tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59766460805668808622024-03-13T05:23:39.851-04:00your heart's on the leftmusings on health and politicsJesse McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05809707984126529952noreply@blogger.comBlogger109125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976646080566880862.post-29654193186652481952018-11-01T08:42:00.000-04:002018-11-01T08:42:39.107-04:00Who's really abusing paid sick days?
Ontario's Bill 148 includes 10 Personal Emergency Leave (PEL) days, the first two of which are paid, and an end to sick notes for minor illnesses. But Ontario Premier Doug Ford considers these minor reforms "disastrous." With his government's proposed Bill 47, Ford wants to bring back sick notes, eliminate the paid days, cut PEL days to eight and restrict them further -- allowing only Jesse McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05809707984126529952noreply@blogger.com94tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976646080566880862.post-9746832464179693662018-10-19T13:58:00.000-04:002018-10-19T13:58:29.643-04:00To end hallway medicine, defend Bill 148
Doug Ford campaigned on a promise to end
hallway medicine, but this can’t be done by implementing corporate demands to
scrap Bill 148, along with further healthcare cuts. From a higher minimum wage
and equal pay, to paid sick days and fair scheduling, to easier unionization,
Bill 148 has many health implications—and is part of the process of rebuilding
public healthcare and ending hallway Jesse McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05809707984126529952noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976646080566880862.post-26164745207101983942017-11-17T12:38:00.001-05:002017-11-17T12:38:54.038-05:00Medicalizing high blood pressure
This week I
developed hypertension, not because my blood pressure increased but because new
guidelines lowered the threshold for defining what is abnormal. In the US,
this has doubled the number of hypertensive women under the age of 45, tripled
the number of hypertensive men under 45, and increased the overall rate of high
blood pressure from a third to nearly half—and more than half for Jesse McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05809707984126529952noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976646080566880862.post-35783180895085107132016-01-05T18:13:00.000-05:002016-01-05T18:13:53.284-05:00Mandela and anti-colonial struggles
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Millions around the world are mourning the loss of the
symbol of the anti-apartheid struggle, Nelson Mandela. But people are mourning
for different reasons. Most are mourning a freedom fighter who spent 27 years
in jail for his opposition to colonialism and racism. Most are mourning a
symbol of international solidarity, who spoke out against the Iraq War,
supported peopleJesse McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05809707984126529952noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976646080566880862.post-53456744011260701712015-12-12T16:32:00.000-05:002016-01-05T18:24:59.851-05:00Photo essay: holiday carolling for decent work
To build holiday cheer, the Fight for $15 and Fairness wage brought carolling outside and inside Toronto's Eaton’s Centre, to celebrate the retail workers who are helping us prepare for the holiday season.
To the tune "Deck the halls":
Now’s the time for fifteen dollars
Fa la la la la, la la la la
We need wages we can live on
Fa la la la la, la la la la
Full time work should keep us Jesse McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05809707984126529952noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976646080566880862.post-20721231868668579482015-12-11T12:32:00.001-05:002016-01-05T18:24:39.731-05:00'Cowspiracy" or capitalism: what's causing the climate crisis?
Cowspiracy shines a light on the carbon emissions of the animal agriculture industry, but its beam is so narrow that it leaves the rest of agriculture and the economy hidden from view, and elevates dietary choice to political strategy.
Like many people, Kip Anderson watched Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth and was frustrated by the limited lifestyle choices to stop climate change—like bike Jesse McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05809707984126529952noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976646080566880862.post-37183981295911765342015-11-30T16:24:00.002-05:002016-01-05T18:23:55.599-05:00Photo essay: 25,000 march for climate justice in Ottawa
November 29 was a sglobal day of climate action, with hundreds of thousands of people taking part in thousands of actions across the world. In Ottawa 25,000 people from across Canada and Quebec came together on unceded Algonquin territory to say--and to spell in massive numbers--that climate solutions and climate justice is 100% possible.
