Last Man of the West

@markroseman I hope they take your advice - it's good. I have that fear too but I will take a possible worsening over a proven track record of worsening any day.

Fears about what the BC Conservatives would do to health care have a greater impact on voter intentions than the BC NDP's demonstrated failures in health care. I'm definitely not a Conservative supporter, but if you want to allay those fears, here's how. Bonus: it's on-brand!

@CMHR_News "Human rights" have become the biggest threat to individual rights and liberal democracy in Canada. They are a cover for authoritarian power grabs. Time to admit this and eliminate them.

Over the last few years, the "parental rights" movement has been growing in Canada, which aims to deny 2SLGBTQI+ youth their fundamental rights.

@ShellyUrquhart @CityOfVictoria Make traffic horrible for vehicle drivers to coerce them into changing their mode of transportation to try and manifest their utopian fantasies and say it's all for "safety".

The @CityOfVictoria is deliberately making traffic issues. Not even this bunch can be this incompetent.

@brettdmcdowell @preta_6 Well said

I don’t think there is a true role reversal here. For it to be equivalent, you would need the same historical and social context, and that is not interchangeable. Acknowledging context is important, but it has to be paired with a consistent standard. Otherwise it starts to feel like certain behaviour is being rationalized rather than clearly rejected. Aaron responded fairly and civilly, and I appreciate that he made it clear he does not condone the rhetoric and was trying to encourage civility. The underlying experiences are real, and the frustration is understandable, especially when people feel their reality is being denied. But that explains the reaction, it does not excuse it. There still has to be a clear line between understanding behaviour and accepting it.

Aaron says “I’m not excusing her behaviour” but that’s exactly what he’s doing. What chief Belleau said is vile, abhorrent and possibly a violation of our criminal code restrictions on speech. Had a white person said this about an indigenous person there would be RIOTS.

@timthielmann @NVanCaroline Thanks for responding. This makes sense. I believe that extinguishing aboriginal title through treaties was the original intention of the constitution but we've drifted far from that. I just worry that a constitutional amendment just isn't feasible and it's making me a doomer.

In theory, the government could try to negotiate treaties that actually extinguish aboriginal title and do not incorporate UNDRIP. The problem is that the courts would likely rule them invalid and revive the aboriginal, title rights. The treaty is intended to extinguish. The courts are the problem, which is why the constitution needs to be clearly amended to box them out. They really have no proper role in redefining the scope of British Columbian or Canadian sovereignty, jurisdiction and ownership in the way that they have.

🚨MAJOR news today🚨 Amidst their weak attempts to deal with their own DRIPA mess, the NDP has announced a new treaty that embeds UNDRIP permanently. Read this: "The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is an authoritative source for the interpretation of this Agreement, and, accordingly, informs the Parties in their implementation of this Agreement." Embedding UNDRIP into a treaty means *more* uncertainty, not less. It'll be a permanent source of ambiguity and disagreement. You can’t claim to want to "fix" DRIPA while embedding it in constitutional treaties. The only answer is this: Repeal DRIPA. Full stop. ✍️Sign the petition: winforbc.ca/landclaims

@timthielmann @NVanCaroline Would it not be possible for the federal government to negotiate a treaty that does not recognize aboriginal title or UNDRIP under the current constitution? Would a constitution without section 35 still allow the k'omoks treaty or would an amendment need to forbid it?

Modern treaties entrench both aboriginal title and the UN Declaration. So why does your plan include CONTINUING the negotiation of these treaties? Y You know that the only solution is to amend the constitution to extinguish all legal divisions and entitlements based on indigenous status.

@VancouverSun This is so bad. Forget the threat to private property and the uncertainty and hassle it will be to develop resources on land under aboriginal title, it's plainly anti-democratic. If the public pays to manage the land, but gets no say on how the land is used, it's not democracy.

Vaughn Palmer: Another wake-up call as B.C. court awards claim of Aboriginal title over Nootka Island vancouversun.com/opinion/column…

@ushirogoshi @AdamMcLean9 @promethurious @EU_Commission

@AdamMcLean9 @promethurious @EU_Commission if your wife sues you for alimony, does the government provides you with a lawyer? why not?

