Tria Donaldson

Lessons from laundry privatization: Why freedom of information matters in the era of privatization

tmdonaldson — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 22:27:46 +0000

Chip in to keep stories like these coming.

Brad Wall is the latest premier to push a privatization agenda that is seeing public accountability and transparency take a back seat to corporate profits.

Everywhere privatization has occurred, public access to the facts and figures around privatization has been a challenge. Here in Saskatchewan, that challenge can been illustrated by the difficulty of getting information about the privatization of hospital laundry.

Top seven reasons unions matter to young people

tmdonaldson — Thu, 22 Aug 2013 22:50:21 +0000

Young workers today face many challenges in the workplace.

Entering the workplace is the first challenge. The youth employment rate is almost double the national average, at 13.6 per cent. You hear stories all the time of new graduates who are unable to find work in their field. Unpaid internships and short term coop placements are the norm for many workers.

Job insecurity is rampant. Many young workers have to work two or three jobs to make ends meet. Part time and contract work is common.

Soaring housing prices, lack of affordable child care and crippling levels of student debt for graduates mean putting off starting a family for many, and struggling to make ends meet for others.

#J28 Day of Action: It's time to send Harper a message he can't ignore

rabble staff — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 22:48:30 +0000

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Our country is at a crossroads. Inspiring social movements are meeting a wall of conservative spin. The incredible power of the Idle No More movement is being belittled in the mainstream media.

Change the conversation, support rabble.ca today.

Our country is at a crossroads. Inspiring social movements are meeting a wall of Conservative spin. The incredible power of the Idle No More movement is being belittled in the mainstream media. Conservative forces are attempting to divide Indigenous voices, and paint the grassroots as out of touch and politically naive.

Over 30 cities set to rally against 'Black Mark Budget' this Saturday

tmdonaldson — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 17:19:15 +0000

This Saturday, Canadians from across the country are gathering at Conservative MP offices to protest the Omnibus Budget Bill, Bill C-38.

The "Blackmark Day of Action" is uniting Canadians opposed to a Budget Bill that contains a sweeping agenda to remake Canadian society, an agenda that is being rushed through Parliament without fair and open debate.

Harper Government sticks it to youth with budget 2012

tmdonaldson — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 03:00:31 +0000

The federal government's budget gets a failing grade when it comes to intergenerational equity.

The government has outlined priorities with clear winners and clear losers, and the line drawn in the sand places the biggest burden on my generation. From changes to the pension plan, cuts to key youth training programs and no action on the climate front, the future as imagined by Stephen Harper is not looking that appealing to me.

Saganash's campaign inspired a generation of young Indigenous people

tmdonaldson — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:33:08 +0000

Young Indigenous people don't have a lot of role models within the dominant power structures. From the classroom to media personalities and celebrities, I do not see my culture or identity reflected back at me. The House of Commons is no exception to this rule. The reins of power are very much held by stiff white men who are completely out of touch with the colonial reality of Canada.

Is fighting pipelines un-Canadian? Harper thinks so

tmdonaldson — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 18:29:34 +0000

We live in a country whose leaders appear willing sacrifice our collective future to appease the short-term needs of Big Oil.

Take, for example, Stephen Harper's recent declaration that he wants the Enbridge pipeline to go ahead, despite the overwhelming First Nations and public opposition in B.C. In a recent Global TV interview, Harper adamantly declared that the Enbridge pipeline is in best interests of Canada. He went on to say "American interests would line up against the Enbridge pipeline," and would "funnel money to environmentalists and others to delay the project."

Activists fight back against logging rare Coastal Douglas fir

tmdonaldson — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 02:45:53 +0000

The Coastal Douglas fir (CDF) is one of the most threatened plant ecosystems in Canada. Only one per cent of old growth trees remain.

Today, sadly, there are even fewer old growth Coastal Douglas fir trees left on Vancouver Island then a week ago.

