Written by Alex Cosh

On the latest episode of The Maple's North Untapped podcast, we spoke to B.C.-based journalist Emma Arkell about her recent article exploring how for-profit corporations expanded into the province's long-term care sector, the consequences on public health, and how workers fought back against the changes.

We also dug into the challenges for reporters in covering the real-time effectiveness of efforts to reverse those measures, and why some experts say we should stop referring to such changes as "privatization," and instead call it "profitization."

Download the full episode for free on Apple, Spotify, or Google.

Elghawaby Vows To Keep Fighting Discriminatory Laws

As reported by CBC News:

"A few weeks after apologizing for comments in a 2019 opinion piece, Canada's anti-Islamophobia representative began an official tour of communities with a stop in London, Ont., where a Muslim family was killed in June 2021 in what police describe as a hate-motivated attack."

The article continues:

"Elghawaby also vowed to continue to call out problematic legislation. '(Quebec's) Bill 21 does discriminate against people who wear visible religious symbols and there is a disproportionate impact on Muslim women who wear the headscarf,' she said. 'As I've said and I will continue to say, that does discriminate; it does discriminate against certain members of Quebec society.'"

Read the full story.

1.5 Celsius

Data from the IPCC: The world needs to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees celsius. As explained by CBC, a new IPCC report "notes that although we are more likely than not to reach 1.5 C in the 'near term,' it could drop back below that by the end of the century."

On This Day in 1960

On March 21, 1960, apartheid South Africa police officers opened fire and murdered 69 Black protesters in Sharpeville who were demonstrating against racist pass laws in that country.

While various Canadian governments publicly spoke against apartheid, it supported the oppressive system in many important ways. As explained in a 2013 Canadian Dimension article:

"...Canada mostly supported apartheid in South Africa. First, by providing it with a model. South Africa patterned its policy towards Blacks after Canadian policy towards First Nations ... Canada also supported South African apartheid through a duplicitous policy of publicly opposing the country’s racist system yet continuing to do business as usual with this former British Dominion."

Read the full article.

Other News

  • The far-right "Take Back Alberta" group is continuing its efforts to take over the governing United Conservative Party, David Climenhaga explains.
  • Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is emphasizing her pledge to exercise "fiscal restraint" in the upcoming federal budget, according to CTV News.
  • Central banks around the world are urging "calm" and are preparing for more market turmoil following UBS’s takeover of Credit Suisse last weekend, The Globe and Mail reports.

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