Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, September/October 2016 Contributors Simon Enoch ongoing contributor to the Jeremy Appel is Director of the CCPA’s Trade and Investment Vol. 23, No. 3 is a Toronto-based journalist Saskatchewan Office of the Research Project and ISSN 1198-497X whose work has appeared Canadian Centre for Policy Alternative Federal Budget. Canada Post Publication 40009942 Alternatives. He holds a PhD on TVO.org, in the Toronto Jim Silver in communication and culture CCPA Monitor is published six times Sun, the CCPA Monitor is Chair of the University of a year by the Canadian Centre for from Ryerson University and numerous campus Winnipeg’s department of Policy Alternatives. with a research interest in publications. He has a urban and inner-city studies, corporate social responsibility The opinions expressed in the CCPA master’s degree in American which runs an off-campus and political ecology. Monitor are those of the authors studies from Western program in Winnipeg’s and do not necessarily reflect University in London, Ontario. Melissa Graham North End, and has been the views of the CCPA. Taylor Bendig is a social worker and an active member of the Please send feedback to disability activist living in group working over the past [email protected]. is a Regina- born and based researcher and historian, and Toronto, Ontario. She is the decade in Lord Selkirk Park. Editor: Stuart Trew a graduate of the University founder and co-organizer His latest book is Solving Senior Designer: Tim Scarth of Regina’s journalism of the Toronto Disability Poverty: Innovative Solutions Layout: Susan Purtell program. Aside from his work Pride March, now in its from Winnipeg’s Inner City Editorial Board: Peter Bleyer, sixth year. She contributed (Fernwood Publishing, 2016). Kerri-Anne Finn, Seth Klein, Kate with CCPA-Saskatchewan, he McInturff, Erika Shaker, Emily Turk was a researcher for the North writing to the upcoming He is a founding member Central Community History edited collection Mobilizing and member of the steering CCPA National Office: Project, the Connaught School Metaphor: Art, Culture, and committee of the CCPA- 500-251 Bank St., Ottawa, Disability Activism in Canada Manitoba. ON K2P 1X3 Centennial History Project, and maintains the blog Sit tel: 613-563-1341 and the Saskatchewan Andrew Stevens Down, Fight Back. fax: 613-233-1458 Government and General is Co-editor of Rankandfile.ca [email protected] Employees’ Union Centennial Asad Ismi and Assistant Professor, HELP US SHED LIGHT ON THE www.policyalternatives.ca History Project. Twitter: @ccpa is an independent journalist industrial relations facebook.com/policyalternatives Davida Bentham and activist who covers and human resource international affairs for the management, at the ISSUES THAT MATTER TO YOU. CCPA BC Office: is an activist and community Monitor. University of Regina. 1400-207 West Hastings St., organizer in Saskatoon, Vancouver, BC V6B 1H7 Treaty 6 territory. She Naomi Klein Taylor-Anne Yee (we’ve got some bright ideas) tel: 604-801-5121 is a law student at the is an award-winning is an environmentalist and fax: 604-801-5122 University of Saskatchewan [email protected] journalist, syndicated social advocate who loves and is passionate about columnist and author of the video games, bunnies and her CCPA Manitoba Office: environmental, immigration, international bestsellers, prairie home of Saskatoon, Unit 205-765 Main St., Winnipeg, and Indigenous rights and This Changes Everything: Saskatchewan. MB R2W 3N5 reconciliation. Tax receipts are issued for contributions of $15 or more. tel: 204-927-3200 Capitalism vs The Climate MAKE A DONATION fax: 204-927-3201 Angela Carter (2014), The Shock Doctrine: [email protected] is Assistant Professor in The Rise of Disaster Capitalism (2007) and No Logo (2000). I would like to make a monthly contribution of: I would like to make a one-time donation of: CCPA Nova Scotia Office: the department of political OR P.O. Box 8355, Halifax, NS B3K 5M1 science at the University of Erica Violet Lee $25 $15 $10 Other ____ $300 $100 $75 Other ____ tel: 902-240-0926 Waterloo. She researches is a Nēhiyaw writer, student [email protected] comparative environmental and community organizer. CCPA Ontario Office: policy regimes surrounding She has a BA in philosophy PAYMENT TYPE: 10 Dundas Street East, oil developments, primarily and political studies from the I would like to receive my P.O. Box 47129, Toronto, in Alberta, Newfoundland and University of Saskatchewan I’ve enclosed a cheque (made payable to CCPA, or void cheque for monthly donation) subscription to The Monitor: ON, M5B 0A1 Labrador, and Saskatchewan. and lives in inner city tel: 416-598-5985 VISA MASTERCARD I’d like to make my contribution by: By e-mail [email protected] Emily Eaton Saskatoon, a few blocks from is Associate Professor in the where the first Idle No More Mailed to my address CCPA Saskatchewan Office: teach-in was held in winter CREDIT CARD NUMBER: 2nd Floor, 2138 McIntyre Street department of geography Don Sparrow Regina, SK S4P 2R7 and environmental studies 2012. This month’s cover artist is a No Monitor, thanks EXPIRY DATE: SIGNATURE: tel: 306-924-3372 at the University of Regina. Rachel Malena-Chan professional illustrator who fax: 306-586-5177 For a photographic and is a climate justice organizer trained at the University [email protected] accessible overview of oil and community health of Saskatchewan before in the province please see researcher in Saskatoon. moving on to Canada’s CONTACT INFORMATION her newly released book prestigious Sheridan College, Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood (with photographer Valerie where he completed a post- Name Return this form to: Zink), Fault Lines: Life and is a researcher at the CCPA graduate course in advanced Landscape in Saskatchewan’s where he focuses on federal illustration. In his spare 500-251 BANK ST. Oil Economy (University of and provincial climate change time, Don writes plays, plays Addresss OTTAWA, ON K2P 1X3 Manitoba Press). policy in Canada. He is an baseball and reads comics. 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Yes, I prefer to receive my tax receipt Please do not trade my name with other and updates by email. organizations. REGISTERED CHARITY #124146473 RR0001 ON THE COVER Getting to know Brad /16 With help from guest editor Simon Enoch, director of the CCPA-Saskatchewan, the Monitor takes a closer look at the Wall government’s social, environmental and labour policies, and their worrying appeal beyond the prairies. SEPT/OCT 2016

Behind the Numbers Fraser Institute fudges case for new export pipelines /David Hughes /6 Canada Post’s reality check is in the mail Erika Shaker /7 Should we end the alcohol monopoly in Quebec? Julia Posca and Simon Tremblay-Pepin /8 IN THE NEWS Note from the editor Why Canada needs Black Lives Matter /2 Anthony Morgan /10 Letters /4 FEATURES New from the CCPA Edward Said’s surprising conversation with climate /9 justice /Naomi Klein /39 Index: Labour reform and repression in France inclusive Asad Ismi /45 growth /11 Arts The good news page Competing paths to urban renewal: Jim Silver /38 considers Sylvie Tissot’s Gentrifying Diversity /47 Rianka Singh reviews Michael Prince’s Struggling For Social Citizenship /51 Jeremy Appel considers a Hillary Clinton presidency with Queen of Chaos author Diana Johnstone /52 Note from the editor Stuart Trew More than a rambling man

N LATE AUGUST, Saskatchewan Pre- a new saw mill), Crescent Point En- gal forms of job action persist in the mier Brad Wall told CTV Saska- ergy (the province’s largest tight oil “prolonged period of mediation and toon he was the proud new owner producer), Husky Energy (for heavy conciliation…required before work of Waylon Jennings’ 1973 Cadillac oil thermal projects), R.I.I. North stoppages can commence.” El Dorado convertible. “It’s kind of America (“enhanced” oil recovery Subsequent labour reforms in the an outlaw car,” he said. “I think it’s through steam injection), BHP Bil- 2014 Saskatchewan Employment Act Igot a bit of an a†itude.” It sure does. liton (carbon capture and storage) satisfied “the ideological marker of The El Dorado makes no apologies for and the K+S Potash Canada (for a the Saskatchewan Party and its po- burning up 23 litres of gasoline per new mine). “Saskatchewan supplies litical allies,” yet stopped short of un- 100 km of road. For comparison, a ful- energy to Canada and to the world,” ion busting, writes Stevens. Though ly loaded Ford F-350 Super Duty pick- he said. “What we do here makes Can- the law—alongside the privatiza- up truck (one of the most common- ada a be†er place. What we do here tion of liquor stores and increased ly stolen vehicles in the province, by makes the world a be†er place.” use of P3s for social infrastructure— the way) can go the same distance on At a recent CCPA retreat in Toron- further empowered capital and un- less than 10 litres of fuel. On a trip in to, the centre’s Saskatchewan direc- dermined union influence, the Wall the new car with his daughter, Wall tor, Simon Enoch, argued convinc- government’s consultative process blew out a tire and damaged the radi- ingly that the rest of Canada should and public relations strategy killed ator. It had to be towed back to Swi‘ pay closer a†ention to “what we do” any hope labour might have had Current for repairs. in his province, because it is proba- in resisting the bill or finding a bet- For a vintage car lover, these are bly not making Canada or the world ter balance. “Indeed, conservatism the costs of turning back the years, of a be†er place. Wall, like his El Dora- in the province maintains a human going back to yesterday, as Jennings do and the climate-changing oil it face,” Stevens argues: the Saskatch- and fellow country singer Hank Wil- consumes, may be a relic in some re- ewan Party earned a good many un- liams both crooned. Gas guzzling can spects, but the Saskatchewan Party’s ion votes and enjoyed a nearly two- be a fun and relatively low-impact variety of conservatism—the way it thirds public approval rating as of hobby over short distances. Unfor- has taken on labour, its exploration this spring. tunately, the a†itude makes for dan- of new private funding options for Deregulation has been more bla- gerous public policy. The fossil fuel social services, its light-touch regu- tant in the oil and gas industry than economy is pushing the world’s eco- latory approach to unconventional in labour legislation. Angela Carter systems to a breaking point while of- resource development, its populist and Emily Eaton ask whether cur- fering workers and impacted com- appeal—is both innovative and at- rent hydraulic fracturing regulations munities false hopes of sustained tractive provincially and outside the are truly as “comprehensive” and “ro- prosperity. But as other provinces Prairies. Wall’s policies and the way bust” as the Wall government claims figure out ways to transition off oil he delivers them clearly warrant clos- (page 20). They find, on the contra- and gas, to encourage the creation er a†ention. ry, that the Saskatchewan model— of more employment-intensive sec- For example, one of the first piec- absentee environmental assess- tors with fewer environmental costs, es of legislation introduced by the ments and poor inspection, industry Saskatchewan is entrenching the im- Wall government (in 2008), the Pub- self-service and self-regulation—is portance of extraction for job growth lic Service Essential Services Act, “ef- more like a “Wild West” for extractors and public revenues. fectively prohibited a cross-section big and small. “The province has not In the legislature this spring, Pre- of public sector employees and their even implemented requirements for mier Wall followed his throne speech unions from engaging in job action companies to publicly disclose the promise to support innovation—for should employers deem the work to chemicals they use to frack—a min- example, tax incentives to commer- be ‘essential,’” writes Andrew Stevens imal request in jurisdictions, includ- cialize new technologies—with a list (page 17). Though the Supreme Court ing Texas, taking the most hands-off of recent investments in the prov- declared part of the bill unconstitu- approach to regulation.” ince: Edgewood Forest Products (for tional in a 2015 ruling, barriers to le- 2 In part, we can blame the political vate partnerships, explains Taylor sustainability—not only in the pro- influence of industry (which makes Bendig (page 35), in that they help vincial economy but also nationally, significant campaign contributions governments keep spending “off the as a spoiler in conversations toward to the Saskatchewan Party and NDP) books,” since the initial investment a Canada-wide carbon tax and en- for the province’s weak environmen- comes from the private sector, which hanced Canada Pension Plan. tal rules. As Davida Bentham points is paid back over several years based And herein lies the illusion behind out in her column (page 30), the prov- on the success or failure of the pro- Wall’s “friendly” conservatism. Sas- ince is “led by a premier who has re- ject. There are problems with how katchewan’s economy is not unlike jected climate change science and and by whom success is evaluated, the El Dorado, both as an anachro- the Leap Manifesto as ‘misguided why private finance is required at all nism of the fossil fuel era and myth- dogma that has no basis in reality,’” in social service delivery, and wheth- ical treasure (the land of gold) that and who has “taken it upon himself er ultimately SIBs “will be used as an can never be found. The main reason to be the travelling spokesperson for excuse to avoid restructuring govern- the Wall government could afford tax TransCanada’s proposed Energy East ment funding models toward long- cuts, deregulation, lavish resource in- pipeline.” But this support is not en- term commitments.” This is a devel- centives and big spending on infra- tirely bought or even ideological: opment anyone concerned about so- structure and capital projects was be- as long as people are dependent on cial programming should be watch- cause of the influx of resource reve- carbon-intensive jobs for their liveli- ing carefully. nues from oil, gas and potash. With hood, they will back leaders who vow Wall and the Saskatchewan Par- the crash in commodity prices, the to protect them from turmoil. ty won the 2007 election based on government can no longer sustain “Many people in Western Can- a list of guiding principles that be- this spending, but it also refuses to ada agree with Wall’s a†itude to- gins with private sector–led growth raise taxes and is posting large defi- ward climate policy, reflected in the and job creation, “smaller, less intru- cits. renewed majority his government sive, more efficient government,” Instead, the electorate is now be- won in April’s provincial election,” and lower taxes coupled with bal- ing offered what the government writes Rachel Malena-Chan (page anced budgets. It was the trifecta of calls “transformational change,” spin 31) in her article on how to be†er modern conservatism—in the prov- for what could become large spend- communicate the case for econom- ince that brought us national public ing cuts to health, education and oth- ic transition. “Progressives need to of- health care and pioneered the co-op- er social services. The fact the first fer a more salient story that takes erative movement—sold to a weary and deepest cuts have been against into account people’s fears and inse- electorate on further promises to seniors, the poor, the disabled and curities and makes meaning of, rath- strengthen the social safety net and First Nations does not inspire op- er than preys upon, their most basic make “government more responsive timism for the future. It does, how- desire to be OK.” This becomes more to the people it serves.” Over near- ever, present opportunities for pro- urgent as commodity markets tum- ly a decade, the premier has used gressives to gear up their alternatives ble, destabilizing employment in the his built up goodwill to undermine to Saskatchewan’s resource depend- province. BHP Billiton CEO Andrew the progressive goals of equity and ence. M Mackenzie suggested in mid-August his company could mothball the mul- ti-billion-dollar Jansen mine east of Saskatoon if potash prices don’t re- cover. Likewise, as Carter and Eaton explain, farmers are increasingly de- pendent on income from land leas- es to oil and gas companies, even if Like what they o‘en have grievances with the industry. As reduced royalties and taxes on you’re reading? cheaper resources shrink public fi- nances, the Wall government is pio- Consider making a donation to neering new ways of delivering social the CCPA’s Saskatchewan Research Fund services. Social impact bonds (SIBs) dedicated to research on issues affecting are used more and more frequent- the province. ly in the U.K. and U.S. to supply ser- vices (e.g., inmate rehabilitation and SEND CHEQUES WITH THE MEMO "I HEART SASKATCHEWAN" child services) normally delivered by TO THE CCPA'S NATIONAL OFFICE (SEE MASTHEAD FOR ADDRESS) the public sector, but Canada’s first OR CALL US AT 613-563-1341 TO MAKE A DONATION. is just concluding in Saskatchewan. The bonds are a bit like public-pri- 3 Harper’s militarism. All justice in Canada outside reducing or eliminating the parties have drunk of Canada. It was another public services, yet they the neoliberal Kool-Aid. European power struggle, cite no evidence to support The left needs to voice its and Europe is soaked in that claim. In fact, there is concerns strongly just to blood. The Europeans evidence to the contrary. restore balance! have fought each other in Retired senator Hugh hundreds of wars, including What happened to the Segal, now Master of six world wars. This war sixties concept of “tell Massey College, has was a futile meat grinder of it like it is”? We need to supported the idea of a Leers a conflict, a war that solved reclaim words like “left” BIG for decades, and has nothing, proved nothing, and “socialist,” educating been consulting with the meant nothing and ended, the populace as to their Ontario government on as Field Marshal Foch true meaning rather than how best to implement declared, with “a 20-year Proud to be left letting the right and the such a plan. In a recent peace treaty,” setting the am sorry that Patti corporate media define speech at St. George’s world up with another Maurice would like these terms for us. Cathedral in Kingston, I horrific bloodbath in 1939. the Monitor to censor Ontario, Segal made it clear Anne Miles, Gibsons, B.C. The British Empire did gain articles and treat the that a BIG would be but a million square miles of term “left” as a four- one component of a broad new territory (the p-word letter word unsuitable social support system. “property”), in particular for polite discourse. I’m Get history right A BIG would not reduce the oil fields of Iraq, and we also disappointed in your agree with Christopher the need for affordable are still paying for that. The sympathetic response to Schultz and Jonathan housing, publicly provided I war should be studied but her letter. Weier that we should addiction and mental not celebrated. have a more realistic health counselling, As someone who has discussion about Canadian The fact that Canadians services for the elderly proudly identified as left- history (“Putting the got off the farm, came and affordable, accessible, wing ever since I learned past to use,” May-June together and saw the world high-quality child care. the term in high school 2016). Unfortunately, was undoubtedly a good history (over 50 years Segal reminded his we are at war right now thing for the growth of a ago) I do not accept it as audience that we already (the propaganda term is nation, but so were the a pejorative. Dictionaries have a BIG for seniors, and “mission,” but you will building of the railway, give various definitions noted that within two years not have a war without the labour movement, but the one I hold in my of the Ontario government propaganda) and the the women’s movement, head is that the left is introducing a guaranteed glorification of past wars enfranchisement and egalitarian and the right income supplement (GIS) is usually part of the inclusion of minorities, is elitist (never mind how the poverty rate among promotion and justification industrialization, our own creatures like Stalin may seniors dropped from of present wars for political flag, our own constitution, have perverted the term). 30% to 2%. Your anti-BIG and economic reasons. the Blue Berets. Our history Why should any of us be article reflects the paranoia Profit and politics are two is our shared heritage. We ashamed to identify with of welfare administrators of the essential P’s of war, should be honest about it. the left? rather than the preferences along with power, property Vern Huffman, of welfare recipients. Evidently our politicians and the aforementioned Port Coquitlam, B.C. are. The NDP has been propaganda. A sidebar to the article scrambling, for years, to cites seven reasons The First World War of distance itself from its for the popular appeal the 20th century was not radical (nothing wrong More support of a BIG, but omits an fought for the defence of with that term either) roots for a GAI important consideration. Canada; no one declared and to become a centrist he unnamed authors Based, as it would be, on war on Canada, no one party when the perceived of the attack on a basic income reported to the attacked Canada first and T centre keeps moving income guarantee (BIG) in Canada Revenue Agency, we were in no danger of rightward. The “party of the May-June 2016 issue a BIG would eliminate the being invaded. It was not the people” can’t manage of the Monitor (“Against a expensive and demeaning fought for the rights and to stick up for the poor and basic income guarantee,” requirement for means freedoms of Canadians. disenfranchised anymore by What’s Left) claim the testing and intrusive In fact, civil rights took a or even, as another letter Ontario government’s monitoring. Are those beating during wartime, writer points out, object proposal for a pilot project “policing” jobs what and you cannot fight strongly to Stephen is ultimately aimed at for social and economic 4 the article’s authors are Indecision anxious to preserve? A prose poem by Valerie Hunnius, The authors accuse Bancroft, Ont. BIG supporters of not thinking “big” enough, but Swimming in May Every year a few more species die. surely it’s those authors After late thaw Monarch butterflies and bees whose assumptions are Snow storms in April Are threatened and excessively pinched and In the warmest decade. I wonder: pessimistic. Political Are there fewer loons this year? will depends on public Fort McMurray fire burns support; and the better Out of control The quest in Ottawa for real change informed and outspoken As drought turns Reduces gears: Assisted dying the public, the better Forests to kindling. Charter rights for some designed the program is But not for all, Elizabeth May reminds us: likely to be. Instead of As a first step. Climate change is the source wringing their hands and Of this havoc. Does anyone remember when arguing to maintain an Is shunned for lack of empathy. The Canada Health Act inadequate status quo, Left pharma and dental care the authors should be What is a city of 100,000 Out of its provisions, actively campaigning for a Doing in the boreal forest anyway? As a first step? comprehensive plan that Will rebuilding houses better meets people’s Bring back jobs? The Leap Manifesto is scorned, its needs. Authors vilified: A call to action, Investors flee the oil patch It scares the vested interests more Pamela Cornell, Long before the fire Than predictions Kingston, Ont. As prices plunge: will fifty dollar oil Of climate scientists. Entice them back? The last thing they want is recognition Correction Alberta’s dream dies hard: That inequality, climate change, and Getting dilbit to tide water On page 17 of the July- Aboriginal injustice Is only reasonable. Have anything to do August issue, the date of Surely Canada can see this. the Royal Commission With each other. on Newspapers (1981) The hard truth: a pipeline The power brokers are comfortable was incorrectly identified Planned today and built tomorrow With the thought that technology as 1982. The Monitor For a declining industry will be Will solve the problem, apologizes for the mistake, A stranded asset the next day. Mitigate the worst impacts which has been corrected And leave them in control. in the PDF on the CCPA Paris in December: another reality website. A hopeful time, a time to aspire Swimming in May, To limit global warming Swarming in my mind, To 1.5 per cent. These thoughts Send us your feedback When will our aspirations Make me uncomfortable and thoughts: monitor@ As we all should be. policyalternatives.ca Match our goals? When will we see a carbon budget Addressing The urgency of the situation?

5 WCS at Cushing, as there are a limit- ed number of refineries outside the U.S. to handle it. 4. The Brent-to-WTI differential, Behind the which caused the enthusiasm for tide- water access, has almost disappeared due to the construction of pipelines in the U.S. to relieve the bo¢leneck be- tween Cushing and the Gulf Coast. numbers The differential averaged just 75 cents per barrel from January to June 2016. Hence WCS oil that is exported from DAVID HUGHES St. John is unlikely to command any premium to WTI when the cost of tank- er shipment to international markets Fraser Institute is included. Correcting the authors’ errors we fudges case for new can see the Energy East pipeline is a money-losing proposition, particularly export pipelines considering the capacity is not need- ed given the cap on Alberta oil sands emissions and Canada’s commitments he Fraser Institute’s new report, km) is considerably shorter than Hard- under the Paris Agreement. Losses at The Costs of Pipeline Obstruc- isty to Montreal (3,400 km). The toll to $60 per barrel will total $1.41 billion Ttionism, claims that lack of new Cushing in May 2015 was US$5.75 per per year from Energy East. And losses export pipelines to tidewater is cost- barrel, yet the authors assume the could be even higher given the limited ing Canada $2.02–$6.4 billion dollars per-barrel toll to Montreal would be availability of overseas refineries that per year (depending on the assumed US$5.25. The correct toll to Montreal can handle heavy Canadian crude, ne- oil price). But they make several flawed based on distance is US$7.52 per bar- cessitating even steeper discounts. assumptions to “prove” their point. rel. Moving the oil to St. John to ac- The authors do, however, correctly 1. They incorrectly assume the world cess international markets and the point out that royalties from oil in Al- Brent oil price in Montreal will be on Brent price (a distance of 4,500 km berta and Saskatchewan have plum- par with the North American WTI oil from Hardisty) would cost US$9.95 meted as a result of the collapse in oil price in Cushing, Oklahoma, against per barrel. prices, even as production rises. They which Western Canadian crude (the 3. They underestimate the price that then go on to say that new tidewa- WCS benchmark) is now sold. The fi- can be obtained at Cushing as oil pric- ter-access pipelines would increase nal destination of the Energy East es rise. The authors assume the dis- the royalty take based on their cal- pipeline is St. John, New Brunswick— count for WCS at Cushing will be 30%, culations of increased prices. In fact, not Montreal. (Montreal-area refiner- even at higher oil prices. (The Canadi- the opposite is true, given there is a ies are already well served with West- an WCS benchmark always sells at a net decrease in the oil price received ern Canadian crude thanks to the re- discount to WTI or Brent as its heavy, through tidewater exports via Energy cent reversal of Line 9 between Sarnia high-sulphur characteristics make it East if realistic assumptions are used. and Montreal.) At St. John most of the less valuable to refiners; this discount The Fraser Institute report is a oil will be loaded on tankers and sold also includes transport costs from flawed analysis and should not be overseas. Hence the price received in Hardisty to Cushing.) Although a dis- taken seriously in deliberations on the Montreal is very likely to be consider- count of 30% is reasonable at $40 per need for new export pipelines to tide- ably below the WTI price at Cushing, barrel, at $60 and $80 per barrel the water or in the development of Can- given the additional transportation discount is about 18% (based on data ada’s climate plan to meet its Paris costs to St. John to access interna- from January 2009 to April 2016). Fur- Agreement commitments.

tional markets. thermore, refineries at which WCS is DAVID HUGHES IS AN EARTH SCIENTIST WHO HAS 2. They assume it will be cheaper to sold must be set up to handle heavy STUDIED THE ENERGY RESOURCES OF CANADA AND THE U.S. FOR MORE THAN FOUR DECADES, INCLUDING move oil to Montreal than to Cushing oil, and U.S. Gulf Coast refineries are 32 YEARS WITH THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANA© despite the fact the toll for moving oil the largest market in the world for DA AS A SCIENTIST AND RESEARCH MANAGER, WHERE HE HEADED UNCONVENTIONAL GAS AND COAL RE© through pipelines is a function of dis- heavy oil. Thus, there is no guarantee SEARCH. HE IS THE AUTHOR OF THE CCPA–PARKLAND tance. The distance from Hardisty, Al- that WCS sold overseas would not be INSTITUTE REPORT, CAN CANADA EXPAND OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION, BUILD PIPELINES AND KEEP ITS CLIMATE berta to Cushing, Oklahoma (2,600 even more deeply discounted than CHANGE COMMITMENTS?

