in the long run, risking dire consequences for the hundreds of millions of people who depend on the sea.

Read the full article.

14) Iceland believed to be 1st country to make equal pay mandatory in public and private firms

The Associated Press

A new law in Iceland is requiring all companies to prove that their wage practices don't discriminate against women, in what is thought to be a global first in the effort to reduce gender pay gaps.

Read the full article.

15) Treatment of women in Canadian prisons a human rights travesty

Vicky Mochama, The Toronto Star

Incarceration rates are soaring for women, particularly among Indigenous women. They face a variety of injustices, particularly the misuse of the security classification system, writes Vicky Mochama.

Read the full article.

16) 'I was being groomed to think this was normal': Actors sue director Albert Schultz alleging sexual harassment

Anna Maria Tremonti, CBC Radio

He's been a leading figure in this country's arts scene, but Wednesday, four women filed four statements of claim against Albert Schultz, casting the actor and director in a very different light.

Read excerpts/listen to full episode.

17) Numbers never lie: Proof that Kaepernick is being blackballed

Carron J. Phillips, New York Daily News

Nick Wright from FS1’s new morning show “First Things First” provided the evidence Wednesday that many have always known was true, but maybe couldn’t quite prove.

Read the full article.

18) Media get it wrong on Bank of Canada minimum wage study

 Michal Rozworski

Over a million workers in Ontario just got a big raise thanks to tireless, bottom-up orgainizing, but if you look to the media it’s a bad news story. The same, tired headlines are back. Yesterday, the CBC ran a story titled, “Minimum wage hikes could cost Canada’s economy 60,000 jobs by 2019”. Today, the Toronto Star’s front page blared, “Wage hike could cost 60,000 jobs, Bank of Canada says”.

Read the full article.

19) Why Tim Hortons doesn’t deserve your sympathy

Michael Coren, TVO

The point is that this long-overdue increase will give countless people a better chance to pay the rent and feed themselves, and any society that regards itself as civilized should surely allow its lowest-paid citizens at least a modicum of hope and dignity. As for the angry and often hysterical reactions, they were inevitable. “It seems to me the government has given us no choice but to leave" — not the words of an Ontario business owner in 2018, but of a Saskatchewan doctor in 1960, when Tommy Douglas introduced Medicare. Progress provokes pushback. Always has, always will.

Read the full article.

20) 'Minimum wage bully hotline' launched by Ottawa labour council

Joe Lofaro, CBC News

An Ottawa labour council has launched a hotline to publicly shame businesses cutting paid breaks and other worker benefits after the province's minimum wage hike.

Read the full article

21) On Tim Hortons, Minimum Wage, Conspiracy, and Unlawful Reprisals

David Doorey, Law of Work

Happy new year!

This story from the CBC on a Tim Horton’s franchisee penalizing its employees by taking away a list of contractual entitlements and blaming it on the new minimum wage is just too precious to ignore.  A similar story came emerged about Sunset Grill.  So it will be the subject of my first blog entry of 2018.

Read the full article.

22) Workers are under attack: Where is the ONDP?

David Bush, Rabble

It should be noted that the ONDP have better policy positions on workers' rights and labour law reform, but Wynne and the Liberals have taken over the ground the ONDP ceded. They have message discipline on the issue, and they frame it along class lines bytalking about bully bosses, and they champion the low-wage workers. They are the Liberals, so we know this is opportunistic, but who gave them this opportunity? The ONDP leadership only has to look in the mirror.

Read the full article.

While from 2016, definitely worth reading again.

23) A report that analyzed every minimum-wage hike since 1938 should put a bunch of nonsense ideas to rest

Nick Hanauer, Business Insider

From the fear-mongering headlines marking passage of $15 statutes in New York and California, you would think nobody ever dared raise the minimum wage before.

Read the full article.

See also: Ahed Tamimi, Poverty in America, the Arctic and more -- The Left Chapter Sunday Reading List December 24 - 31

See also: Nepal, Israel, Venezuela, Honduras and more -- The Left Chapter Sunday Reading List December 17 - 24