Monica Kidd

Erasing the city.

Measles outbreaks are costing the U.S. millions of dollars. The true losses can't be counted. As vaccination rates decline, the economic consequences will increase, research suggests.

Measles is costing the U.S. millions of dollars. The true losses can't be counted. www.nbcnews.com/health/kids-...

Last March I visited Vanuatu for my coastal erosion research. I met a group of extraordinary women and made a short doc about the realities they face with climate change. Yesterday I submitted to some film festivals — fingers crossed!

“Carceral settings function as epidemic amplifiersopens in a new tab or window. Overcrowding, rapid population turnover, and inadequate infection control intensify transmission inside these facilities.”

In this follow to my original piece about the 2025 measles outbreak in Alberta, I report on my access to information request to get numbers on perinatal outcomes related to measles. There were too many redactions to form any real picture except that bad outcomes were bring tracked and not shared.

Please join Eveline and me for our photographic exploration of coastal erosion and its impacts on places and people. At cSPACE in Calgary. Opening reception Thurs March 5 6-8 pm.

Huge news for me today! My book about coastal erosion will by published by Harper Collins Canada in 2027. This project started 2+ years ago when I found a human skull on a beach that had rolled down from an eroding graveyard and has evolved into a global exploration of risk and loss and resilience.

Living on Earth: Ice Visions As winter settles in over the northern hemisphere people find creative ways to get outside and enjoy nature. For environmental journalist and photographer Erik Hoffner, winter is a time for ice skatin...

I love this. A beautiful elegy for ice in a warming world.
@erikhoffner.bsky.social

www.loe.org/shows/segmen...

Just going to leave this right here.

Thank you @mongabay.com. Thank you Santo Sunset.

This week, the man who drives the Calgary Transit bus my kid takes to school noticed one of his riders had left behind a binder. He took the binder to the school and made a point of talking to the principal to tell him how courteous the kids at his school are. This, in a city of 1.5 million. ❤️

Hey look, it's another chance encounter with wild animal! Thanks to @canadianpoets.bsky.social for republishing.

When a stroke strikes in Syria The stretcher burst through the ambulance doors on a sweltering coastal evening, its burden a fragile grandmother, with skin parchment-thin and breath like a candle about to gutter. I was the duty res...

A Humanites piece we just published over at @cmaj.ca about how war continues to gut a health care system decades later. www.cmaj.ca/content/198/...

My thoughts from the ecocriticism conference on "Erosion" I attended in Galway last summer, over on Substack. #coastalerosion #climatechange #Ireland

This guy. Mark Bragg had a stroke, nearly died, went through months and months of rehab, and fought his way back to the stage. We saw him last night at The Ship Pub in St. John’s with his band The Butchers. An incredible performance in a room filled with love. Look up his music. You’re welcome. :)

Big sea on today in St. John’s.

I’m honoured to have been chosen for the Writers' Guild of Alberta’s 2026 Mentorship Program. I’ll be working to help shape Ryan’s work of literary fiction.

Overheard while waiting in line at my neighborhood bookstore. Young man speaking to (?) father: “I didn’t think there were bookstores anymore.” Then paying for my things and having the clerk ask me if I’d like to sign copies of my book. How to smash a writer’s heart and fix it right back up again.

Bro, Enough with the Protein. You’re Just Making Expensive Pee Experts say the hype around the latest dietary must-have has become a farce

I love this article. open.substack.com/pub/thewalru...

This fall the govt of Alberta has trammeled the rights of trans youth and striking teachers. It’s ramming through an oil pipeline to BC in spite of opposition from most coastal First Nations. I could go on. Albertans have no right to feel superior to what’s happening south of the border.

Involuntary treatment for substance use: application of Kass’ ethical framework to Alberta’s Compassionate Intervention Act Key points In Canada, more than 50 000 opioid-related deaths have occurred since September 2024, mostly in British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario, where governments are all in various stages of develo...

A must-read commentary about Alberta's new approach to involuntary treatment for substance use from Dr. Bonnie Larson. www.cmaj.ca/content/197/...

Public and private health care The Canadian Medical Association conducted a series of national consultations to inform our policy on public and private health care.

The CMA spent a year studying public and private health models and consulting with more than 10,000 Canadians on the balance between the two. The evidence is clear: where a parallel private health system operates, both health outcomes and access to care are worse.

Learn more 👇

Alberta’s private health proposal will leave more Albertans waiting longer for care: CMA Doctors across Canada are deeply concerned that the Alberta government’s proposed private care plan will leave more Albertans waiting even longer to access health care.

Doctors across Canada are deeply concerned that the #Alberta government’s proposed private care plan will leave more Albertans waiting even longer to access health care. The CMA is calling on the government to reconsider this proposal, and focus on known solutions to support public health care.

Alberta government undermined health authority to push lab privatization deal, A-G report finds Report details issues throughout the procurement process including miscalculated cost savings and failures to assess Dynalife’s financial vulnerabilities

Alberta government undermined health authority to push lab privatization deal, A-G report finds. There were issues throughout the procurement process, including a failure to assess Dynalife's financial vulnerabilities, by Matthew Scace www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alber... via @theglobeandmail.com

How many private-pay surgeries are being done? Where? On whom? By whom? For what? As @monicakidd.bsky.social explains, the lack of publicly available information about private-pay surgery raises serious questions about industry accountability. thewalrus.ca/private-health-c...

How did Canada go backwards on Measles prevention and what now?

Thanks to Ben O'Hara-Byrne for the opportunity to talk about Canada's recent loss of measles elimination status and the analysis I did for the December issue of The Walrus. @thewalrus.ca

open.spotify.com/episode/1is9...

A family friend for decades, Arden came by today to collect scion from Mom’s apple trees to see if we can start a new generation.

What a deep honour it is to find a book I wrote included on a mural in St. John’s depicting books as buildings, and commenting on how central storytelling is to the fabric of the city and province and people. ❤️

Statement from the Public Health Agency of Canada on Canada’s Measles Elimination Status Following over 12 months of transmission across the country, PAHO confirms Canada's loss of measles elimination status. We are coordinating efforts with provinces and territories to restore the status...

This just out: Canada no longer holds measles elimination status. See my recent analysis in The Walrus. www.canada.ca/en/public-he... @thewalrus.ca

"Hope is more elegant than despair" Reporting on climate

"Hope is more elegant than despair"
open.substack.com/pub/monicaki...