6 ERIKA SHAKER manage to pay off any student debts they have accumulated in the process, and—if there’s anything le± over— Canada Post’s save for an uncertain retirement. Postal workers also have a new reality check is court victory behind them in the cur- rent struggle. Remember when the in the mail Harper government’s back-to-work legislation in 2011 forced an arbitrated se¢lement on workers Canada Post hether it’s retirement secu- Incidentally, while defined bene- had locked out just days earlier? This rity, the gender pay gap or fit pension plans create some extra spring, the Ontario Superior Court de- Wintergenerational solidarity, work for employers, they are not a dy- cided that legislation violated CUPW’s the Canadian Union of Postal Work- ing breed: though the majority of Ca- freedom of expression. ers has raised several important is- nadian workers do not have a work- It was an important and timely re- sues in its current bargaining dispute place pension plan, of those who do minder of the legal rights of unions with Canada Post that have gained almost ¾ have a defined benefit pen- and workers in the current political cli- traction with the public and the me- sion plan. Lest we imagine all of these mate—one that seems to have reso- dia. So, what has changed since 2011 are “gold plated,” consider that a le¢er nated even with some mainstream to allow the CUPW’s progressive nar- carrier with 35 consecutive years at media. (I don’t recall another time Ca- rative to successfully refute corporate Canada Post is entitled to $24,500 a nadian Business magazine bothered talking points and refocus the debate? year upon retiring at the age of 65—a to explain the difference between a For one thing, to paraphrase and modest sum for a lifetime of work in a lockout and a strike in case readers update our prime minister, “Because job that has among the highest rate of were confused about which party had it’s 2016.” While the principle of gen- injuries in the federal sector. actually threatened to stop the mail.) der equity isn’t exactly new, it’s enjoy- The impact of an uncertain job And what about that decision to ing a parliamentary revival, thanks in market has resulted in tremendous cancel door-to-door delivery? The cur- large part to the tireless work of wom- public concern for the next genera- rent labour dispute, coupled with Can- en’s rights organizations and catalyz- tion. By resoundingly rejecting Cana- ada Post’s threats to lock out its work- ed by the Up For Debate initiative dur- da Post’s insistence that future hires ers, comes less than two years a±er ing the 2015 election campaign. As a should be entitled to a less secure re- the Crown corporation announced it result, when CUPW points out that tirement than current workers, CUPW would replace door-to-door delivery rural le¢er carriers (RSMCs), 70% of has made intergenerational solidari- with the slightly less personable su- them women, make on average 28% ty an ongoing priority at a time when perboxes (“community mail boxes”). less than their mostly male urban young workers are being told they may Not surprisingly, the public rebelled. counterparts, the pay equity implica- have to lower their standards, work for Hundreds of municipalities called for tions resonate. less (or even for nothing), somehow a moratorium or an outright reversal As CCPA economist Armine Yal- of the decision. Both the Liberals and nizyan pointed out in a recent inter- the NDP made door-to-door delivery view, “you can’t call pay equity unrea- an election issue, and when the Lib- sonable or unaffordable: it’s 2016!” It’s erals were elected they announced also the law—something the Public a public review of the postal system Service Alliance of Canada success- that is currently ongoing. fully fought for with a complaint dat- Media outlets are now reporting ing to 1983 under a previous Trudeau much more consistently and accu- government. rately that Canada Post is a profita- The pension debate has also shi±ed ble Crown corporation. In fact, over significantly. Canada Post’s insistence The impact of the past two decades, the only years that defined benefit pension plans are an uncertain where a profit has not been posted so yesterday is questionable given re- were during work stoppages (i.e., only cently announced enhancements to job market two of the past 21 years were not prof- the Canada Pension Plan—which is itable). all about defined benefits—to ensure has resulted Canada Post is not taxpayer sup- its viability for future generations. Ap- in tremendous ported. It’s taxpayer supporting. Let- parently, Canadians have a declining ter mail may be down, but there are appetite for people retiring in abject concern for more points of call than ever before, poverty, and some governments are and e-commerce has resulted in re- listening. The question is, will Cana- the next cord-se¢ing profits for package deliv- da Post? generation. ery. Rather than crying poor and cut- 7 ting services, Canada Post could fol- stunt, they’re recognizing the deep they’re resonating with the broader low the suggestion of its own (heavily disconnect between the priorities public too. redacted) report and reinstate post- of the Crown corporation’s Conserv- It’s not the public post office that’s al banking—a “win-win,” according ative-appointed CEO and the recent out of date. But given the current po- to the corporation, and a welcome debates taking place in the broader litical climate and public sentiment, alternative to cheque-cashing busi- arena. Retirement security, communi- it seems Canada Post’s management nesses and payday lenders that prey ty enhancement, pay equity, intergen- needs a serious reality check.

on low-income communities. erational support and the protection ERIKA SHAKER IS DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION AND OUT© The public mood has shi±ed. Not of our rights—including the right for REACH AT THE CCPA (AND MARRIED TO A GUY WHO WORKS FOR THE POSTIES). FOLLOW ERIKA ON TWIT© only do people remember Canada unions to bargain freely—aren’t just TER @ERIKASHAKER. Post’s last ill-considered cost-cu¢ing important for CUPW and its members,

JULIA POSCA AND bec. BC Liquor Store prices are there- SIMON TREMBLAY-PEPIN fore 2.6% lower than those at the SAQ. BC Liquor Stores have the edge for the average price of wines ($14.68), 5.7% Should we end cheaper than at the SAQ ($15.57), but Quebec wins out when it comes to a the alcohol monopoly bo¢le of spirits: $24.72 vs. $25.64. Our analysis of the macroeconom- in Quebec? ic data also shows that the SAQ is a well-managed business. Its adminis- trative expenses have decreased in re- n the eyes of fans of the free market, province that liberalized trade in alco- lation to sales in the last 10 years while the fact that Crown corporations are hol in 2002. the ratio at BC Liquor Stores has not Igranted exclusivity over certain sec- To verify these arguments, and to changed significantly. Moreover, divi- tors of the economy comes across as respond to the CRPP’s recommenda- dends paid by SAQ to the government one of the most scandalous of aberra- tions, IRIS conducted a comparative have increased. The revenue that the tions. For this reason, the idea that the study of the trade in wines and spir- government of Quebec collects from Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) its in Quebec and British Columbia. each litre of alcohol sold increased should be privatized pops up period- It looked into how alcohol prices and 65% between 1997 and 2013, while in ically in public debate. The project is consumption have evolved, as well as British Columbia it only went up 14%. motivated by a desire to free consum- administrative expenses in Crown cor- Finally, wine and spirit consump- ers from the grip of the “Soviet des al- porations, and government revenues tion in Quebec has increased over cools du Québec,” as some of its crit- from the sale of these products. the period studied, which shows that ics call it. The authors also conducted a pric- SAQ prices are not discouraging con- The short-lived Commission de ré- ing study, travelling to the West Coast sumers. The number of litres of alco- vision permanente des programmes to compare 584 bo¢les sold at the hol consumed per capita went up 84% (CRPP), tasked with reviewing gov- SAQ, at BC Liquor Stores (the provin- for wine and 72% for spirits, both high- ernment programs and headed by Lu- cial government retailer) and in pri- er amounts than in British Columbia. cienne Robillard, was swayed by the vately owned stores there. Alcohol is not just another prod- argument. In its summer 2015 report, The study found that the SAQ is uct. The public sector’s presence in the commission recommended “the able to offer prices that match those the sale of alcohol stems from the de- government liberalize the trade in in British Columbia. We also found sire to restrict its trade because, when wines and spirits while taking the nec- that B.C.’s publicly owned stores dis- abused, this commodity can lead to essary means to protect current divi- play the best prices. Private retailers health problems and public securi- dends payments to the government.” are 9.6% more expensive than their ty issues that are far from negligible. At the moment, only beer and certain public sector competitor: the average The comparative data on the price of wines and coolers are open to the pri- cost of a bo¢le of alcohol at BC Liquor wines and spirits does not allow us to vate sector. Stores is $17.24 compared to $18.89 for conclude that consumers in Quebec The commission defended its po- private retailers. would be be¢er served by a market sition by claiming, as many have ar- The SAQ is able to offer prices simi- in which the private sector competes gued before, that allowing private re- lar to those at BC Liquor Stores, even with the public sector.

tailers to compete with the SAQ would without private competition. Accord- JULIA POSCA AND SIMON TREMBLAY©PEPIN ARE RE© force it to drive down both its admin- ing to the data gathered in our pric- SEARCHERS WITH IRIS, A MONTREAL©BASED PROGRES© SIVE THINK TANK. istration expenses and the price of its ing study, the average cost of a bot- products. The commissioners pointed tle of alcohol was $17.24 in BC Liquor to the example of British Columbia, a Stores and $17.71 at the SAQ in Que- 8 East: Taking Manitoba in The CCPA-Ontario also In the second report, the Wrong Direction, Lynne details a road map away The Trouble with the Fernandez, Mark Hudson from working poverty in TPP’s Copyright Rules, and James Magnus- the summer 2016 issue intellectual property Johnston put these claims of OnPolicy. Focusing expert Michael Geist into question, highlighting on the cities of Ottawa, discusses how the TPP important considerations London, Toronto, Thunder would dramatically alter New from such as the social cost Bay, Kingston, Waterloo the balance between the of carbon, Canada’s (region), Sudbury, interests of copyright the CCPA commitment to fight Windsor and Hamilton, owners and the users climate change and the the magazine explores of protected goods economic viability of heavy improving food security and services. The study crude production under and providing dental concludes that the Nova Scotia’s current pricing regimes. benefits for the working 12-nation agreement, P3 schools The report explains poor, raising the minimum if ratified, could lead how Manitoba’s ability wage to $15 an hour, to millions of dollars CCPA-Nova Scotia to develop and expand tackling precarity in the in royalty payments A evaluation has found renewable energy sources workplace and improving being transferred out of the province’s public- offers more potential to working conditions for Canada, the increased private partnership (P3) create decent jobs and a low-wage work as possible criminalization of schools program to be a more sustainable economy. policy solutions. copyright law and a loss failure in terms of cost, risk of policy flexibility for management and evidence- future Canadian copyright based decision-making. Working poverty The TPP and autos, reforms. The report, Private Profit copyright, postal Finally, in Signed, Sealed at a Public Price: Deciding e are often told the services and Delivered? The TPP the Future of P3 Schools solution to poverty is W and Canada’s Public in Nova Scotia, finds no for the poor to “get a job” he CCPA has released Postal Service, lawyers cost-benefit analysis was or for various sectors to the final three reports T Daniel Sheppard and done prior to the initiation create more jobs. CCPA- in its series on the TPP, Louis Century assess the of the projects, or at any BC economist Iglika What’s the Big Deal? provisions in the TPP time since. There were Ivanova finds that a job Unpacking the Trans- related to mail delivery also several examples of is not a guaranteed path Pacific Partnership. In The and courier services. They mismanagement of the out of poverty. Her study, Devil is in the Details: find that while there is program, ranging from Working Poverty in Metro The TPP’s Impact on the no immediate threat to a lack of oversight by Vancouver, examines the Canadian Automotive Canada Post’s monopoly on the province to safety region’s working poverty Industry, John Holmes and letter mail, the TPP creates violations that placed trends by neighbourhood Jeffrey Carey conclude unnecessary risks of trade students at risk. Over before and after the 2008 the overall consequences litigation related to courier the next few years, the recession and finds over for auto production and services and future reforms province must decide 100,000 working-age employment in Canada or service expansion at the whether to purchase the people employed but will likely be negative. Crown corporation. schools, renew the leases stuck below the poverty The authors analyze the or surrender the buildings line in 2012, not counting TPP’s provisions governing back to the developers. students and young adults tariffs, rules of origin and The CCPA study finds living at home with their regional content. Canada’s purchasing the schools is parents. Contrary to far more rapid phase-out the best option. stereotypes about poverty of vehicle import tariffs being concentrated mainly will favour locating new in Vancouver and Surrey, assembly investment Energy East the growing ranks of and reinvestment in the and Manitoba working poor appear to U.S. rather than Canada. be spread out across the Meanwhile, growth in ndustry insiders claim the Metro Vancouver region. Canadian vehicle exports For more reports, I Energy East pipeline will Ivanova’s study explores to markets outside North commentary and create tens of thousands the policies contributing America will be limited at infographics from the of jobs across Canada and to working poverty and best. CCPA’s national and add tens of billions of develops recommendations provincial offices, visit dollars to GDP. In Energy for change. www.policyalternatives.ca. 9 at least 1978, no police officer has ever served time in prison for killing a black person, despite the fact that black people are extraordinarily over- represented in instances of police use of lethal force. The Special Investigations Unit was in large part created to close the police PHOTO BY MARK BLINCH / THE CANADIAN PRESS accountability gap that existed and still persists when a black person is killed ANTHONY MORGAN by an officer. Instead the SIU has pri- marily served to rubber-stamp black death at the hands of police with a hor- Why Canada needs rifying nonchalance that is too typical- ly consistent with the polite and pas- Black Lives Matter sive-aggressive character of the ways anti-black racism plays out in Canada. Indeed, the absence of police ac- he rallying cry of Black Lives Mat- being black in Canada is far be¢er than countability for the taking of black life ter is gaining an increasingly being black in the U.S.” is a sordid and shameful tradition that TCanadian accent. Over the sum- What needs to be understood is that Canada shares closely with America. mer, in the cities of Vancouver, Edmon- by defensively diminishing black Cana- But let’s not forget that lethal force is ton, Winnipeg, O¢awa, Montreal, Hali- dian experiences of police violence, by only the most extreme expression of fax and Toronto, thousands have gath- arguing that it is worse in the States, police violence. ered for marches and vigils under the that person is repeating the same vio- Long before the blast of a police banner of Black Lives Ma¢er and/or to lence as those who use the retort, All bullet burns through a black body, far publicly express sadness and opposi- Lives Ma¢er. too many blacks in Canada have been tion to anti-black police brutality and Both responses dehumanize and subjected to disproportionately high the impunity that too o±en follows. help to justify the molestation, maim- police scrutiny and surveillance, ra- This activity has been largely precipi- ing and murder of black bodies by po- cial profiling, carding and other inva- tated by the police killings of Alton Ster- lice. Both expressions callously dis- sive intrusions that ultimately impale ling in New Orleans, Philando Castile card the sacred humanity, extreme their life prospects, tear away at their in Minnesota and the police shooting pain and torturous trauma of not only humanity and compromise their sense of Charles Kinsley in Florida. But why the individual victims, but also of their of belonging in Canada. are Canadians ge¢ing so bothered by families, friends and personal connec- To dismiss Canadian gatherings anti-black police violence in America? tions. This is also extremely insensitive sparked by anti-black police violence What most Canadians do not ap- to the black families, communities and in the U.S. only delays the inevitabili- preciate is that we too have a trag- their allies whose connection to com- ty of the racial justice reckoning that ic trend of black men who have been mon human decency causes them to is already underway in Canada. The killed by police with impunity, and thus feel the pain of others. force behind this reckoning is primar- who could be just as easily memorial- Any compassionate Canadian who ily young, it is growing, it is Canadian. ized with their own haunting hashtags. has been following the solidarity gath- This reckoning calls for a new gen- Think #AndrewLoku, #JermaineCar- erings that have been happening in Ca- eration of fairer and transparent state by, #AlexWe¢laufer, #KwasiSkene-Pe- nadian cities will have heard some form accountability mechanisms that will ters, #Jean-PierreBony, #IanPryce, of the same statement: Anti-blackness fully and finally replace the inaction #FrankAnthonyBerry, #MichaelEligon, knows no borders. It is here and always and cowardice of police, public poli- #EricOsawe, #ReyalJardine-Douglas, has been. Just as Canada cannot deny cy-makers and politicians who refuse #JuniorAlexanderManon, just to name its black population, it cannot deny its to honestly and ethically respond to a few names since 2010. own record of anti-blackness. the ways that anti-black racism pen- Despite this, as gatherings to protest Canada’s record may not look as ex- etrates the 49th parallel.

state violence against black people in treme as the American stack of black ANTHONY MORGAN IS A TORONTO©BASED COMMUNI© the U.S. have happened across Canada, bodies, bloodied, ba¢ered and buried TY ADVOCATE AND LAWYER. THIS ARTICLE APPEARED IN THE TORONTO STAR ON JULY 25, 2016. what has emerged in media and public by police violence with impunity, but discourse has been disturbing. The typ- ours is a deplorable record on its own ical response has been: “Hey, at least terms. For instance, in Toronto, since 10 firm McKinsey & Company Their solutions of investment? Trudeau’s has just realized stagnating choice of McKinsey director incomes are a problem, and or McKinsey, more Dominic Barton to chair the that new regulations and F progressive taxation government’s new Advisory tax transfers may be a good is key to solving the Council on Economic idea. inequality problem. Growth offers a hint. Index Increasing transfers for Barton has spoken of “the low-income households “Inclusive” growth nature of the deep reform and raising taxes on Compiled by Hadrian The problem that I believe business capital income are both Mertins-Kirkwood must lead—nothing less ost people in countries on the table. Other than a shift from what I like Canada aren’t suggestions include M call quarterly capitalism to benefiting from neoliberal raising the minimum wage, what might be referred to eoliberal globalization globalization. More than increasing affordable as long-term capitalism.” is often associated with 65% of households in housing, investing in public N The council he is chairing conservative politicians. advanced economies saw transit, and encouraging is loaded with people who, Union-busting Thatcherism their incomes decline more women to work like him, would prefer the and deregulatory between 2005 and 2014, by supporting better solutions to the neoliberal Reaganomics ushered in according to McKinsey. maternity leave and child crisis (and the finance a wave of free-trading, care programs. Much of One likely cause is the for them) come from the tax-cutting, privatizing this will sound familiar to erosion of labour unions. In private sector. politicians who pushed Alternative Federal Budget the U.S., where only 11% their pro-corporate readers. Likewise the IMF paper of workers are unionized, ideology across the globe. still claims there is “much 81% of households saw At a macro level, the IMF to cheer in the neoliberal But for all their flat or falling incomes in paper argues that many agenda,” and the McKinsey efforts, those leaders the past decade. In Sweden, governments are better report makes a number of couldn’t do it alone. where 68% of workers are off living with debt and problematic suggestions, International institutions, unionized, only 20% of engaging in “productive such as giving employers non-governmental households were stagnant spending” rather than a greater voice in school organizations and during that period. pursuing the brutal curricula. The future of academic economists austerity demanded Another likely cause is globalization as envisioned were crucial in pushing by neoliberalism. In a austerity. Reducing GDP by by these titans of global the neoliberal orthodoxy. comical departure from 1% through government finance is unlikely to These “non-partisan” past IMF policy, the spending cuts increases be what progressive actors gave neoliberalism paper acknowledges long-term unemployment social movements would the credibility it needed— “the evidence of the by 0.6 percentage points champion. the appearance of there economic damage from and increases inequality by being “no alternative” to inequality” and suggests In conclusion, it’s hard not 1.5%. “In terms of lower economic reforms that “policymakers should be to take some satisfaction output and welfare and were obviously harmful to more open to redistribution in the neoliberals’ mea higher unemployment, [the large numbers of workers than they are.” culpa for the mess we’re in, costs of austerity] have worldwide. but we should be cautious been underplayed,” says of their new “inclusive That’s why recent reversals the IMF paper. growth” narrative. by some of the world’s The new narrative If current trends continue, most influential proponents 70–80% of households he G20 summit in Turkey of neoliberalism are so could see flat or falling last November was notable. Researchers at T incomes in the next held under the banner the International Monetary decade. “Today’s younger of “inclusive” growth— Fund, one of the key generation is at risk of an idea the Trudeau enforcers of neoliberal ending up poorer than government has embraced. globalization, recently their parents,” says the “I believe in investment admitted the project may McKinsey report. rather than austerity,” said have been “oversold.” the prime minister before Meanwhile, the elite the summit. What kind management consulting

SOURCES Jonathan D. Ostry, Prakash Loungani and Davide Furceri, “Neoliberalism: Oversold?” Finance & Development, vol. 53, no. 2 (June 2016), International Monetary Fund; McKinsey Global Institute, Poorer than their parents? Flat or falling incomes in advanced econ- omies, McKinsey & Company (July 2016). 11 CANADa, we need to talk about Brad...

What we all need to know about the Wall government’s social, environmental and labour policies—and their appeal outside Saskatchewan ceive the largest equalization payments (about $1,980 per person per year). Saskatchewan was once among An introduction to the “have-nots,” taking equalization the Wall government from payments every year except for 1975- 76 and the period 1981-82 to 1985-86. CCPA-SK Director Simon Enoch But in 2008-09 the province’s fiscal ca- pacity increased to the point where it no longer qualified. Its transition to Many a progressive may have breathed a sigh of “have” status was primarily due to in- relief when Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall, surely creasing resource (oil and gas) tax and Canada’s most popular (65% support in June) and savvy royalty revenues. Should those sourc- conservative, put to rest speculation over a rumoured es diminish—which they most surely federal leadership bid. will in the near term given the contin- ued decline in oil prices—Saskatche- If those same people think that makes timent had the desired effect—con- wan might soon find itself once more him merely “Saskatchewan’s problem,” servative politicians and columnists a benefactor of equalization. they haven’t been paying close enough across the country ridiculed the un- Wall’s distortion of the equalization a¢ention. Since the election of his Sas- grateful easterners who dared exer- formula sets a dangerous precedent katchewan Party in 2007, Wall has reg- cise their democratic sovereignty on for how Canadian federalism should ularly intervened on national issues this controversial pipeline. Wall fur- operate. According to his logic, prov- in ways that undermine progressive ther derided the federal equalization inces on the receiving end of equaliza- change—from his opposition to pen- formula, arguing that “have-not” prov- tion should effectively cede their sov- sion reform and a carbon tax to stereo- inces were receiving “too much mon- ereignty (on certain decisions at least) typing refugees to misleading Canadi- ey” that could be directed to national to the interests of wealthier provinces ans about the federal-provincial equal- infrastructure or tax cuts. or be “cut-off.” As St. Thomas Univer- ization program. As introduced here, It was all just more ammunition for sity professor Tony Tremblay explains, and described in more detail in this the already toxic debate on equali- such rhetoric amounts to tacit black- special Monitor feature on Saskatche- zation of recent years. Not only were mail, as it seeks to popularize “a new wan, Premier Wall has also beta-tested “have-not” provinces accused of send- landscape of distributive federalism, a a number of conservative policy exper- ing bills (for their profligate welfare landscape that a¢aches conditions to iments that may soon launch in oth- spending) to the wealthy “haves,” but federal transfers of money.” er provinces: carbon capture and stor- now Wall claimed prioritizing envi- Recently, in response to calls from age, a largely unregulated fracking in- ronmental over economic concerns the Ontario government for Saskatch- dustry, a partially privatized social im- was the “luxury” of other people who ewan to adopt carbon pricing, Premier pact bond model for delivering public are more than happy to live off the re- Wall rejoined, “it’s really none of their services, and a war of a¢rition on la- source wealth of other provinces, his business in the province of Ontario as bour legislation. Far from being a lo- in particular. to what Saskatchewan does with its cal issue, Canadian progressives may Such arguments rest on a wilful mis- policies.” One wonders why Quebec want to get to know Brad a li¢le be¢er. representation of how the equaliza- doesn’t merit the same respect for its tion formula works. No province actu- internal policy decisions as Saskatch- ally “pays into” the program. Equaliza- ewan. Nevertheless, Wall’s foray into Equalization and pipelines tion is administered through federal tax- the equalization debate has only fur- Despite being relatively quiet about es that we all pay equally, and disbursed ther muddied the public’s understand- equalization reform during most of to provinces that fall below a national ing of how federal fiscal transfers work, the Harper years, Wall became a pas- per-capita income standard based on while conjuring up an ugly anti-Que- sionate convert once Quebec munic- revenue from five different tax sources. bec sentiment that ill serves the cause ipalities voiced their opposition to the A smaller province could regularly bal- of national unity. proposed Energy East pipeline (which ance its budget, or even run budgetary would run through Canada’s second surpluses, yet still not be able to gen- most populous urban area). The pre- erate enough own-source revenue to Stereotyping refugees mier berated Quebecers for their in- meet the national standard for a varie- Wall regularly exudes a folksy populist transigence: “Maybe we need to have ty of reasons, including a smaller popu- charm, but he is not averse to using equalization payments start flowing lation or tax base (income or corporate), divisive wedge politics when it suits through a pipeline in order to final- lower average incomes, a downturn in his purposes. In the run-up to the 2016 ly get one approved through Central international commodity prices for nat- Saskatchewan election, he dabbled in Canada,” he said. ural resources, etc. This explains why the worst kind of fear mongering when The premier’s dog-whistle to West- Prince Edward Island, with a total pop- he used the Paris terror a¢acks of No- ern alienation and anti-Quebec sen- ulation of only 146,000, has tended to re- vember last year as justification to sus- 13 pend the federal government’s prom- stantiated fears of ISIS operatives four eligible tax-filers making contri- ise to accept 25,000 Syrian refugees. gaining easy access to Canada, an idea butions and even fewer maxing them In a le¢er to Prime Minister Trudeau, deemed fanciful by virtually all securi- out. Moreover, RRSPs are wildly inef- Wall said he was concerned the plan ty experts and veteran foreign affairs ficient, being massively subsidized could “undermine the refugee screen- officials. through tax breaks yet charging high ing process.” While the premier con- The sad reality is that Wall’s knee- management fees and underperform- ceded “the overwhelming majority jerk fear mongering not only delayed ing most public plans. of refugees are fleeing violence and the se¢lement process, but also sub- The failure of voluntary savings bloodshed and pose no threat to an- jected incoming refugees to even plans, coupled with the drastic elim- yone,” he cautioned: “If even a small more suspicion and mistrust than ination of employer-supported pen- number of individuals who wish to do they might otherwise have experi- sion plans, is making more and more harm to our country are able to enter enced. “Our main concern is the un- Canadians dependent on mandatory Canada as a result of a rushed refugee fair association being made between public pension programs like the CPP, rese¢lement process, the results could refugees and a security risk—it has a Old Age Security (OAS) and the Guar- be devastating.” broad impact in terms of how refugees anteed Income Supplement (GIS). Giv- In fact, Syrian refugees underwent are treated,” lamented Janet Dench, en this reality, voices from all quarters multiple levels of intense screening— executive director of the Canadian of the economy—and now Canada’s far beyond what any other visitor to Council for Refugees. provinces—have called for pension Canada would experience. Prospec- reform as the best means to ensure tive asylum seekers were registered an adequate level of retirement secu- with the United Nations High Com- Retirement insecurity rity for Canadian seniors. mission for Refugees (UNHCR)—a Interprovincial consensus is rare and All provinces but one, that is. Pre- process that includes biometric iden- hard to come by when it happens. But mier Wall and his Saskatchewan Par- tification—and interviewed sever- there it was, or so it seemed, at the end ty government have opposed modest al times by Canadian visa officers to of June 2016: the provinces and fed- enhancements to the CPP at each and verify their identity. The names of pro- eral government had agreed to up- every turn. They regularly parrot busi- spective asylum seekers were also run grade the Canada Pension Plan so ness lobby talking points that mis- through various international and Ca- that everyone has adequate savings to represent greater CPP payments as nadian law enforcement databases. ensure a decent retirement. The deci- a “job-killing payroll tax” rather than Women with children, unaccompanied sion recognized that the preferred re- the efficient social safety net they are. minors, the elderly, sick and vulnera- tirement solutions to date—volun- Whether in good economic times or ble were given priority. Young, single tary, private savings mechanisms like bad, the Wall government has argued men who may have been combatants, RRSPs, PRPPs and TFSAs—are whol- that businesses are simply too fragile or could not account for missing iden- ly inadequate to the task, “a colossal to allow Canadians a modicum of re- tity documents, did not make the cut. failure,” in the words of former TD chief tirement security, repeating the man- Despite this unprecedented level economist Don Drummond. tra that “the time isn’t right.” Instead, of scrutiny, Wall—who either had lit- Indeed, as CCPA researcher Hugh Wall continues to champion the same tle knowledge of the actual refugee Mackenzie has explained, these vol- failed voluntary, pooled savings plans screening process or feigned igno- untary retirement vehicles are notori- that have only worsened the retire- rance—continued to stoke unsub- ously underutilized, with only one in ment crisis.

THE WALL GOVERNMENT: A CHRONOLOGY launches a constitutional APRIL 2009 challenge to bills 5 and The government reneges on 6, arguing they violate its electoral commitment NOVEMBER 2007 MAY 2008 workers’ rights to collective to reduce provincial GHG Saskatchewan Party wins its Bill 6, the Trade Union bargaining and to organize emissions, opting to adopt first provincial election; Brad Amendment Act, becomes new unions the drastically reduced federal government target. Wall becomes premier. law. The act ends automatic OCTOBER 2008 union certification when MAY 2008 The government institutes its MARCH 2010 more than 50% of workers Bill 5, the Public Service “Saskatchewan First” policy The government sells the sign union cards, and relaxes Essential Services Act, for Crown corporations that province’s 38-year-old restrictions on employer becomes law, giving forces them to sell out- educational television dissemination of anti- employers broad discretion of-province investments channel, the Saskatchewan union information during to categorize public sector whether these are profitable Communications Network certification drives. workers as “essential,” or not. (SCN), for a mere $350,000 thereby removing their right JULY 2008 to private company to strike. The Saskatchewan Bluepoint. Two years later, Federation of Labour (SFL) Bluepoint sells SCN to Rogers 14 The Saskatchewan government explains, “Unlike those who pretend above $100 million in two of the past is going ahead with the recently an- global warming does not exist, this de- four years. nounced CPP reform, but only reluc- nial acknowledges the climate emer- As Wall has sought to downplay tantly—and with strings a¢ached. gency as a real problem, yet rejects the effects of climate change and Wall said he feared that by si¢ing it measures that respond to it in an ad- Saskatchewan’s contribution to it, his out, “a more aggressive plan like the equate or timely way.” major role on the issue nationally has province of Ontario’s would be imple- Wall’s favourite talking point is again been one of obstruction. Upon mented nationally.” (Ontario disman- that Canada is “only responsible for taking power in 2007, the Saskatche- tled its fledgling ORPP a±er Prime three per cent of global emissions,” wan Party government reneged on an Minister Trudeau announced the im- and therefore any a¢empt to low- electoral commitment to reduce pro- provements to the CPP.) Faced with er them will have much less impact vincial emissions by 32% below 2004 inevitability, Wall nonetheless used than in more polluting countries. Not levels by 2020, claiming it would have what power he had to water down only does this position deny our his- negative economic impacts. Instead, the changes, ensuring your enhanced toric responsibility for carbon emis- Wall promised to adopt the diminished pension will be later in coming and sions—we have been spewing car- federal target of a 20% reduction be- less generous then it might have bon a lot longer than less industrial- low 2006 levels by 2020. Even this more been. ized countries—it also neglects the modest standard may prove elusive, as fact we are one of the largest per capi- the province has seen the greatest rise ta GHG emi¢ers in the world (the high- in GHG emissions since 1990 (66%) Clean coal and green oil est, according to the World Resourc- and now accounts for 10% of Cana- Of all the national issues Wall has ad- es Institute). Moreover, being a small da’s total. With just 3% of the popula- dressed, he is perhaps most intracta- total emi¢er relative to the rest of the tion, Saskatchewan is the greatest per ble on one of the most important for world does not absolve us. Premier capita emi¢er in the country. our collective future: climate change. Wall’s logic is akin to the first-grader Not content to stymie meaningful While not an outright denialist, Wall who, caught red handed doing some- emissions reduction targets at home, has flirted with climate change skep- thing they shouldn’t, pleads “the big- Wall has been a vociferous opponent ticism, famously implying, in the 2016 ger kids are doing it too!” of federal a¢empts to put a nation- throne speech, that those who want Saskatchewan has undergone a se- al price on carbon, torpedoing the to reduce Saskatchewan’s reliance on ries of extreme weather events over Harper government’s proposed cap- fossil fuels are in thrall to a “misguid- the past few years, among them re- and-trade program and threatening a ed dogma that has no basis in reality.” cord floods, wind, hail and unprece- constitutional challenge to Trudeau’s Wall’s actual position is more con- dented wildfires. Despite the increas- proposed national carbon tax. The pre- sidered, aimed at maintaining busi- ing intensity and frequency of these mier’s preferred alternative to pricing ness as usual. In many ways he ex- events, Wall is loathe to connect them carbon is to invest in carbon capture emplifies what Shannon Daub of the with climate change or admit they are and storage (CCS), a $1.5-billion tax- CCPA-BC has deemed “the New Deni- part of a “new normal.” This is despite payer-subsidized fetish of the Sas- alism,” and what Mike Soron calls “Cli- the revealing fact that annual spend- katchewan government. mate Conservatism.” Wall accepts the ing on provincial disaster assistance The government’s Boundary Dam fa- climate science; he just doesn’t feel has jumped from a consistent $3 mil- cility, which captures carbon from coal especially burdened by it. As Soron lion and under a dozen years ago to and then uses it to assist in unconven-

Broadcasting for $3 million, Media Production Industry theory, based on Toyota’s MARCH 2012 more than 8.5 times what the Association (SMPIA) auto-manufacturing process, The government implements government received. survey found that 40.3% is heralded as a means to its “regulation by of respondents classify drastically improve efficiency declaration” procedures, AUGUST 2010 themselves as former SMPIA and cost savings in the essentially allowing the The government begins members who have either health system. A subsequent petroleum industry to contracting out certain found work in another study by University of regulate itself. surgeries to privately industry or are unemployed Saskatchewan researchers operated for-profit clinics in NOVEMBER 2012 and looking for work in other concluded the provincial Regina and Saskatoon. The Saskatchewan industries. government has spent government privatizes MARCH 2011 $1,511 on lean management AUGUST 2011 Information Services The government eliminates for every one dollar saved. The government spends $40 Corporation (ISC), the Crown the Saskatchewan Film million to hire Seattle-based NOVEMBER 2011 responsible for registration Employment Tax Credit, John Black and Associates to The Saskatchewan Party wins of land titles, corporate significantly undermining institute “lean management” another provincial election. registration and vital the provincial industry. in the province’s health care statistics. A 2012 Saskatchewan system. The management 15 tional oil extraction (what SaskPow- Saskatchewan’s runaway greenhouse the disaster might “make it harder to er, the provincial power utility, calls gas emissions. Though Wall has an- sell new energy infrastructure” in the “clean coal and green oil”), has been nounced a SaskPower target of 50% future. plagued by multiple shutdowns, fall- renewable power generation by 2030, The crux of the Wall government’s en short of its emissions targets, re- there is still no plan to deal with our “new denialist” climate strategy is to quired expensive equipment replace- largest-emi¢ing sector—oil, gas and diminish, deny and demonize: diminish ment and repairs, and faces millions mining—which is responsible for a the actual impacts of climate change of dollars in penalties for failing to de- third of Saskatchewan’s greenhouse and Canada’s contribution to it, deny liver the promised amount of carbon gases. any meaningful climate policy and de- to prospective buyers. Despite these Finally, beyond Wall’s climate poli- monize those that seek to advance an challenges it appears the Wall govern- cy failings, we would be remiss not to environmentally sustainable future. In ment will double down on carbon cap- mention the premier’s public a¢acks this respect, Premier Wall is an indus- ture as a means to continue Saskatch- on those who would have the province try-sponsored holding action, ensur- ewan’s reliance on coal for the majori- change course. Wall recently engaged ing the continuation of business as ty of its electricity generation. in a Twi¢er war with author Naomi usual at a time when rapid and mean- SaskPower recently contracted to Klein and Stanford University profes- ingful change is of the essence. purchase 118 million tonnes of coal sor Marc Jacobson over the possibil- over the next 13 years. This would sug- ity of decarbonizing Canada’s econo- gest the government fully intends to my by 2050. A±er first demonstrating Conclusion convert the province’s other outdated some rather questionable math skills, Here in Saskatchewan, we know the coal-fired generating facilities to CCS, Wall blithely dismissed the premise of a rest of the country rarely pays much which should worry anyone concerned sustainable economy in 35 years as be- a¢ention to us. We hope the contribu- about reducing GHG emissions. De- ing “blinded by the pixie dust and gored tions to this special issue of the Mon- spite the government’s claims, CCS is by the unicorn.” itor will convince you there are many not a climate change strategy. As Bri- Similarly, in a recent address to the good reasons to start. The policy pref- an Banks and Mark Bigland-Pritchard Calgary Petroleum Club, the premier erences of the Saskatchewan govern- explain, the one million tonnes of warned of the “existential threat” fac- ment, and the obstructionism of Pre-

CO2 captured at the Boundary facility ing the oil industry by “an ever-grow- mier Wall on the national stage, are (when it is working) amounts to about ing matrix of activists,” including pro- clearly not just local issues; they are 7% of all GHGs created by SaskPow- ponents of the Leap Manifesto and the directly in the way of progressive Can- er’s coal-fired generation, and less divestment movement that calls for ada-wide solutions to climate change, than 2% of the province’s total emis- companies and public institutions to and more effective social programs. sions. Moreover, for each tonne of car- sell off their fossil energy holdings. And Whether it’s regressive right-to-work bon dioxide used to recover oil, about in the immediate wake of the recent style labour legislation, environmen- 2.7 tonnes of carbon dioxide are even- Husky Oil pipeline spill—250,000 litres tal regulation by industry self-declara- tually emi¢ed from combustion of the of heavy oil and solvent discharged tion, or privatizing and profiting from extra oil recovered. into the North Saskatchewan River, social investment, Saskatchewan has In reality, Boundary Dam is an exor- 70,000 Saskatchewan residents le± become an incubator for right-wing bitantly expensive oil recovery scheme with a compromised water source— policies that may well be coming to a that will do li¢le to significantly reduce Wall’s first instinct was to lament that province near you. M

FEBRUARY 2013 laundry service to Alberta- poor inmates refuse meals in MARCH 2016 The government announces based K-Bro Linen Systems. protest. The government passes that all future liquor stores in legislation allowing patients JANUARY 2015 NOVEMBER 2015 the province will be privately to pay out of pocket for The Supreme Court of The government announces owned and operated. private, for-profit MRI scans. Canada strikes down the plans to privatize 40 publicly OCTOBER 2013 Public Service Essential owned liquor stores and APRIL 2016 The government announces Services Act. In a 5-2 ruling, license 12 new private stores The Saskatchewan Party wins its intention to use a public- the Court finds unionized in the province. its third provincial election. private-partnership (P3) Canadian workers have a In June, Premier Wall is Premier Wall sends a model for the construction of constitutionally guaranteed reported to have the support letter to Prime Minister nine new elementary schools right to strike. of 65% of the population. Trudeau asking the federal in the province. AUGUST 2015 government to redouble DECEMBER 2013 The government privatizes security checks on incoming The government privatizes food services at provincial Syrian refugees in the wake the majority of the province’s correctional institutions. of the Paris attacks that hospital and health centre Initially, food quality is so month. 16 Andrew Stevens Lessons for labour Saskatchewan stops short of union-busting, but the balance of power has shifted in the Wall years

askatchewan’s labour gated to choppy waters of labour leg- tion by 2013. Reforms were ultimate- S movement was awarded a rare islation reform. ly enshrined in a single piece of om- victory in the winter of 2015 when nibus legislation, the Saskatchewan the Supreme Court of Canada ren- n 2014, the Liberal government in Employment Act (SEA), in 2014. dered a historic decision on the con- I Nova Scotia used Bill 5 as a model The SEA is a culmination of efforts stitutional right to strike. In SFL v. for its own Bill 30 and Bill 37, show- meant to “modernize” and “simplify” Government of Saskatchewan Cana- ing that parties of all stripes in Can- labour relations, according to a gov- da’s top court deemed the province’s ada were looking to their like-mind- ernment consultation document. Public Service Essential Services Act ed neighbours when cra‘ing anti-la- Whether or not the act is equipped (commonly known as Bill 5) uncon- bour legislation. The federal Con- to deal with modern labour market stitutional. Proclaimed in 2008, the servatives had also built an “essential challenges, like the rise of non-stand- legislation effectively prohibited a service” designation as a means to ard employment relationships, tech- cross-section of public sector em- arbitrarily suspend workers’ rights. nological change and self-employ- ployees and their unions from engag- And for a time, Ontario’s failed Pro- ment, remains to be seen. And indeed, ing in job action should employers gressive Conservative leader Tim the SEA came to pass when times deem the work to be “essential.” The Hudak keenly followed the Saskatch- were good and workers generally legislation was widely recognized as ewan Party’s relatively delicate ap- content, yet was set up to confront a hammer looking for a nail, as Sas- proach to labour relations reforms unions and their influence when the katchewan’s strike data illustrates. since at least 2011. Of course, Hudak’s boom ends. That time has come. While labour rejoiced in its hard- promise to make Ontario a right-to- Such is the brilliance of a critical fought legal victory in 2015, the prov- work province and fire 100,000 public piece of legislation that at once sat- ince’s conservative premier, Brad servants failed to invoke Brad Wall’s isfies the ideological marker of the Wall, responded by musing on Twit- political acumen. Saskatchewan Party and its political ter, “Here is an essential service in But Bill 5 and the essential services allies, yet stops short of union bust- Sask that the [Supreme Court of Can- ba†le was just one piece of a broad- ing. Consequently labour was una- ada] cannot overturn,” in reference to er struggle involving reform of em- ble to muster public outrage over the a player on Saskatchewan’s prized ployment standards and labour re- changes and focused its energy in- football team, the Roughriders. The lations legislation in Saskatchewan. stead on a legal ba†le. This is what can prairie populist has o‘en used so- In 2012, the government embarked be learned from the Wall government’s cial media as a testing ground for on an ambitious comprehensive re- iteration of conservatism and conserv- controversial policies. It was on that view with the launch of the “Consul- ative politics in Saskatchewan. forum Wall pondered if young work- tation Paper on the Renewal of La- ers should be required to pay union bour Legislation in Saskatchewan.” dues, prompting labour to question As part of the public consultation Labour relations in if right-to-work legislation was in the process, the Ministry of Labour Rela- the new regime works. Fortunately nothing so dra- tions and Workplace Safety received Supreme Court victory aside, chang- matic materialized. But the remark thousands of submissions from busi- es to the labour relations framework raised concerns that anything could nesses, unions and the general pub- still pose serious problems for un- be on the table when it came to la- lic. A ministerial advisory commit- ions in Saskatchewan. Card certi- bour legislation. tee composed of labour and busi- fication was swi‘ly brought to an Now, as a conservative government ness representatives was also struck end and employers have been grant- comes to power in Manitoba, and On- to provide guidance, but some sus- ed the right to communicate direct- tario embarks on its own ambitious pected the legislation had already ly with workers during unionization “Changing Workplaces Review,” there been dra‘ed by the time “consulta- campaigns and negotiations. Labour is value in reflecting on how the Sas- tions” commenced. An early dra‘ of was unsuccessful in reversing these katchewan Party successfully navi- the legislation (Bill 85) was circulat- reforms during the many legal chal- ed for review and further consulta- lenges. And although strike action 17 was awarded a semblance of con- for this powerful cohort of health wastewater treatment facility debate stitutional protection in the Court’s care professionals. in Regina in 2013. 2015 decision, current legislation still Deficit-induced austerity has even More recently the government frustrates the capacity of private and called into question the government’s carried through with its promise to public sector workers to engage in le- commitment to negotiated wage in- replace five publicly owned region- gal forms of job action. A prolonged creases and the sanctity of good faith al hospital laundry services with a period of mediation and conciliation bargaining. Teachers in Saskatch- centralized facility owned by Alber- is now required before work stoppag- ewan found this out the hard way ta’s K-Bro Linen Systems. Over 300 es can commence. when the minister of education, Don workers across the province were Construction unions faced their Morgan (who, incidentally, also holds le‘ unemployed by this cost-cu†ing own ba†le in 2010 when the govern- the labour portfolio), confirmed that measure. Most of these savings will ment introduced Bill 80. The legisla- the government would only cover be maintained by employing a work- tion amended the Construction In- half of the promised 1.9% increase, force earning about $7 an hour less dustry Labour Relations Act to allow leaving cash-strapped school boards than their unionized counterparts, for wall-to-wall organizing, threat- to finance the balance. according to a study by the Canadi- ening the dominance of cra‘-based “[W]e are not backing away from an Centre for Policy Alternatives. building trades and opening the con- the contract,” Morgan insisted. He The government has also moved struction industry up to the Chris- just refused to pay for it. Due to a ahead with liquor store privatiza- tian Labour Association of Canada $3-million shortfall, one board was tion, allowing more private vendors (CLAC). CLAC is widely accused by forced to let go 74 teachers and ed- and the selling off of a handful of ex- other labour organizations of being ucational assistants. As political sci- isting locations, just as it halts the a company-dominated union, even entist Charles Smith wrote in June, construction of new publicly owned though the Saskatchewan Labour “the decision to sidestep a negotiated franchises. This comes despite ev- Relations Board has yet to uphold collective agreement demonstrates idence indicating the Saskatche- these charges. CLAC even sided with this government’s tense relationship wan Liquor and Gaming Authority the “open shop” construction lobby to workers’ collective rights to free- (SLGA) and public liquor sales gen- group Merit Contractors Association ly bargain.” Layoffs also hit publicly erate a healthy revenue stream for in supporting Bill 80. supported agencies that deliver ed- government coffers, and are not a There was reason for unions to ucational and support services to drain on the treasury as the govern- be concerned. The last conservative newcomers in Saskatchewan when ment’s consultation survey suggest- government, led by premier Grant the government axed its 42-year-long ed. Although not a product of Wall’s Devine, waged an all-out war on the partnership with the Saskatchewan labour law reform agenda, the grad- building trades, nearly decimating Council for International Co-opera- ualist nature of Saskatchewan Party construction unions in the province. tion (SCIC). privatization allows the government Union density collapsed, going from to maintain popular support while around 80% to just 10% within a dec- advancing its ideological objectives. ade. Changes to an otherwise tran- P3s and privatization Provisions in the Saskatchewan quil construction labour relations re- Privatization has unsurprisingly am- Employment Act dealing with ba- gime appeared senseless in a boom- plified divisions between the govern- sic employment standards, how- ing economy. ment and labour. And without robust ever, have not been marred by the Legislated changes have also al- successor rights provisions in the leg- same ideological tenacity as labour lowed businesses to bypass union islation an austerity-driven agenda relations. The government defied representation during the bargain- poses a serious challenge for public protests from some sections of the ing process by invoking a last offer sector unions. business lobby, namely the Canadi- vote directly with the membership. A year into its second mandate, the an Federation of Independent Busi- Previously this was only permissible Wall government decided to partial- ness (CFIB), by introducing annual in the event of a strike lasting longer ly privatize a lucrative land and cor- minimum wage increases indexed than 30 days. Employers have even porate registry business, the Infor- to inflation, providing some solace been empowered to carve “supervi- mation Services Corporation (ISC). to workers who occupy the growing sory” employees out of existing bar- Over a dozen Crown corporations low-wage industries (far from a living gaining units, creating new burdens have been sold off and various ar- wage by any measure, but still a step for unions during bargaining and eas of public sector employment in the right direction). About 5% of the day-to-day practice of labour re- have been contracted out since the Saskatchewan’s workforce earns the lations. Only registered nurses have Saskatchewan Party came to pow- legislated minimum wage of $10.50 been able to reach a compromise er less than a decade ago. There has an hour. with the government on this ma†er, also been a push to expand the use Even interns received recognition invoking their influence through of public-private partnerships (P3s) in the new legislation and guaran- the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses for major infrastructure projects in teed compensation for their work. (SUN) to develop special regulations the province, illustrated best by the Unpaid internships have been ef- 18 fectively banned in Saskatche - with the Saskatchewan Party’s com- Conclusion wan. There is some cause for con- mitment to safety in the province. These developments must be con- cern when it comes to the sancti- Saskatchewan’s track record on mi- sidered in the context of a right- ty of hours of work. Employers and grant and foreign worker protection wing agenda that has been masked employees can now negotiate an ex- also deserves consideration when it by relatively high economic growth tension to the working day and over- comes to evaluating the province’s and low unemployment, at least un- time commitments through modified framework of worker rights. In the til recently. It is in this environment work arrangements without approv- last decade, the number of migrants that Premier Wall has allowed the al from the Ministry of Labour. Al- employed in Saskatchewan has in- conversation around labour legisla- though the capacity for workers to creased fivefold. An estimated 10,000 tion reform, privatization and busi- negotiate the configuration of their foreign workers now call Saskatche- ness-friendly economic policies to workweek appeals to some, these wan their (temporary) home. follow conservative lines. Most im- provisions in the SEA could very well Proclaimed in 2013, Saskatchewan’s portantly, Wall has been successful in unbalance already asymmetrical re- progressive Foreign Worker Recruit- not allowing confrontation with po- lations between employers and Sas- ment and Immigration Services Act litical opponents to damage the gov- katchewan’s most vulnerable work- (FWRISA) offers important protec- ernment’s reputation, signaling that ers—young people and migrants. tions from malicious recruiters and his populist rhetoric holds a great immigration agents, but it stops deal of credibility with the people in short of making the exploitation of Saskatchewan. A safer place to work? foreign workers and new Canadi- A‘er all, the Saskatchewan Par- Health and safety in Saskatche- ans a labour issue. Public servants ty secured 62% of the popular vote wan has received a symbolic boost and policy-makers consulted wide- in the 2016 provincial election. Wall through the government’s com- ly when cra‘ing the FWIRSA, enter- also commands a substantial num- mitment to Mission: Zero and oth- ing into discussions with labour or- ber of union votes. A weak NDP op- er measures like summary offence ganizations on how best to raise the position has further enabled this tra- ticketing. Employers now face steep- floor of rights for foreign labour and jectory in Saskatchewan politics. The er financial penalties when it comes immigrants in Saskatchewan. FWRI- government’s use of public consul- to unsafe workplaces. But experts SA offers meaningful protections for tations—on the questions of labour have questioned the Ministry of La- newcomers in Saskatchewan and law reform and liquor privatization, bour’s commitment to enforcement represents a significant albeit large- for instance—has provided further and meaningful application of the ly uncelebrated win for labour. There legitimacy to such policies. Indeed, law. There is even some suspicion are some limitations, however. conservatism in the province main- that senior policy-makers within The Ministry of the Economy, tains a human face. the ministry have shaped enforce- which manages the FWRISA and the There are also lessons for unions ment to meet the interests of busi- program integrity unit established to in the SFL v. Saskatchewan case, an ness, undermining worker safety in oversee the legislation, has a short- otherwise important legal win for la- the process. lived history with the practices of in- bour. A modest privatization agenda, In 2013, a policy change resulted vestigation and enforcement. Since austerity, and labour relations legis- in a radical decrease in the number 2008, there have been more than 200 lation that has further empowered of inspections and notices of contra- “program integrity cases” involving employers will continue to under- vention, with the government opting the mistreatment of skilled and un- mine union influence in the province. instead to focus scarce resources on skilled foreign workers in Saskatche- Labour’s costly legal ba†le is large- the most injury-prone workplaces. wan. Third party representatives are ly pyrrhic if it cannot effectively de- That same year, a report on the 2011 at the heart of these infractions. Of- ploy this constitutional victory and incident at the Co-op Refinery in Re- fenders might lose their right to le- its newfound right to strike. gina shed light on shortcomings of gally offer services to foreign nation- And in the absence of a proper ad- self-regulation and voluntary com- als coming to Saskatchewan, but oth- vocacy mechanism for non-unionized pliance when dozens of workers were erwise problems simply disappear. employees, business interests have injured in an explosion caused by a Unlike the publication of comparable largely shaped revisions to employ- corroded pipe. The government has offences, like employment standards ment standards, despite some conces- yet to institute a mandatory piping violations and unfair labour practic- sions to workers. What Saskatchewan inspection plan and looks instead to es, the exploitation of foreign work- needs is a coherent living wage move- industry for guidance. A deputy min- ers is not exposed on a publicly ac- ment, ideally a branch of the Fight for ister even admi†ed to being “too pa- cessible database. Provincial free- $15 and Fairness campaign, through tient” with the refinery when it came dom of information requests have which to confront growing labour to waiting for the company to devel- been unable to yield detailed infor- market inequalities. M op its own safety practices. Labour mation about program integrity in- has been understandably concerned vestigations and outcomes.

19 Angela V. Carter and Emily M. Eaton Saskatchewan’s “Wild West” approach to fracking

he combination of frack- ernment’s policy approach to frack- ing tight oil play in the western region. T ing and horizontal drilling ignit- ing. We argue that Saskatchewan pri- In great part thanks to fracking tech- ed a shale oil boom in Saskatchewan, marily applies existing oil and gas nology, over a million barrels of crude highlighted by exponential growth regulations to fracking with a few oil a day are drawn from it. in the Bakken oil fields over the past minimal revisions. At the same time, Fracking is associated with a wide decade. Wells drilled into the Bakken the government is weakening regula- range of impacts: pollution or overuse grew from just 75 in 2004 to nearly tory enforcement in the province by of surface or groundwater; emissions 3,000 by 2013. By 2015, there were over relying on industry self-regulation. of air pollutants and greenhouse gas- 7,500 horizontal fracked wells across es; damage to wildlife habitat and the province (see Figure 1). While the rural communities due to extensive spread of fracking has incited intense What the frack? webs of infrastructure and traffic; public concern and a range of govern- The use of fracking technology has threats to human health; interference ment regulation around the world spread rapidly across the United States with traditional subsistence and oth- (given the health and environmen- and Canada since the 2000s when com- er sectors (tourism, ranching and agri- tal risks of the extraction method), panies began to use multiple fracture culture); and earthquakes. Anti-frack- Saskatchewan government officials treatments (multi-stage fracking) ing movements have grown across and industry representatives argue along horizontal drilling paths to ac- the globe since the late 1990s in re- current regulations on fracking are cess “tight” gas and oil reserves. sponse to these risks, with civil socie- “comprehensive” and “robust.” Is this Fracking involves breaking up un- ty groups demanding bans or strong- accurate? derground formations to release oil er regulation of fracking. A notable We a†empt to provide an initial and gas trapped in small pockets of example is the annual “Global Frack- response to that question here. First impermeable rock by pumping in a down,” an international day of action we describe fracking, its risks and the mix of water, chemicals and sand. The against fracking that has been grow- typical regulatory responses to them. technology incited a boom in uncon- ing since it began in 2012. We then focus on the growth of the ventional gas production in the U.S., In Canada and the U.S., fracking industry in Saskatchewan and its im- but over the last decade it has also regulation is primarily le‘ to prov- pacts, while also clarifying the gov- boosted tight oil production in Cana- inces and states, though some local da. The Bakken formation underlying governments have also been very Saskatchewan and Manitoba and bor- active in opposing fracking through Figure 1 Horizontal fracked wells dering the U.S. is the largest produc- implementing moratoria and bylaw in Saskatchewan, 1990–2015 1990−2005 2006−2009 TOTAL WELLS: NEW WELLS: 63 1,680 TOTAL WELLS: 1,743 VIKING VIKING

BAKKEN BAKKEN LOWER LOWER SHAUNAVON SHAUNAVON

20 revisions. Government responses to wells, regulations are missing on wa- the North American continent, “be- fracking vary widely, but typically ter use, waste disposal and green- hind only Texas, Alberta, North Da- they take one of three forms: house gas emissions. kota, California, and Alaska,” accord- ing to a 2015 government fact sheet. 1) Moratoria or temporary bans: What explains these starkly differ- Record-breaking oil production, These are generally called to allow ent regulatory approaches? Study- drilling activity and petroleum rights time to assess fracking’s impacts on ing Colorado and Texas, Charles Da- sales over the last decade are due in the environment, as in New York, vis identifies several central factors: part to the combination of horizon- Nova Scotia, Quebec, New Brunswick, how much governments are depend- tal drilling and multi-stage fractur- and Newfoundland and Labrador. ent on oil and gas revenues, how sup- ing, which has boosted the produc- portive politicians and policy-mak- 2) Permit, but regulate: Here gov- tion of “light, tight oil” in three main ers are for oil and gas, and how much ernments opt to allow fracking a‘er formations. The Bakken formation in political influence the industry has implementing more comprehensive southeast Saskatchewan is the most in comparison to groups that might regulatory changes to address the developed of these, producing 2.8 mil- raise concerns about fracking, such unique risks and impacts of extrac- lion barrels of light oil in December as environmental organizations, mu- tion. Colorado is one example, as is 2012, followed by the Viking and Low- nicipalities and non-oil industries. Alberta, where Directive 083 speci- er Shaunavon formations. Davis describes how industry rep- fies an “Unconventional Regulatory Environmental consultants, land- resentatives and public officials have Framework,” and new requirements owners and environmental organi- a shared interest in heavily oil-de- for monitoring and reporting seismic zations interviewed for our research pendent states. They work together to activity have been implemented. note many negative environmental expand oil and gas development while impacts and significant risks from 3) Applying existing regulations to marginalizing groups expressing con- fracking. For example, multi-stage fracking: In this approach, any reg- cern about fracking. Furthermore, as fracking uses extreme quantities of ulatory changes are slight, typical- Barry Rabe and Christopher Borick water (up to 750,000 gallons of fresh ly encouraging information disclo- observe, these governments are “re- water per single well in Saskatchewan) sure about chemicals used in frack- luctant to take any unilateral environ- that is lost from the hydrological cy- ing. This is the case in Texas, which mental policy steps that might threat- cle when it is disposed of deep under- denies that fracking impacts ground- en their economic well-being.” ground. Moreover, the development water and has not adjusted regula- of Saskatchewan’s Bakken oil has dra- tions. Yukon also took this approach matically increased the venting and when it ended a temporary moratori- Fracking Saskatchewan flaring of associated gas. In 2013, over um to allow fracking in the Liard Ba- Saskatchewan has been producing 17% of the province’s GHG emissions sin, emphasizing that regulations are oil on a commercial scale since the came from the oil and gas sector’s “fu- “robust, modern and designed to reg- 1940s and has seen many spikes and gitive emissions” alone. Saskatchewan ulate all oil and gas activities.” Polit- slumps in production (see Figure 2). now has the highest GHG emissions ical scientist Dianne Rahm provoca- Since the 1990s, however, production per capita in the country. tively describes the Texas approach has reached new heights. Today, the Interviewees were also concerned to fracking as “pre†y much ‘the wild government of Saskatchewan prides about the surface impacts of fracking. West’” of regulation. Although, in itself on being an “energy giant.” In- The fragmentation of the province’s 2011, the state did legislate minimal deed, the province is ranked sixth last vestiges of native prairie (which disclosure of chemicals used in new largest oil-producing jurisdiction on makes native species more vulnerable

2010−2012 2013−2015 NEW WELLS: NEW WELLS: 3,264 2,718 TOTAL WELLS: TOTAL WELLS: 5,007 7,725 VIKING VIKING

BAKKEN BAKKEN LOWER LOWER SHAUNAVON SHAUNAVON

21 Figure 2 pertaining specifically to fracking are of this new directive is questionable Oil Production in Saskatchewan, 1947–2015 conspicuous by their absence. In fact, since it can be circumscribed if oper- Millions of barrels there are only three regulations that ators can show that conserving gas is 2015 specifically refer to fracturing in the uneconomical or if venting and flaring 177.3 2012 update, and two of these were al- are deemed temporary or non-routine. 1947 ready part of the 1985 rules. The only Next to the Ministry of the Econ- 0.52 new regulation pertaining to frack- omy, the Ministry of Environment ing prohibits the blending of high-va- takes a clear secondary role in the reg- 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 20102000 pour-pressure hydrocarbons with ulation of oil and gas development in propping agents—usually a blend the province: it may review each oil to encroachment from noxious weeds of ceramic, silica or resin-coated sand and gas project, but it has granted in- and imperils habitat) was highlighted used to prop open fractures a‘er a dustry a de facto exemption from en- by interviewees, along with the dam- formation has been fracked. vironmental impact assessment. age done to vegetative growth when Beyond enforceable regulations di- One interviewee told us that since highly saline produced water is spilled rectly applicable to fracking, a regu- 1999 the Ministry of the Environ- across the landscape. A spreadsheet latory guideline administered by the ment has provided le†ers to compa- available on the Ministry of the Econ- Ministry of the Economy prohibits nies indicating that wells are not de- omy website shows there have been the blowing of flowback fluids and velopments under the Environmen- more than 18,000 spills of salinated sands into a pit or sump, or onto the tal Assessment Act, thereby shielding water, oil and natural gas in the prov- surface of a lease. Instead, it recom- them from undergoing an environ- ince since 1990. mends that fluids and frack sand be mental impact assessment (EIA). Ac- Despite new risks posed by the rap- contained in a tank and disposed of cording to data provided by the min- id growth in multi-stage fracking, the in an approved disposal well. Com- istry, between 1995 and 2010 only two Saskatchewan Party government and panies need only notify the ministry EIAs were completed for new oil and policy-makers from the ministries of of disposal and have 48 hours to do gas projects. Over the more recent the economy and environment insist so. Unlike in British Columbia and Al- 2006–2010 period, which saw an in- (without evidence) that fracking has berta, there is no requirement in Sas- tense increase in oil well licensing, not resulted in negative environmen- katchewan to disclose the contents only one new oil and gas project un- tal impacts and has been done safely of fracking fluids. derwent an assessment. for 50 years. Yet in making this claim, Other jurisdictions have respond- While individual oil wells may not government officials are equating the ed to the increased risk of ground- pose significant environmental effects, use of single frack jobs on horizon- water contamination posed by mul- the cumulative effect of thousands of tal wells (used over many decades in ti-stage fracking by strengthening re- wells drilled every year through tech- the province) with multi-stage frack- quirements on the production casing nologies such as multi-stage fracking ing using horizontal wells, which in- used to line wells. In Saskatchewan, is certainly worthy of more thorough troduces important risks, particular- well casing requirements are uni- regulatory and environmental impact ly relating to water. The government’s form for fracked and non-fracked assessment by the province, and more refusal to regulate this relatively new wells, and are minimal compared to public consultation. technique as a distinct practice is ap- standards applied in other jurisdic- parent in the Ministry of the Econo- tions. For example, while some U.S. my’s newly adopted (2012) oil and gas states require cement bond logs and Getting (further) conservation regulations and by the intermediate casing for fracked wells, out of the way Ministry of Environment’s de facto neither are required in Saskatche- Not only has Saskatchewan neglect- exemption of oil and gas wells from wan. Furthermore, it is not necessary ed to implement new regulations to environmental assessment. in the province to cement production address the unique risks associated casing to the surface, and adding cas- with the boom in fracking, the prov- ing strings (to protect against high ince is also actively undermining the No new regulations pressure and high risk treatments) ability of regulators to enforce even Oil and gas is regulated in Saskatch- is at the discretion of the operator. the existing rules. ewan primarily by the Ministry of Finally, a recent directive on associ- Premier Wall has coupled a right- the Economy, established in 2012 ated gas conservation is of relevance wing agenda of austerity in the public with the stated aim of fostering eco- to fracking. Flaring is a critical issue service with an ideological program nomic growth. This super-ministry arising from the rapid expansion of of economic development character- administers the oil and gas conser- the technology. While it does not spe- ized by “cu†ing red tape” and remov- vation regulations first adopted in cifically reference fracking, Direc- ing and reducing barriers to econom- 1985 and updated in 2012, more than tive S-10 requires operators venting ic growth by “creat[ing] the best en- five years a‘er the oil industry be- or flaring more than 900 cubic me- vironment for business—and then gan its intensive use of horizontal tres per day to implement conserva- get[ting] out of the way.” Indeed, the multi-stage fracking. Yet regulations tion measures. However, the efficacy contraction of the public service has 22 been a key priority for the Saskatch- Field office staff admit they do not 14% of the province’s total revenue. In ewan Party government, despite the have enough time to enforce all the addition, the oil and gas sector provid- province experiencing an economic regulations, so they prioritize only ed approximately 33,000 person-years boom from the mid-2000s to 2014. As certain issues and supplement the of employment in 2015. This is no noted recently by the minister of fi- enforcement of “minor infractions” small contribution in a province that nance, the government has “embarked by employing summer students. has bled agricultural jobs in rural com- on a process to reduce the size and Moreover, to avoid new hiring, site munities over the last two decades. cost of government operations,” aim- reclamation enforcement is contract- At the same time, the interests of ing to “reach a 15 per cent reduction in ed out to private consultants whose the oil industry are easily heard by the size of the public service over four work is monitored by regional offices. politicians and policy-makers. As years primarily through a†rition.” The Wall government is fur - noted in a recent CCPA-Saskatche- In Saskatchewan, ensuring regula- ther diminishing regulatory over- wan study, oil, gas and uranium com- tory compliance is already challeng- sight through processes of industry panies make significant contribu- ing given that oil production hap- self-service and what it calls “regula- tions to both the Saskatchewan Par- pens across vast geographies in ru- tion by declaration.” Ed Danscok, Sas- ty and the NDP (28% and 22% of top ral areas. But stagnating staff num- katchewan’s senior strategic lead for corporate contributions respectively bers and booming industry activity oil and gas development, claimed this between 2008 and 2010). Oil compa- strain the regulatory system even process allows companies to self-de- nies are top funders of the Saskatch- further. A series of CBC news re- clare that they meet regulatory re- ewan Party: in the 2011 election year, ports in 2015 showed widespread and quirements, which reduces the role Crescent Point Resources, the larg- chronic problems with wells across (and therefore workload) of the min- est tight-oil extraction company, con- the province leaking gas containing istry to conducting random audits tributed the third largest corporate hydrogen sulphide (which can cause rather than overseeing each appli- contribution to the party. serious harm or death to animals and cation and project. All routine ap- Industry representatives are also humans) at concentrations that well plications for drilling, including rou- actively involved in oil and gas pol- exceeded the regulatory maximum. tine horizontal multi-stage fracking, icy-making as part of the Saskatch- Referring to regulatory enforcement now receive instantaneous approv- ewan Petroleum Industry/Govern- in the province, the assistant deputy al through an online “self-service” ment Environment Commi†ee (SPI- minister of the Ministry of the Econ- submission tool that grants approv- GEC). Through SPIGEC, industry omy’s petroleum and natural gas divi- al from all three ministries (environ- associations work alongside depart- sion admi†ed, “there’s [sic] been sites ment, economy and agriculture) in- mental ministers to develop regulato- that have not received the a†ention volved in the regulation of oil and gas. ry guidelines for the oil and gas sec- they should,” and noted the ministry In other words, the Saskatche- tor, including the 2012 minor reforms does not have “enough boots on the wan government is actively retreat- to fracking rules. ground to get this work done” given ing from regulating oil and gas: in- Petroleum industry executives and the ongoing oil boom. dustry will self-declare compliance managers are obviously pleased with Workers at the four regional petro- and government oversight will be di- the regulatory environment they leum development offices responsi- minished to random audits. Accord- have helped to create in Saskatche- ble for regulatory compliance in the ing to a regulator interviewed for this wan: as documented in the Fraser In- province told us that field staff are research, Saskatchewan’s “regulation stitute’s 2015 Global Petroleum Survey, finding it increasingly difficult to pro- by declaration” approach is novel in “Saskatchewan is once again the top- actively audit and inspect the indus- Canada, with jurisdictions like Alber- ranked Canadian province on the ‘pol- try. Rather, their jobs mostly involve ta keenly interested in implementing icy perception index.’” Saskatchewan reacting to incidents such as spills, it should it be deemed a success. is also the top-ranked Canadian prov- and responding to complaints from ince in terms of environmental regula- landowners and the general public. tions and considered the “most a†rac- In one field office an interviewee re- Why is Saskatchewan tive” Canadian province for petrole- ported that three field staff are re- a regulatory laggard? um exploration and development.” sponsible for enforcing the regula- Given Davis’s understanding of the Elected officials from both major tions—from the initial exploration variance in fracking regulation, Sas- parties seem happy to conserve this through drilling, production and katchewan’s minimalist approach “favourable” regulatory environment abandonment phases—on rough- makes sense. The province emphasiz- by supporting fracking and downplay- ly 20,000 wells. Another interviewee es that oil and gas is “one of Saskatch- ing its risks. This was plainly demon- highlighted that the number of staff ewan’s leading industries.” Oil royal- strated in the bipartisan support of in the office has remained the same ties accounted for $1.5 billion of gov- the Saskatchewan Party’s 2013 motion since the 1980s while the number of ernment revenue in 2013-14, with an in the legislature that affirmed the as- wells in the region has increased dra- additional $106 million from the sale sembly’s endorsement for the contin- matically, leaving less time for ran- of provincial lands to oil companies, ued use of hydraulic fracturing in Sas- dom field inspection of wells. which combined represents close to katchewan’s energy sector. 23 While the province has a long his- tors such as B.C., Alberta, and New- tion to fracking from environmental tory of environmental social move- foundland and Labrador. While a sim- organizations and landowners. ments opposing the nuclear indus- ilar kind of mobilization is not yet ap- In contrast to jurisdictions that try, to date there has been limited parent in Saskatchewan, opposition have paused or stopped fracking to organized opposition to the oil and to fracking is growing in Indigenous study the environmental and safety gas industry or fracking specifically. and non-Indigenous communities impacts, Saskatchewan is allowing it Nor have the concerns of rural land- alike. This may pick up in response to take place under current regula- owners coalesced into the kind of an- to new evidence of the negative im- tions developed for conventional oil ti-fracking lobby notable in Colorado pacts of fracking in the province be- and gas activities. The province has and other U.S. states. ing documented in scientific research not even implemented requirements Rural landowners interviewed for or revealed through environmental for companies to publicly disclose the our research expressed severe griev- and public health incidents that are chemicals they use to frack—a min- ances with, yet dependence on, in- clearly linked to fracking. imal request in jurisdictions, includ- dustry. They receive income from ing Texas, taking the most hands-off surface leases (roughly $1,500 to approach to regulation. $3,000 per well per year) and from Canada’s Texas? Contrary to the claims of public of- selling access to surface water, dis- Public opposition to fracking has ficials and industry representatives, posing of drilling mud and/or truck- spread to wherever the technique is the province’s fracking regulations ing or removing snow for the indus- used across the world. Governments are hardly “robust” or “comprehen- try. These off-farm sources of income in Canada and the U.S. have general- sive.” In fact, the Wall government are important given declining agri- ly responded by either banning the is “streamlining” the licensing, regu- cultural economies; landowners do practice, regulating it or effectively lation and monitoring processes for not want to jeopardize the jobs and ignoring it. Saskatchewan has taken all oil development, including frack- livelihoods of people in their fami- the la†er path, in all likelihood due to ing, and moving toward a system of lies and communities by speaking the province’s economic dependence industry self-service and self-regula- against the oil industry. on oil, the political influence of indus- tion. In this way, Saskatchewan pre- Organized public opposition to try, legislative and bureaucratic sup- sents an even more remarkable ex- fracking has developed in other prov- port for the sector from all major po- ample of “wild West’” fracking regu- inces with important oil and gas sec- litical parties and the limited opposi- lation than Rahm found in Texas. M

You’re never too old to unlearn

Subscribe to Our Schools/ Our Selves today and get exciting, progressive, critical education analysis delivered right to your door.

Visit www.policyalternatives.ca/OSOS or call us at 613-563-1341 x 312 Taylor-Anne Yee is a third-generation Chinese Canadian from Treaty 6 Territory, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.  is is her story of how she joined a program called Next Up* and learned that introverts can become leaders, and anyone can change the world.

*Next Up is a leadership program for young people interested in social and environmental justice. See more at www.nextup.ca.

Growing up, I would hear people say things like My life was so di erent  ere will always If they just  at’s just the  ey’re just before I le be homelessness. worked way things are. lazy. Saskatchewan. harder... I mean, I’m still “me” inside, I just see things di erently now.

People didn’t mean to be hurtful, I used to think the same way. I even It was easy for me to simply go along but talking like this a ected us all with what everyone else was doing and repeated what people said about those unconsciously and changed how we thinking.  ere was no reason to think I looked at each other. who tried to change this world. should be doing anything. I had a pretty good life a er all.  is all changed when I Do those protestors really le Saskatchewan to go to Bible College for have to be disrupting tra c a year. like that? i t ’s

j u s t th e .. w e. ay things ar

It a ected me, too.

Here, I started to read the news. I paid I cast my  rst ever To my surprise, I ended up identifying with a party. special attention to politics (I used to vote for that same I had my  rst political “debate” with a friend. think politics was incredibly boring, party in the fall but I thought it was the “adult” thing election. to do). Your party’s But it’s not economics just about the make no money... it’s sense! about people,

too! HOPE

V OTE

25 I also became socially aware a er seeing homelessness But I also saw a community, and leaders trying to end poverty.  rst hand when I went to Vancouver’s Downtown It made me think about what I was supposed to be doing in all Eastside. I saw a place where people go when society of this. abandons them.

When I was moving back home, I felt a See, before I le home, I was in a But being away made me realize how little helpless. I was prepared to simply similar mindset as many other young much I loved our province. And when return to a “normal life.” Go to school, get people who didn’t feel any particular you love something, you want to care a job, make money... connection to Saskatchewan. for it.

You must be from I’m de nitely leaving Saskatchewan... Saskatchewan for this!

But how I viewed my province had completely changed.

So when I returned home and saw that we had our own social  e government would always tell us to focus on what we did and environmental problems that the government wasn’t best: natural resources. I know our politicians love our province, talking about, I couldn’t just leave. too, and they are doing their best for us.

But our province is worth more than what we take out of the ground.

We have much more potential than this...

26 I wanted to do something about the su ering I saw, but how? I en one day, out of the blue, I received an was given this piece of reality, e-mail from my mom’s friend: “Have you but I didn’t know what to do heard of Next Up? You may be interested.” with it.

DERSHIP

LEA

because our strength comes from our people... but right now, many of those people are su ering.

Next Up was exactly what I was looking for. I learned so much about the world through this program. It was actually a bit overwhelming PEAK OIL for me at rst. ere were so may problems TREATIES in our society -- how was I FOOD SOVEREIGNTY supposed to x any of this? LEADERSHIP

Of course, I wasn’t alone, and Next Up e people I’ve met through Next Up were some of the most amazing leaders I have showed me that, too. ever seen. ey were inspirational, smart, and compassionate. I looked up to them a lot, and I still do to this day.

27 So when I reect on how Next Up changed my life, I can say that it has in We must use our leadership to give people many ways. At the same time, and as I said before, I have not changed that inspiration, empathy, hope, strength... whatever much inside. I am just more aware and I feel inspired to make our province it is they need to start making a dierence. If we a better place for everyone. are able to do that, we can build a community of people who will help solve social and environmental issues.

IE HOPE LEADERSHIP E

When I think about that, I wonder how many other people in Saskatchewan also want to make a dierence, but feel like they can’t. Just like me before Next Up, they may be missing something. I hope to do what I can to help people nd their missing piece. As leaders, this is what we must do.

e bigger the community, the more impact we can have.

Because together

we can achieve great things.

is story is based on my comic from the Summer 2016 issue of Our Schools/Our Selves. If I have portrayed a culture incorrectly, please let me know at [email protected]. 28 Erica Violet Lee Indian summer

n November 1885, eight Na- death is the natural state for Indige- August is about swimming at the I tive men were hanged in what is nous people. The only good Indian is lake with friends, drying off our al- now Fort Ba†leford, Saskatchewan. cold, still and se†led. Anything that ready-brown, summer-darkened skin These men were executed by the subverts this expectation is a threat with a towel, and brushing the sand North West Mounted Police as part to the safety of the province and its off our feet before we put our shoes of a campaign to break down North property. As o‘en as the rest of the on for the drive home. But here was West Resistance efforts in the prai- country forgets about Saskatche- the hot soup of prairie racism boiling ries. Native children at Ba†leford wan, it remains a daily ba†leground over: “Farmer that killed one person Industrial School, the nearby resi- of Indigenous history and presence for trespassing—shame on you. You dential school, were brought out to in Canada. should have shot all four of them and watch their relatives hang. On August 4, 2016, a 22-year-old Cree buried them out back,” said one of Tourists to the site in mid-August man from Red Pheasant Cree Nation many social media comments about 2016 would have come across a replica was shot and killed by a white farm- Colten’s death, some of them quoted of Fort Ba†leford and been greeted er as he walked toward a farmhouse by the CBC. by actors in full North West Mount- near Biggar, Saskatchewan, where he What does it do to Indigenous peo- ed Police costume. From this point and three friends had stopped to ask ple forced to watch the murders of they might have followed a path to for help changing a flat tire. His name relatives and loved ones, understand- where Ba†le River meets kisiskāci- was Colten Boushie. ing it is just another a†empt to make wani-sīpiy (the North Saskatchewan When I heard the news I was out us cold, still and se†led? Native peo- River) and, had they looked close- of the province, far away from loved ple on the prairies already know the ly, noticed bubbles along the banks ones already organizing for Colten’s answer. We know racism so thick it from a recent Husky Energy pipe- family. I could only bear to skim the makes the air heavy to breathe, food line spill. Had they also visited near- news stories, and ended up ge†ing tough to digest, life hard to live. by First Nations along the river they stuck on a line about how the four The more useful question now is, would have seen a thick mix of bitu- young people spent the day swim- “What is it like to live with a fear of men and diluent coating the grass on ming before they pulled up to Ger- Native people so intense that you are the shoreline. ald Stanley’s farmhouse. willing to shoot a 22-year-old in the From there, if you move east up the Maybe it’s because the freezing name of defending your property?” North Saskatchewan to the Forks, Saskatchewan winters seem to am- Despite the heaviness, Native folks then follow the South Saskatche- plify tragedy, but for some reason are just like you, at least in some ways. wan River southwestward, you will I believed the prairie summer was We take naps in the August heat, we eventually find Saskatoon. In No- a sacred time when nothing bad go for long drives to the lake, we go vember 1990, a 17-year-old Cree man could happen. For a 22-year-old, swimming, we fall in love. The differ- was dropped on the outskirts of the ence is that we do all these things in city by the Saskatoon Police Service. a nation that long ago decided Native He did not make it back before freez- freedom, Native love and Native life ing to death in the -40 C weather. His are, more than anything else, threats name was Neil Stonechild. “What is it like to Canadian property. As a Cree girl growing up in Sas- to live with a In the last warm days of this katchewan during the inquiry into year, Native people will continue Stonechild’s death, I remember a vid- fear of Native doing what we have always done, eo clip of the Saskatoon police in their people so intense since time immemorial, in our prai- heavy winter coats, leaving footprints rie homelands. We will get together in the snow as they stepped around that you are with friends, take naps in the August Neil’s body, his upper half barely cov- willing to shoot heat, go swimming, and carry Colten’s ered by a thin blue jacket. I saw that memory alongside the legacy of re- three seconds of footage played on TV a 22-year-old sistance in our already-brown, sum- so many times that 20 years later the in the name of mer-darkened skin. (Kinanaskomitin image is still vivid in my mind. [thanks] to Hayden King for his guid- In Saskatchewan we are taught defending your ance in the process of writing this ar- from a young age to believe that property?” ticle.) M 29 The climate is changing. So should Premier Wall. DAVIDA BENTHAM

n 2012, Saskatchewan sur- targets that surpass national stand- When electricity is generated I passed Alberta as Canada’s larg- ards. The conversations around cli- through the burning of coal, the car- est per-capita emi†er of greenhouse mate change are not only shi‘ing bon that is produced is captured, sold gases (GHG). In support of the pol- at the legislative level, but also in and transported by pipeline to near- luters (or perhaps to avoid any cog- the courts. Consider the recent Fed- by oil fields where it is used for oil re- nitive dissonance) the Brad Wall gov- eral Court decision to overturn the covery. Excess carbon is injected and ernment also went beyond the cli- approval of Enbridge’s proposed stored deep underground in a sedi- mate denying rhetoric we were used Northern Gateway pipeline because mentary basin. Instead of combating to hearing across our western border. the Harper government failed to ad- climate change, Saskatchewan is us- The federal government and most equately consult with First Nations. ing captured carbon to extract more provincial governments appear to So what of Saskatchewan? Unfor- non-renewable resources. have grasped the severity of climate tunately, the province is led by a pre- Saskatchewan’s First Nations Pow- change and are beginning to act. At mier who has rejected climate change er Authority is a good step toward the end of June, the Trudeau govern- science and the Leap Manifesto as more autonomy over energy pro- ment announced a review of Harp- “misguided dogma that has no basis jects for the province’s Indigenous er-era environmental reforms, in- in reality.” Wall recently started an communities. But without a provin- cluding the controversial hollowing embarrassing Twi†er fight with en- cial policy on climate change or en- out of the Canadian Environmental vironmentalist and Leap co-organiz- ergy production, renewable energy Assessment Act, Fisheries Act and er Naomi Klein, in which he misquot- projects will continue to struggle to Navigable Waters Act. Public con- ed research from Stanford University gain real traction. Here Ontario offers sultations will be an important part environmental engineering profes- another positive example in its set- of this review, which will also consid- sor Mark Jacobson that was cited in asides for First Nations within the er the needs and concerns of Indig- the manifesto. lauded Green Energy Act, which used enous peoples with the objective of The premier has also taken it upon feed-in-tariffs to encourage green en- incorporating Indigenous tradition- himself to be the travelling spokes- ergy production. al knowledge into environmental de- person for TransCanada’s proposed In November 2015, Wall did an- cision-making processes. Energy East pipeline, visiting Toron- nounce that Saskatchewan would The Ontario government just re- to, Montreal and Saint John to bol- get 50% of its electricity from re- leased a Climate Change Action Plan ster the project—all on the public newable sources by 2030 by develop- that will invest nearly $2 billion an- dime. To top it off, Wall is the loud- ing three new wind power projects nually—the expected proceeds from est provincial leader opposing a na- that will nearly double Saskatche- a cap and trade program to be im- tional carbon pricing strategy. “This wan’s wind generation by 2020. This plemented in 2017—in public tran- is fundamentally the wrong time for is a step in the right direction that sit, building retrofits and the devel- the country, and especially for West- should diversify our electrical grid. opment of carbon-neutral technol- ern Canada, to be looking at anoth- Still, it does li†le to relieve Saskatch- ogy. Quebec launched its cap and er tax on everything,” he said in July, ewan’s economic reliance on non-re- trade program in 2012, while Brit- just before a meeting of the premiers newable resource extraction. ish Columbia implemented a reve- in Whitehorse. The metaphoric dragging of our nue-neutral carbon tax in 2008 to While Ontario successfully phased feet in Saskatchewan ma†ers to all ensure emi†ers pay the full price, out coal-fired electricity generation Canadians and, frankly, to the world. and to make clean energy alterna- in 2014, the Saskatchewan govern- Our economy is broken and we all tives more a†ractive. ment boasts of having the world’s face a very real threat of a changing Alberta, once seen as the most first “post-combustion coal-fired car- climate. But with policies that reflect oppositional to climate action, just bon capture and sequestration pro- the current global need to address passed legislation implementing a ject” integrated into a power station. climate change, we can create a new carbon tax that will take effect in But is it a sign of innovation and cut- economy that provides skilled em- 2017. And in June 2016, New Brun- ting edge technology or just a real- ployment and reduces greenhouse swick announced GHG reduction ly bad idea? I believe it is the la†er. gas emissions. M 30 Rachel Malena-Chan ILLUSTRATION BY REMIE GEOFFROI

askatchewan Premier Brad Wall has earned Lulling the province S his reputation for being “Harper-lite” when it comes to climate change rhetoric and support for policies to re- duce greenhouse gas emissions. Progressives o‘en react to sleep on climate to Wall’s statements on these issues with shocked out- rage. They repost the worst on social media feeds with comments like “SHAME” or “Hey Brad, get with the pro- change gram!” It’s satisfying but does li†le to actually change things for the be†er. Wall remains popular, and while the community is responding it’s difficult to get traction on The Wall government’s denial, false climate action in this province. promises and fairy tales are holding One reason for this is that opposition parties, and to some extent social movements, have failed to present a back meaningful action across coherent alternative to Wall’s pipeline dreams. Progres- Canada sives can learn how to do be†er by looking at the liter- ature on how climate change is communicated and the- ories of public narrative generally. Specifically, there is great potential for using strategic use of stories, refram- ing, and other communication tools to successfully re- sist Wall’s agenda, allay fears and underline the promises of economic transition, and inspire action toward meet- 31 ing Canada’s commitment to keep av- many people in weaving together “frames” to create erage global temperatures from ris- narratives. Language plays a signifi- ing beyond 2 C above pre-industri- Western Canada cant role in bringing frames and nar- al levels. agree with ratives to mind, which gives purpose If only this were a local problem. to our identities. This is both a con- But Saskatchewan’s intractable po- Wall’s attitude scious and unconscious process, with sition on climate change is slowing toward climate many frames held simultaneously action on the national stage as well. and drawn upon strategically by in- The Trudeau government has com- policy, reflected dividuals. For example, you might at mi†ed to working with premiers to in the renewed different moments be encouraged to determine Canada’s climate policy majority his think of yourself as a taxpayer, a cit- future. The longer it takes to estab- izen, a parent, a progressive person lish a framework for navigating the government or a se†ler. The corresponding narra- changes coming to Canada’s political, won in April’s tive frameworks behind these identi- economic and social landscape, the ties centre different values to explain harder it will be to adapt to the phys- provincial why things are the way that they are ical challenges climate change guar- election. or how they ought to be. antees. Wall has made a point of re- Public narratives are stories based framing environmental policy exclu- on frames and values that are wide- sively as an economic loss: his gov- ly accepted; they “shape the goals we ernment supports the oil and gas seek, the plans we make, the way we industry on the grounds it is essen- act, and what counts as a good or bad tial to the continued prosperity of Wall’s rhetoric is consistent and clear: outcome of our actions” at a popula- the province, the region of Western you don’t need to worry; the premier’s tion scale, according to Lakoff. They Canada and the country as a whole. got your back. At a time when things are reproduced and reflected by po- To many of us in Saskatchewan, it’s are actually not OK for many people litical institutions, economic struc- clear that austerity policies are at the in the province, Wall positions him- tures and social norms. At a personal root of both the erosion of our social self as a hero for the downtrodden level, public narratives are salient be- infrastructure and the current insta- and a champion to a hurting indus- cause they explain lived experience. bility of our province’s economy. Ex- try in this region. Most people feel their lives ought tractivist thinking and short-term to be valued, that the quality of their planning have not only made us lived experience ma†ers. If you are susceptible to the risks borne in all Where people turn when benefiting from the status quo and boom-and-bust economies, but have nothing makes sense are threatened by some develop- done so by repeatedly undermining Despite overwhelming evidence ment (e.g., climate change or the po- the rights of Indigenous people and proving the reality of human-caused litical response to it), you will natural- those who live off of these lands. climate change, it remains a polar- ly want to understand the potential Rather than taking responsibility izing topic. As a number of studies impacts and what you should do in for contributing to the mess we’re have shown (e.g., Ma†o Mildenberg- response, whether it means to vote a in, Wall continues to defend the oil er et al., 2016; A. Leiserowitz et al., certain way, buy a certain thing, learn and gas industry’s economic poten- 2013), denial of climate science and more about a certain idea or join up tial while the more important ser- resistance to pro-environment pol- with a certain group. vices we’ve entrusted to the govern- icy o‘en correlates with a person’s Alternatively, if the status quo af- ment—teaching children, protecting political affiliation, religion or em- fords you a low quality of life, you workers, caring for the sick—are de- ployment with the fossil fuel indus- might seek out a story to satisfy your pleted. try. In Canada, these a†itudes are anger or your sense of injustice in the In this context, it can become tire- concentrated in Saskatchewan and form of blame. We’ve seen scary ex- some to keep hearing the leaders of Alberta, where the highest levels of amples of this phenomenon in the Saskatchewan make foolish com- climate change denial in the coun- U.K. and U.S. recently, where disen- ments about environmental policy. try are found alongside the lowest franchised classes are seeking mean- But many people in Western Cana- levels of support for carbon pricing. ing in xenophobic narratives about da agree with Wall’s a†itude toward We can chalk this up to “regional cul- the shi‘ing social and economic dy- climate policy, reflected in the re- ture,” but to understand what else is namics they are experiencing. Cor- newed majority his government won going on below the surface we can rupt leaders are able to concentrate in April’s provincial election. The gov- turn to theory about public narrative. power by capitalizing on the disori- ernment narrative on climate change According to theorists George Lak- entation of the public—by filling the relieves the deepest held concerns of off and Marshall Ganz, humans make void le‘ by narrative dissonance. everyday rational people in this prov- sense of information and categorize ince. Unlike many who oppose him, the complexity of everyday life by 32 Does Saskatchewan decade of poor decision-making, yet might stress urgency, anger, hope, need a hero? no political party is championing a empowerment and solidarity, creat- As research by Ma†hew Nisbot popular, progressive alternative. ing a common vision for diverse peo- (2009), Kathryn Doherty and Thom- ple acting collectively as Webler (2016), and Kari Norgaard Doherty and Webler’s 2016 study (2011) demonstrates, the frames and Lessons from supports Ganz’s theory, finding that narratives used to communicate cli- Saskatchewan’s story agency and empowerment are key mate change—through personal re- In many ways, Canada’s climate components of moving people from lationships, social media, tradition- change story is being wri†en in Sas- feeling alarmed about climate change al media, educators, politicians, sci- katchewan. But the struggle to find to engaging in actions like voting, entists or health professions—pro- meaning in the transition to a decar- donating or organizing collectively duce social norms that have a real bonized economy, as the scientific, for climate change policy. By telling impact on how that information is economic and moral case for change mobilizing stories that address the processed, and whether or not it re- intensifies, is playing out globally emotional and social realities expe- sults in meaningful action. Language among those who feel they have the rienced in the Prairies we can create is more than a means of conveying most to lose. space for new political possibilities. data. Public narratives can (and Norgaard explains through her re- should) be based upon evidence, but search how citizens of a Norwegian we must remember that storytelling town used different public narra- Tipped in the is a process of framing facts to elic- tives to prop up “socially organized right direction it emotions. Resonant public narra- denial” of climate change, which pro- Ganz argues that when society ex- tives are created not with ideologi- tected them from what many inter- periences tipping points, “during cally sound arguments but, as Ganz preted as a threat to Norwegian cul- moments of disruption and disequi- tells us, by triggering value-based ture and identity. While individuals librium—of the sort that open up emotional responses; they are “the in the town believed climate change political opportunity structures— discursive means we use to access was real, social norms in the oil-pro- narratives can transform uncertain- values that equip us with the cour- ducing country created a sort of dou- ty and fear into familiar stories that, age to make choices under condi- ble reality: concerns were managed when well chosen, bring people to- tions of uncertainty, to exercise agen- in a way that disoriented them from gether, forge common identities, and cy.” Narratives are activating because taking action together. rouse them to collectively act.” As they leave people feeling empowered If denial of climate change can be Saskatchewan approaches the ide- to do something about what ma†ers socially organized and perpetuated ological limitations of fossil-fuel-led most to them. by public leaders, so too can mobi- growth, what will make it possible to Public narratives promoted by the lizing narratives be planted and fos- face the changes coming our way? Saskatchewan Party have framed the tered in the public sphere. Accord- What definitely won’t work is a sto- “courageous choice” as confidence in ing to Ganz, “public narrative, under- ry that makes no sense. For instance, their governance, as a vote for a hero stood as a leadership art, is thus an don’t expect someone who believes (Premier Wall) that will fight for Sas- invaluable resource to stem the tides the climate change science to sup- katchewan in times of turmoil. Peo- of apathy, alienation, cynicism, and port infrastructure projects that ple care about their families, the sta- defeatism” An alternative narrative promise to put Saskatchewan over bility of their jobs and the quality of its GHG emissions budget. This type life their children can expect. Wall is of value-action gap only produces saying he’s going to protect all of that, more narrative dissonance. Either cli- and furthermore that he’s the only mate change is a serious problem— one who can. and serious people take leadership Unfortunately, few alternative By telling on climate change seriously—or it’s public narratives have been offered mobilizing stories not, in which case legitimate leaders to the people of Saskatchewan. Wall’s can passably fail to act on the issue. narrative has been tested this sum- that address the It can’t be both. mer by a brutal oil spill and a disap- emotional and Progressives need to offer a more pointing budget, but urgent solutions salient story that takes into account and strategies are needed right now. social realities people’s fears and insecurities and Who will inspire a mass movement experienced in makes meaning of, rather than preys for transition in policy and practice? upon, their most basic desire to be For those fighting for the rights of In- the Prairies we OK. Communication must be open, digenous communities and for am- can create space willing to listen, ready to reframe. In- bitious investment in the renewable stead of dehumanizing those who re- energy sector, this is a vital moment for new political ject climate science it’s time we ap- for exposing the Wall government’s possibilities. preciated how everyone is looking for 33 a way to make sense of this story—each one of us is search- Revenue sharing could ing for our role in the bigger global plot being played out be- yond the reaches of our control. Narrative is powerful when reduce Indigenous child it “marks an entry into a world of uncertainty so daunting that access to sources of hope is essential,” says Ganz. poverty What can we offer to the people of Saskatchewan as an es- sential source of hope in this moment of uncertainty? Here are three tips for telling climate change stories that could em- power and mobilize prairie people—and perhaps the rest of askatchewan holds the dubious honour of having the country. Canada’s second highest child poverty rate (69%) for on-reserve First Nations children, behind only 1. Centre audience values: Think about what ma†ers to the Manitoba where the rate is an obscene 76%. As people listening to the message. Consider the core values that David Macdonald and Daniel Wilson explain in their define them and draw out a moral call to action. As Naomi S2016 report, Shameful Neglect: Indigenous Child Poverty in Klein writes in This Changes Everything, a transition this Canada, Saskatchewan also has the second lowest levels great requires people unafraid of moral language. It needs of non-Indigenous child poverty (13%), constituting the leaders who can offer not just policy alternatives but an al- greatest disparity between non-Indigenous and status First ternative worldview—one that centres collectivism and equal Nation children anywhere in the country. rights for all people. While child poverty rates on reserve are almost uniformly 2. Be mindful of emotions: In high-stakes situations, public abysmal across Canada, they are significantly lower in narratives elicit strong emotions. People in Saskatchewan are Quebec (37%) where the gap with non-Indigenous children right to feel uneasy about the challenges facing the province. is also narrowest. According to Macdonald and Wilson, Direct their anger and frustration toward inadequate lead- this is primarily due to the low poverty rate (23%) among ership and convey hopeful messages about the alternatives the Eeyou Istchee—James Bay Cree of northern Quebec— available to them. who make up roughly half of Quebec’s total on-reserve 3. Point to action: If information about climate change threat- population, and whose better situation can be linked to a ens someone’s livelihood or their children’s wellbeing, they resource revenue sharing agreement with the province. ought to be given the choice to respond beyond changing The James Bay Cree receive a fixed $70 million per annum their lightbulbs. Engaging in real solutions means action that from revenues off hydro-electric generation on their is collective and political. It is an opportunity to ask, given territory, which supplements, to some extent, chronic the status quo is unsustainable and already failing so many underfunding from the federal government. A similar people, what kind of society and economy do we want to cre- situation holds for the Nunavik Inuit, whose child poverty ate here in Saskatchewan, and what will it take? Long-term rates are also closer to the national average. This is also planning is obviously needed for adaptation at the local lev- apparently a consequence of a revenue sharing agreement el and community leaders ought to be empowered to identi- through which the Nunavik Inuit receive 50% of the first fy local needs and opportunities. $2 million in royalties received by the government from Community organizers and political opposition in Sas- any natural resource development on their lands, as well as katchewan are at a critical moment as we fight to define an 5% of additional resource royalties after that. alternative public narrative to the story perpetuated by the It is profoundly disappointing, given these examples, that Wall government. The premier continues to back the false both of Saskatchewan’s major political parties refuse hopes of oil and gas development, and when his investments to consider resource sharing. The provincial NDP, which in the fossil-fuel economy fail to deliver, many people will be had initially supported the idea, backed away from it unnecessarily le‘ behind in the transition to a climate-friend- after Premier Brad Wall accused the party of promoting ly economy. Workers need a real plan, social services need to a “special deal” for a “portion of the population.” Wall’s be strengthened, not eroded, and Indigenous rights and ways characterization of revenue sharing as favourtism for one of being must be respected and honoured if we are going to group over another, rather than an attempt to redress navigate the road ahead. the historic under-funding and neglect of First Nations Rather than throw up our hands in frustration with the communities, only ignited deep-seated racist sentiments climate denialism in Regina, we must take it upon ourselves in the province. The majority of the public roundly rejected to promote a more compelling story about climate change the idea. in the Prairies. What ma†ers? The Wall government’s political gamesmanship effectively What’s at stake? took revenue sharing off the table, scuttling a potentially What do we want? powerful policy tool that could—in consultation with What will it take? First Nations and Métis communities—effectively combat M Indigenous child poverty in Saskatchewan. —Simon Enoch, director, CCPA-SK 34 Taylor Bendig I love you, you SIB The Wall government is enamoured of social impact bonds. Should we be worried?