Last month people voted for change at the Jesse McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05809707984126529952noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976646080566880862.post-80542404406275102902015-10-05T10:46:00.001-04:002016-01-05T18:23:39.368-05:00Photo essay: Toronto Disability Pride March
Saturday October 3 was the fifth annual Toronto Disability Pride
March. As the organizers explained, the march is to
* bring recognition of the struggles and value of people
with disabilities as we fight against ableism and other forms of oppression
* be visible and show that we have a voice in our community
and a right to be heard by taking to the streets
* celebrate and take pride Jesse McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05809707984126529952noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976646080566880862.post-32193509652076954762015-09-19T16:05:00.001-04:002016-01-05T18:23:16.240-05:00The climate jobs leap
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Jesse McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05809707984126529952noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976646080566880862.post-75877665130288518702015-09-07T14:58:00.000-04:002016-01-05T18:22:54.231-05:00Photo essay: Toxic Tour 2015
Canada’s Chemical Valley completely surrounds Aamjiwnaang
First Nation
Petro-chemical companies poison the earth
They poison the animals
They poison the water
They poison the people
New refineries and new pipelines, like Line 9, threaten to
bring even more toxins
And even more spills
But Indigenous youth are rising up
And urging usJesse McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05809707984126529952noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976646080566880862.post-75393309261698246282015-08-09T13:32:00.001-04:002016-01-05T18:22:08.161-05:00Linda McQuaig is right: leave the oil in the soil
“Oil has become
the elephant in the room,” Linda McQuaig wrote in It’s
the Crude, Dude: Greed, Gas, War and the American Way. Turns out it’s
the Canadian way as well. As Toronto Centre NDP candidate, McQuaig stated a
simple fact on CBC’s Power and Politics: “a
lot of people recognize that a lot of the oilsands oil may have to stay in the
ground if we’re going to meet our climate change targets.Jesse McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05809707984126529952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976646080566880862.post-25850540137175981952015-07-27T23:01:00.003-04:002016-01-05T18:21:30.500-05:00Photo essay: Black Lives Matter-Toronto
“No justice, no peace! No racist police!”
“Justice for Jermaine Carby!”
“Black is not a crime!”
“Black Lives Matter!”
“Not another life!”
"Indict, convict: send that killer cop to jail. The whole damn system is guilty as hell!"
“We don’t die, we multiply!”
“They can’t stop the revolution. Black power is the solution!”
“Shut it down!”
"I Jesse McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05809707984126529952noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976646080566880862.post-54943206604405186572015-06-15T15:32:00.000-04:002016-01-05T18:21:16.497-05:00Photo essay: Toronto rally against cuts to refugee health
Today was the fourth annual
and largest day of action against cuts to refugee health—organized by Canadian Doctors for Refugee Care
and with support from other health providers, students and refugee advocates.
In 2012, then Immigration
Minister Jason Kenney announced drastic cuts to the Interim Federal Health
Program, claiming it would save money and promote fairness. These cruel cuts
Jesse McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05809707984126529952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976646080566880862.post-84494788519820413312015-06-12T10:33:00.001-04:002016-01-05T18:20:58.997-05:00Line 9: exporting oil, ignoring consent
Any day now, Enbridge
could begin using the 40-year old Line 9 pipeline to pump toxic tar sands to
the east coast. While Line 9 ends in Montreal and Enbridge claims it is for
domestic use only, residents in Maine have exposed Big Oil’s ultimate goal of
export. Meanwhile, an upcoming legal appeal by the Chippewas of the Thames
First Nation has highlighted the lack of consultation and violationJesse McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05809707984126529952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976646080566880862.post-34655486225646167972015-02-05T12:16:00.000-05:002016-01-05T18:20:44.847-05:00Support home care workers
While the
Ontario government cuts hospitals and downloads care onto the community, and
Community Care Access Centre CEOs give themselves hefty pay hikes, both have
forced frontline health workers onto cold picket lines to fight a wage freeze.
Cutting and privatizing healthcare
For years the
Ontario Liberals have cut healthcare and closed hospitals, including five
planned hospital closuresJesse McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05809707984126529952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976646080566880862.post-17470071774964225692015-01-26T11:43:00.000-05:002016-01-05T18:20:32.684-05:00Makayla, cancer and colonialism
The tragic death
of Makayla Sault—who died of leukemia after stopping chemotherapy—has triggered
a backlash. “First
Nations parents can now doom their sick children,” warned the Toronto Star. “Dying, because her
parents were likely weak and uninformed, possibly misled, and our institutions
could not find the backbone to protect this child,” wrote an infuriated doctor
in the Ottawa Citizen. “Jesse McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05809707984126529952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976646080566880862.post-91454370185535352342015-01-09T14:20:00.000-05:002016-01-05T18:19:11.387-05:0010 crimes of John A Macdonald
Rather than a
celebration of the “father of Confederation,” the 200th birthday of
John A Macdonald on January 11 provides an opportunity to remember the history
of Canada’s first Crime Minister—and the ongoing movements undoing his legacy.
