The Thorn on Thursdays
October 29 Newsletter | Vancouver Independent News + Analysis
Welcome to the second edition of The Thorn on Thursdays. If you like what we’re doing, tell your friends to subscribe to The Thorn at https://thethorn.substack.com, and help us spread the word by sharing this newsletter on social media. If you’re interested in reaching out to prepare a paragraph, an article, or more - please contact us at contact@thethorn.ca.
Riding out the second wave: COVID-19 numbers are up in B.C.
COVID-19 is back, not that it ever fully went away, with numbers of cases not seen since March in B.C.. Hospitalizations are on the rise and elders continue to die in long term care facilities (LTC). We are now experiencing a significant second wave of this virus and Dr. Henry is introducing new measures to curb the spread of the virus: no more than six additional people in a home besides immediate family and an “expectation” that masks will be worn in all indoor public venues. This comes as B.C. formally enters its ninth month of this pandemic. The general fatigue that comes with learning how to live and work in our communities with the virus circulating is profoundly felt by many.
How our newly elected majority provincial government supports those most in need during the second wave will be a measure of its collective humanity. Following an initial increase in long term care funding from the provincial government, we are now anxiously waiting to learn how effective this funding has been. Reporting on our public health care and pandemic response will be a priority for The Thorn.
Sober assessments of the B.C. election
As reported in our special day after E-Day edition of The Thorn, B.C.’s NDP government has been re-elected to a second term, going from a minority to a majority government. While we can all breathe a sigh of relief at the Liberals’ humiliating defeat, we should have no illusions. Organizing from the grassroots will be key to the next four years and beyond.
The Tyee, an indispensable outlet for B.C. political news, did an excellent round-up of takes on the election results.
Christo Aivalis, writing in Canadian Dimension, argues the NDP’s new majority means the party has to get more serious about concrete help for the working class. Aivalis makes a strong case that $15/hr is old news and the NDP needs to get bolder with increases to the wage floor. Everyone deserves a living wage, and everyone deserves the right to easily form a union. Aivalis also says the NDP now needs to move quickly to restore card check unionization, something the business lobby (and former Green leader Andrew Weaver) are vehemently against.
The BC Greens, meanwhile, are touting their results under new leader Sonia Furstenau as evidence that “British Columbians are not willing to give the government a pass on things like climate change, old growth protections, the Site C dam and the holes in the COVID recovery plan.”
In Jacobin, Derrick O’Keefe argues that the BC NDP needs to reverse course on its agenda of expanding and subsidizing fossil fuel export megaprojects and be more ambitious when it comes to taxing the rich and reducing inequality in its second term.
And wrapping up our B.C. election post-mortem, good riddance to Andrew Wilkinson who announced his resignation as opposition leader this week. The soon-to-be former B.C. Liberal leader ran a shameful campaign, trying to demonize the poor and unhoused at every opportunity. He will not be missed.
City of Vancouver releases Climate Emergency Action Plan proposal
The City of Vancouver has released its Report on the Climate Emergency Action Plan. This 371-page document, which follows from the municipal government’s vote last year to declare a climate emergency, “provides the road map to achieve the following four Big Move targets in ways that may bring financial, health and economic benefits to Vancouver:
Big Move 2: By 2030, two thirds of all trips in Vancouver will be made on foot, bike or transit.
Big Move 3: By 2030, 50% of the kilometres driven on Vancouver’s roads will be by zero emissions vehicles.
Big Move 4: By 2030, the carbon pollution from buildings will be cut in half from 2007 levels.
Big Move 5: By 2030, the embodied emissions from new buildings will be reduced by 40% compared to a 2018 baseline.”
Christine Boyle, city councilor for OneCity Vancouver, tweeted, “We need Council to pass the full plan. Anything less would be a failure of leadership.” And speaking of leadership, earlier this month Vancouver became the first city in Canada to endorse the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.
At the same time, we need to ensure that the transition to a green economy doesn’t lead to energy poverty. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has a great report proposing a B.C.-wide framework for this: “Fighting Energy Poverty in the Transition to Zero-Emission Housing: A Framework for B.C.”
Councillor Wiebe’s alleged conflict of interest may gift NPA more power on council
City Councillor Wiebe continues to face legal troubles that could jeopardize his seat on Vancouver City Council, and may shift the balance of power on council — the right-wing NPA currently controls 4 of 11 spots on council.
In September, an investigation found that Wiebe had breached conflict of interest rules by participating in votes relating to city-wide patio permits because of his ownership in a Vancouver pub and restaurant. The report following the investigation recommended that Wiebe resign his seat. Wiebe refused and denied any wrongdoing. Now, a lawsuit has been initiated at the B.C. Supreme Court to request a court order that Wiebe resign.
Should the lawsuit be successful and Wiebe be required to vacate his seat, a by-election is likely imminent. As we saw in 2017, vote-splitting among Vancouver’s left-leaning municipal parties — COPE, OneCity, and (on many issues) the Greens — may result in an NPA victory. Should that happen, the NPA would have five seats on council. Including Councillor Bligh (formerly NPA, now independent), the balance of power would lie with right-wing forces on council. This would likely have negative implications for the homeless, renters, other under-privileged groups, and unionized city workers.
Alberta health workers call wildcat strike!
The Alberta Union of Public Employees (AUPE) held a one-day Wildcat Strike in response to the UCP’s Proposed Cuts to Alberta Health Services. This came after a litany of SNAFUs from Tyler Shandro, the Alberta Minister of Health: Mismanagement of funding, harassment of health employees and his own constituents, conflicts of interest, and attempting to privatize the health system. Jason Kenney has stood by Shandro despite many calls for his resignation, even from UCP Partisans.