sk any community-based or- gramming. That same month, he ap- Social Workers, for instance, went on A ganization (CBO) if they want pointed former social services min- record against SIBs in an early 2013 five years of guaranteed funding for ister June Draude to the new post of media release, declaring the bonds one of their projects and odds are legislative secretary for social impact would “lead to social issues being they’ll have said “yes” before you bonds, charging her with promoting judged on their a†ractiveness to in- can finish the sentence. CBOs have more SIBs in the province. In Sep- vestors as opposed to the quality of spent decades struggling for finan- tember 2015, Draude announced, at service offered.” cial stability, knowing their program- an SIB conference in Ontario, that It’s a criticism Saskatchewan par- ming would benefit greatly from the four more bonds were in the works tially avoided in its first SIB. Sweet security and continuity it offers. So for Saskatchewan. Dreams isn’t all that sweet as in- when EGADZ—a venerable Saska- Yet despite the Saskatchewan gov- vestments go. The project’s $1-mil- toon charity that supports under- ernment’s enthusiasm, there’s li†le lion budget is funded by Conexus privileged youth—chanced upon evidence available about the over- Credit Union and by Colleen and such long-term funding it didn’t dis- all effectiveness of the private fund- Wally Mah, a real estate power cou- appoint. ing model. As of July 2015, there were ple who have long been major sup- EGADZ used the money it received just 44 SIBs in operation worldwide. porters of EGADZ. Conexus and the from a social impact bond (SIB) to The world’s first SIB, a five-year recid- Mahs agreed to a 5% rate of return turn an old bed and breakfast down- ivism reduction program in Britain, if the project met its objectives— town into a home and life skills train- only concluded last year. Sweeping much less than SIBs in other coun- ing centre for at-risk single mothers conclusions about the model’s effec- tries o‘en provide, and likely low- and their children. Since opening its tiveness are therefore a bit prema- er than what it would cost govern- doors in May 2014, the program— ture, and concerns that have fol- ment to fund the program through dubbed “Sweet Dreams”—has been lowed the model since its creation borrowing. an inspiring success. So much so that have by no means been put to rest. One criticism of the SIB model that it is being used to raise the profile of Sweet Dreams can’t avoid, however, SIBs (it was Canada’s first) as a prom- he introduction of private invest- is that in order to offer a return of ising new private funding model for T ment—and private profit—into any sort there needs to be a quantifi- social services. the field of social services has been able measure of success that doesn’t In a social impact bond model, pri- controversial. The Alberta College of work for many social programs. In vate investors put up money for a Sweet Dreams’ case, the metric is years-long social program (inmate re- simple enough: if 22 children stay habilitation and child services are es- with their mothers for six months pecially popular). Specific, measura- a‘er leaving the program, the “de- ble goals are set, a community-based sired objectives” are met. But social organization delivers the program, programming focuses on many ob- and at completion a third party as- jectives—long-term mental health sesses the results. If the objectives is perhaps the best example—that were met investors are repaid with Canadian can’t be easily quantified or meaning- interest; if not, they lose part or all fully assessed over a period of only a of their money. governments’ few years. Saskatchewan’s provincial gov- love of P3s is one Because social impact bonds are ernment has become enamoured of ultimately still government fund- the SIB model. In April 2015, Premier reason to believe ed, money for SIBs comes out of the Brad Wall described it to the media SIBs will be general pool available for social pro- as “the next generation of social pol- gramming. In other words, the more icy innovation,” and “arguably more widely adopted money earmarked for easily quanti- effective” than government-run pro- here. fiable SIBs, the less there is for the 35 long-term, qualitative programs Despite the Saskatchewan in a very different po- that SIBs will never touch. But even sition than other jurisdictions that among programs suitable for SIBs Saskatchewan employ SIBs. By comparison, the first the issue remains that it is investors, government’s SIB project in the United States (a re- not public officials, who decide what cidivism reduction project at a New programs get funded. enthusiasm, York prison) offered Goldman Sachs With only one SIB in existence in there’s little a return of up to 22% on its $9.6-mil- all of Canada, private sector control lion investment. over social programming choices is a evidence So where will the Wall govern- pre†y distant threat. But interest in available about ment go from here? The possibility SIBs is growing, and not just in Sas- the overall of a “made-in-Saskatchewan” social katchewan: Manitoba’s newly elected impact bond model is certainly entic- premier has tasked two of his minis- effectiveness ing. If the province continues to re- ters with developing the model, and of the private cruit philanthropist investors willing Ontario’s 2016 budget announced to accept low interest rates it could plans to “pilot one or more social im- funding model. possibly avoid a major SIBs back- pact bonds (SIBs) in the province.” In- lash as experienced elsewhere—that vestor influence over social programs they ultimately cost more than they is an issue worth watching, especial- would with direct public funding. ly if SIBs take off in Canada the way Even if that were the case, we they have in countries like the U.S. should reasonably ask why private and U.K., or the way public-private funding is needed in social program- partnerships (P3s) already have in ming at all. Low-interest SIBs are still Canada. ultimately paid for by taxpayers: success rate is accordingly high: as of they still require hiring consultants n fact, Canadian governments’ love June 2016, just over two years into the to assess whether program goals are I of P3s is one reason to believe SIBs project, 21 mothers (out of the five- met; they still hand power over social will be widely adopted here. Like P3s, year goal of 22) had already complet- programming to private players; and SIBs provide a way for governments ed the program and remained with they still tempt governments to use to keep spending “off the books.” Be- their children. them as a means of concealing and cause private investors provide the Sweet Dreams was set up to suc- delaying programming costs. initial funding for SIB projects, the ceed, as any social program should Given all of this, the alternative— cost to government can be le‘ out be. When governments, like the one having government contribute sta- of budget calculations until inves- in Regina, tout the possibility SIBs ble, long-term funding directly to tors are repaid at the end of the pro- may not have to be repaid, they are program providers like EDADZ— gram. A project like Sweet Dreams, ultimately celebrating the possibili- can’t be ignored. There are bureau- with a five-year duration, effectively ty that their social programs will fail. cratic hurdles to doing so, of course, allows government to provide servic- Such arguments also gloss over but these can be overcome. es immediately while deferring the the fact private players still make Indeed, the greatest problem costs until a‘er the next election. a profit on SIBs, successful or not. posed by social impact bonds may Especially for governments facing a The model requires a third party to be that they will be used as an ex- cash-flow crisis (as Saskatchewan is assess whether program objectives cuse to avoid restructuring govern- now) the appeal of such an arrange- were met, a role that consulting firms ment funding models toward long- ment is obvious. have been eager to claim. Deloi†e, term commitments. By connecting SIBs provide the added political which was hired as the “independ- long-term funding to private finance benefit of allowing governments to ent assessor” for the Sweet Dreams through the SIB model, the Sas- claim that if the program is unsuc- project, heavily promotes social im- katchewan government may make cessful they will not pay at all. In pact bonds for understandable rea- private sector involvement manda- practice, this is unlikely to be true. sons. SIBs create a window for the tory for ge†ing valuable projects off SIBs are most a†ractive to investors company to turn a profit on social the ground, in much the same way when they involve li†le risk, and programming in a way that tradition- the previous federal government Sweet Dreams is no exception. In- al program delivery doesn’t provide. tied infrastructure funding to the take to the program is selective and P3 model. the biggest criterion for applicants askatchewan’s lone flirtation with For anyone concerned about social is motivation. Mothers who lack the S the SIB model is a success story. programming in Canada, SIBs are an drive to keep custody of their chil- But the relatively inexpensive and issue worth watching. Other provinc- dren—and thus meet the objectives small-scale Sweet Dreams project, es are undoubtedly paying a†ention, that trigger investor repayment— where local investors were willing with a mind to expanding the model aren’t admi†ed to begin with. The to accept a low rate of return, puts in years to come. M 36 Supporter Profile Dan Beveridge

Someone who had a big influence on me, at age 22, was Norman Mackenzie, a missionary in India whom I met on a hitchhiking trip around the world. Norman and his family were living in a Bhil village where he was us- ing co-operatives to help peasant farmers reduce their dependence on local moneylenders and landowners. They worked together to get a water pump for irriga- tion, to purchase seed and fertilizer, etc. I asked Nor- man where he learned about co-operatives and he said, “Western Co-operative College in Saskatoon, Saskatch- ewan!” I was studying at the university in Saskatoon but had heard nothing about co-operatives in my 15 years of formal education in the province with probably the most co-operatives in Canada. When I finished my MA in the mid-1960s, I enrolled in a short course at the college that gave me a real eye-open- ing experience, a new perspective on democracy. While we liked to say we lived in a democracy, this did not ex- tend to the economic system, whereas co-ops were a form of economic democracy, owned and controlled by the member-users. I learned about co-operatives as an alternative to both the capitalist corporation model and the state-owned Crown corporation model. This led me to working as an instructor at the college and then in called on for quality, evidence-based commentaries on Africa. Then, while working in Regina in university ex- media interviews as an alternative to the widespread in- tension, I was privileged to work in the 1970s with Pro- fluence of the Fraser Institute. I believe it is important to fessor Louis Xhignesse, who really influenced me to de- use a variety of media in addition to the CCPA Monitor velop a more ecological perspective, and farmers like to reach a wider audience and to help legitimize per- Elmer Laird, president of the Back to the Farm Research spectives and policies that may be at variance with the Foundation and chair of the environmental committee dominant ones, which are often based on a short-term of the National Farmers Union, who led a movement to economic rationale. explore and develop alternatives to chemical agriculture. I am a monthly supporter for the obvious reasons: first, I don’t remember when or why I started supporting the because the CCPA needs an assured, predictable in- CCPA, but there are at least two reasons I continued, and come flow to budget and plan quality work; and sec- why I consider the centre to be special. First, it appeared ond, because this is a convenient way for me to sup- to me that the CCPA was a place where an alternative port the many organizations I consider important. My vision of society was presented, an alternative to the hope for the future involves my grandchildren and a dominant consumer society. I was excited by the vision return to the vision I mentioned earlier. I am extreme- promoted by the World Council of Churches, at its con- ly concerned about the climate change crisis and the ference in Nairobi, Kenya in 1975, for a “just, participa- lack of action by those nations most responsible for it. tory and sustainable society.” I saw the need for explo- My hope is that the CCPA shall continue to challenge ration of policy alternatives to work toward that vision. existing models and to present alternatives that could Second, as a compulsive CBC radio listener I saw the lead to an ecologically sustainable and just society for need for and value of a “progressive think-tank” to be the planet.

The CCPA is grateful to those who have switched to monthly giving or are considering it in the future. We would appreciate the chance to provide information about the benefits of monthly giving’—’please contact Jennie Royer, development and administrative services, at 1-613-563-1341 ext. 305 or [email protected]. vate people, corporations the use of chemicals, and which blocks connections and governments to use higher revenue potential. between nerve cells in the these same solutions on Paris-based Sodexo, one brain. The vaccine would the ground wherever they of the world’s largest food address this. Elsewhere, make sense,” said Bertrand service suppliers, will neuroscientists have cre- Piccard, chairman of the switch to cage-free eggs ated a map of the cerebral project. A few days earlier, by 2025, joining European cortex, the part of the brain The good on July 12, California’s countries that banned bat- responsible for cognition, large solar energy plants tery cages for hens in 2012. based on MRI images of the news page produced enough energy Starting in 2018, Walmart brains of 210 people. They to power more than six mil- will require the use of any believe the map will be lion homes—and this was priority chemical in any useful in helping surgeons Compiled by not counting the electricity product on its shelves be avoid those areas of the Elaine Hughes generated by the estimated clearly labelled. It follows brain involved with speech 537,000 solar panels on a decision by the retailer in or movement, and assist the rooftops of private 2013, in partnership with in the study of autism, Solar summer homes and businesses in the Environmental Defense schizophrenia, dementia the state. Meanwhile in Fund, to restrict or remove and epilepsy. / Associated ormer tar sands Salt Lake City, the mayor products containing butyl- Press / Medical Daily / workers Adam Cormier F and council have created paraben (a preservative in Reuters (electrician) and Lliam a Climate Positive 2040 cosmetics), formaldehyde Hildebrand (boilermaker) plan to transition to 100% (a carcinogen found have co-founded an renewable energy sources in wood products and organization, Iron and Flora and fauna by 2032 and reduce building materials), and Earth, to press for invest- carbon emissions by 80% triclosan (used in clothing, he U.S. state of Georgia ment in renewable energy by 2014. “Leading on kitchenware, furniture could easily top 3,000 alternatives. Many of the T climate change today is an and toys). / OrganicBIZ / loggerhead sea turtle skills required to build, obligation we all share with Washington Post / Reuters nests this year, surpassing maintain and run tar sands each other and to future a previous recovery target facilities are similar to generations,” said Mayor for the threatened animal those required in renewa- Biskupski. / Rabble.ca of 2,800 nests by 2028. ble technologies. Iron and Science and the body / CTV / Huffington Post It’s possible new escape Earth will be developing / EcoWatch woman diagnosed with hatches built into shrimp a training program for Lou Gehrig’s disease nets, and voluntary limiting tradespeople to work in A (ALS) in 2015 can speak of artificial lights along solar energy projects and again, in her own voice, beaches at night (to avoid is consulting with tar sands Friendlier food, using many standard text- disorienting hatchlings workers on a Workers’ cosmetics, toys to-speech devices. Before trying to find their way to Climate Plan. Solar Impulse 10-year study by the losing the ability to speak sea), are having an effect. 2, a single-seater plane Swiss Research Institute to the progressive neuron San Francisco County Board (pictured) with a greater A of Organic Agriculture in disease, Jessie Levine, has banned the sale of wingspan than the Boeing Kenya indicates that or- 45, recorded samples polystyrene (Styrofoam, 747, touched down in Abu ganic agriculture is a viable of her voice, which was foam packing, cups and Dhabi on July 26, complet- strategy for the tropics, blended with those of her mooring buoys) effective ing a historic round-the- generating comparable two sisters by VocaliD, a January 1, 2017. In water, world trip powered entirely yields to “conventional” Massachusetts company the material falls apart and by the sun. “Our mission methods but with lower founded by speech looks like food to many now is to continue to moti- input costs, such as from technology professor Rupal marine animals. Morocco, Patel. A new Australian-U.S. already a green policy study suggests that within leader, has banned plastic five years a vaccine will be bags—for real this time. A available for the presently 2009 prohibition on the incurable Alzheimer’s production and use of black disease. Although the exact plastic bags didn’t quite pathology of Alzheimer’s stick. This time, bags made is not clear, scientists know of paper and fabric will be that when amyloid-beta made widely available as and tau (both proteins) die, an alternative. / Associated they can build up in plaque, Press / Ecowatch 38 Feature

Story by Naomi Klein / Illustrations by Kara Sievewright Edward Said and the violence of othering in a warming world

