On the first Monday of 2023, Jan. 9, the Toronto Police Services Board (TPSB) held a special meeting to discuss and vote upon a proposed $48.3 million CAD increase to the Toronto Police Services (TPS) operating budget in 2023, which represents a 4.3% increase over the bloated 2022 operating budget. Like in most Canadian cities, TPS takes up the biggest slice of the annual city budget at 22%. But by pushing a narrative that the city is increasingly beset by violent crime AND that the best solution is more police, Mayor John Tory and the City of Toronto keep throwing more at TPS instead of putting money towards our schools, public transit, daycare, and more.
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Code Brown
The lack of a unified healthcare operating system is an urgent issue facing the healthcare sector. Dr. Tam's recent report, "A Vision to Transform Canada’s Public Health System" (The Chief …, 2021) discusses how, "the national data landscape is fragmented across jurisdictions, governmental organizations, and community-level data owners” (p. 58, para. 2). Moreover, in a statement of the report, Dr. Tam says, "Our pandemic response was hindered in part, by significant gaps in our public health surveillance and data systems" (Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), 2021). These gaps in our healthcare systems are dangerous. If I were to hazard a guess - based on my experience working as a public health case/outbreak investigator from November 2020 to present in a long-term care/retirement home team – I would say we are currently 80% inefficient. I would even argue that it could be declared a logistical emergency (a type of internal crisis, a ‘code brown’).
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Ford’s Healthcare Privatization — A Slippery Highway to Hell
Well folks, he’s done it again. Ontario Premier Doug Ford retrieved the major tool in his toolbox: privatization. This time, Ford brandishes privatization to hammer on the nail that is the province’s healthcare system. As reported by the CBC last week, “Ford and Health Minister Sylvia Jones are planning to make an announcement next week on expanding the number and range of surgeries performed in independent health facilities outside of hospitals.” Independent health facilities are generally for-profit clinics operated by the private owners.
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Verified Twitter Fakes and Contradictions of Capital
On Nov. 10, Eli Lilly, one of three pharmaceutical companies that collectively dominate the global insulin market, tweeted out, “we are excited to announce that insulin is free now.” With the adorned blue check, normally an indicator of a verified celebrity or corporate twitter account, the announcement went semi-viral. Eli Lilly’s stock price tumbled and many online laughed at how Twitter seemed to be imploding after a few short weeks with Elon Musk at the helm. But when one looks just slightly past the weeds of trolls and memes, contradictions inherent to capitalism smack you straight in the face.
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Austerity and the Mental Health Crisis on Ontario Campuses
A mental health crisis continues to swell. Among those seriously impacted are the students enrolled in Colleges and Universities in Ontario. The numbers are bleak, but how did we get here? A historical and material analysis is needed to understand the ‘why’ of the crisis and how students ought to organize and fight back!
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