DouglasTodd

Housing, migration, demographics, ethics, spirituality ....
Columnist at Vancouver Sun / Postmedia News

[Jeffrey Flier @jflier]

The editorial standards of the @NEJM must be questioned for deciding to publish this article as it is presented below. Such terrible judgement. Jason Arday and the Perils of Being Black in Academia | NEJM Voices https://t.co/QiEqk9hFGy

[DouglasTodd @DouglasTodd]

Just visited the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo (@NobelPeaceOslo).
In the small bookstore I noted the v. prominent display of 2 books on "anti-racism" by controversial Ibram X. Kendi.
@JohnHMcWhorter and @coldxman question Kendi's premise—that a lack of active antiracism equates to being racist— as simplistic binary thinking.
McWhorter also views the widespread institutional embrace of Kendi's work as a symptom of intellectual stagnation.

[Public Land Use Society @PublicLandBC]

Unbelievable. A must-read from @CBCNews.

BC Parks failed to design, monitor, and enforce a reservation system for Joffre Lakes, and now has "bots being employed" to hoard and resell free passes, essentially operating an illegal commercial operation.

The government cannot allow the system to fail while openly considering a transfer of jurisdiction as the solution, or Indigenous Guardians as a compliance and enforcement substitute for the government.

https://t.co/JlFJxLHeMw

[Jason Kenney 🇨🇦🇺🇦🇮🇱 @jkenney]

So true.

To diversity our export markets, the Harper government moved Canada from free trade with six countries in 2006, to fifty five countries in 2015.

But a decade later, we were actually *more* dependent on the US export market.

Why? Because what the world wants from us are big, heavy, bulk commodities like oil, gas, potash, minerals, grains, oilseeds, lumber, etc..

And we don't have the port, rail, road or pipeline infrastructure needed to get our products to global markets.

Fixing the infrastructure bottlenecks is infinitely more important than signing more trade agreements.

[VaughnPalmer @VaughnPalmer]

BC's $1.5B budget hole. NDP told weeks ago about natural gas revenue error says West Moberly Chief Roland Willson. Treaty 8 nations told Adrian Dix June 29. Willson handed David Eby letter on error July 14. Premier never replied. Eby denied knowledge this week.

[DouglasTodd @DouglasTodd]

2 out of 3 of the 200 million Muslims in India view Pakistan negatively.
Pakistan is 96% Muslim.
The ramifications don't say much for Pakistan, population 260 million, and its leaders.
Via @pewglobal
https://t.co/WQijVIciZu

[Andy Yan | @ayan604.bsky.social @Ayan604]

Civic memory and the need to invest in it.

@museumofvan Austerity Tours: How Decades of Funding Stagnation Affects the MOV

#vanpoli #vanre

Thurs, Sept 24, Oct 1, 8 or 15 | 530 pm | Register:
https://t.co/puk0S4hkUP

[DouglasTodd @DouglasTodd]

We don't think about this issue of dairy cartels much in B.C.
But, according to economists I have heard from, @jkenney is absolutely right on this scandal, contributing to much higher prices for milk, cheese etc.

[Jason Kenney 🇨🇦🇺🇦🇮🇱 @jkenney]

It's past time for the Conservative Party of Canada to end slavish devotion to the supply management cartel.

It violates our free market principles, inflates food prices for struggling families, and undermines our global trade interests which impairs other, much larger sectors of Canadian agriculture.

All of this to appeal to 9000 quota farmers, half of whom are in Quebec.

And this👇is what the pandering has gotten the @CPC_HQ: the dairy lobby wedded to the Liberals.

Enough already.

Australia and New Zealand have shown the way. Both ended their supply management systems, and saw the sector thrive and grow as a result.

Of course, Canada should not do this unilaterally given pressure from the US. As @jengerson has argued, phasing out supply management to benefit Canadians wouldn't require dropping tariffs / quotas on US dairy exports, without reciprocal trade concessions from the US. (As I've noted before, US ag protectionism and subsidies are much broader than Canadian supply management.)

Regardless, Conservatives should be true to our principles by reverting to the Reform Party era policy of free market farming.

Politically, that would mean championing the interests of 40 million consumers over those of 9000 supply management operators.

[DouglasTodd @DouglasTodd]

Good list of some of the things for which the U.S. left has lacked empathy:
"For Americans displaced by technology and trade; for those vulnerable to crime; for those alarmed by chaos at the border; for those without a college degree; for those frustrated at paying high taxes for poor government services...
Via @TheEconomist
https://t.co/ICbE4IQJFy

[Rob Shaw @RobShaw_BC]

UPDATE: BC’s privacy commissioner announces an investigation into BCgov removal of public directory and validity of claims of a security risk.
Says “completely removing public access to the directory without a functional replacement is a very serious transparency issue, which contributes to an erosion in the public’s trust to our democratic institutions.”