DWARD SAID WAS no tree-hug- ificity suddenly evaporated. Which proper cause.” But the environmen- ger. Descended from traders, crops were being cultivated? What tal challenges of the Middle East are artisans and professionals, he was the state of the soil? The avail- impossible to ignore for anyone im- once described himself as “an ability of water? Nothing was forth- mersed, as Said was, in its geopolitics. extreme case of an urban Pal- coming. “I continue to perceive a pop- This is a region intensely vulnerable estinian whose relationship to ulation of poor, suffering, occasion- to heat and water stress, to sea-level Ethe land is basically metaphorical.” In ally colourful peasants, unchanging rise and to desertification. A recent A„er the Last Sky, his meditation on and collective,” Said confessed. This paper in Nature Climate Change pre- the photographs of Jean Mohr, he ex- perception was “mythic,” he acknowl- dicts that, unless we radically lower plored the most intimate aspects of edged—yet it remained. emissions and lower them fast, large Palestinian lives, from hospitality to If farming was another world for parts of the Middle East will likely sports to home décor. The tiniest de- Said, those who devoted their lives “experience temperature levels that tail—the placing of a picture frame, to ma†ers like air and water pollu- are intolerable to humans” by the end the defiant posture of a child—pro- tion appear to have inhabited anoth- of this century. And that’s about as voked a torrent of insight from Said. er planet. Speaking to his colleague blunt as climate scientists get. Yet en- Yet when confronted with images of Rob Nixon, he once described envi- vironmental issues in the region still Palestinian farmers—tending their ronmentalism as “the indulgence tend to be treated as a‘erthoughts, flocks, working the fields—the spec- of spoiled tree-huggers who lack a or luxury causes. The reason is not 39 ignorance, or indifference. It’s just bandwidth. Climate And there is more. In the last year of Said’s life, Israel’s change is a grave threat but the most frightening im- so-called “separation barrier” was going up, seizing huge pacts are in the medium term. And in the short term, swathes of the West Bank, cu†ing Palestinian workers off there are always far more pressing threats to contend from their jobs, farmers from their fields, patients from with: military occupation, air assault, systemic discrim- hospitals—and brutally dividing families. There was no ination, embargo. Nothing can compete with that—nor shortage of reasons to oppose the wall on human rights should it a†empt to try. grounds. Yet at the time, some of the loudest dissenting There are other reasons why environmentalism might voices among Israeli Jews were not focused on any of have looked like a bourgeois playground to Said. The Is- that. Yehudit Naot, then Israel’s environment minister, raeli state has long coated its nation-building project in was more worried about a report informing her, “The sep- a green veneer; it was a key part of the Zionist “back to aration fence…is harmful to the landscape, the flora and the land” pioneer ethos. And in this context trees, spe- fauna, the ecological corridors and the drainage of the cifically, have been among the most potent weapons of creeks.” “I certainly don’t want to stop or delay the build- land grabbing and occupation. It’s not only the count- ing of the fence,” she said, but “I am disturbed by the en- less olive and pistachio trees that have been uprooted vironmental damage involved.” As the Palestinian activ- to make way for se†lements and Israeli-only roads. It’s ist Omar Barghouti later observed, Naot’s “ministry and also the sprawling pine and eucalyptus forests that have the National Parks Protection Authority mounted dili- been planted over those orchards, as well as over Pales- gent rescue efforts to save an affected reserve of irises by tinian villages, most notoriously by the Jewish National moving it to an alternative reserve. They’ve also created Fund, which, under its slogan “Turning the Desert Green,” tiny passages [through the wall] for animals.” boasts of having planted 250 million trees in Israel since Perhaps this puts the cynicism about the green move- 1901, many of them non-native to the region. In publicity ment in context. People do tend to get cynical when their materials, the JNF bills itself as just another green NGO, lives are treated as less important than flowers and rep- concerned with forest and water management, parks and tiles. And yet there is so much of Said’s intellectual legacy recreation. It also happens to be the largest private land- that both illuminates and clarifies the underlying caus- owner in the state of Israel, and despite a number of com- es of the global ecological crisis, so much that points to plicated legal challenges, it still refuses to lease or sell ways we might respond that are far more inclusive than land to non-Jews. current campaign models—ways that don’t ask suffering I grew up in a Jewish community where every occa- people to shelve their concerns about war, poverty and sion—births and deaths, Mother’s Day, bar mitzvahs— systemic racism and first “save the world,” but instead was marked with the proud purchase of a JNF tree in the demonstrate how all these crises are interconnected, and person’s honour. It wasn’t until adulthood that I began to how the solutions could be too. In short, Said may have understand that those feel-good faraway conifers, certif- had no time for tree-huggers, but tree-huggers must ur- icates for which papered the walls of my Montreal ele- gently make time for Said—and for a great many other mentary school, were not benign—not just something anti-imperialist, postcolonial thinkers—because without to plant and later hug. In fact, these trees are among the that knowledge there is no way to understand how we most glaring symbols of Israel’s system of official dis- ended up in this dangerous place, or to grasp the transfor- crimination—the one that must be dismantled if peace- mations required to get us out. So what follows are some ful co-existence is to become possible. thoughts—by no means complete—about what we can The JNF is an extreme and recent example of what learn from reading Said in a warming world. some call “green colonialism.” But the phenomenon is hardly new, nor is it unique to Israel. There is a long e was and remains among our most achingly eloquent and painful history in the Americas of beautiful piec- Htheorists of exile and homesickness, but Said’s home- es of wilderness being turned into conservation parks, sickness, he always made clear, was for a home that had and then that designation being used to prevent Indig- been so radically altered that it no longer really exist- enous people from accessing their ancestral territories ed. His position was complex: he fiercely defended the to hunt and fish, or simply to live. It has happened again right to return, but never claimed that home was fixed. and again. A contemporary version of this phenome- What ma†ered was the principle of respect for all human non is the carbon offset. Indigenous people from Bra- rights equally and the need for restorative justice to in- zil to Uganda are finding that some of the most aggres- form our actions and policies. This perspective is deep- sive land grabbing is being done by conservation organ- ly relevant in our time of eroding coastlines, of nations izations. A forest is suddenly rebranded a carbon off- disappearing beneath rising seas, of the coral reefs that set and put off-limits to its traditional inhabitants. As sustain entire cultures being bleached white, of a balmy a result, the carbon offset market has created a whole Arctic. This is because the state of longing for a radically new class of “green” human rights abuses, with farm- altered homeland—a home that may not even exist any ers and Indigenous people being physically a†acked by longer—is something that is being rapidly, and tragical- park rangers or private security when they try to access ly, globalized. In March, two major peer-reviewed stud- these lands. Said’s comment about tree-huggers should ies warned that sea-level rise could happen significant- be seen in this context. ly faster than previously believed. One of the authors of 40 the first study was James Hansen, perhaps the most re- tire nations and ancient cultures. And they are what al- spected climate scientist in the world. He warned that, lowed for the digging up of all that carbon to begin with. on our current emissions trajectory, we face the “loss of all coastal cities, most of the world’s large cities and all ossil fuels aren’t the sole driver of climate change— their history,” and not in thousands of years from now F there is industrial agriculture, and deforestation—but but as soon as this century. If we don’t demand radical they are the biggest. And the thing about fossil fuels is change we are headed for a whole world of people search- that they are so inherently dirty and toxic that they re- ing for a home that no longer exists. quire sacrificial people and places: people whose lungs Said helps us imagine what that might look like as and bodies can be sacrificed to work in the coal mines, well. He helped to popularize the Arabic word sumud people whose lands and water can be sacrificed to open- (to stay put, to hold on): that steadfast refusal to leave pit mining and oil spills. As recently as the 1970s, scien- one’s land despite the most desperate eviction a†empts tists advising the U.S. government openly referred to cer- and even when surrounded by continuous danger. It’s a tain parts of the country being designated “national sac- word most associated with places like Hebron and Gaza, rifice areas.” Think of the mountains of Appalachia, blast- but it could be applied equally today to residents of coast- ed off for coal mining, because so-called “mountain top al Louisiana who have raised their homes up on stilts so removal” coal mining is cheaper than digging holes un- that they don’t have to evacuate, or to Pacific Islanders derground. There must be theories of othering to justi- whose slogan is “We are not drowning. We are fighting.” fy sacrificing an entire geography—theories about the In countries like the Marshall Islands and Fiji and Tu- people who lived there being so poor and backward that valu they know that so much sea-level rise is inevitable their lives and culture don’t deserve protection. A‘er all, that their countries likely have no future. But they re- if you are a “hillbilly,” who cares about your hills? Turn- fuse just to concern themselves with the logistics of re- ing all that coal into electricity required another layer location, and wouldn’t even if there were safer countries of othering too: this time for the urban neighbourhoods willing to open their borders (a very big if), since climate next door to the power plants and refineries. In North refugees aren’t currently recognized under international America, these are overwhelmingly communities of col- law. Instead they are actively resisting: blockading Aus- our, black and Latino, forced to carry the toxic burden tralian coal ships with traditional outrigger canoes, dis- of our collective addiction to fossil fuels, with markedly rupting international climate negotiations with their in- higher rates of respiratory illnesses and cancers. It was convenient presence, demanding far more aggressive cli- in fights against this kind of “environmental racism” that mate action. If there is anything worth celebrating in the the climate justice movement was born. Paris Agreement signed in April—and sadly, there isn’t Fossil fuel sacrifice zones dot the globe. Take the Niger enough—it has come about because of this kind of prin- Delta, poisoned with an Exxon Valdez–worth of spilled oil cipled action: climate sumud. every year, a process Ken Saro-Wiwa, before he was mur- But this only scratches of the surface of what we can dered by his government, called “ecological genocide.” The learn from reading Said in a warming world. He was, of executions of community leaders, he said, were “all for course, a giant in the study of “othering,” described in Ori- Shell.” In my country, Canada, the decision to dig up the entalism as “disregarding, essentializing, denuding the Alberta tar sands, a particularly heavy form of oil, has re- humanity of another culture, people or geographical re- quired the shredding of treaties with First Nations, trea- gion.” And once the other has been firmly established, the ties signed with the British Crown that guaranteed Indig- ground is so‘ened for any transgression: violent expul- enous peoples the right to continue to hunt, fish and live sion, land the‘, occupation, invasion. Because the whole traditionally on their ancestral lands. It required it be- point of othering is that the other doesn’t have the same cause these rights are meaningless when the land is des- rights, the same humanity, as those making the distinc- ecrated, when the rivers are polluted and the moose and tion. What does this have to do with climate change? Per- fish are riddled with tumours. And it gets worse: Fort Mc- haps everything. Murray—the town at the centre of the tar sands boom, We have dangerously warmed our world already, and where many of the workers live and where much of the our governments still refuse to take the actions necessary money is spent—is currently in an infernal blaze. It’s to halt the trend. There was a time when many had the that hot and that dry. And this has something to do with right to claim ignorance. But for the past three decades, what is being mined there. since the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Even without such dramatic events, this kind of re- was created and climate negotiations began, this refus- source extraction is a form of violence, because it does so al to lower emissions has been accompanied with full much damage to the land and water that it brings about awareness of the dangers. And this kind of recklessness the end of a way of life, a death of cultures that are insep- would have been functionally impossible without institu- arable from the land. Severing Indigenous people’s con- tional racism, even if only latent. It would have been im- nection to their culture used to be state policy in Cana- possible without orientalism, without all the potent tools da—imposed through the forcible removal of Indigenous on offer that allow the powerful to discount the lives of children from their families to boarding schools where the less powerful. These tools—of ranking the relative their language and cultural practices were banned, and value of humans—are what allow the writing off of en- where physical and sexual abuse were rampant. A recent 41 truth and reconciliation report called scale that we are now living in the about acknowledging that there is it “cultural genocide.” The trauma as- Anthropocene—the age of humans. no clean, safe, non-toxic way to run sociated with these layers of forced These ways of explaining our current an economy powered by fossil fuels. separation—from land, from culture, circumstances have a very specific, if There never was. from family—is directly linked to the unspoken meaning: that humans are There is an avalanche of evidence epidemic of despair ravaging so many a single type, that human nature can that there is no peaceful way either. First Nations communities today. On be essentialized to the traits that cre- The trouble is structural. Fossil fu- a single Saturday night in April, in the ated this crisis. In this way, the sys- els, unlike renewable forms of ener- community of A†awapiskat (popu- tems that certain humans created, gy such as wind and solar, are not lation 2,000), 11 people tried to take and other humans powerfully resist- widely distributed but highly con- their own lives. Meanwhile, DeBeers ed, are completely let off the hook. centrated in very specific locations, runs a diamond mine on the com- Capitalism, colonialism, patriarchy— and those locations have a bad hab- munity’s traditional territory; like those sorts of system. Diagnoses like it of being in other people’s coun- all extractive projects, it had prom- this erase the very existence of hu- tries. Particularly that most potent ised hope and opportunity. man systems that organized life dif- and precious of fossil fuels: oil. This “Why don’t the people just leave?”, ferently: systems that insist that is why the project of orientalism, the politicians and pundits ask. humans must think seven genera- of othering Arab and Muslim peo- But many do. And that departure is tions in the future; must be not only ple, has been the silent partner of linked, in part, to the thousands of good citizens but also good ancestors; our oil dependence from the start— Indigenous women in Canada who must take no more than they need and inextricable, therefore, from the have been murdered or gone miss- and give back to the land in order to blowback that is climate change. If ing, o‘en in big cities. Press reports protect and augment the cycles of nations and peoples are regarded as rarely make the connection between regeneration. These systems existed other (exotic, primitive, bloodthirsty, violence against women and violence and still exist, but they are erased as Said documented in the 1970s) it against the land—o‘en to extract every time we say that the climate is far easier to wage wars and stage fossil fuels—but it exists. Every new crisis is a crisis of “human nature” coups when they get the crazy idea government comes to power prom- and that we are living in the “age of that they should control their own ising a new era of respect for Indig- man.” And they come under very real oil in their own interests. In 1953, it enous rights. They don’t deliver, be- a†ack when megaprojects are built, was the British-U.S. collaboration to cause Indigenous rights, as defined like the Gualcarque hydroelectric overthrow the democratically elect- by the United Nations Declaration on dams in Honduras, a project which, ed government of Muhammad Mos- the Rights of Indigenous People, in- among other things, took the life of sadegh a‘er he nationalized the An- clude the right to refuse extractive the land defender Berta Cáceres, who glo-Iranian Oil Company (now BP). In projects—even when those projects was assassinated in March. 2003, exactly 50 years later, it was an- fuel national economic growth. And other U.K.-U.S. co-production—the that’s a problem because growth is ome people insist that it doesn’t illegal invasion and occupation of our religion, our way of life. So even S have to be this bad. We can clean Iraq. The reverberations from each Canada’s hunky and charming new up resource extraction, we don’t need intervention continue to jolt our prime minister is bound and deter- to do it the way it’s been done in Hon- world, as do the reverberations from mined to build new tar sands pipe- duras and the Niger Delta and the Al- the successful burning of all that oil. lines, against the express wishes of berta tar sands. Except that we are The Middle East is now squeezed in Indigenous communities who don’t running out of cheap and easy ways the pincer of violence caused by fos- want to risk their water, or partici- to get at fossil fuels, which is why sil fuels, on the one hand, and the im- pate in the further destabilizing of we have seen the rise of fracking pact of burning those fossil fuels on the climate. and tar sands extraction in the first the other. Fossil fuels require sacrifice zones: place. This, in turn, is starting to chal- In his latest book, The Conflict they always have. And you can’t have lenge the original Faustian pact of Shoreline, the Israeli architect Eyal a system built on sacrificial plac- the industrial age: that the heaviest Weizman has a groundbreaking es and sacrificial people unless in- risks would be outsourced, offload- take on how these forces are inter- tellectual theories that justify their ed, onto the other—the periphery secting. The main way we’ve under- sacrifice exist and persist: from Man- abroad and inside our own nations. stood the border of the desert in the ifest Destiny to Terra Nullius to ori- It’s something that is becoming less Middle East and North Africa, he ex- entalism, from backward hillbillies and less possible. Fracking is threat- plains, is the so-called “aridity line,” to backward Indians. We o‘en hear ening some of the most picturesque areas where there is on average 200 climate change blamed on “human parts of Britain as the sacrifice zone millimetres of rainfall a year, which nature,” on the inherent greed and expands, swallowing up all kinds has been considered the minimum shortsightedness of our species. Or of places that imagined themselves for growing cereal crops on a large we are told we have altered the earth safe. So this isn’t just about gasping scale without irrigation. These me- so much and on such a planetary at how ugly the tar sands are. It’s teorological boundaries aren’t fixed: 42 they have fluctuated for various rea- sons, whether it was Israel’s a†empts to “green the desert” pushing them in one direction or cyclical drought ex- panding the desert in the other. And now, with climate change, intensify- ing drought can have all kinds of im- pacts along this line. Weizman points out that the Syr- ian border city of Daraa falls direct- ly on the aridity line. Daraa is where Syria’s deepest drought on record brought huge numbers of displaced farmers in the years leading up to the outbreak of Syria’s civil war, and it’s where the Syrian uprising broke out in 2011. Drought wasn’t the only fac- tor in bringing tensions to a head. But the fact that 1.5 million people were internally displaced in Syria as a re- sult of the drought clearly played a role. The connection between water same capacity for dehumanizing is one of the Pacific Islands very vul- and heat stress and conflict is a recur- the other that justified the bombs nerable to sea-level rise. Its residents, ring, intensifying pa†ern all along the and drones is now being trained on a‘er seeing their homes turned into aridity line: all along it you see plac- these migrants, casting their need prisons for others, will very possibly es marked by drought, water scarcity, for security as a threat to ours, their have to migrate themselves. Tomor- scorching temperatures and military desperate flight as some sort of in- row’s climate refugees have been re- conflict—from Libya to Palestine, to vading army. Tactics refined on the cruited into service as today’s pris- some of the bloodiest ba†lefields in West Bank and in other occupation on guards. Afghanistan and Pakistan. zones are now making their way to We need to understand that what But Weizman also discovered North America and Europe. In sell- is happening on Nauru, and what is what he calls an “astounding coin- ing his wall on the border with Mex- happening to it, are expressions of cidence.” When you map the targets ico, Donald Trump likes to say: “Ask the same logic. A culture that plac- of Western drone strikes onto the Israel, the wall works.” Camps are es so li†le value on black and brown region, you see that “many of these bulldozed in Calais, thousands of lives that it is willing to let human a†acks—from South Waziristan people drown in the Mediterrane- beings disappear beneath the waves, through northern Yemen, Somalia, an, and the Australian government or set themselves on fire in detention Mali, Iraq, Gaza and Libya—are di- detains survivors of wars and des- centres, will also be willing to let the rectly on or close to the 200 mm arid- potic regimes in camps on the re- countries where black and brown ity line.” To me this is the most strik- mote islands of Nauru and Manus. people live disappear beneath the ing a†empt yet to visualize the bru- Conditions are so desperate on Nau- waves, or desiccate in the arid heat. tal landscape of the climate crisis. All ru that last month (April) an Iranian When that happens, theories of hu- this was foreshadowed a decade ago migrant died a‘er se†ing himself on man hierarchy—that we must take in a U.S. military report. “The Middle fire to try to draw the world’s a†en- care of our own first—will be mar- East,” it observed, “has always been tion. Another migrant—a 21-year- shalled to rationalize these mon- associated with two natural resourc- old woman from Somalia—set her- strous decisions. We are making this es, oil (because of its abundance) and self on fire a few days later. Malcolm rationalization already, if only implic- water (because of its scarcity).” True Turnbull, the prime minister, warns itly. Although climate change will ul- enough. And now certain pa†erns that Australians “cannot be misty- timately be an existential threat to have become quite clear: first, west- eyed about this” and “have to be very all of humanity, in the short term ern fighter jets followed that abun- clear and determined in our nation- we know that it does discriminate, dance of oil; now, western drones are al purpose.” It’s worth bearing Nau- hi†ing the poor first and worst, closely shadowing the lack of water, ru in mind the next time a columnist whether they are abandoned on the as drought exacerbates conflict. in a Murdoch paper declares, as Katie roo‘ops of New Orleans during Hur- Just as bombs follow oil, and Hopkins did last year, that it’s time ricane Katrina or whether they are drones follow drought, so boats fol- for Britain “to get Australian. Bring among the 36 million who according low both: boats filled with refugees on the gunships, force migrants back to the UN are facing hunger due to fleeing homes on the aridity line rav- to their shores and burn the boats.” drought in southern and eastern Af- aged by war and drought. And the In another bit of symbolism Nauru rica. 43 his is an emergency, a present emergency, not a future Overcoming these disconnections—strengthening Tone, but we aren’t acting like it. The Paris Agreement the threads tying together our various issues and move- commits to keeping warming below two degrees Celsius. ments—is, I would argue, the most pressing task of any- It’s a target that is beyond reckless. When it was unveiled one concerned with social and economic justice. It is the in Copenhagen in 2009, the African delegates called it “a only way to build a counterpower sufficiently robust to death sentence.” The slogan of several low-lying island win against the forces protecting the highly profitable nations is “1.5 to stay alive.” At the last minute, a clause but increasingly untenable status quo. Climate change was added to the Paris Agreement that says countries will acts as an accelerant to many of our social ills (inequali- pursue “efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 C.” ty, wars, racism), but it can also be an accelerant for the Not only is this non-binding, it is a lie: we are making no opposite, for the forces working for economic and social such efforts. The governments that made this promise justice and against militarism. Indeed the climate crisis— are now pushing for more fracking and more tar sands by presenting our species with an existential threat and development, which are u†erly incompatible with 2 C, let pu†ing us on a firm and unyielding science-based dead- alone 1.5 C. This is happening because the wealthiest peo- line—might just be the catalyst we need to knit togeth- ple in the wealthiest countries in the world think they er a great many powerful movements, bound together are going to be OK, that someone else is going to eat the by a belief in the inherent worth and value of all people biggest risks, that even when climate change turns up on and united by a rejection of the sacrifice zone mentality, their doorstep, they will be taken care of. whether it applies to peoples or places. We face so many When they’re wrong things get even uglier. We had a overlapping and intersecting crises that we can’t afford to vivid glimpse into that future when the floodwaters rose fix them one at a time. We need integrated solutions, solu- in England last December and January, inundating 16,000 tions that radically bring down emissions, while creat- homes. These communities weren’t only dealing with the ing huge numbers of good, unionized jobs and delivering we†est December on record. They were also coping with meaningful justice to those who have been most abused the fact that the government has waged a relentless at- and excluded under the current extractive economy. tack on the public agencies, and the local councils, that Said died the year Iraq was invaded, living to see its li- are on the front lines of flood defence. So, understandably, braries and museums looted, its oil ministry faithfully there were many who wanted to change the subject away guarded. Amid these outrages, he found hope in the glob- from that failure. Why, they asked, is Britain spending so al antiwar movement, as well as in new forms of grass- much money on refugees and foreign aid when it should roots communication opened up by technology; he not- be taking care of its own? “Never mind foreign aid,” we ed “the existence of alternative communities across the read in the Daily Mail. “What about national aid?” “Why,” globe, informed by alternative news sources, and keenly a Telegraph editorial demanded, “should British taxpay- aware of the environmental, human rights and libertari- ers continue to pay for flood defences abroad when the an impulses that bind us together in this tiny planet.” His money is needed here?” I don’t know—maybe because vision even had a place for tree-huggers. I was reminded Britain invented the coal-burning steam engine and has of those words recently while I was reading up on Eng- been burning fossil fuels on an industrial scale longer land’s floods. Amid all the scapegoating and finger-point- than any nation on Earth? But I digress. The point is that ing, I came across a post by a man called Liam Cox. He was this could have been a moment to understand that we upset by the way some in the media were using the dis- are all affected by climate change, and must take action aster to rev up anti-foreigner sentiment, and he said so: together and in solidarity with one another. It wasn’t, be- I live in Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire, one of the worst af- cause climate change isn’t just about things ge†ing hot- fected areas hit by the floods. It’s shit, everything has ter and we†er: under our current economic and polit- go¢en really wet. However…I’m alive. I’m safe. My fam- ical model, it’s about things ge†ing meaner and uglier. ily are safe. We don’t live in fear. I’m free. There aren’t The most important lesson to take from all this is that bullets flying about. There aren’t bombs going off. I’m there is no way to confront the climate crisis as a tech- not being forced to flee my home and I’m not being nocratic problem, in isolation. It must be seen in the con- shunned by the richest country in the world or criti- text of austerity and privatization, of colonialism and mil- cized by its residents. itarism, and of the various systems of othering needed to sustain them all. The connections and intersections All you morons vomiting your xenophobia…about how between them are glaring, and yet so o‘en resistance money should only be spent “on our own” need to to them is highly compartmentalized. The anti-austeri- look at yourselves closely in the mirror. I request you ty people rarely talk about climate change, the climate ask yourselves a very important question…Am I a de- change people rarely talk about war or occupation. We cent and honourable human being? Because home rarely make the connection between the guns that take isn’t just the U.K., home is everywhere on this planet. black lives on the streets of U.S. cities and in police cus- I think that makes for a very fine last word. tody and the much larger forces that annihilate so many M NAOMI KLEIN DELIVERED THE 2016 EDWARD W. SAID LONDON LECTURE, FROM black lives on arid land and in precarious boats around WHICH THIS ESSAY WAS ADAPTED AND PUBLISHED BY THE LONDON REVIEW OF the world. BOOKS IN JUNE.

44 International affairs Asad Ismi French unions and students protest regressive labour laws

OME OF THE largest demonstra- “This architecture is very impor- “For the past four months, in tions and labour strikes France tant because it gives every worker a these protests several people have has ever seen spread across the minimum standard of labour rights lost their eyes due to rubber bullets country from March to July. even where the trade union is weak fired at them by the police, a man has The action is set to continue or non-existent,” says Lesage. “The been put in a coma because the police in September as hundreds of new labour law changes this archi- fired a grenade at him which explod- Sthousands of workers and students tecture and accepts that a workplace ed near his face. These grenades have protest a neoliberal labour law forced labour agreement could be of a low- rubber bullets inside them. Another through the national assembly by the er standard than a sector-wide agree- man was injured by a grenade fired ruling Socialist Party (PS) led by Pres- ment, which in turn could be below at his spine. Police have also broken ident François Hollande. that of the national standard for la- into a CNT local office in Lille and de- The government passed the Loi bour rights. The door is then open to stroyed it, arrested its members for Travail in July without debate or a force workers and their unions to ac- protesting, and confiscated files.” vote (Hollande invoked a rarely used cept agreements under the level of The severity of official repression article of the French constitution any existing law. This means that has been facilitated by the state of that allows the president to rule by there is no end to the extent to which emergency declared in November decree). The labour reform makes it labour rights can be undermined in 2015 following terrorist a†acks in easier for employers to hire and fire each workplace.” Paris that killed 130 people. The emer- employees, and to impose wages and This alarming prospect explains gency grants police increased pow- working hours. Hollande’s reforms, the intensity of the demonstrations ers to act without judicial consent. which are opposed by a large major- against Loi Travail: workers are de- House searches can be conducted ity of the French public, threaten la- termined not to submit to what they without warrants at any time and bour rights won by French workers consider the almost complete abro- house arrests made. Curfews can be in struggles over the course of the gation of their labour rights. imposed, public movement limited last century. and mass gatherings stopped. Public “This law is not just bad by itself he official response has been mas- spaces such as bars and theatres can but signifies the destruction of the T sive police repression. Since March, be closed and media can be censored. entire legal architecture protecting 2,000 people have been arrested, dem- A French state of emergency is only workers’ rights in France,” Jean-Yves onstrators a†acked with rubber bul- supposed to last for 12 days, but the Lesage explains to me. Lesage is a lets, water cannons and tear gas. Hun- Hollande government has extended printer in a newspaper plant who dreds of protestors were injured dur- it several times. A‘er the Bastille Day has been a union activist and mem- ing the biggest gathering so far (an a†ack in Nice this July, which killed ber of the General Confederation of estimated 1.3 million people) on June 84 people, the national assembly vot- Labour (CGT), France’s largest union 14 in Paris. The police response made ed to maintain the state of emergen- federation, for 30 years. The CGT is parts of the city look like a war zone. cy until January 2017. close to the French Communist Par- “The state repression of union “The French government is using the ty and is leading the protests against demonstrations against the new la- state of emergency to suppress labour Hollande’s labour reform. bour law has been super-violent on rights and human rights in France,” says “In France we have three levels of a scale that I have never seen before Richard Wagman, co-founder of France’s labour laws,” he says. “The national in France,” says Florian, a union activ- New Anticapitalist Party (NPA), which minimum for every person, which is ist affiliated with the National Con- has also been an active participant in the labour code (Code du travail), laws federation of Labour (CNT), an anar- the demonstrations. “Since the prom- for each industrial sector, which can- cho-syndicalist union allied with the ulgation of the state of emergency and not be below the national standard, CGT in protesting the labour reform. the massive deployment of police, mili- and laws for each workplace, which (He asked that his last name not be tary and paramilitary forces, there have cannot be below the legal standard included for fear of reprisal from the been practically no arrests of suspect- for that sector. French government.) ed terrorists. The first arrests carried 45 out under the emergency were those This anger is particularly wide- his own party members to vote for of ecologists who were put in jail for spread in France. Hollande came to the labour reform legislation, which protesting against the climate confer- power four years ago by declaring is why he rammed it through the na- ence in Paris last December. that his enemy was “high finance.” tional assembly on July 20. Christian “Since then,” continues Wagman, But he proceeded to serve precise- Paul, a deputy in the assembly who “numerous trade unionists, social ly this sector by enacting unprece- leads a dissident faction of the Social- rights activists, anti-racist organizers, dented neoliberal measures against ist Party, warned this “would be po- environmentalists and other progres- the working class. litically devastating.” He told Prime sives have been arrested, as the police This betrayal has created wide- Minister Manuel Valls in early July no longer have to offer the same con- spread disillusionment with politics that “he risked further alienating le‘- stitutional guarantees in prosecut- in France, leading to the phenom- wing voters if he overrode parliamen- ing suspects for offences which are of- enon of Nuit Debout (“Rise Up All tary opponents and forced the labour ten imaginary. When terrorist a†acks Night”). As part of the labour demon- reform bill onto the statute books by traumatize the country and police strations over the summer, thou- decree ahead of legislative and pres- powers are increased, it’s the work- sands of people have occupied pub- idential elections in mid-2017.” ers’ movement which is pushed back.” lic squares overnight to discuss poli- While the Socialist Party appears Under Hollande, France’s military tics and economics, and what kind of headed for a significant loss in those interventions abroad have increased society they would prefer to live in. elections, no formidable alternative dramatically, with a†acks on Libya “The convergence of struggles was exists on the le‘. The Le‘ Front, a co- and Syria, and thousands of troops the main theme put forth in Nuit De- alition of the Communist Party, Jean- dispatched to Mali and the Central bout,” says Wagman, “bringing to- Luc Mélenchon’s Le‘ Party and the African Republic. According to Les- gether workers and youth from dif- Unitarian Le‘, has only 15 seats in the age, the terrorist a†acks in France ferent sectors in democratic, non-hi- national assembly out of a total of 577 can be connected to the Syrian and erarchical debates, as well as initiat- (the far le‘ is be†er represented at Libyan campaigns, but “it is also ing a number of militant initiatives the regional and departmental lev- linked to our colonialist history, our to support ongoing struggles in dif- el). The major opposition party, with Muslim immigrants and the discrim- ferent sectors.” 199 seats currently, are the right-wing ination they suffer.” The phenomenon, which was in- Republicans (formerly the Union for Muslims in France are treated “vi- spired by the 2011 Indignados move- a Popular Movement) led by Nicolas olently” by the police, says Florian, ment in Spain, has spread to other Sarkozy, who also drew mass protests who agrees the roots of terrorism countries in Europe. “It is a modern in response to labour reform propos- lie in France’s foreign policy, especial- form of proletarian internationalism als when he was prime minister ly its a†ack on Syria. “France needs in terms of class consciousness and Sarkozy has called Hollande’s Loi to stop creating chaos in the Middle democratic forms of organization,” Travail “far too weak to solve the prob- East and selling weapons all over the Wagman says. lems, but stinging enough to arouse world if its government wants to end “People are tired of voting for pro- the passions of the le‘. The govern- terrorism on its soil,” he says. gressive policies and being deceived. ment has proven its weakness faced They can see that the political system with the protests.” (The Republicans rance’s largest business lobby— does not work,” says Florian, who at- are one of several groups challenging F the Movement of the Enterpris- tended Nuit Debout in Place de la Ré- the legislation as unconstitutional.) es of France (MEDEF)—enthusiasti- publique, Paris, where the movement Sarkozy would also prefer that the po- cally backs the reforms and has long began. “When people do not agree lice had even more leeway to address pressured the Socialist Party to low- with neoliberal measures and make terrorism. “We must be merciless,” he er labour standards in the face of pro- this clear, the government passes said at the end of July, “the legal quib- longed recession and 10% unemploy- these anyway and this is done by a bling, precautions and pretexts for in- ment. Hollande, who alongside Ange- so-called socialist government which sufficient action are not acceptable.” la Merkel of Germany pressed Greece keeps lying and working against the The CGT has reacted with defi- and other European countries to im- public interest. ance to the imposition of the labour pose austerity on workers, was bound “Nuit Debout shows that the French reform and large demonstrations are to pursue the same agenda at home. people crave politics, but a genuine planned for September. “All EU governments faced with socialist politics and the creation of “We’re going to maintain the cli- the pressures of globalization are a true participatory democracy that mate that we’ve known for the past enforcing austerity to reduce the liv- benefits everyone and not just the four months and are thinking very ing standards of their workers down corporate elite. They want to be in- concretely of other [protests] in the to the level of China and India,” says volved in fashioning such a democra- fall,” Philippe Martinez, the CGT Lesage. “Euro-capitalists now need a cy and refuse to be marginalized and secretary-general, told the newspa- state be†er able to control the waves manipulated by the economic elite.” per L’Humanité. “I would remind you of public anger unleashed by this de- Hollande has become so unpopular that there are laws that have been structive process.” in France that he could not even trust passed, but never applied.” M 46 Books

