Editorials - Dec. 13, 2024

As of tomorrow the postal strike can be measured in months rather than days, with no end in sight. Yet, Canada Post had the audacity to send out price increases to its commercial accounts by both e-mail and courier. The increases are not unexpected, but the notifications should have probably waited until the company could provide any of the services in the notice. The inefficiency of sending letters by courier after e-mailing the identical notice was not lost on small businesses who have learned to scrimp and save, especially over the last four lean pandemic years. Canada Post is still living in a monopolistic capitalist world. 

 

In the meantime, CUPW is now asking for just 19 per cent increases, instead of 24 per cent. Asking a company for any increase after it posted a loss of $748 million in the previous year, and losing a further $348 million in the first nine months of the current year, is probably not going to be an element to its future success. Bargaining for employees to share in corporate profits is a much easier argument than taking on a company that is having trouble pivoting to a new economic and cultural reality.

 

Without a solid strategic plan, the two sides have no hope in righting this ship. Neither side is willing to listen to the other. The union needs to recognize the plight of Canada Post and find a way to be part of the solution rather than aggravate current problems, and the company has to find some common ground to address the workers’ concerns around safety and the instability of contract work. Unfortunately, the blind stubbornness on both sides may bring others down with them. – DS

In the early morning hours of Wednesday, Dec. 4, Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was shot and killed in New York City. It appears that the husband and father of two was targeted over frustration with the practices of the company he oversees. A frustration, it seems, that was not unique to the person who did the shooting that morning.

 

Many on social media have celebrated the killing as a sort of “Eat the Rich” victory for those oppressed for too long by greedy and callous for-profit healthcare. For a nation fed up with being sacrificed by insurance companies as profits soar, the killing is being seen as just. 

 

As order in the world is upended, one election, one uprising and one war at a time, resorting to cold-blooded murder on a street in one of the world’s most populous cities sounds right to more and more people. Such brazen violence should terrify the “Greatest Country in the World” and yet this vigilante justice is scratching people right where they itch as they embrace their inner Joker - watching the world burn.

 

How many on the threshold of being unhinged will take this as a signal to do “God’s work” on the streets, with the inkling that they’ll be hailed a hero to the common man? Will “because the internet said so” become a justifiable defence to previously-unthinkable crimes as people who feel aggrieved seek someone to blame? If your life didn’t work out the way you thought it might, must someone pay the price?

 

Whether it’s killing a healthcare CEO or slapping a comedian for making a joke about your wife at the Oscars, violence is never the answer in a civilized society. The question is: are we still that? – SL 

For too long, Ontario has failed to adequately regulate captive wildlife attractions, leaving animals to suffer in substandard conditions. The Captive Wildlife Protection Act, introduced by the MPP for Ottawa-Vanier, finally addresses these issues, marking a pivotal step forward. 

 

Ontario is home to nearly 30 unregulated roadside zoos and these facilities operate without standards for animal welfare or public safety. Wild animals have been confined in overcrowded, unsafe environments, sometimes escaping and endangering communities. That such conditions were allowed to persist is an indictment of Ontario’s historic indifference toward animal welfare and the ethical responsibilities of tourism.

 

Animals are not capable of advocating for their own well-being. They cannot demand better living conditions or refuse to participate in exploitative performances. Their welfare depends entirely on human intervention. This moral imperative should have been obvious, yet Ontario’s lack of action enabled decades of neglect and suffering. The Captive Wildlife Protection Act, by mandating licensing, inspections and humane standards, acknowledges the province’s duty to protect these vulnerable creatures. Beyond animal welfare, the Act addresses public safety. Unregulated facilities pose dangers not only to the animals, but to visitors and nearby communities. Incidents involving escaped or mistreated animals underscore the urgency of strict oversight.

 

The shame of past inaction cannot be undone, but with the Captive Wildlife Protection Act, Ontario can begin to atone for its neglect. Animals depend on us to ensure their safety and well-being, and it is our duty to protect them. Let this legislation serve not only as a corrective measure but as a reminder of the ethical responsibility we bear toward those who cannot speak for themselves. – SBS