ken.dra downe (they/them)

If journalists don't have the experience to assess the relevance of what's being reported to the claims made by news sources, they have a responsibility to seek out sources who can speak to this. There is a real opportunity here to influence policy change, and framing matters.

New data on household food insecurity in 2023 We've summarized the latest data on food insecurity in 2023 from Statistics Canada's Canadian Income Survey. In 2023, 8.7 million Canadians, including almost 2.1 million children, lived in a food-inse...

The reporter who wrote this article only included input from the FI's director of fiscal studies. While it's true that income tax rates for higher-income earners in Canada are rising, data from the University of Toronto also shows that food insecurity is rising for the lowest-income earners.

According to Stat Can's latest data, 71.9% of people in poverty spend over 30% of their income on housing, compared to 20% of the overall population. Low-income Canadians have no choice but to rely on a lower % of income to meet other needs like food and clothing, compared to higher-income earners.

This analysis fails to consider the actual socio-economic realities of Canadians, and takes for granted the ability of low-income Canadians to meet their basic needs and access the same economic opportunities as higher-income Canadians.

The Hub accurately reports that the top 20% of earners in Canada pay a disproportionate amount of tax compared to the bottom 20%. Underlying the claim that this is unfair is the assumption that the best measure of income tax fairness is the % of income tax paid to the % of income earned.

High-earning Canadian families pay over 50 percent of all taxes in Ontario, Alberta, B.C., and Quebec: Report

TL;DR: bad journalism!
In a climate of misinformation and misleading analysis, journalism requires analytical skills to determine the relevance of what's being reported to the claims made by news sources. Take, for example, this piece by The Hub reporting on a new study from the Fraser Institute:

It's only autism if it comes from the Tylenol region of France otherwise it's just sparkling persuadoscience

Running out of ideas, eh Maclean's? Why not argue that Canada needs a one cent piece too?

ffs...

this is so scary

Do whatever you can for Lubna's family, if it's sharing, donating, whatever it is, help them get to safety. Every life saved is a whole world saved.

Please help however you can, this is a good way to help multiple families. 🍉❤️

Meet Carney's Indigenous Advisory Council The prime minister's newly appointed council is stacked with business and economic development leaders — as well as one vocal critic of Bill C-5.

Carney's new Indigenous Advisory Committee under Bill C-5 was not selected by Indigenous Peoples, and the Privy Council Office has not responded to questions about who was consulted and how the consultations were carried out.

a black and white typography edit. there is white text that reads "don't want to see trans people? pluck out your eyes." in the middle of the design is a hand holding a scorpion by the tail. between the scorpion's claws is a human eyeball. the entire image is edited to look photocopied.

one of my most popular designs

Given the housing and healthcare crises, etc. in this province, why the f*ck are we wasting time on this shit?

The CAQ has just made it illegal for my healthcare practitioners and any public service representative to address me with my proper pronouns, effectively implementing a provincial mandate of misgendering, which research shows to have very real health impacts on trans and non-binary people.

A New Bill in Québec Could Create an ‘Exception’ to Every Worker’s Right to Strike Québec’s CAQ government is proposing limitations to the right to strike that could apply to almost every worker in the province

Don't you just love it when your province breaks constitutional law (again and again and again)??

Reasserting Sovereignty: Defending Treaty Nations and challenging the governments of Canada and Alberta We, the tribal peoples of Onihcikiskwapiwin—Saddle Lake Cree Nation, Kehewin Cree Nation, Onion Lake Cree Nation, Beaver Lake Cree Nation, Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, Ermineskin Cree Nation, Louis Bull...

First Nations in Treaty 6 territory call on the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to hold Alberta and Canada accountable for breaking Treaty agreements and failing to meet Treaty obligations. The Premier of Alberta continues to encroach on and profit from Treaty lands.

More of this!

that sounds very cool

tell us more

I sincerely hope this means we start to prioritize safer air (hepas, ventilation) and hygiene (masking when sick, staying home when possible when sick). Also, more and more, on top of covid, it's looking like avian flu is mutating toward a pandemic. We could be prepared.

that's powerful

The newest installment of Canada's imperial extractivism. The state continues to deny political rights for people in the Global South. This trade deal protects mining companies' rights to sue Ecuador for any action or policy that interferes with business, which violates the country's constitution.

Tell us the fishing gossip

Wishing you luck!

That's hard, I'm so sorry 💙

Canada’s proposed high speed rail shouldn’t be a public private partnership - CCPA The federal government’s announcement on February 19 that it will pursue an electrified high speed rail (HSR) project from Toronto to Quebec City is welcome news. A national infrastructure project of ...

New from @policyalternatives.ca: Canada is long overdue for high speed rail. But the recent announcement of HSR in the Quebec City-Toronto corridor has a major problem—it's a public-private partnership. By @simonenoch.bsky.social and @hadrianmk.bsky.social
www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...

I'm trying to figure out what this means for me as an anarchist interested in law. How should we transform the way we engage with the legal system? Legal information professionals working with cultural advisors? Peer support networks coordinated by communities and mentored by legal professionals..?

Yes, communities urgently need access to equitable legal representation. But what they need more is the ability to self-represent, which requires access to legal information and support in navigating the practices and organizational culture of the legal system. Anyway, this isn't a new take.