The public cost of fossil fuel pollution

Jason Kenney made a very Albertan promise during his successful campaign to become the province’s next premier: his United Conservative Party would undo most of Rachel Notley’s NDP policies before the start of this summer's Calgary Stampede. Today in The Conversation Canada, economic analyst D.T. Cochrane of York University looks at the implications of one of Kenney’s major promises – his pledge to scrap Alberta’s carbon tax.

Here’s what else we’ve got for you this Thursday:

  • The Winnipeg Jets return home tonight with their first-round playoff series tied 2-2. That means another “whiteout” street party will be held in the city’s downtown. Lori Wilkinson of the University of Manitoba explains how a social media controversy broke out last week when an anti-racism group said words used to describe the celebration could make racialized people feel unwelcome.
  • The British government has put forward a discussion paper about the need to regulate social media and online platforms. Although the debate is going on in the U.K., Blayne Haggart of Brock University and Natasha Tusikov of York University say the same issues need to be discussed in Canada.
  • Stephen Archer, the head of the department of medicine at Queen’s University, looks at recent changes in undergraduate medical education and postgraduate residency training in Canada that are stressing trainee doctors and offers some ideas on how the system can be changed for the better.

And finally…. So, have you heard about the uproar about leggings? A mother recently suggested the University of Notre Dame should ban female students from wearing them (because she’s worried her sons are being distracted). Samantha Brennan of the University of Guelph is proudly pro-leggings and states the latest controversy is one of a long line of “arguments deployed by conservatives since before ankles became a source of public scandal.”

Regards,

Scott White

Editor

Today's Featured Articles

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Jason Kenney’s victory means we’ll all pay the price for fossil fuel emissions

D.T. Cochrane, York University, Canada

Carbon pricing is the most market-based means of addressing the climate crisis, yet it is strongly opposed by politicians that claim to support free markets.

A local Winnipeg Jets tradition – the Whiteout Street Party – has been the source of controversy. Is it political correctness run amok or is the name insensitive to racialized people? THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

How an NHL street party caused a social media storm about racism

Lori Wilkinson, University of Manitoba

A celebration for the Winnipeg Jets turned controversial when an anti-racist group challenged a "make Winnipeg white again" headline about the city's NHL playoff "whiteout" parties.

Canadian medical students graduate with up to $200,000 in debt, and burnout rates are high. (Shutterstock)

Five strategies to improve medical training – to reduce stress and boost expertise

Stephen Archer, Queen's University, Ontario

A 'learn local' strategy, along with increased residency positions and the return of a rotating internship could go a long way towards improving Canada's system of medical training.

The UK’s Online Harms White Paper provides a starting point to consider what internet regulation can look like. Shutterstock

What the U.K.’s Online Harms white paper teaches us about internet regulation

Blayne Haggart, Brock University; Natasha Tusikov, York University, Canada

Britain's Online Harms white paper was developed through public consultations and open, democratic processes. It suggests developing regulations that would be implemented by an arms-length entity.

Leggings on women challenge all kinds of conventions about how they take up space with their strong and active bodies. Shutterstock

Ban leggings on campus? Ludicrous – wearing leggings allows women to move like superheroes

Samantha Brennan, University of Guelph

A feminist philosopher and fitness writer challenges a mother who recently asked Notre Dame University to ban leggings on campus. Leggings allow women to move like superheroes, she says.

La Conversation Canada

Le PDG de Québecor Pierre Karl Péladeau en attente de son témoignage devant le CRTC à Gatineau, le 17 avril. Le conflit entre Québecor et Bell met en lumière la grande vulnérabilité des joueurs traditionnels de l’industrie face aux nouveaux venus numériques. La Presse Canadienne/Adrian Wyld

Québecor/Bell: un bras de fer qui cache la vraie menace

Tchéhouali Destiny, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)

Le conflit entre Québecor et Bell met en lumière la grande vulnérabilité des joueurs traditionnels de l’industrie face aux nouveaux venus numériques, qui n'ont pas à se soumettre aux mêmes règles.

Politics

Culture + Society

  • How Columbine became a blueprint for school shooters

    Jillian Peterson, Hamline University ; James Densley, Metropolitan State University

    Media coverage of the Columbine school shooting that took place in 1999 has ended up becoming a playbook for school shooters in the United States and beyond, an analysis of school shootings reveals.

Business + Economy