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1 month ago | 
socialistalternative.ca | Violet Forrie |Bill Hopwood |Tim Heffernan
Mark Carney won with a landslide — supported by 86 percent of the over 150,000 Liberals who voted. After nearly a decade of Justin Trudeau, the Liberal party has found a new face for business as usual. Freeland, who came a distant second with 8 percent of the votes, differed little from Carney on policy. Trump, international trade, the economy, and militarism dominated the discussion. What really defined Carney as the frontrunner was his appearance of separation from Trudeau.
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Jan 17, 2025 | 
socialistalternative.ca | Bill Hopwood |Ray Goerke
Trudeau is going, but the uncertainty and turbulence are not over. The Liberals are scrambling to choose a new leader by March 9, and very soon after that they will face electoral defeat. Storm clouds of Trump’s new presidency loom with his threats of 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods and his proposal to make Canada the 51st state. Liberals Limping to DefeatAfter months of slow death agony, the crumbling Liberal government is now near its demise.
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Dec 6, 2024 | 
socialistalternative.ca | Arne Johansson |Tim Heffernan |Bill Hopwood |Keely Mullen
UN climate summit an expected failureThe main purpose of COP29, the twenty-ninth UN climate summit — this time held in the oil dictatorship of Azerbaijan — is said to have been to devise a plan for how rich countries can support poor countries’ financing of climate adaptation and transition.
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Oct 29, 2024 | 
socialistalternative.ca | Bill Hopwood |Ray Goerke
Nine days after the polls closed on Saturday, October 19, the outcome of BC’s election is becoming clearer. The BC Conservatives, which only four years ago got less than two percent of the vote and elected no one, with many candidates who had outlandish and bizarre views, nearly won. They were running against the NDP — a sensible, moderate party, which won nearly 50 percent of the votes four years ago. With two recounts planned, the NDP has the smallest number of seats for a majority, 47 districts.
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Aug 23, 2024 | 
socialistalternative.ca | Tim Heffernan |Leslie C. Kemp |Bill Hopwood |Violet Forrie
Canada’s rail network is shut down. The two companies, Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City, that control the country’s railroads locked out their 9,300 workers just after midnight on August 22. This follows months of an impasse in negotiations. The workers, members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, voted 99 percent for strike action. This overwhelming mandate shows their determination to fight for a strong contract and stand up to the big rail corporations.
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Jul 31, 2024 | 
socialistalternative.ca | Bill Hopwood |Chris Fofonoff |Allie Pev
The town of Jasper has been consumed by fire, with 30 percent of its buildings (homes, hotels, and businesses) destroyed. Parts of this majestic park are now ash. The conditions were terrifying. A wall of flames up to 100 metres high ripped through the town. Emergency responders without breathing apparatus had to withdraw as the smoke was so bad. Strong winds drove the fire, traveling five kilometres in 30 minutes.
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Jul 13, 2024 | 
socialistalternative.ca | Bill Hopwood |Tim Heffernan
Trudeau’s carbon bomb has arrived. At the end of May, the first tankers started shipping diluted bitumen from the Trans Mountain pipeline (TMX). The expanded pipeline will be able to fill 34 tankers every month, compared to the previous capacity of 5 a month. All this extra fuel will add to the CO2 in the atmosphere, further increasing climate disasters.
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Jul 1, 2024 | 
socialistalternative.ca | Bill Hopwood |Tim Heffernan |Allie Pev
WestJet’s bosses seriously misjudged the temper of their nearly 700 mechanics, members of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA). The workers had rejected a tentative agreement by a stunning 97 percent in early June. It was crystal clear that the company’s offer was not good enough. Yet the company, according to the union, repeatedly delayed returning to the table after the union made its last offer on June 26, two weeks after the members rejected the company’s earlier proposal.
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May 30, 2024 | 
socialistalternative.ca | Tim Heffernan |Bill Hopwood |Bruno-Pierre Guillette
The University of McGill in Montreal is in the midst of a wave of unionization and militancy not seen for over 50 years. Strikes and actions of unions and student groups have rapidly followed each other on campus over the past few months. The pro-Palestine encampment, which began on April 27, 2024, is the most recent demonstration. The students’ actions come as part of a broader renewal of the labour struggles, with 2023 seeing the most days on strike in nearly 40 years.
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Apr 17, 2024 | 
socialistalternative.ca | Tim Heffernan |Corey Snoek |Bill Hopwood |Lev Lynds
“Axe the (carbon) tax” argues Pierre Poilievre. Given the source, one could be tempted to automatically respond, “keep the tax. Taxes are never popular but, along with death, they are said to be the only certainties in this world. So, what is the carbon tax? A carbon tax directly adds a surcharge on top of market prices for fossil fuels (oil, gas and coal) burned by households and small businesses. It is calculated based on the carbon dioxide released in burning.
