streetfestival

The NDP, as the nominal social democratic alternative, finds itself in an almost impossible political position. What progressive gains have been secured over the past several years were no doubt the result of NDP pressure, mostly through the supply-and-confidence agreement. Having recently propped up the government, however, it’s difficult to pivot to a posture of attack. The NDP consequently finds itself treading water.

CBC poll aggregator puts the probabilities of next year's federal election outcomes at Conservative majority--94%, Conservative minority--4%, Liberal government--1%.

I didn't realize things were this bleak.

I feel some deja vu watching Trudeau refuse to step aside (early enough), just like with Biden.

A friend of mine thinks no one really wants to replace Trudeau as Liberal leader, for what's most likely to be a decisive loss.

I posted an article with a headline about Trudeau's GST holiday and $200 checks signalling that he's out of ideas or that it 'smacks of desperation'. Lemmy.ca didn't seem to like it much. But I look at the gesture like, "that's the best you can do for a fighting chance at forming a government?"

I don't like their disinclination to truly represent the working classes, and the general loss of that representation in politics more widely at the moment (eg, shift towards conservativism and authoritinarianism).

Are we just defeatedly marching towards 4 years of a PP government? Realistically, can/will anything be done, even for a greater chance at a Conservative minority, never mind an ABC government?

Teams of fare inspectors in plain clothes began patrolling the transit system and issuing tickets on Wednesday as part of the TTC’s efforts to reduce the estimated $140 million lost to fare evasion each year.

All plain clothes inspectors are carrying ID and are equipped with body-worn cameras to record customer interactions, the transit commission said in a release.

It added that inspectors will use discretion, whether in uniform or plain clothes, to ensure tickets are predominantly issued in cases of "willful evasion".

Tickets for not paying for a bus, streetcar or subway ride range from $235 to $425 depending on the nature of the offence. That money goes to the courts, not directly to the transit service.

The transit service said the approach was previously tested in 2018 and re-introduced three weeks ago with plain-clothes inspectors "educating" those found to be riding illegally.

The move to now begin writing tickets is part of a pilot project that will be reevaluated in January, according to TTC media relations.

I'd like to know more about how they estimate financial losses due to fare evasion

A brief animated satire of excessive requests for tipping.
Alt: https://inv.nadeko.net/watch?v=02arY49yjDg

“Never again,” she said, “applies to everybody.”

The entire Parliament Hill action was solemn, respectful, and peaceful. After about an hour, the police told demonstrators they would have to leave the building, which they agreed to do.

Nonetheless, as some demonstrators were preparing to move the police grabbed them and detained them.

The Doug Ford government spent three times as much on advertising last fiscal year compared to the year before, with more than 60 per cent of that funding going toward partisan advertising.

This is “the most the government has ever spent on advertising in a year,” the province’s auditor general wrote in her annual report released Tuesday.

Between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024, the Progressive Conservatives spent at least $103.5 million on ads. A good portion of that — about $43.2 million — was spent on the “Let’s Build Ontario” campaign, which included television advertisements in “expensive time slots,” including during NHL games and the Super Bowl.

Auditor General Shelley Spence reports that those “It’s Happening Here” ads, which say that “more people are working than ever before” while touting Ontario’s economy and way of life, cost about $18.8 million as of March 2024. The ads began running in early 2023 and continue to be aired.

These ads were particularly controversial given their high-profile airing times, with opposition parties criticizing the government for spending millions of taxpayer dollars on television ads promoting the PCs’ accomplishments.

Liberal MPP John Fraser has argued that it was not a good use of money, especially as the province undergoes an affordability crisis.

Premier Doug Ford’s office was intimately involved in the Ontario Place redevelopment process, which was “not fair, transparent or accountable,” the province’s auditor general wrote in a blistering report released Tuesday.

Since 2019, international public health studies have found gas station workers are at increased risk of cancer. One study showed a high risk of health issues in 51 per cent of workers; over 71 per cent of workers had a lifetime cancer risk compared to an average of 42 per cent in the overall population. Significantly higher risk was found in fuelling workers compared to cashiers, and in city workers compared to rural. As well, international public health studies have since shown “the increased health risk suggests that there should be health surveillance for workers in order to protect them from exposure to benzene.”

In 2023, Health Canada examined the problem of gas stations and concluded gas station benzene emissions can be harmful to people living up to 300 metres away — an “unacceptable risk” to nearby residents, the agency determined. They also found homes as little as 10 metres from the fenceline of gasoline stations, putting them at extremely high risk.

Health Canada identified some straightforward fixes like implementing minimum distances from gas stations for new construction, alongside other options like vapour recovery and the use of pressure/vacuum valves on vent stacks at the source. But nearly two years later, the federal agency has not passed any guidelines or regulations to prevent injuries.