Alexander Dowsey

Opinion: Edmonton doesn't have to be the frostbite capital of the world Severe frostbite injuries are entirely preventable - together, let’s work towards a city where no one gets left out in the cold.

Edmonton has had a disturbingly high number of frostbite amputations the last two winters. With freezing temps on the way, both the City and the Government of Alberta must do more to prevent people from freezing in the cold. edmontonjournal.com/opinion/colu... #ableg #yegcc

Reading the histories of Edmonton in the 1930's where pro business councillors repeatedly used local police to beat down on people in poverty under the same pretenses, it really hammers home how little that narrative has changed over the last century.

Equally applicable to here in Edmonton where conservative and "progressive" councillors alike, parrot the exact same lines around "safety concerns" when what they are really talking about is visible poverty, but villainising the poor is a longstanding tradition in Edmonton City Hall.

Hip-hop group Kneecap barred from entering Canada for supporting 'terrorist organizations' | CBC News The Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap has been banned from entering Canada over what the federal government says is their "open endorsement of terrorist organizations."

It was stupid when the UK government accused them of being terrorists, which was then withdrawn, it's even more stupid now that Canada is doing the exact same thing.

www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

Continuing the long tradition of using the NWC for garbage policies like preventing marriage equality, compensation for victims of the Alberta eugenics program, and so on, it should be an indication that the policy is, in fact, bad. Shocking I know #abpoli

"I never thought the leopards would ban Atlas Shrugged"
🥺👉👈

It is always amusing to see these kinds of governments, which deliberately use vague language to get around laws prohibiting discrimination, and then get shocked when that vague language is implemented (by them) and causes pandemonium because they've left it so badly undefined.

Almost like the government put no thought at all into the potential knock-on effects of passing a deliberately vague and generalised ministerial order in July, whoever could have possibly anticipated that? Certainly not the government 🤔 #abpoli

There are already numerous systems in place to let parents decide if they want their child to be educated in certain subjects, which is the correct obligation the public system (emphasis on public) should have, not prohibiting everything related to those subjects for all students.

If I was still working as a cook and a parent came up to me at the buffet where you can choose your food options, and demanded that I remove an option for everybody because their child didn't like it, I'd tell them no. Because that's absurd.

If you are uncomfortable with your child reading certain books, the answer is to have a level conversation with them about what you do or do not want them to be reading, not prohibiting everyone else from reading because you are incapable of parenting properly. #abpoli

oop- who said that? 👀

'Is this elbows down?': Manitoba premier questions Canada's removal of retaliatory tariffs | CBC News Manitoba's premier is questioning the federal government's decision to drop most counter-tariffs against the United States, saying he doesn't want the prime minister to start taking an "elbows down" approach.

Agree with Wab on all points.

"The premier said he would instead like to see the federal government remove tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles so that country would drop its duties on canola, "if we're in the business of removing tariffs." "

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

With recent reports that the American government has illegally detained hundreds of Canadians since Trump was re-elected, I'm surprised that we're seemingly rewarding that behaviour by capitulating to them for no reason. Really inspiring stuff.

Ahh yes because America has shown that it's adhering to reason and interested in mutual partnership? You'd think we would have learned from history that appeasement doesn't work on megalomaniac dictators, but apparently, we haven't. #cdnpoli

You bet 😂 the public spaces bylaw "renewal", the encampment clearing framework, bridge funding for Bissel East and BSCS, police funding, police commission, I've been at odds with the current council most times I've spoken there over the last 4 years lolol.

But at the end of the day, population decline in rural Alberta doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon, and as long as that continues then redistricting is going to continue to reflect those changes.

Another would be proportional representation, but something tells me the UCP wouldn't be keen on that even though it would mean ensuring some degree of representation for their voters in larger urban areas, and could accommodate a larger number of representatives more generally.

One answer, despite the complaints of some at these preliminary hearings, is actually meaningfully increasing the number of MLA's, population disparity is only going to grow, and the less that representation keeps up with that, the larger rural ridings will inevitably become.

The issues presented by some of the submissions around rural riding inflation are absolutely real, but @daniellelarivee.bsky.social really nailed it with her commentary about hybrid ridings, forcing together such different needs often fails both rural and urban communities and then nobody is happy.

I'm not sure that overt gerrymandering is as tolerated by the Albertan public as the UCP seems to think it is, but then they haven't got the best track record of having their finger on the pulse of much of anything lately. #abpoli

YEG for Gaza We are a coalition mobilizing support for two Palestinian women in Edmonton who have families in Gaza. Since Israel began its intensified siege and genocide they have been supporting their immediate a...

I'm donating to two Palestinian♀️in #Edmonton with families displaced in #Gaza. The goal: $10,000/month in recurring donations, to help 100s of people, currently scattered through Deir Al Balah, Gaza City, Jabalya, & Khan Younis / Al-Mawasi. Details here:

chuffed.org/project/yegf...

We aren't a colony of Britain or France anymore; we don't need to be kissing the bruised egos of the countries that kicked this whole shitshow off in the first place by making stupid recognition conditions to match theirs.

Canada making demilitarisation a condition of recognising Palestine while it is literally IN THE PROCESS OF BEING INVADED BY ISRAEL is so utterly stupid, and so on-brand. We actually can recognise Palestine without conditions that are clearly unreasonable, given the circumstances.

"activation", every time I hear it being used as a stand-in for something like a festival or gathering, I puke a little bit, it's so corporatised it's become gross.

So congrats. We're "staying in our lane", using what powers the city does have to punish people experiencing visible poverty, and then washing our hands of any kind of responsibility for anything else. If that's your solution, I'm not voting for you.

There have been outbreaks of shigella, increased risk of frostbite and amputations, and the worst drug poisoning statistics on record. If those aren't the indicators of a failing strategy, what is?

Because what has given any indication at all that the cities hostility towards unhoused people has solved anything at all. There are now 3x as many people who are unhoused now compared to 2021, the number of camp clearances has gone up, and unsurprisingly that has done nothing but hurt people.

If, after the last four years, you are running for city council or mayor in Edmonton and still propose doubling down on camp clearances and increasing police presence as a solution to the crisis on our streets, then I have serious concerns about your competence and critical thinking skills.

I equally don't understand the frequent "well you knew what you signed up for so suck it up" line, directed towards LITERAL DOCTORS WHO EVERYONE SHOULD AGREE ARE VITALLY IMPORTANT AND DESERVE TO BE COMPENSATED ACCORDINGLY.

I really don't understand all the nonsense arguments against the potential for another doctors' strike here in the UK, when we know that even with the 20% pay increase from the last strike, doctors still have lower real wages than in 2008.