Jun 1 2022 — Bruce Campbell — The Conversation — On July 6, 2013, the fourth deadliest railway disaster in Canadian history took place. A train hauling 72 tankers filled with crude oil derailed in Lac-Mégantic, Que., killing 47 people. The roots of the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster can be traced to a combination of corporate negligence and regulatory failure. It is what spurred the publication […]
Apr 19 2022 — Bruce Campbell — Monitor Mag — In response to the brutal inequality of the 1920s and the Great Depression, and under widespread political pressure after World War II, Canadian and other western governments brought in major reductions in income and wealth inequality through tax and transfer policies. It was an era of full employment, high taxes on the wealthy, universal Medicare, […]
Mar 7 2022 — Bruce Campbell — Monitor Mag — In remission for now, the “Freedom Convoy,” led by a small group of well-funded, seditionist and far-right activists, tapped into the grievances of a much larger segment of the population that is resentful of government policies—measures which have triggered anxiety about their ability to earn a living and their future. EKOS pollster Frank Graves and […]
Jan 20 2022 — Bruce Campbell — The Conversation — When the International Energy Agency (IAE) released its update report on Canada in mid-January, it was largely a summary of the Canadian fossil fuels landscape coupled with praise for the federal government’s climate policy commitments and Canada’s climate leadership.
Oct 24 2021 — Bruce Campbell — The Conversation — The time has come for Canada and other rich nations to pony-up and pay for the devastation they have caused countries in the Global South. That means, for a start, providing far greater climate adaptation financing to low-income countries and plugging the holes that siphon their limited fiscal resources to tax havens.
Aug 31 2021 — Bruce Campbell — Monitor Mag — In an August 2021 report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded the Paris Agreement climate targets could soon be out of reach without immediate and massive greenhouse gas emission reductions this decade. António Guterres, the UN Secretary General, warned the report “is a code red for humanity.” The climate crisis and unprecedented wealth inequality […]
Jul 6 2021 — Bruce Campbell — Toronto Star — The Lac-Mégantic oil train derailment on July 6, 2013 was the worst industrial disaster on Canadian soil in over a century: 47 people killed; 26 children orphaned; the town centre incinerated; an unprecedented six million litre spill of toxic shale oil; ongoing environmental, physical and post-traumatic health issues affecting community members.
May 18 2021 — Bruce Campbell — Monitor Mag — For more than four decades the economic paradigm that prioritized private market-led policy has been embraced by corporate, academic, bureaucratic and political elites. The paradigm enlisted a variety of well-known policy tools, including inflation control, deregulation, privatization, austerity, balanced budgets and globalization. The corporate-government power relationship that underlies this paradigm is one of capture and […]
Apr 22 2021 — Bruce Campbell — The Conversation — The 724-page federal budget made vital spending commitments to extend supports to Canadians as the pandemic shock waves continue. It also made critical social safety net improvements, most notably universal child care and increases in old age security and supports for eldercare. But where is the road map to reduce Canada’s carbon emissions? If we […]
Apr 22 2021 — Bruce Campbell — The Conversation — Canada’s latest federal budget did little to tackle climate action or income inequality, two problems with strong ties. Alberta’s Bow Lake is seen in this photo. Josh Woroniecki/Unsplash Bruce Campbell, York University, Canada The 724-page federal budget made vital spending commitments to extend supports to Canadians as the pandemic shock waves continue. It also made […]
Apr 12 2021 — Bruce Campbell — Monitor Mag — April 19 will mark the first Liberal government budget since it was re-elected in 2019—and the first since the coronavirus pandemic struck. Budgets are about choices. Given the monumental challenges going forward and the consequences of not facing them head-on, this budget will have only one precedent: wartime budgets during World War II. The budget […]
Mar 1 2021 — Bruce Campbell — National Newswatch — Last Thursday [February 25] the Auditor General [AG] released a series of reports, including the lack of government supports to ensure safe drinking water for indigenous communities, and mismanagement of the government’s shipbuilding plan. Receiving much less attention was its report on rail safety, the first since the 2013 Lac-Mégantic rail disaster, which claimed 47 […]
Feb 11 2021 — Bruce Campbell — National Observer — The year 2021 is still largely unwritten. Once the world returns to a semblance of pre-pandemic normalcy, what will the new normal look like? Will a more inclusive, climate-focused economic recovery start to take shape? Is the groundwork currently being laid? Or will the year close with growing social unrest, political upheaval, and a continuing […]
Feb 9 2021 — Bruce Campbell — The Conversation — As major oil and gas producers and exporters, Norway and Canada share a particular responsibility for confronting the planet’s existential climate threat. However, their different political, economic and cultural features have resulted in major differences in their climate policy track records. Overall, Norway is a leader on climate change performance and Canada is a laggard. […]
Feb 9 2021 — Bruce Campbell — The Conversation — Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg greets Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the G7 leaders summit in La Malbaie, Que., in June 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang Bruce Campbell, York University, Canada As major oil and gas producers and exporters, Norway and Canada share a particular responsibility for confronting the planet’s existential climate threat. However, their […]