That's because logging has started on the 160-acre Nanoose Bay Forest, or DL33 as government officials like to call it. This forest is full of big Douglas firs, sensitive marshlands and swamps, and it is home to over 30 threatened plant and animal species.

Canadian company backs down from plans to 'cleanse' Occupy Wall Street -- an on-the-ground report

tmdonaldson — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 16:17:22 +0000

Report from Zuccotti Park: Canadian company backs down from plans to "cleanse" Occupy Wall Street

This morning, thousands of people woke up very early to stand with Occupy Wall Street protesters faced with an eviction threat from Canadian-owned Brookfield Asset Management. I was honoured to stand in Zuccotti Park this morning, representing the 6,500 of Canadians who took action online yesterday to hold Brookfield accountable.

I arrived in New York City for the first time late last night. I always thought then when I finally went to the Big Apple, my big priority would be Broadway. Ever since my high school theatre days, I have dreamed about seeing the best theatre on the best stages in the world.

Funding uncertainty clouds future of Miller's research

tmdonaldson — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 19:26:27 +0000

The ground-breaking research of Department Fisheries and Oceans genetics expert Dr. Kristi Miller has an uncertain future. She stated during testimony at the Cohen inquiry that she has no confirmed funding to continue her work on sockeye, right when she is on the verge of taking the research to the next level.

Last week it was revealed that the funding model used by Miller and other federal scientists, which uses outside funds to pay for staff salary, is "not compliant with DFO policy." This led to questions about the status of her research, which were confirmed today as she said approvals for funding were pending a Treasury Board decision.

The 'smoking gun' of the sockeye collapse could be novel 'Miller' virus

tmdonaldson — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 14:58:43 +0000

Department of Fisheries and Ocean staff scientist Dr. Kristi Miller made waves today at the Cohen inquiry with her eagerly awaited testimony about a 'novel' virus that could be infecting millions of sockeye.

What Miller, a molecular geneticist, originally described in her January 2011 Science publication as salmon leukaemia has been more accurately identified as parvovirus. This is the first time this virus has been seen in salmon, though it is not known how long it has been present in other species.

The Cohen Commission into salmon farms: A look at disease and aquaculture

rabble staff — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 14:49:12 +0000

The Cohen Commission is an incredible opportunity to get the truth about what is going on in fish farms.

Cohen inquiry to shed light on fish farm secrecy

tmdonaldson — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 02:45:49 +0000

Each fall millions of sockeye salmon return home to the mighty Fraser River to spawn. Over the next several months, the silvery fish will head upstream, slowly turning brilliant red as their bodies adjust to fresh water. After years at sea, they return to the very gravel, the very river in which they were born.

Stark Raven mad: Coal mine proposal on Vancouver Island meets huge opposition

tmdonaldson — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 23:22:04 +0000

Right now on British Columbia's Vancouver Island, an important battle is underway in the war against climate change. On one side, a proposed mine to extract and export dirty coal. A growing army of local residents and environmentally-conscious citizens are lined-up against the mine.

Coal has been long known as a dirty fossil fuel: both in terms of the serious human health impacts of burning and mining and because of its significant contribution to global climate change. Burning coal for electricity produces more climate-changing pollution than burning the equivalent amount of oil or natural gas.

Raise a little hell

tmdonaldson — Tue, 03 May 2011 06:38:04 +0000

Last night was a night of change. Historic victories for the New Democrats and for the Green Party clearly illustrate that throughout Canada there is a appetite for change.

And change is what we will have, whether we like it or not. With his coveted majority in place, Harper will now have free reign to do as he pleases. What will he do with this new-found power?

I am filled with fear by what a Conservative majority will mean for the issues I care about. The hopes of passing legislation on a tanker ban, on close containment fish farms, on trans* rights, and on climate change have been dashed. Instead we are faced with an uncertain future for national icons like the CBC, our public health-care system, and for the status of women.