Government and Democracy

Canadians need a strong media sector

This column originally appeared in the Toronto Star.

When Canadians need them most, media outlets are being forced to trim their budgets, and newsrooms, as the pandemic continues to hit the bottom line.

The pandemic, now almost a year long with many dark months still ahead, is both the cause of much of media’s immediate troubles, and one of the big reasons we need it.

Paid sick days needed

This column originally appeared in the Globe and Mail

People are going to work sick. They always have. The difference is now it’s deadly.

In Alberta, major outbreaks at a meat packing plant have seen hundreds contract COVID-19 and too many deaths. People reported going to work even as they displayed symptoms, under pressure from their employers to come in.

Jason Kenney claws back arbitration rights

Alberta’s so-called Restoring Balance in Alberta’s Workplaces Act makes subtle but dangerous changes to the Labour Code that restricts provincial....