I’ll be interviewed tomorrow morning around 7:30am PST/8:30am MST by Sarah Crosbie on QR 770 Radio in Calgary, about my blunt post below. Should be interesting. Tune in, Calgary.
Please help us spread the word far and wide — The Urban Truth Collective @urbantruth.bsky.social is now live! My colleagues @tomflood.bsky.social, @grantennis.bsky.social and I have worked hard to get it here, but this is just the beginning. Stay tuned for more from our launch all week! #UrbanTruth
Rubio’s and Vance’s claim is that “Western civilization” is unique to Christians (not even Jews) of continental “heritage,” and that its values are unique to these people.
It’s important that we recognize these as universal human values, present in any developed society. And avoid 3 fallacies:
5/ You can't really understand the opposition to those rights without accounting for the effectiveness of the voices deliberately sowing that opposition (h/t to @volts.wtf who has been making this argument in other contexts!)
4/ but they are rolling out the same arguments they have been for decades (any remember when the Nisga'a Final Agreement foretold the collapse of BC's economy??) to convince people that Indigenous rights are an existential threat.
3/ ...they are being told that, loudly and frequently. There are dozens of editorials by lawyers, academics, and politicos outlining the dangers of Indigenous rights (I won't link here, but you can find them easily enough). None of these are grounded in empirical evidence, of course...
2/ That's fine as far as it goes, but it leaves out a crucial part of this - the fear mongering that has led people to believe that their property and economic safety is being put at perilous harm. People did not just wake up and assume that Indigenous rights were are threat...
1/ Ken Coates argues that "Canadians say they support reconciliation. Right now, that support appears to come with a caveat: “as long as it doesn’t impact me.”" In short: as the impact of Indigenous rights on individuals has increased, so too has opposition to those claims
tinyurl.com/2sv6mm3u
Two more preventible deaths on our city roads have left me heartbroken for those families.
This traffic safety crisis is ours to solve. Every death is preventable. Please slow down. Put away the phone. Watch for pedestrians. No destination is worth a life.
Let's make Vision Zero real for Calgary.
A two-year old and a 90 year old are the first two pedestrian deaths in Calgary this year. Important to remember that these tragedies are made much more likely by deliberate design and policy choices as @thewaroncars.bsky.social so effectively remind us.
#visionzero
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Kent McNeil has an important contribution on the NBCA's Aboriginal title decision, questioning the court's conclusion that a declaration of title is discretionary once a factual finding of title is made: ablawg.ca/2026/02/11/d...
NEW: A Texas county medical examiner found that Geraldo Lunas Campos was choked to death by a guard while he was held in ICE custody earlier this month.
Geraldo is the sixth person to die in ICE detention this year.
Regarding the ongoing signature collection in Alberta for a referendum on separation, @piosmo.bsky.social writes in Le Monde:
"The MAGA ecosystem has seized on this political moment – the signature drive is scheduled to continue until early May – in an attempt to destabilize Canada."
My take on the NBCA's recent decision on Wolastoqey title:
ablawg.ca/2026/01/14/t...
The Wolastoq (St. John) River
The penalties effectively cut the judges off from all American funds, goods and credit cards, and prohibit individuals and business in the U.S. from working with them. “We’re treated like pariahs, we are on a list with terrorists and drug dealers,” Ms. Ibáñez said. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/10/w...
A good (timely!) listen from @lrb.co.uk : www.lrb.co.uk/podcasts-and...
Totally. CEBL uses the Elam ending, have seen many comebacks from 3-point-from-target-score induced insanity. Also, NBA Cup games should use the Elam ending
As Alberta completes its first full year without coal in its power supply mix, renewables (wind, solar, and hydro) have reached 22% of total generation and natural gas makes up 78%.
PSA, there is a Billy Strings Tiny Desk
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wgqa...
"... In other words, unlike a typical international “soft law” instrument, UNDRIP should not be treated as a mere “non-binding international instrument” to which modest, moderate, or significant weight, or no weight at all, may be optionally ascribed in the interpretive exercise." (para 129)
"... with due regard for the extent to which a relevant article expresses a binding international rule or general principle, minimum standard, or aspiration...."
Big case for those following the interpretation of UNDRIP in Canadian courts: www.bccourts.ca/jdb-txt/ca/2...
"UNDRIP should be applied as a weighty source for the interpretation of Canadian law in accordance with the presumption of conformity..."
This is a very helpful piece "Separating Fact from Fiction" in the Cowichan title decision.
TL;DR: the "threat" to private property is a being vastly overstated.
jfklaw.ca/cowichan-tri...
This stood out from David King's excellent op-ed on s33: "the current government is ... dispirited — deeply unhappy with its situation and unable to find any path to joy in serving the people of Alberta." The idea of finding joy in public service...
calgaryherald.com/opinion/colu...
When dealing with contentious issues, orgs like @globalnews.ca should take more care than they did here, running an inflammatory headline based on an interview with a single expert. I promise there are experts with different views (that might induce less hysteria)
globalnews.ca/news/1151268...
True! And maybe all the fear-mongering and misinformation pols and commentators have offered up has contributed to that public sentiment?
New Post: Treaty-Making in Australia and Considerations for Canada
ablawg.ca/2025/10/22...…tions-for-canada/
The first state-Indigenous treaty in Australia's history was recently signed. I summarize it here and provide a few (very preliminary) thoughts on whether it may have lessons for agreement-making in Canada.
ablawg.ca/2025/10/22/t...
