Luc Cousineau

Potential CUPE strike action A message to students, faculty and staff from Wanda M. Costen, PhD, Provost and Vice-President Academic

Sorry about the potato image - read the post on the labour relations site here: www.dal.ca/dept/hr/labo...

Message from Wanda M. Costen, Provost and Vice-President Academic at Dalhousie University, dated October 17, 2025, informing students, faculty, and staff about a potential CUPE Local 3912 strike. The notice explains that the strike could begin as early as October 21 if negotiations on October 20 are unsuccessful. It outlines possible impacts on classes and course delivery, emphasizes that most classes will continue, and directs students to their faculties for specific updates. The message expresses hope for a resolution and acknowledges the importance of CUPE members in university life.

Oh yes, you understand that correctly. The @Dalhousie.bsky.social administration has walked itself straight into another job action through its unfair treatment of its employees.
When are we going to collectively make a statement that the problem is the leaders, not the workers?

#KeepDalStrong

Photograph of a billboard with a photo of a child riding a bicycle and reads "There will never be a bell loud enough a helmet strong enough or clothing bright enough to make up for poor infrastructure". It is branded with the Vision Zero Vancouver logo and a QR code.

Don't let the craziness of the world let you forget about the fact that failure to create spaces where pedestrians and cyclists can be safe in cities is a moral failure of government and elected officials.

People die.

They do nothing.

It is shameful.

#Guelph #VisionZero #TrafficCalming

What is NSPM-7 and why it matters This post covers the basics of the new US Security Directive NSPM-7 and why knowing about this matters to us at CIFRS and should absolutely matter to you as a Canadian. This is serious stuff that you…

You know about NSPM-7 and why it matters?
No? You should. It is a National Security order in the US that criminalizes dissent. That should matter to you.
You can read about why it matters in my new post with @CIFRS.org.

Know about NSPM-7? Read the blog anyway.

www.cifrs.org/post/what-is...

Well, just gonna put this pre-made lasagne into the oven to cook and...HOLY SHIT! 32 MINUTES IN THE MICROWAVE?!

That is how we got the ninja turtles in an alternate timeline. I'm sure of it.

Just gonna leave this here for the @dalhousie.bsky.social admin as a reminder of how they might better think about their current situation and jobs.
No Dal without @dalfaculty.bsky.social and we will bring the school forward.
#KeepDalStrong

Today I am attending the GEO Nova Scotia Forum (geonovascotia.ca) on #DigitalInclusion.
Just heard the #NovaScotia Minister of Cyber Security and Digital Solutions announce that this week is now "Digital Inclusion Week in Nova Scotia".
This is, and I can't stress enough, a nothingburger. No action.

"Faith in the AI boom has recently been rattled by research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which showed that 95% of organisations are getting zero return from their investments in generative AI"

Maybe this is why we need journalism and analysis rather than "faith" in tech oligarchs

Israel has continued to illegally intercept vessels from the Sumud Flotilla.

As Canada says it's “not able to guarantee the safety of Canadian travelers, or to provide them with security and protection abroad," the people are defending the flotilla.

Protests are sparking around the world:

UBC Okanagan Debates - UBC's Okanagan Campus Discover UBC Okanagan Debates—a community event that brings together renowned experts to discuss timely topics and model civil discourse in a polarized world.

I've been invited to participate in the UBCO Debates series this month.

The topic: Masculinity in Crisis 💪

Should be a great night on October 21.
If you are in Kelowna, consider coming out.

Info here: ok.ubc.ca/ubc-okanagan...

#Debate #PublicDiscourse #Masculinity #PublicScholarship

Photograph of Tim Walz giving a speech. He is speaking forcefully and points in the air.

Appreciation post for Tim "walk up the damn stairs" Walz who is one of the people saying the shit we are all thinking. 💪🔥

FFS I hate this timeline...

Trump is Lying About Antifascism As an antifascist organization ourselves, we can help explain antifascism and why the far-right in the United States and Canada see us as an obstacle that has to be cleared in order to carry out their...

Last week, Trump declared “Antifa” a domestic terrorist organization.

This is why the far-right in the US & Canada see it as an obstacle that has to be cleared in order to carry out their smash-and-grab of the political establishment. 👇

🧵
www.antihate.ca/trump_lying_...

Poster for the Dalhousie CUPE 3912 Rally on Friday, October 3rd at 1:30 PM at Henry Hicks Quad. Includes event details such as a debrief on Thursday's conciliation session, meeting the strike committee, and a Q&A. Features images of rally participants and a call to action: 'Bring your friends and help us show Dal we need a fair deal now!' Social media handles and CUPE 3912 logo are also present.

The fight for fair wages, compensation, and working conditions at major public institutions like @dalhousie.bsky.social IS NOT OVER!

The @dalfaculty.bsky.social will be right back to this in just 2 1/2 short years, but our colleagues in CUPE 3912 are in it right now!

Support them!

#KeepDalStrong

Camp Menesetung Camp Menesetung is a subsidized Summer Camp (Overnight & Day), Outdoor Education Centre, and Leadership Training Facility located on the shore of Lake Huron just north of Goderich, ON. Canada.

Based on a project that I did with my excellent colleague Dr. Mandi Baker and Camp Menesetung (www.campmenesetung.ca), we are giving a webinar with the ACA on October 21st.
Interested in #SummerCamp? #Inclusion? Welcoming #LGBTQIA+ #youth?
This is for you.

acai.wildapricot.org/event-6280906

Oh, you thought because I wasn't angry posting every day about the stupid @dalhousie.bsky.social lockout that I had calmed down about the whole thing and everything was ok?