[DouglasTodd @DouglasTodd]

The remarkable similarity of vancouver council’s voting patterns - despite the presence of supposedly different political parties - is arguably the biggest issue for the electorate as we head to the October election.
#vanre #vanpoli

[Robert Renger @rrrobbberttt]

INTERESTING ANALYSIS
remember when voting

Cllrs VV Bligh, Green Fry & OneCity Maloney vote together remarkably often, but most of the time they are also voting with ABC. COPE Orr departs from ABC more frequently [example below].

https://t.co/vFqhCSyEIz

[Jason Kenney 🇨🇦🇺🇦🇮🇱 @jkenney]

Yet again, this guy blames Canada for the tariffs imposed on us without provocation by his good friend’s Administration, in violation of the USMCA.

I look forward to Mr. Jivani visiting the GM Silverado plant in his Oshawa riding to explain to the workers why he wanted Canada to accept in perpetuity a 25% US tariff on heavy duty trucks that would force the plant’s closure.

He could also explain why he thinks Canada should do nothing to respond to the Administration’s attack on his constituents.

[DouglasTodd @DouglasTodd]

2/2 More big news from @bradcran - in this thorough update on trial finally set to begin Oct. 5, 2026.
The @ubc professors — Keith Maillard and Annabel Lyon — settled with Steven Galloway under confidential terms.
"Their exit is expected to shorten the trial by about 2 weeks."
#bcpoli #vanpoli

[DouglasTodd @DouglasTodd]

Wow.
The woman who accused ex-@UBC prof./novelist Steven Galloway of sexual assault a decade ago (known as 'A.B.') refused to go to examination for discovery, arguing it would put her at risk of suicide.
Via @bradcran.
1/2 #bcpoli
https://t.co/tUajBGnvGr

[Jason Kenney 🇨🇦🇺🇦🇮🇱 @jkenney]

When exactly did the @globeandmail ed board get mugged by reality??

“By its very definition, a temporary permit is temporary. Yes, there have been changes to Canada’s immigration system over the last few years, but that fact remains constant. While the tighter rules are certainly disappointing for many, they aren’t unfair.” 👌

[DouglasTodd @DouglasTodd]

2/2 In August, Europe’s only 2 female national leaders — Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen (@Statsmin), both of whom reject multiculturalism — issued a joint statement in which they “vowed to protect European values.”
That includes democracy, gender equality and respect for the continent’s Christian cultural heritage.

[DouglasTodd @DouglasTodd]

PM @MarkJCarney champions multicultural ‘mosaic’ - despite skepticism, domestic and global.
Increasing number of Canadians are drawn to the once-maligned American concept of the “melting pot.”
1/2 Via @mario_canseco and Reg Bibby.
#cdnpoli #multiculturalism
https://t.co/mhoPXX883d via @VancouverSun

[Kenneth Chan @iamkennethchan]

What looks like a direct lightning touchdown in Vancouver. ⚡

That's quite the arch.

Just one of the 100+ flashes in the sky over the past 2+ hours. This is definitely one of the most active thunderstorms I've ever experienced here as a lifelong Vancouverite. #bcstorm 🌩️⚡⛈️

[Danielle Haas @DanielleHaas01]

Could @jk_rowling vs. @amnesty be the watershed that brings to heel the powerful but underregulated human rights sector? Amnesty et al. are banking on the old NGO playbook—apologize, blame, promise reform, wait out the news cycle. Hopefully, they're wrong. My @Quillette piece below.

“A realist might well conclude that there is almost no chance of that. Organisations like Amnesty International—which command budgets that run into hundreds of millions, and even billions, of US dollars—have spent decades surviving controversies and evading scrutiny, even though they exert enormous political and cultural influence. An optimist, on the other hand, might point out that history has a habit of stripping moral halos from individuals and institutions (like the Catholic Church and the Boy Scouts of America) that were once thought beyond reproach. The wheels of accountability may turn slowly, but turn they do.”

Amid growing evidence across global NGOs of rampant ideology, shoddy work, & disturbing adjacency to militants, the piece connects the dots. Just 2 weeks before Rowling's fight with Amnesty exploded into public view, EiGHT released a 63-page report identifying strikingly similar problems: ideology shaping supposedly impartial work, failed processes, and unchecked internal antisemitism.

There are positive signs of change. The UK Charity Commission has opened a regulatory compliance case regarding Amnesty, & a statutory inquiry into the Al-Khair Foundation after allegations re: links to Hamas. In Australia, the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion has its ears open to what is happening in the NGO sector. EiGHT is the first insider-founded organization focused on sectoral accountability.

But ultimately, the article argues, whether this marks the start of a new era of accountability for human rights & humanitarian NGOs including @hrw & @msf is not up to them. For years, they've shown their focus is on dollars & reputation.

It's up to the public, journalists, policymakers, & others to "finally demand answers to questions that have gone unasked for too long: Who are you, really? How do you work? And can you prove that what you say is true?"

PDF of article on LinkedIn

https://t.co/pwOF5N3mZA

[DouglasTodd @DouglasTodd]

Tip of the iceberg with these often illegitimate and illicit currency exchanges. Governments only pretend to care.
Via @Gordon_Hoekstra

[Hutchyman @Hutchyman]

#VanRE @Gordon_Hoekstra Hundreds of customers of Apadana Currency Exchange 1705 Marine Dr., which specializes in moving money between Canada and Iran, have been demanding answers since the company suddenly froze all deposits, withdrawals and transactions. https://t.co/uCYkl9b7q5