Bernie (the Canadian one)

Infographic with dark background and teal border. Large yellow text asks 'What's really squeezing small businesses?' with 'squeezing' in red text. Below is an illustration of a hand gripping green dollar bills. White text states 'Our 5-year Toronto analysis shows that fixed costs - rent, insurance & utilities - are increasing far faster than minimum wages.' Bottom shows Better Way Alliance logo with tagline 'Where Good Business Grows' and yellow arrow.

Infographic showing 'Retail rent up 142% since 2019' in large yellow and red text. Contains two data visualizations: a year-over-year comparison chart showing decline from $19.54 in Q4/19 to $17.39 in Q1/20, and a commercial retail square footage chart comparing Q3/23 ($28.01) to Q3/24 ($47.21), showing 68.5% increase. Bottom text reads 'For a 1,000 sq. ft. space, that's +$27,670 extra/yr after 5 years.' Data credited to Toronto Regional Real Estate Board. Better Way Alliance branding at bottom.

I spent last month analyzing Toronto business costs to figure out what's actually squeezing small businesses.

Turns out commercial rent jumped 142% over 5 years while wages went up 23%. For a typical 3 employee micro-business, rent increases cost $1,540 MORE per year than wage increases.

👇👇👇

If I had listened to the cynics, Calgary wouldn't have bike lanes, or a new library, or East Village, RiverWalk, the Peace Bridge, downtown office conversions, or even community gardens. My advice? Use the well-being of future generations as a guide and march confidently passed the naysayers.

I love this so much. More of this please.

Buy Canadian!

Love it 🇨🇦!

Oh, it's good to see this.

Here's hoping

Damn right it's a great help.

Remembering renowned conservationist and researcher Dr. Jane Goodall | Colorado Public Radio World-renowned conservationist and scientist Jane Goodall has died at the age of 91. Ryan Warner spoke with Dr.

Long week. For the weekend, here's something Jane Goodall told me in 2015:

"Too often we're told, 'think globally, act locally.' If you think too long globally, you become depressed. But twist it around, you act locally and see what you and your friends can do to make a difference."

Signalgate 2.0, this time not about plans for attacking Houthis in Yemen, but sending the 82nd Airborne to Portland, Oregon

Israel has been doing this from the start. They have killed dozens of UN troops.

And despite Israel shooting and abducting Irish citizens, Ireland maintains relations with Israel.

Macron remarks are notable- some quotes: "We have been incredibly naive in entrusting our democratic space to social networks that are controlled either by large American entrepreneurs or large Chinese companies, whose interests are not at all the survival or proper functioning of our democracies."

Canada's Mark Carney is Headed To Washington Next Week. No Deal IS, And Always Has Been, The Point Why Carney’s Washington trip next week matters—and why refusing baseline‑tariff “deals” protects Canadian sovereignty

open.substack.com/pub/deanblun...

I was just talking about this on stream. Like how something like this would happen if all social media required us to upload our photo IDs and other government documents.
It's a hackers dream for this to be happening.
And yep it happened already
*Sigh*

When you hire the incompetent, expect incompetence.
There's a difference between being new on the job and being a republican DEI hire

🍁 facts

Listening to this at the moment

Orwell took a bullet in the throat fighting the movement that birthed the sort of insidious "1984" shit these tech fascists are relentlessly pushing into every inch of our lives for vast profits.

Affordability struggle: 46,000 Nova Scotians being left out of heat rebate program Affordability issues, including food prices, minimum wage, are the talk of the day at Province House

"The living wage in Nova Scotia this year, according to @ccpanovascotia.bsky.social, is $27.60." In comparison, the newly increased minimum wage is much lower at $16.50. #canlab www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/...

Canada can’t buy its way out of a bad tariff deal Ottawa must stop chasing tariff relief at the expense of Canadian workers, resources and sovereignty.

ICYMI: No deal is better than a bad deal. Ottawa must stop chasing tariff relief at the expense of Canadian workers, resources and sovereignty. By @marclee.bsky.social and @ccpa-tirp.bsky.social director Stuart Trew. @policyalternatives.ca #cnpoli www.niagarafallsreview.ca/opinion/cont...

Okie dokie everybody. I see we're gonna be doing some scapegoating on anarchists in the national narrative. So Imma help you out & get you into the fact, not fiction, about anarchism, with this selection of books from @akpress.org
www.akpress.org/books.html?f...

Toronto ER costs, visits by frequent patients reduced with new housing model | CBC News The Dunn House, a long-term housing project with easy access to healthcare, is helping 48 of Toronto's most-frequent visitors to the ER. The program has greatly reduced the number of hospital visits a...

Toronto ER costs, visits by frequent patients reduced with new housing model #Housing #Toronto #Ontario

Local hospitals saved $1.66 million after 48 residents moved into Dunn House, says doctor

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

China is putting enormous solar farms on water because they want to use land for agriculture

'Scary' low water levels in N.B. are the new normal, says environmental scientist | CBC News Environmental scientist Colin Forsythe says water levels in some parts of the province are lower than they were a century ago — and this could be the new normal.

'Scary' low water levels in N.B. are the new normal, says environmental scientist #NewBrunswick

Low water levels a product of drought and lack of snow from winter, says scientist

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

Warning: Beware of Android Spyware Disguised as Signal Encryption Plugin and ToTok Pro ESET uncovers ProSpy and ToSpy Android spyware posing as Signal and ToTok apps in U.A.E.

Your “Signal” app might not be Signal at all!

Two spyware strains—ProSpy & ToSpy—masquerade as Signal and ToTok to infect Androids—and they’ve been active for years.
One version hides by launching the real app—while stealing your files, messages, and contacts.
#CyberSecurity #spyware

Whoa, I love this from Carroll O'Connor. I've never listened to this interview before!

I don't know that I'd separated him from his character. My bad

New radio studio at Sooke Museum aims to boost community storytelling The Sooke Radio Society is opening a new broadcast studio inside the Sooke Region Museum and Visitor Centre

The Sooke Radio Society is opening a new broadcast studio inside the Sooke Region Museum and Visitor Centre

B.C. First Nations want meeting with Carney about salmon, need for open-net farm ban First Nations in British Columbia are calling for a meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney to discuss protecting and reviving wild salmon.

First Nations in British Columbia are calling for a meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney to discuss protecting and reviving wild salmon.

Minimum wage increases in Ontario today. But is it enough to keep up with inflation? The boost in minimum wage will reflect the increased cost of living but still isn’t enough to live off of according to some economic researchers.

“The minimum wage is not anchored in any concrete measure,” [@ricardotranjan.bsky.social] said, adding that it is a political decision. “It has no direct relation with the cost of living.” @policyalternatives.ca #canlab www.thestar.com/news/ontario...