Social

A Campbell River coal mine says it is suspending operations indefinitely, citing a prolonged and steep decline in coal prices and changes in market demand.

Up to 66 workers at Quinsam Coal face job cuts, the company said in a statement Friday.

It said the mine will be placed into “care and maintenance,” but existing supply contracts will still be honoured.

A joint call from the leaders of ActionAid, AWID, Civicus, Greenpeace and Oxfam on the eve of the World Social Forum in Tunis

Much of the general public is well aware of scientists' recommendations on climate change. In particular, climate scientists and other academics say society needs to keep global temperatures to no more than two degrees Celsius below preindustrial levels to avoid the most dangerous effects of climate change.

But now more academics are weighing in on climate change: philosophers, ethicists, and social scientists among others.

Bernie Sanders calls himself a socialist, but the US needs its own version, not Denmark’s

Sen. Bernie Sanders’ public defense of socialism in the Oct. 13 Democratic presidential debate has kicked off America’s first major discussion of the idea in more than a generation. Columnists, talk show hosts and Donald Trump have all joined in. Most of the discussion, however, has been wildly misleading, and almost all of it has bypassed some of the most interesting forms of a very American and practical form of socialism emerging throughout the United States.

Soon after the horrific terror attacks in Paris, last Friday, our phones filled with messages from friends and colleagues: “So are they going to cancel the Paris climate summit?” “The drums of war are beating. Count on climate change being drowned out.” The assumption is reasonable enough. While many politicians pay lip service to the existential urgency of the climate crisis, as soon as another more immediate crisis rears its head—war, a market shock, an epidemic—climate reliably falls off the political map.

[Webpage editor's note: The momentum for social change in dealing with both the climate and social justice issues.] 

City council member Kshama Sawant says the Vermont senator’s candidacy has created ‘enormous momentum’ for change among young people and workers

Kshama Sawant may be the only elected politician in the US who thinks Bernie Sanders has compromised his socialist principles a little too much to win the White House.

Seattle workers hail 'historic moment' as city sets course for $15 minimum wage

As the slowdown in northern Alberta deepens, tens of thousands of unemployed oil patch workers — rigger, welders, pipe fitters, and heavy-haul drivers — are heading home. During the boom times, Fort McMurray attracted workers from across the country, from British Columbia to Newfoundland. Now, those days feel like another lifetime ago.

But what is it like for those people who are already home? What happens to people who live in Fort McMurray — those who bought homes, enrolled their kids in school, got involved in their communities? What has the downturn meant for them?

An analysis of the wider social context of public transit and transportation:

. . . .But as the society points out in its report, A Cold Wind Blows, poverty remains one of the biggest barriers to children learning.

The Aboriginal Care Society’s report is not as blunt as Turpel-Lafond’s assessment of government failures.

But its assessment of why it is happening in British Columbia is brutally frank.

On Saturday, November 29, Québecers braved the cold and took to the streets of Québec and Montréal. Buses were sent hundreds of kilometres across the province to the two cities, where workers from all sectors marched against the province’s planed austerity measures.

The march was organized by a coalition of community, student and labour groups and pulled out more people than any multi-city rally since the Maple Spring of 2012.

In Québec City, it was more people at a march than anyone could even remember.