Nov 28, 2016
Ottawa Citizen Editorial (Nov. 25, 2016)
You have a role to play in fighting the post-truth era
Media everywhere is trying to come to grips with news reporting in what is being called the “Post-truth” era – a time when the truth does not appear to be of consequence facing political loyalties. “Post-truth is defined as “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief… It sounds dry, but it refers to a profoundly dangerous trend in the ongoing culture war against truth.” The Citizen thinks that at the very least we have some obligation to ascertain the truth before re-tweeting. http://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-you-have-a-role-to-play-in-fighting-the-post-truth-era Related article: Shannon Gormley In a politically polarized world, mass surveillance creeps under the radar http://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/columnists/gormley-in-a-politically-polarized-world-mass-surveillance-creeps-under-the-radar Related article: The Tyee (BC) – Paul Willcocks Why I Think Journalism Matters Now, More than Ever http://thetyee.ca/Tyeenews/2016/11/28/Journalism-Matters-Now/
CBC News – Kathleen Harris
960 regular force military members reported sexual assault in the last year, StatsCan survey finds
Canada’s top general says he is disappointed with the results of a new survey of the military by Stats Canada seeking to measure the extent of sexual assaults in the military. The 960 who reported assaults in the last year represent 1.7% of the Canadian Armed Forces but the survey also reported that 27.3% of the women reported some sort of sexual assault over their military career and 79% of the survey respondents witnessed sexual assault over the past year. The survey comes after former Supreme Court of Canada justice Marie Deschamps outlined an “endemic” culture of sexual harassment in the military and the Forces launched a sweeping attempt to correct the problem. http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/sexual-misconduct-military-survey-1.3868377 Related article: Globe and Mail – Gloria Galloway Soldiers almost twice as likely to be sexually assaulted, Statistics Canada says http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/soldiers-almost-twice-as-likely-to-be-sexually-assaulted-statistics-canada-says/article33066760/ Related article: Ottawa Citizen – David Pugliese Survey finds 960 Canadian Forces personnel sexually assaulted in the workplace in the last year http://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/survey-finds-960-canadian-forces-members-sexually-assaulted-in-the-workplace-in-the-last-year Ottawa Citizen: Carrissma Mathen – Our attitudes, not sexual assault law, are what need reform http://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/columnists/mathen-our-attitudes-not-sexual-assault-law-are-what-need-reform
Toronto Star – Laurie Monsebraaten
Cost of poverty in Toronto pegged at $5.5 billion a year
Long-time social policy analyst John Stapleton has put a cost to the poverty problem in Canada’s largest city. He says the numbers when you consider “people living in poverty pay less tax, are more likely to be unemployed or under-employed, use more social services, and have higher health costs and more interaction with the justice system.” There are an estimated 265,000 families living under low income conditions in Toronto. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/11/28/cost-of-poverty-in-toronto-pegged-at-55-billion-a-year.html Full Report: The Cost of Poverty in Toronto – Alexa Briggs, Celia Lee, John Stapleton http://openpolicyontario.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Cost-of-Poverty-R10-Final-forweb.pdf (A 20 page downloadable pdf)
Tyee (BC) – Tom Sandborn
Why It’s Still Too Easy to Kill an Employee
This report attempts to assess the lack of accountability when deadly incidents occur in the workplace. The Westray Mining disaster and the Babine and Lakeland mills explosions evidence a failure to hold accountable those who could have prevented the loss of life. Sandborn wonders why the specific legislation on worker’s safety measures is so easy to ignore and why approximately 1,000 workers a year lose their lives in industrial accidents. The article references a United Steelworkers Union series of six articles on the issue. http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2016/11/28/Too-Easy-To-Kill-An-Employee/ Full USW Report: Hell’s History: The USW’s fight to prevent workplace deaths and injuries from the 1992 Westray Mine disaster through 2016 http://www.usw.ca/act/activism/health-safety-and-environment/resources/document/Hells-History_web.pdf
Calgary Metro News – Elizabeth Cameron
Indigenous youth share stories of displacement in child welfare system
A new film documentary called Dis-placed screened this week in Calgary, drawing attention to the treatment of Indigenous Canadians within the child welfare system. Three times as many Indigenous children are placed within the child welfare system, and the comparisons to the residential schools experience is inevitable. Says Dr. Cindy Blackstock, a long term Indigenous advocate: “It’s the same tragedy unfolding, and it’s totally unnecessary… “I think the average person on the street is starting to open their eyes to this, and realize that First Nations children are getting less on reserves than every other child in the country when it comes to education, healthcare, water, and housing.” http://www.metronews.ca/news/calgary/2016/11/28/indigenous-youth-share-stories-of-displacement-child-welfare.html