On
January 11 there will be state-sponsored glorifications of John A Macdonald
across Canada, but also Indigenous-led teach-ins about his real legacy. Jesse McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05809707984126529952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976646080566880862.post-40404020214799216852014-12-23T10:45:00.000-05:002016-01-05T18:18:51.815-05:00Celebrating the Christmas Truce of 1914
This week marks 100 years since the
Christmas truce of 1914—which is usually dismissed as a minor episode of the
First World War, sanitized as a celebration across all the ranks, or used as a commercial to sell chocolate.
But the accounts of soldiers themselves show that it was widespread and in some
places long-lasting, driven by rank-and-file soldiers and only stopped through
repression Jesse McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05809707984126529952noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976646080566880862.post-79825258687036685612014-12-18T11:57:00.001-05:002016-01-05T18:18:36.793-05:00Breaking the code about WWII
Building support for the latest US war,
Hollywood seems bound by a code to produce at least a movie a year glorifying
World War II by portraying the Allied countries as bastions of human liberation.
By telling the true story of Alan Turing, The
Imitation Game has broken the code.
Turing was a
British mathematician who worked at Bletchley Park, a secret centre for
cryptographers who were Jesse McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05809707984126529952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976646080566880862.post-24156083942738993912014-11-25T21:02:00.000-05:002016-01-05T18:18:19.956-05:00From Mike Brown to Jermaine Carby: Toronto rallies for justice
Less than 24 hours after a St. Louis grand jury failed to indict police officer Darren Wilson for killing Mike Brown, Toronto rallied with cities across the country to say that Black lives matter.
Wilson shot the unarmed Black teenager six times and got away with murder. Meanwhile dozens of Black people have been arrested for protesting the lack of justice.
Three thousand people Jesse McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05809707984126529952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976646080566880862.post-3803268004593742402014-10-27T10:46:00.000-04:002016-01-05T18:18:07.665-05:00Harper's crocodile tears for fallen soldiers
Harper claims
his “thoughts and prayers” are with the family and friends of Warrant Officer
Patrice Vincent and Corporal Nathan Cirillo, the two Canadian soldiers tragically
killed last week. Then why is he sending troops to kill or be killed in Iraq,
while cutting pensions to veterans amidst rising suicides? If they "gave their lives so that we can live in a free, democratic and safe society,"Jesse McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05809707984126529952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976646080566880862.post-10704348834431239302014-09-26T14:10:00.001-04:002016-01-05T18:17:44.489-05:00This Changes Everything, including Naomi Klein
This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs the Climate is a must-read
guide to the climate justice movement. It summarizes the science of climate
change, the extractivist industries driving it, the system to which they are
connected, and the growing resistance. Through her dynamic style, Naomi Klein
describes the changes in the climate, the changes in the movement, and inspires
us to change Jesse McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05809707984126529952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976646080566880862.post-51608099688591114772014-09-22T13:29:00.000-04:002016-01-05T18:17:17.777-05:00Photo essay: the People's Climate March
18 months ago saw the largest climate march in US history,
as 40,000 people marched on the White House. Yesterday saw up to 10 times that
number march on the UN climate summit demanding climate action.
This reflects the urgency of the climate crisis that is
quite literally a matter of life and death. The destruction of all of earth’s
species, the death of the oceans, carbon emissions Jesse McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05809707984126529952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976646080566880862.post-66010245010614867612014-09-15T17:30:00.000-04:002016-01-05T18:17:04.854-05:00Stopping Harper's long awaited Iraq War
As hundreds of
thousands of people across Canada marched against the Iraq War in 2003, Harper demanded war. The mass
movement stopped Canada from officially participating in the war, but Harper’s
support continued. After first copying the Australian Prime
Minister’s speech supporting the invasion, Harper wrote to The Wall Street Journal that Canada not joining the war was “a
serious mistake. Jesse McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05809707984126529952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5976646080566880862.post-76440005656353187302014-08-11T12:15:00.002-04:002016-01-05T18:16:36.239-05:00Photo essay: Toronto marches with Gaza
Israel’s latest attack on Gaza has killed nearly 2,000 people including hundreds of
children, and has attacked hospitals and UN compounds. But Palestinians are continuing
to resist the attack and siege on Gaza and occupation of Palestine—and are inspiring solidarity movements
around the world.
Thousands took to the streets of Toronto as part of a global
day of action, which included Jesse McLarenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05809707984126529952noreply@blogger.com1