The Alberta NDP’s statement on the strike was not full-throated support but expressed “concern”. When this was met with outcry from their base, they followed up by further “clarification” that they stood with frontline workers.
Saskatchewan also held a provincial election this week, in which the NDP lost many seats. A Twitter Thread on the Saskatchewan Election outlines a repeating pattern of dwindling support any time the NDP abandons grassroots labour. The NDP have long thought they could have their cake & eat it too, shaking hands with labour leaders while constantly appeasing industry owners & making it easier for them to abuse their workers.
The strike may not be entirely legal, but it is moral and necessary. No political party will ever make real change without being pushed from the outside. Unions are one of the ways we can do that, especially in industries that need to adapt to the climate crisis, encourage diversity & become more progressive.
As other forms of grassroots organizing grow, organized labour has a responsibility not only to watch out for its own workers, but for all working-class people.
International news: Chile votes to replace Pinochet’s constitution
Following Bolivia’s triumphant comeback for the left in elections last week, another important victory in Latin America: Forty years after it was imposed by a brutal dictatorship, Chileans voted overwhelmingly to rip up the neoliberal Constitution leftover from the Pinochet regime.
Vancouver playwright, author, and activist Carmen Aguirre was kind enough to allow The Thorn to share her post about the big win for popular forces in Chile.
Photo by Bob Everton
> This picture is from 1979. I was eleven years old and my family and I had just walked the Inca Trail in Peru for four days. We had just arrived at Machu Picchu. For the next eleven years, until Pinochet's fall in 1990, I would be underground in South America, working for the Chilean resistance. First with my family, then with my comrades. PInochet may have fallen in 1990, but his Constitution, in which his neoliberal economic model was enshrined, remained in place.
> Yesterday, following a year of popular uprising begun by high school students, his Constitution was not only voted out by 80%, Chileans voted for a Constituent Assembly. That means the new Constitution will be written by a 100% elected body. It took decades, but as of yesterday, the dictatorship in Chile is finally over. I'm remembering all the comrades who gave their lives, all us kids who dedicated our youth to days like today, I'm honouring and nodding at the kid in this picture, representative of so many of us who were raised in exile and went back, to give our lives. And who would do it all again. Hasta la victoria siempre, companer@s.
Yes, I’m a leftist, AND a superhero. We exist!
Superheroes aren’t typically seen as politically progressive. But it has been noted that many have radical roots! Superman took on rich owners, union-busters, and the KKK; Captain America was created by two Jewish immigrants who fought fascists in WWII; Wonder Woman by a queer-positive, polyamorous man who rejected the “bloodcurdling masculinity” of male superheroes. Street-level superheroes like Luke Cage and Daredevil defended their own poor & racially marginalized communities from shady corporate kingpins & corrupt municipal governments.
Yet modern portrayals present superheroes as reactionary vigilantes upholding the status quo — super-cops being “tough on crime”, or super-soldiers spreading western imperialism across the globe. Many have billionaire alter egos, a justification of the existence of the 1% as “philanthropists”. Marvel Studios’ blockbuster movies collaborate with the U.S. Army, making the scripts pro-military in exchange for access to military equipment, personnel and information.
Indie comics creators Aubrey Sitterson, Tyrell Cannon, Fico Ossio & Taylor Esposito are re-igniting the revolutionary fire of superheroes with their new comic, Beef Bros! Here’s Aubrey & Taylor with the details:
Beef Bros is currently fundraising on Kickstarter - help them bring leftist superheroes to life!
Upcoming Events: What’s coming up on Vancouver’s political and cultural radar
Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival
October 28, 2020 - November 8, 2020
http://www.heartofthecityfestival.com
Live stream programming will be available during the festival from its website.
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Toward Liberation: Evolving Beyond 21st Century Capitalism
Friday, November 6, 2020 3:00 PM (PST)
Feminists Deliver is here to inspire transformative individual, relational, community, and societal interventions. Join us on Friday, November 6 to collaborate and aspire Toward Liberation: Evolving Beyond 21st Century Capitalism.
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Yanis Varoufakis Meets Owen Jones
Sat, 7 November 2020, 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm GMT
The global crisis of COVID-19 presents an opportunity for a radical rethink of Britain as we know it. Join two icons of the Left as they imagine a future for progressive politics.
https://howtoacademy.com/events/yanis-varoufakis-meets-owen-jones/
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Mike Davis on the US Presidential Election and the Left
Wednesday, November, 11 2020 6:30pm to 8:00pm
Hosted by the Ralph Miliband Programme at the LSE
What do the results tell us about the changing bases of voting behaviour and what do they mean for the left in the US and beyond? Mike Davis is an historian, political activist, urban theorist, and writer. He is known for his investigations of power and social class in his native Southern California.
https://www.lse.ac.uk/Events/2020/11/202011111830/usa
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CCPA fundraiser
November 18, 2020 from 12 - 1:30pm. BC Office Fundraiser with Faiza Shaheen
Mapping an Equitable World in the Midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic
https://www.policyalternatives.ca/offices/bc/events/bc-office-fundraiser-faiza-shaheen
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Thinking While Black:
November 25, 2020, 3:00 PM
Join Ibram X. Kendi, National Book award-winning historian and author of How to Be an Antiracist, and Jesmyn Ward, MacArthur Genius and two-time National Book Award winner, in conversation as part of the “Thinking While Black” series. This virtual event is hosted by the Phil Lind Initiative at UBC’s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs.