A Dangerous Symbol: Why Alberta’s Citizenship Marker Is a Badge of Exclusion

Posted on September 17, 2025 by Chris McBean

A government that tattoos its citizens with a loyalty stamp is not protecting democracy. It is manufacturing division.

Alberta’s plan to add a visible Canadian citizenship marker to driver’s licences and provincial photo IDs is sold as a pragmatic fix for administrative headaches, and a modest boost to election integrity. In reality it is a blunt instrument that will stigmatize newcomers, invite profiling, escalate privacy risks, and do virtually nothing to solve the narrow problems the government points to. This policy is not about efficiency. It is about visibility, and visibility in this case is a tool for exclusion.

Start with the claim that this will protect elections. The province has pointed to a handful of isolated incidents to justify a universal treatment of every person who carries a licence in Alberta. The scale does not remotely justify the sweep. Elections Alberta has not identified a systemic problem that requires permanently marking who is a citizen on the everyday card that everyone carries. There are far less intrusive ways to strengthen the integrity of the ballot than turning driver’s licences into a public ledger of status. If the problem is rare, the solution should be targeted, not universal.

Now consider the everyday, lived consequences of adding a visible citizenship marker. A small tag on a card is not a neutral bureaucratic convenience. It is a social signal that will be read within seconds by a wide range of people who exercise power over daily life: police officers, service providers, employers, landlords, front-line staff in health clinics and banks. The absence of that tag is, in practice, the same as a visible mark. When a human scans an ID and sees no “CAN” or similar symbol, they will know the person is likely not a citizen. That knowledge will change behavior.

The harm here is predictable. Racialized and immigrant communities will carry this burden disproportionately. Citizenship status correlates strongly with place of birth, language, and race. Policies that place a visible marker on status therefore do discrimination by another name. The Alberta Human Rights Act protects characteristics such as race, colour, ancestry and place of origin. A policy that has the predictable effect of singling out people because of those characteristics should be treated with deep suspicion. The government’s design converts private legal status into a public marker that will be used, intentionally or not, to exclude, interrogate and penalize.

Privacy is another casualty. Adding more personal data to a card that lives in pockets and purses increases the risk of misuse and error. The same announcement that proposed the citizenship marker also proposed including health numbers on the same cards. Those are sensitive identifiers. Combining multiple markers and numbers into a single, widely used document creates a tempting target for fraud and function creep. Once institutions are accustomed to seeing citizenship on an ID, the line between appropriate use and mission creep becomes dangerously thin. History shows that extra data on everyday documents rarely stays limited to the original, narrow purpose.

There is also the basic problem of accuracy. Mistakes happen. Bureaucratic records are imperfect. Imagine being wrongly marked, or left unmarked, and then facing a delay in accessing health care, government supports, or a job because an overworked clerk or a skeptical stranger read your card and assumed something about your rights. Fixing those mistakes takes time, money and dignity that many people cannot spare. That risk is not hypothetical. Governments themselves admit to data mismatches and unexplained records when they discuss the systems they use. We should not make people pay for a government’s sloppy data by making their legal status visible on a daily basis.

Finally, consider the chilling effect. Communities that feel targeted withdraw. They stop reporting crime. They stop seeking services. They withdraw from civic life. That is a perverse outcome for a democratic society. If the government’s aim is social cohesion and civic participation, stamping people’s IDs with a citizenship marker pushes in precisely the opposite direction.

There are sensible alternatives that protect both security and dignity. Back-end verification systems allow agencies to check status when the law requires it without turning every encounter into a status interrogation. Voluntary proof-of-citizenship cards could be issued for the small number of people who want a single card for passport office interactions or specific benefits applications. Strengthening poll-worker training and refining procedures at the point of service can shore up election integrity without branding the population. A proper privacy impact assessment and an independent human-rights review should be prerequisites for any change that touches identity.

This is not merely a policy error. It is a marker of values. Do we want a province that solves narrow administrative problems by creating new, visible categories that will be used to sort people? Or do we want a province that insists on privacy, on minimizing state visibility into people’s legal status, and on solving problems with proportionate measures?

If Alberta proceeds, expect legal pushback. Policies with predictable discriminatory effects should, and will, be challenged. Human-rights law recognizes that discrimination can occur through effects rather than explicit language. A seemingly neutral policy that disproportionately burdens persons who belong to protected groups will not withstand careful legal scrutiny.

The loudest argument for the citizenship marker is convenience. Convenience is not a trump card when human dignity hangs in the balance. We can tidy up administrative processes without creating a social scoring system that singles people out in grocery stores, hospitals, and bus stations. We can secure ballots without making identity a visible badge of belonging.

The test for public policy is simple. Does it solve the problem at hand with the least intrusion necessary? Adding citizenship to everyone’s everyday ID fails that test. It substitutes spectacle for problem solving, visibility for nuance, and bluntness for proportionality.

Alberta should drop this plan, sit down with civil-society groups, privacy experts and human-rights lawyers, and design targeted, less intrusive solutions. Failing that, opponents should prepare for court, for public protest and for relentless political pressure. Democracies survive on inclusion, not on visible lists of who belongs. If we care about the health of our civic life we should resist anything that turns identity into a signal for exclusion.

