Photo of a Vietnamese garment factory in 2012 from the ILO Asia-Pacific
Human rights
The COVID-19 infection rate for prisoners in federal penitentiaries is nine times higher than the general infection rate in Canada. Meanwhile, social movements across North America are calling for substantive law enforcement reform and the dismantling of systemic racism. Together, these developments call the prison system into question.
Photo by Alma Ayon, Flickr Creative Commons
In her 2012 book, Consent of the Networked, Rebecca MacKinnon noted that the companies and governments “that build, operate, and govern cyberspace are not being held sufficiently accountable for their exercise of power over the lives and identities of people who use digital networks.” MacKinnon’s observation, that both public and private sector actors are “sovereigns operating without the consent of the networked,” is even more apparent today, not least in the context of policing and law enforcement in the criminal justice system.
Photo by duncan c, Flickr Creative Commons
A U.S. sailor stands watch on a Mark VI patrol boat before a weapons sustainment exercise in the Arabian Gulf, April 16, 2020 (U.S. Navy)
A Bangladeshi worker (photo from ILO Asia-Pacific, Flickr Creative Commons)
“COVID-19 will be a catastrophe for Bangladeshi garment workers.”
G20 summit in Toronto, June 2010. Photo by katerkate (Flickr Creative Commons)
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Nous publions le Budget fédéral alternatif 2020 — notre 25e édition depuis 1995 — à un moment très instable pour le Canada et le monde. La combinaison de COVID-19, une vente mondiale de pétrole et l'effondrement des marchés financiers mondiaux menace non seulement la santé et la sécurité publiques, mais aussi la stabilité de notre économie, qui sera probablement en récession d'ici la fin de l'année. Il est maintenant temps de penser au-delà des correctifs fiscaux standard et des plans de sauvetage des banques.