Healthcare is a basic right. Not a privilege. Not a luxury. This World Health Day, we stand for access, protection, and care for all.

@EU_Commission The EU was clearly a mistake.

@timekeeper1999 @Prominent_Bryan Some good points but a retiree making that kind of money probably has a great pension including extended health coverage for medication.

If a senior after retirement get few health benefits that working people have. And they have medication, a couple income would mean their deductible would be $7000-10,000 a year. If they are required to live in assisted living or supportive housing because of health issues their rent will be $3000 - $5000 a year. They no longer have the ability to shelter income in RRSPs, & have few deductions anymore. People with kids get all kinds of tax deductions for their dependents, get family allowance, child benefit, sports & arts deductions, and now daycare. And grandparents are doing allot of childcare these days.

A retired couple that has a combined income of 190k gets the full OAS but we claw back the Child Benefit almost fully at 150k annual income So we are more generous with welfare for old people than for families So backward. And yet no parties ran on fixing this!

@AmazingZoltan @nationalpost Record it all and release it all.

Having worked as a crime reporter for a year, I can tell you that Canada has some of the most opaque police bodycam laws anywhere in the civilized world. It seems foolish to me as bodycam footage is typically exculpatory for police. But then again, such is the Canadian justice system's tendency to tilt towards the rights of the accused (reasonably and rightfully) and to elevate "personal privacy" above all other considerations.

RCMP quietly testing AI-drafted reports from body camera audio nationalpost.com/news/politics/…

@Women___Exist I'm not going to begrudge them asking for the moon but I will begrudge the government for giving it to them.

Is anyone else finding their respect for indigenous "nations" dwindling of late?

@ShellyUrquhart @vicpdcanada I wasn't suggesting they are morally equivalent, only that the law should apply to all equally. I wonder how blocking traffic without the consent of authorities would go in Iran or Gaza? I'm guessing not so well.

@West_Man_Fallen @vicpdcanada Come to think of it, they weren’t calling for a global intifada either.

Here you go Vic PD.

@ShellyUrquhart @vicpdcanada I've generally avoid downtown so haven't seen it up close. It's just crazy that it's allowed. What is the point of laws if they're selectively applied. I'd say the same if it was the truckers. Can't be good for the tourist economy either. Shut it down.

They are not protesting Mark Carney on Wharf Street. The people I saw out enjoying the beautiful weather weren't impressed with this. They are breaking the law. Going against what @vicpdcanada asked them to do (stick to the legislature) was a show of dominance and a fvck you to the citizens of Victoria. I was surprised to see a certain dynamic back out supporting them too.

@historydefined Bro is absolutely loving it

Finding some surprises while cleaning the canals of Amsterdam

@DrewSav Turn the moon into solar panels and spaceships.

People are getting mad at this totally reasonable article. The moon is not owned by any government or corporation so who has the authority to extract resources from it? The moon should be treated as a nature preserve and left untouched.

@Vraptor650 @mashpotatoes00 @aidenwpkenny I does sounds cool! I'm not against HSR and would like to see more of it. I just think it should be paid for by the people who will benefit from it.

@West_Man_Fallen @mashpotatoes00 @aidenwpkenny people would use high speed rail to get food, tho. its an added convenience sure, but thats also what highways are for the average person. you get to go places for work, food, or for fun. it’s cool, and we should do it. you could live in toronto and visit montreal in the same day

How the fuck are trains this controversial. Our whole country was built around a railroad 😭

@Vraptor650 @mashpotatoes00 @aidenwpkenny Highways benefit everyone. They are the reason there is food in the grocery stores. Literally everyone depends on them The argument for HSR - an added convenience - is completely different.

@West_Man_Fallen @mashpotatoes00 @aidenwpkenny so why pay maintenance costs for the highway at all? you might not use it, but half the country does. you can’t be against HSR if you understand the argument for highways. that’s fucking stupid.

@Heather133872 @TristinHopper What could possibly go wrong?

@TristinHopper You keep wanting people to be more optimistic. You should be in favour of something actually getting built in Canada. Great infrastructure is a sign of a great country.

For this kind of money, you could basically build a new province. Take a chunk of the boreal forest, build out some railways, highways and dams, and you've got something that generates prosperity instead of eating it.