Sources:
Global News, “Alberta adding proof of Canadian citizenship to provincial driver’s licences”, Jack Farrell and Lisa Johnson, Sept 15, 2025.
CityNews Edmonton, “Immigration lawyer, critics raise concerns about citizenship marker on Alberta ID”, Sept 16, 2025.
Statement from Premier Danielle Smith, official announcement posts, Sept 2025.
Institute for Canadian Citizenship commentary, reaction coverage, Sept 2025.
Alberta Human Rights Act commentary and analysis, relevant legal background.

The Future of Museums, Part One: Reckoning with the Past

Posted on September 13, 2025 by Chris McBean

Museums occupy a cherished yet complicated place in our cultural landscape. They are, at their best, sanctuaries of human achievement and memory; places where we marvel, learn, and connect. They are guardians of our collective stories, offering glimpses into lives, ideas, and aesthetics across time and geography. Yet increasingly, those guardianship roles are being scrutinized. In this post, the first of a two-part reflection, I want to explore how museums must reckon with their past in order to remain relevant, ethical, and inspirational institutions in a post-colonial world.

Modern museums serve multiple purposes. They are educators, preserving and interpreting both natural and human histories. Through exhibitions, talks, and online media, they help us understand not only what came before us, but also how those pasts continue to shape the present. They are also preservers of culture, entrusted with tangible and intangible heritage, from tools and textiles to oral traditions and sacred rites. Increasingly, they are also spaces of community engagement and social inclusion. The best of today’s museums are no longer content to speak about people; they strive to speak with them, creating room for conversations around identity, migration, environment, and justice. And let’s not forget their economic impact: museums draw visitors, support local artisans, and boost cultural tourism. Their value is not only educational, but civic and economic.

And yet, many of the very objects that give museums their gravitas are also at the heart of a profound ethical challenge. Too many were acquired in contexts of coercion, extraction, or outright theft during the height of imperial expansion. The British Museum’s possession of the Elgin Marbles or the Rosetta Stone, icons of antiquity mired in controversy, is not exceptional; it is emblematic. These artifacts, however artfully displayed, carry the invisible weight of colonial conquest. For many communities of origin, their removal constitutes not just a historical grievance, but an ongoing erasure of identity.

Western museums often point to their capacity to conserve, study, and exhibit these artifacts responsibly. They argue, sometimes sincerely, that global access to human history is a noble goal. But this defense rings hollow in a world where digital preservation is commonplace and where the moral imperative to return stolen cultural property grows louder each year. The question isn’t simply who can care for these artefacts, it’s who should.

Repatriation, the return of cultural property to its place of origin, has shifted from a theoretical debate to a global movement. France’s pledge to return looted artifacts to Benin, Germany’s restitution of the Benin Bronzes, and the Smithsonian’s newly developed ethical return policies are not fringe gestures. They are signals of a deeper cultural shift. Repatriation, after all, is not just about boxes being shipped back across oceans. It’s about truth-telling. It’s about nations acknowledging histories of violence and dispossession, and about institutions committing to restorative justice.

This new ethical landscape demands changes in practice. Provenance research, once an obscure archival task, must now be a public commitment. Shared custodianship models, where institutions collaborate with origin communities to co-curate, rotate, or jointly own artifacts, offer ways forward that don’t sacrifice conservation. And above all, museums must embrace the decolonization of their own internal cultures: rethinking who gets to tell the stories, who sits on the boards, and whose voices shape the narrative.

Museums can still be temples of learning and wonder. But for them to truly serve society in the 21st century, they must relinquish their roles as colonial trophy cases. The future lies in humility, transparency, and cooperation. In part two of this series, I’ll look at how new technologies and evolving curatorial philosophies are helping museums reinvent themselves for the world to come.

Building Home and Sovereignty: Indigenous-Led Modular Housing Across Canada

Posted on September 12, 2025 by Chris McBean

Indigenous-led housing initiatives across Canada are demonstrating how culturally rooted design, workforce development and modular building technology can be combined to produce durable, energy-efficient homes while returning economic agency to Indigenous communities. A clear example is the Keepers of the Circle project in Kirkland Lake, a women-led social enterprise building a 24,000 square foot modular factory to produce prefabricated panels and whole homes for northern communities. The project positions the facility as a year-round training centre focused on Indigenous women and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people and aims to deliver passive, off-grid capable homes that reduce mould, overcrowding and winter construction constraints.

Modular construction matters in the North because it shifts much of the work indoors, shortens on-site assembly time and allows for higher quality control and better insulation choices than conventional stick-built homes. Projects that couple those technical advantages with local control multiply the social return. For example, NUQO and other Indigenous-owned modular firms emphasize culturally informed design and female leadership in construction, showing that modularity can be adapted to Indigenous aesthetics and community needs rather than imposed as a one-size-fits-all solution.