A review essay by Jim Silver Competing visions of the city PHOTO BY ZOLA STREET ART, MONTREAL

N HER EXCELLENT book, Good Neigh- lobbyists of various stripes) moved mitment to diversity so celebrated bors: Gentrifying Diversity (Ver- gradually and systematically over by the gentrifiers has come to mean so, 2015), sociologist Sylvie Tis- a 30-year period into a south Bos- the genuine welcoming of gay resi- sot describes the o‘en nuanced ton neighbourhood previously de- dents “while preventing the forma- ways in which, when higher-in- scribed as a “slum area” or “skid row.” tion of a ‘gay district,’” opposing the come people move into lower-in- These newcomers to South End Bos- “radical” African-American and Puer- Icome neighbourhoods, it is the poor ton celebrated diversity and scorned to Rican community’s struggle for who lose. This is the case even when open expressions of racist intoler- public housing, and “keeping blacks those higher-income people are, in ance. They were different from the and Puerto Ricans at a distance.” Yet American terms, liberal and in many post-war white suburban homeown- the process is more subtle than this ways progressive. That gentrifica- ers who openly expressed racist ha- might first suggest. tion occurs is of course not news— tred and o‘en resorted to violence to Tissot says “the public expression it is part and parcel of the neoliberal push African-Americans out of their of racial prejudice elicits sharp re- city. However, Tissot’s ethnographic neighbourhoods. proach, while signs of openness to method provides insights that take But, as Tissot’s subtle ethnograph- others (non-whites, the poor, gays) us beyond the typical explanations ic analysis makes clear, there are lim- enhance rather than diminish repu- and descriptions of the process. its to diversity and multiculturalism, tations.” This is characteristic of the The people Tissot describes as and those limits are reached at the “new liberalism” that Tissot is de- “liberal upper middle class” gentri- line that separates the liberal upper scribing. It is “a combination of in- fiers (lawyers, architects, financiers, middle class from the poor, and espe- clusion and exclusion in which a cer- corporate managers, consultants, cially the racialized poor. The com- tain kind of openness plays a role in 47 the consolidation of social status,” a have the subtle effect of drawing The Lord Selkirk Park (top) and process that nevertheless is “not im- distinct lines between themselves residents Elvis, Chris, Don and Natalie plying any redistribution of status and the poor. Social status is se - PHOTOS BY HOLLY ENNS or power relations.” The diversity cured through preferences for hous- they celebrate allows these liberals ing, art and restaurants—the liberal “to profess a distinct a†itude of pro- upper middle class define their sta- gressivism, while at the same time di- tus in part by the chic and expen- cent-sounding South End Historical luting the racial question among the sive (and ethnically diverse) estab- Society has built a narrative about multitude of categories that make up lishments they patronize, and even the neighbourhood that constructs diversity.” the dogs they own and the way they the gentrifiers as brave and adven- We are familiar with this process treat those dogs. In pursuit of this turous souls, building a new and di- here in Canada, since it bears such a class project they have consciously verse neighbourhood on the some- strong similarity to our celebration and deliberately reconstructed the times dangerous urban frontier. of multiculturalism. The liberal up- history of South End Boston, eras- The “spectacle of charity” further per middle class gentrifiers do not at- ing its working class character and adds to liberal credentials and a nar- tack and chase out the poor in re- extolling its architectural heritage in rative of the gentrifiers as purveyors vanchist fashion. Rather, they en- such a way as to add monetary val- of all that is good. Tissot argues that gage in a variety of practices that ue to the neighborhood. The inno- “philanthropy is one of the many 48 strategies that prominent family in the Reagan era that involved cuts in Winnipeg’s inner city. Many of lines have used to maintain their so- to public spending, rising salaries these have proved unsuccessful, in cial rank over the generations.” The for managerial and financial elites whole or in part, but much has been reverse side of the charity/philan- and excessive bonuses to these up- learned, and inner-city residents thropy coin is open hostility to state per middle class liberals. There is in have themselves become increas- intervention. This is most particular- South End Boston a strong sense of ingly engaged in efforts to improve ly expressed in the liberal opposition community: a†ractive housing has their neighbourhoods. The result has to public housing. Poor people need been saved and rehabilitated; diver- been a flowering of innovative and public housing; the black and Puer- sity is celebrated; open expressions of creative solutions including alterna- to Rican community in particular has racism and intolerance are frowned tive educational strategies (especial- fought for decades for new develop- upon. But “the repudiation of exclu- ly for adults), programs to move the ments in South End Boston. They sion and the valorization of open- most marginalized of the racialized have been aggressively opposed by ness—breaking with the social re- poor into decent jobs, neighbourhood the gentrifiers, who have managed jection of the poorest and with spa- community development initiatives to keep their distance—physically tial segregation—have reworked the that engage and involve low-income and otherwise—from existing pub- manner in which social distinction citizens in bringing about chang- lic housing complexes and their in- operates.” es of their choosing (leading to im- habitants. proved safety and a stronger sense The gentrifiers’ relations with the his rich description of the more of community), and Indigenous or- poor “are increasingly a ma†er of T subtle ways that gentrification has ganizations built on traditional val- philanthropic activity,” writes Tissot, been effected in South End Boston ues of sharing and community, driv- and there is “a scarcity of encounters has important lessons for Canadi- en by and for Indigenous people who between white owners and other res- ans. For one, it speaks yet again to the themselves have experienced racial- idents on terms other than those of failures of “social mixing,” still touted ized poverty and the ongoing effects sharp inequality.” She argues that, “ef- by some as an anti-poverty strategy. of colonialism. In the past six years fectively, blacks and Latinos remain The belief that the mere presence in a especially, these homegrown efforts stigmatized groups, and their ‘overly’ neighbourhood or in a housing com- to build change were complemented visible presence—the expression of plex of more well-off middle class res- by considerable public investment their culture in public space, as well idents will benefit the poor is refut- by the former provincial NDP gov- as any demands they might make— ed, again, by Tissot’s findings. As she ernment. This combination—a pro- awaken a great deal of worry for the shows, even when open expressions gressive government willing to invest new elite.” There is li†le expression of hostility are frowned upon, these public dollars in working poor–led in- of open hostility toward the racial- “liberal” upper middle class gentrifi- itiatives—was beginning to produce ized poor, but “spatial proximity does ers, who are commi†ed to diversity real and positive change. not erase social distance.” The arriv- and who oppose open expressions of Tissot’s book describes a 30-year al of the upper middle class gentrifi- racist hostility, nevertheless exclude, period of neoliberal gentrification ers therefore “very much looks like in various subtle ways, the racialized in a once working class South End the conquest of space,” says Tissot. poor. They then reap the social and Boston neighbourhood. To the lib- As is always and everywhere the financial benefits. eral upper middle class gentrifiers, case, that conquest did not happen The outcomes of contests over ur- housing is a commodity, and their ef- without a struggle. South End Bos- ban space that is occupied by the ra- forts in the former “slum area” were ton was for years “contested space.” cialized poor depend in large part dedicated to valorizing private prop- But the upper middle classes brought upon the values driving the change erty and creating public spaces that money and sophisticated skills to the efforts, and the purpose of those ef- reflected their cultural values. In con- contest, and ultimately prevailed. forts. In South End Boston the strug- trast, what has been happening in re- They gradually took over the neigh- gle over space was driven by an elite cent years in Winnipeg’s inner city is bourhood associations created in the fraction of the corporate capitalist an expression of genuine social de- 1960s to fight urban renewal. And class seeking to improve their per- mocracy. It has been predicated upon they systematically and deliberately sonal circumstances. What might a belief in social and economic equal- constructed a narrative about them- happen if change were promoted in ity, and has sought to tap into and to selves that made them brave and ad- low-income urban neighbourhoods build the capacities and capabilities venturous pioneers—even though for different purposes, driven by dif- of the racialized poor—the very peo- their presence, in the words of a lo- ferent values and as part of a differ- ple that Boston’s liberal upper mid- cal activist newspaper, was “depriv- ent class project? The case of Winni- dle class have wanted most to avoid. ing the poor of adequate housing and peg’s inner city offers some insights. For example, Lord Selkirk Park, self-determination.” Over the past 20 years, but accel- Winnipeg’s largest public housing These “pioneers,” Tissot argues, erated and considerably improved project located in the city’s low-in- are the wealthy progeny of econom- since 2009, a wide range of efforts come and considerably racialized ic and regulatory changes initiated have been made to promote change North End, was only 50% occupied in 49 the 1990s. Half the units were board- et place to meet and talk with oth- ism and colonialism as Lord Selkirk ed up. Nobody wanted to live there. ers, is “highly successful” and hav- Park, and in Winnipeg’s inner city It was regularly referred to by those ing a “profound effect in the lives of more generally, imagine what would who lived and worked there as a “war neighbourhood residents.” The direc- be possible if a similar effort were zone,” a reflection of the high levels of tor of the child care centre created in made across the country. street gang activity and related crime 2012 (again, because of residents’ ex- and violence. In 2005, the North End pressed needs) has said “the change issot has described how the liber- Community Renewal Corporation in the children already is amazing,” T al upper middle class gentrifiers (NECRC) began a major communi- and she claims that provincial gov- promoted their narrow self-inter- ty development effort in Lord Sel- ernment evaluations, not now avail- est by deliberately and successfully kirk Park, funded by a federal gov- able to the public, confirm this. constructing a narrative about South ernment Comprehensive Communi- In a documentary film now being End Boston—anti-racist, sophisticat- ty Initiative grant. The entire effort completed to highlight the changes ed, but against social housing and was characterized, on the one hand, in Lord Selkirk Park, two Indigenous hostile to needs of the poor. We can by the long, slow process of build- women elders tell their interviewers see the same dynamic reproducing it- ing relations with, and earning the that 10 years ago they were afraid to self in most of Canada’s largest cities: trust of, residents by meeting with leave their housing units because of housing and rental prices are pushed and listening to and learning from crime and violence in the complex. sky high, the poor are pushed out, and them. On the other hand, pressure Today they feel privileged to be liv- o‘entimes real diversity is replaced was brought to bear on the provin- ing in good quality, affordable hous- by culturally uniform establishments cial government to invest in the solu- ing in a neighbourhood that is safe designed to appeal to a well-off clien- tions that residents themselves said and has such a strong sense of com- tele (and increase property value). they needed. A‘er a decade of this munity. The “contested space” that The global result of privileging pri- work, a variety of community-based is Lord Selkirk Park has been signif- vate property rights over the needs institutions and programs—most icantly transformed in a way that of the broader community is inequal- of them on permanent provincial has directly and substantially ben- ity and human misery on a scale so government funding streams as op- efi†ed the largely racialized poor severe that even the Internation- posed to temporary project grants— who live there. Everything done in al Monetary Fund is now acknowl- are now in place in Lord Selkirk Park. Lord Selkirk Park has been done be- edging the many failures of neolib- The changes have been dramatic. cause residents have said they want- eralism. It is now plainly obvious Lord Selkirk Park is now fully occu- ed and needed it, and each of these we all pay a huge price—in terms of pied and there is a wait list to get in. initiatives has been funded by the poor health and reduced education- People are “voting with their feet,” provincial government. In addition, al outcomes, and high levels of crime but voting in the opposite way than in the wake of the 2008-09 global eco- and violence—when inequality is al- was previously the case. More than nomic crisis the province chose to in- lowed to rise to the levels of today. 40 newcomer families, many of them vest its fiscal stimulus dollars in the Correspondingly, we will all benefit, African and/or Muslim, have success- renovation of each of the 314 units in in every respect, when inequality is fully and safely integrated into this Lord Selkirk Park and hired local la- dramatically reduced and racialized largely Indigenous housing com- bour to do much of the work. poverty is largely eliminated. plex. This is an outcome that would The positive effects of these an- As the 40-year neoliberal project not have been possible a decade ago, ti-poverty efforts are not confined to starts to fully unravel, and ascend- when newcomers rarely ventured Lord Selkirk Park. They are emerg- ant far-right political parties begin north of the rail yards, which phys- ing, in many cases just beneath the feeding upon the genuine disaffec- ically and symbolically divide the surface, throughout Winnipeg’s in- tion of a precarious and disadvan- city, because of the conflict between ner city. For example, where the lib- taged working class, it is worth re- young Indigenous and African men, eral upper middle class gentrifiers flecting upon what is possible when o‘en over drug turf. in South End Boston worked in var- a social democratic approach that Approximately 80 adults have ious subtle ways to keep their dis- is genuinely connected to those at graduated with their mature Grade tance from and oppose “radical” Afri- the bo†om of the income scale is 12 from Kaakiyow, the adult learning can-American and Latino activists, in adopted. Some innovative, commu- centre located in the housing com- Winnipeg growing numbers of sub- nity-driven, social democratic solu- plex since 2007 to meet residents’ urban, white middle class youth are tions have been adopted in Winni- expressed needs. A literacy program crossing the rail yards to get to the peg’s lowest-income and most racial- that prepares adults for success at North End to learn from and work ized communities. They work well, Kaakiyow is full to capacity and has with young Indigenous activists who and should be at the heart of a pro- a wait list. A recent evaluation re- are showing the way to a be†er fu- gressive narrative across Canada to ported that the Lord Selkirk Park ture. If such changes can be made in convince the public, government and Resource Centre, created in 2005 af- less than a decade in a neighbour- ourselves that poverty can be elimi- ter residents said they needed a qui- hood as poor and as damaged by rac- nated if we choose to do it. M 50 Reviewed by Melissa Graham Shaping the CPP, from the 1960s to today

the work of Canadians with disabil- of citizenship status faced by peo- ities to fit their lives into rigid defi- ple with disabilities when fiscal re- nitions. Prince sees this challenge of straint and austerity are the order navigating medical and legal bureau- of the day. Though the original in- cracy as part of the struggle faced by tent of the CPP disability program Canadians with disabilities to main- was to reduce the stigma of disabil- tain their social status as citizens. ity, the Chrétien and Harper years The book identifies the CPP not only saw that stigma return. Through as a social right, but also as a marker their reforms the program became for social citizenship that is formed much more difficult to apply for and through struggle, community mem- receive, and people were penalized bership and social standing. How each for returning to work. Yet when the prime ministerial era understood dis- country found itself in tough eco- STRUGGLING FOR SOCIAL CITIZENSHIP: ability shaped and limited social pro- nomic times, the “business case” for DISABLED CANADIANS, INCOME grams like the CPP. Prince explains, hiring workers with disabilities was SECURITY, AND PRIME MINISTERIAL “the state is a force of control and seg- in full swing. ERAS regation as well as of support and in- Prince also mentions the loss of MICHAEL J. PRINCE clusion,” where program reforms re- administrative and social justice for flect the interests of the federal gov- program applicants and recipients in McGill-Queen’s University Press (May 2016), 328 pages, ernment. Such was the case in the recent years. A Social Security Tribu- $34.95 1960’s, when vocational rehabilitation nal established by the Harper gov- programs received 25% more funding ernment dramatically reduced the ef- N THESE STILL early days for Prime for training in defence industries, and fectiveness of the program’s appeals Minister Trudeau, while progressive in the neoliberal ideas that have influ- process. Meetings with activists, so- social reforms seem to be back on enced the CPP in recent times. cial rights organizations and provin- the table, Michael Prince reminds Over the following chapters, cial governments were reduced to on- us of similar cultural changes in the Prince discusses the development of line consultations. past, and what we can learn from income support programs for work- These policies not only influence Ithem moving into the future. ers and people with disabilities, and the ways people with disabilities see In Struggling for Social Citizenship, the course of reforms that have con- themselves in society; they also re- Prince, a social policy professor at the tinued to shape the CPP disability inforce existing social hierarchies University of Victoria, takes a hard program. Each elected prime minis- and are a destructive force on com- look at the country’s largest social ter, from Pearson to Harper, is given munity solidarity. Prince illustrates program, the Canada Pension Plan their own chapter, with key policy how the CPP disability program and (CPP), and the prime ministerial eras themes for each era. other forms of income support chal- that have shaped it over the last 50 Since the days of Pearson, disabil- lenge conventional ideologies of citi- years. It is a detailed political history ity income programs were based on zenship, where employment is a crit- that focuses the reader’s gaze through the medicalization of people with ical component. These conflicting no- a critical disability lens on the medi- disabilities, who have continued to tions have created a political ba†le- calization of income support, and the be their main source of income. The ground for people to navigate when political factors that impact income legislation always acknowledged they are most vulnerable. security in either times of increasing that people with disabilities could It seems fairly clear, from reading social rights or increasing austerity. be workers, but it was not until the this book, that reformation of the In the first chapter, Prince intro- Pierre Trudeau era that social rights CPP can be impacted by social change, duces us to disability policy concepts, for people with disabilities caught provided politicians are willing to lis- and the categorization of disability up. This laid the groundwork for Mul- ten. Financial support for people with that occurs through eligibility cri- roney to strengthen the benefits of disabilities is a keystone to our social teria and other administrative prac- the disability program while simulta- rights in all areas of citizenship. Dis- tices. People living with disabilities neously reducing staff, in turn se†ing ability activists and organizations o‘en experience disability and im- the program up for fiscal restraint. have long embraced the social mod- pairment in a more fluid way than An important theme in Strug- el as a pathway for change; it is time bureaucracy can tolerate; it becomes gle for Social Citizenship is the loss this was reflected in policy. M 51 Interview Hillary Clinton, roleplaying progressive

ROGRESSIVES HOPING FOR a Demo- al from worldwide ba†lefields. Blam- one of the two than by starting from cratic victory in the upcoming ing free-rider allies sets a national- scratch. The Bernie campaign made it U.S. election should be sore- ist tone to such withdrawal. His fo- clear how much popular support ex- ly disappointed by the party’s cus on wiping out Islamic terrorism ists for a return to the social outlook presidential nominee. So ar- is consistent with normalizing re- associated with the New Deal, which gues Diana Johnstone, journal- lations with Russia and reversal of many people continue to associate Pist, author and staunch critic of U.S. Hillary Clinton’s “regime change” pol- with the Democratic Party. In reality, foreign policy, in her book Queen of icy. Sounding “crazy” could be a symp- the progressive le‘ is now deprived Chaos: The Misadventures of Hillary tom of realism. of effective political representation. Clinton (CounterPunch, November Honestly, it is hard to see how to es- JA: How effective do you think Bernie 2015). Jeremy Appel spoke to John- cape from the two party trap. Sanders has been in challenging Clin- stone on the eve of the Democrat- ton’s foreign policy positions? JA: Clinton’s gender has played an ic National Convention in late July oversized role in discussions of her about Clinton, Trump, Sanders, DJ: Unfortunately, he was not effec- candidacy, but your book urges vot- gender politics and the cage of the tive at all. By resigning from the ers to look past the idea of America’s two-party system. Democratic National Commi†ee first female president. to oppose Hillary Clinton’s warlike JA: Your first two books, Fool’s Cru- “regime change” policy, Hawaii con- DJ: That gives people a reason to vote sade and the Politics of Euromissiles gresswoman Tulsi Gabbard gave for her. That and her “experience.” In focus on the projection of unilater- Sanders a great opportunity to use reality, a‘er being the wife of a pres- al U.S. power abroad. How would his campaign to strengthen an an- ident (Bill Clinton), that “experience” Hillary Clinton differ from Donald ti-war constituency. Sanders failed to was carefully cra‘ed to prepare her Trump on foreign policy? follow her lead, sticking to domestic to run for president: first senator, DJ: Clinton adheres to the notion policy issues without relating his so- then Secretary of State. A suitable that American military power is ca- cial reforms to the need to challenge curriculum vitae for the job. I find it pable of achieving just about what- the military-industrial complex. His amusing that the candidacy is not a ever U.S. leaders want it to do. All opposition to the 2003 invasion of result of her experience, but rather that is needed to get our way is “re- Iraq was principled and foresighted, that the experience is the result of solve.” Thus she and her foreign poli- but that was a Republican war. He her (carefully programmed) candida- cy clique seem confident that U.S. air has shown much more tolerance for cy. She has cast herself in the role. strikes could counter Russian influ- “humanitarian” wars waged by Dem- Being a woman tends to protect her ence in Syria. Such overconfidence ocrats. Bernie failed to reply to charg- from more critical examination of leads to taking grave risks without es that he “lacked experience” by ag- that record. weighing the possible outcomes. gressively exposing the deadly na- Still, there is no doubt that because So far, Trump’s foreign policy state- ture of Hillary’s “experience.” she is a woman she has been subject- ments are somewhat ambiguous. In ed to particularly vicious personal at- JA: Whatever his flaws, Sanders gal- competition with Hillary for support tacks. By the same token, Obama vanized the support of many pro- from the influential pro-Israel lobby, aroused unjustified animosity for be- gressives fed up with the Democrat- Trump’s aggressive condemnation of ing African-American. Just as having ic establishment. What do you think the Iran nuclear deal competes with a black president failed to eliminate these supporters should do now that Clinton’s bellicose threats to “oblite- racism, a woman president is not go- he surrendered the nomination to rate” Iran. ing to end the war between the sex- Clinton? However, by promising to “make es in America—on the contrary. My America great again,” Trump implies DJ: Since it appears hopeless ei- problem with all this is that “the right the U.S. is not so all-powerful. Con- ther to reform the Democratic Par- of a woman to be President” is actually sidering that he set out to win the ty from within (apparently Sanders’ a very provincial domestic issue in the nomination from the Republican project), or to build the Green Party United States at a time when so much Party, which is not exactly a peace into a real national challenge, I think else is at stake, including the danger of movement, Trump may have been spli†ing the Democratic Party would World War III. This is just not the mo- using aggressive rhetoric precisely be the best strategy. It might be eas- ment to focus on gender. Some other in order to sell a policy of withdraw- ier to build a third party by spli†ing time, some other woman. M 52 HELP US SHED LIGHT ON THE ISSUES THAT MATTER TO YOU. (we’ve got some bright ideas)

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