Nope.

The semester is a dumpster fire 🔥🔥🔥
Students are rightfully pissed 🤬🤬🤬
and I'M 👏 FUCKING 👏 TIRED 👏

#KeepDalStrong

Protest poster with a yellow background and bold black text reading: 'STUDENTS BETRAYED, FUTURES AT RISK. CLASSES CANCELLED. SCHOLARSHIPS GONE. FUTURES BLOCKED.' Includes a broken diploma scroll illustration and the hashtag #KEEPDALSTRONG.

No question, when @Dalhousie.bsky.social tells students that they will not receive any tuition concessions for the reduced course time, content, and learning caused by Dal's lockout of @dalfaculty.bsky.social, they are clearly stating they care more about student money than students.
#KeepDalStrong

Guelph woman dies after pickup truck hits family in crosswalk Incident happened at the intersection of Alma Street and Paisley Road early Friday evening

This isn't an "accident". It is a grotesque failure of policy, government, municipalities, and citizens to privilege life and safety over cars.
We should be absolutely ashamed by every pedestrian death.
#PedestrianSafety
#ActiveTransportation
#CititesForPeople

www.guelphtoday.com/police/guelp...

This is so painfully correct.

Jimmy Kimmel is a symptom of a huge problem: a concentrated media ecosystem beholden to corporate whims.

Canadian media struggles with this too.

Consider Global News' management making Ben Mulroney a top political host.

It's a worryingly partisan decision, especially given what I just uncovered:

Photograph of Mr. Rogers in a yellow cardigan sweater overlaid with the text "No one needed to add "context" to Mr. Rogers quotes when he died..."

That's it. That's the post about no one in particular.

Trump says he’s designating Antifa as a terrorist organization | CNN Politics President Donald Trump said he is designating the far-left anti-fascism movement Antifa as a terrorist organization, announcing the move on his Truth Social platform in the early hours of Thursday mor...

I, for one, am shocked that the fascists would declare the anti-fascists a terrorist organization.
😯😯😯

This can also be your semi-regular reminder that we don't have a terroristic far-left in North America and really never have.

The idea that we do is propaganda.

www.cnn.com/2025/09/17/p...

Photograph of a paved path through a meadow with a black and white dog in the distance. The sky is wide, blue, and cloudless. The colours of the grasses are the straw yellow and green of late summer/early fall.

Well, the ratification vote closes at 11:59am this morning and will likely end the lockout by @dalhousie.bsky.social of the @dalfaculty.bsky.social.
Remember folks that they never have YOUR best interests in mind.

Don't work for free.
Work starts TOMORROW.
Delete emails.
Take a walk.
#KeepDalStrong

Labour disruption ends: Dalhousie Board of Governors and DFA reach tentative agreement

You have perhaps seen this breaking information about the @dalhousie.bsky.social lockout.

www.dal.ca/dept/hr/labo...

Don't put the cart before the horse here. None of the DFA general membership has seen the deal, and WE get to decide what happens next.
Is just ANY deal good?
no.

#KeepDalStrong

Surrealist-style illustration featuring a melting clock, inspired by Salvador Dalí, set against a background of flowing, wavy lines. Overlaid text reads: 'Students can't wait. Research can't pause. Hope belongs in classrooms. #KeepDalStrong.

Well, here we are, still locked out by @Dalhousie.bsky.social.
They are keeping students out of class.
They are stopping research from happening.
They are preventing new grants for Dal.
They have already withheld $10M from Faculty.

Do THEY have Dal's best interests in mind?

#KeepDalStrong

When Dementia Steals the Imagination of a Children’s Book Writer

If you are (or your kids are) Robert Munsch fans, please take the time to read this article about him.
It is very well written and gives food for thought about our own mortality, the mind, and how we maintain who we are.

#ChildrensBooks
#Canada
#CanadianAuthors

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/14/m...

Can we also spend a minute to acknowledge the fact that also in the US, also a few days ago, two ACTUAL POLITICIANS were killed in what the US Attorney calls "a political assassination" and we aren't talking about it?
This bullshit isn't about anything other than far-right accelerationism.

A person with a face that looks annoyed stands in front of a door holding a sign that reads 'Still LOCKED OUT,' with 'Still' handwritten in red above the printed words.

That's it. That's the post.
Week 4
#KeepDalStrong

A poster titled 'STUDENTS PAY THE PRICE FOR THE LOCKOUT' outlines the consequences of a faculty lockout on students. It lists impacts such as cancelled classes disrupting academic progress, lost semesters affecting scholarships, co-op placements, and graduate school opportunities, tuition being paid without teaching delivered, and growing financial stress for both undergraduate and graduate students. The poster includes illustrations of two concerned students holding diplomas, a broken piggy bank, and an exam paper marked with an 'X.' The message concludes with the statement: 'WHEN FACULTY ARE LOCKED OUT, STUDENTS ARE LOCKED OUT OF THEIR FUTURES. #KEEPDALSTRONG.'

Make absolutely no mistake and don't be fooled by the game of PR slight-of-hand being played by the administration of @Dalhousie.bsky.social.

They locked us out.
They have not bargained in good faith.
They tell you half-truths.
They are hurting students & Dal.

Support Labour.

#KeepDalStrong

People missing an important point about folks getting fired for whatever they said about Charlie Kirk: Americans are being conditioned to be snitches on their fellow citizens who don’t toe a party line on what is “allowed” to be expressed. And employers are going along. It’s the new secret police