OliveRidley

Trump's war on Iran hasn't altered Canada's cost of making gas — at all. So why are we being hosed at the pumps? Policy choices, not market forces of a war halfway around the world, explain the spike in prices, writes Jim Stanford, leading to unnecessary economy-wide inflation and higher interest rates.

As you fill up with gas that's now up 20c/litre in a week, remember who profits. Cdn oil companies made $150b after-tax profit after the last oil spike (2022). An excess profit tax redistributed to consumers would ease the pain. My take in @thestar.com: www.thestar.com/business/opi...

BC Should End Costly Deals with Private Health Staffing Agencies | The Tyee Growing use of the contractors has pushed up costs and hurt morale.

BC Should End Costly Deals with Private Health Staffing Agencies via @thetyee.ca thetyee.ca/Opinion/2026...

BC residents have shrinking access to family doctors, despite more doctors - CCPA Primary care access is declining in BC. With a new provincial budget on the way, how has spending on doctors affected it?

www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc... the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives @policyalternatives.ca accurately points out that BC's increased payments to doctors has not increased access to primary care. What we need more of is not-for-profit community health centres #bcpoli

than I drive, not when I drive

I bike much more often when I drive, so I'm accustomed to almost 360 degree sightlines and heightened audio awareness of my surroundings. I can spot people crossing from far away and have the time to react. I'm shocked when I get back into the car, and in comparison, you see and hear way less!

Wonderful! I've seen a 100 letters in the Times Colonist recently blaming people for their own deaths and injuries while walking/biking, and the elephant (literally) in the room is that every vehicle is apparently twice as large and tall as it used to be, with terrible sight lines 1/

Alcohol causes more harm in Canada than any other drug national expert study finds Landmark national study is first to assess overall harm of 16 substances

"Legality" and harm are different things, a reminder. www.camh.ca/en/camh-news...

I get it

Also think the city should figure out how to bill the involuntary police tax it does not control separately from the actual services and amenities it controls

Paving, park upgrades targeted in Victoria budget trims Council agreed to reduce infrastructure funding to $4 million from $5.5 million next year to get closer to its goal of capping the city’s portion of next year’s tax hike at 4%.

timescolonist.com/local-news/paving-park-upgrades-targeted-in-victoria-budget-trims-11537859 As always, only talk about trimming costs. Nothing about getting people to pay more for services some (typically more affluent) are getting for free. Residential parking on public space for example 1/

The lies Danielle Smith is telling to overturn trans kids’ rights | Xtra Magazine The Alberta government is invoking the Notwithstanding Clause to protect its three anti-trans laws from being challenged in the courts

My story on this and a whole lot more 💫

xtramagazine.com/power/politi...

Ugh gross, add grooming to the list of reasons why we don’t need cops in schools

Of course, removing bike lanes will not help Doug ford go zoom zoom as they aren’t the major cause of congestion. Too many cars and inadequate safe options for people is…

Annex businesses tell Ford to back off Bloor bike lanes Stores in the Annex say the Bloor bike lanes have been a big boost to business. As Michelle Mackey reports, the neighborhood's BIA wants the province to back off its new bill that could see the lanes ...

toronto.citynews.ca/video/2024/1...

Looks like Doug Ford wants to actively hurt Toronto businesses and people so he can go zoom zoom in his car car

We live in a city with one of the, if not the highest per capita police spending and the third lowest property tax rate in Canada and somehow can't figure out the disconnect. Figure out these two outliers and we can have so much more

I'm glad for this program, childhood trauma is awful, sorry :( I go through bouts of early wake insomnia related to procrastination anxiety, and thankfully, as I grow older and wiser, I've gotten better at practicing the tools I use to both deal with it when it happens and address root cause

In response to @oliveridley.bsky.social : share the good word!

MSP covers CBT for insomnia if taken synchronously online. I'm just a few sessions in but it's been wildly revelatory for me, including how my insomnia come from childhood trauma.

Yay 4 public health!

drsarahadams.com/courses/inso...

So sorry to hear :( Hope you're getting the help and support you need <3

Yes!!! We were just talking about this yesterday on our ride to school, also bonus, wake up early enough to take the time to ride her bike to school!

I get giant unscented jars at costco these days :)

Spent halloween trick or treating in Victoria's most dangerous neighbourhood North Park, with a short trip to Fernwood and the most dangerous by far part of the evening was, you guessed it, cars. Highlight was my kiddo repeating this statement loudly ad nauseam as we trick or treated :)

I would listen so hard!

We are really not a serious country

What in the world?!

Yeah, I complained about this to them when they canceled, but obviously there's no voice for transit users at BC Transit, and no mechanism other than their so called "feedback surveys" to actually influence their decision making

They used to, then claimed that the paper transfer system was being abused and canceled all transfers maybe 10 years back?

None of these sacrifices involve rich people and capital gains of course

I spent a weekend in the area, and Amsterdam was just overwhelming and not enjoyable, I had much better luck with Utrecht, where the biking was epic, everything was walkable and a whole lot quieter and you could see all of it. And then you could just train to Amsterdam in 45 mins

74 people housed through Victoria's $1.6 million investment into Dowler Place One-and-a-half years after the announcement of funding for an access hub, a report offers insight into what success the $1.6 million investment has had in housing homeless people in Victoria.

Amazing. / 74 people housed through Victoria's $1.6 million investment into Dowler Place