Citizens' Press Top Stories
On loss of life and public infrastructure: the Amtrak disaster | What's Left
After the deadly crash of the (publicly owned and managed) Amtrak train in the US, it was raised that it likely could have been avoided if the signaling system had not been so old. Questions about aging infrastructure and why it is not being upgraded have surfaced.
Public watchdogs bark up government’s tree on Hydro One sale | What's Left
In an unprecedented move this week, Ontario’s independent government integrity and oversight officers lambasted the government for removing public oversight from Hydro One—the province's public transmission company.
Stopping privatization is fighting climate change | Graham Cox
Keeping climate change on the agenda between heat waves, droughts and ice storms might seem difficult as other current economic-system related tragedies take centre stage. However, we should not leave out climate change and its connection to capitalism when talking about privatizations of infrastructure and the undermining of democratic oversight and control of utilities.
Electricity Privatization: increasing rates worldwide
It is not just in Ontario that privatization has lead to increased costs. Examples from around the world show partial and whole privatization of electricity assets lead to rate increases.
John Oliver misses the mark in Edward Snowden interview | What's Left
Last week television host and comedian John Oliver sat down with Edward Snowden to discuss surveillance and the media's coverage of Snowden's revelations that the US, UK, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand governments have been collecting and analyzing pretty much every single piece of electronic text, audio, and video communication. While Oliver was right to point out the need for an educated debate on the merits and dangers of comprehensive state surveillance, his criticisms of Snowden's actions missed the mark on several fronts.
Equality and corporate opportunism in US debate over rights | What's Left
There were some pretty scary laws on their way to being passed in Arkansas and Indiana last week. The good news is that the broad coalition pushing back against these regressive and hateful laws have won a minor victory. Both republican state legislators have been forced to amend the laws which would have legalized discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community.
The economic case for community housing and child care | What's Left
The Toronto Community Housing Corporation has released a report showing the comprehensive social policy case for government-funded community housing. The TCHC is a public company that houses 60,000 families, many of whom are youth and/or live in poverty.
Iran nuclear deal a step forward, but traditional arms race still a threat | Citizens' Press
The population of Iran has welcomed the comprehensive agreement on its nuclear programme. Where opposition to the agreement exists, it is based on the misguided (but often promoted) belief that Iran has ambitions of attaining nuclear weapon capabilities.