At a larger urban scale, the Squamish Nation’s Sen̓áḵw development shows another side of Indigenous-led housing. Sen̓áḵw is an unprecedented City-building project on reserve land in Vancouver that will deliver thousands of rental units while generating long-term revenue for the Nation and reserving units for community members. It signals how Indigenous land stewardship paired with contemporary development can both address housing supply and shift municipal relationships with Nations.

Innovation is not limited to factory scale or towers. Community-driven designs such as Skeetchestn Dodeca-Homes merge Secwepemc cultural principles with modular technology to create homes tailored for rural and on-reserve realities. These initiatives highlight the importance of design sovereignty, where communities set performance, materials and spatial priorities that reflect family structures and cultural practice.

Practical collaborations are emerging to accelerate delivery. Rapid-response modular programs and partnerships with existing manufacturers have been used to deploy units quickly to remote communities, showing a template for scale if funding, transportation and on-reserve financing barriers are addressed. Yet systemic obstacles remain, including the complex financing rules for on-reserve mortgages, patchwork funding across provinces and the logistics of shipping large components into remote regions.

Taken together, the landscape suggests a pragmatic pathway: support Indigenous-led factories and design teams to ensure cultural fit and local jobs, expand funding mechanisms and credit products tailored to on-reserve realities, and prioritize modular, high-performance assemblies that cut costs over a building’s life. When Indigenous governance, training and technical innovation work in tandem the result is not just more housing but a model of reconciliation that builds capacity, preserves culture and produces homes that last.

Sources
Keepers of the Circle modular factory page.
NUQO modular housing company.
Squamish Nation Sen̓áḵw project page.
Skeetchestn Dodeca-Homes project page.
ROC Modular rapid-response and modular housing examples.

From Margins to Mainstream: Mapping Canada’s Extremist Surge

Posted on September 9, 2025 by Chris McBean

Masked street mobilizations and online echo chambers are visible symptoms of a deeper shift in Canada’s political landscape. What once seemed like marginal groups have found renewed capacity to organize, recruit and intimidate through a blend of in-person rallies and social media amplification. The Niagara rally reported by CBC is not an isolated curiosity, but part of a pattern of small, local actions that feed a national ecosystem of grievance, identity politics and conspiratorial narratives.

The scale of the problem can be measured in public data. Police-reported hate crimes reached 4,777 incidents in 2023, an increase of 32 percent from 2022 and more than double the level recorded in 2019. These statistics do not merely count crimes. They indicate a widening public space in which targeted hostility against religious, racial and sexual minorities has become more frequent and more visible. The sharp rise in antisemitic and sexual orientation motivated incidents stands out as evidence that certain communities are being disproportionately affected.

National security agencies have also sounded alarms. Recent public reporting from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service documents the diversification of extremist threats within Canada and the real-world harms that can emerge from online radicalization. Analysts point to a mosaic of actors including white supremacists, ethnonationalists, militia-style adherents and anti-government networks. That heterogeneity makes a single policy response insufficient. Effective mitigation requires coordinated law enforcement, targeted community supports and a sharper focus on the digital platforms that enable cross-jurisdictional recruitment.

Transnational influences matter. Ottawa’s 2021 decision to list the U.S. Three Percenters militia as a terrorist entity underscores how American militia culture and extremist flows cross the border. That decision was an acknowledgement that ideological currents and organizational tactics are not constrained by national boundaries. Canadian actors borrow symbols, rhetoric and operational playbooks from movements abroad, complicating the domestic security picture and raising questions about how best to disrupt international networks without undermining civil liberties.

Civil society research highlights the central role of online environments in the recent resurgence. Scans of social media and fringe platforms document how recruitment, normalization and coordination occur through memes, influencers and algorithmic suggestion. Those processes create local nodes of activity that can quickly translate into physical gatherings, harassment campaigns or worse. The internet does not create grievances, but it accelerates their spread and lowers the cost of mobilization.

Policy responses must be pragmatic and evidence based. Better resourcing for hate crime reporting and victim support will improve data quality and community resilience. Transparent intelligence-public safety engagement can help identify violent plots early without casting suspicion across entire communities. Digital literacy initiatives and platform accountability will reduce the fertile ground on which extremist recruiters thrive. Above all, elected leaders must use language that reduces polarization rather than stokes it, because political rhetoric shapes both perception and legitimacy in the public square.

Sources:
CBC report on the Niagara rally https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/second-sons-rally-in-niagara-1.7628162
Statistics Canada Police-reported hate crime in Canada, 2023 https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/250325/dq250325a-eng.htm
CSIS Public Report 2024 https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/csis-scrs/images/2024publicreport/newest/Public_Report_2024-ENG.pdf
Reuters on Three Percenters terrorist listing https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canada-puts-us-right-wing-three-percenters-militia-group-terror-list-2021-06-25/
ISD An Online Environmental Scan of Right-wing Extremism in Canada https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/An-Online-Environmental-Scan-of-Right-wing-Extremism-in-Canada-ISD.pdf

Ottawa At Night: A Bright Step Into the Capital’s After-Hours Scene

Posted on September 8, 2025 by Chris McBean

Ottawa has long laboured under the stereotype of being a sleepy government town where the sidewalks roll up at dusk. Nightlife in the nation’s capital has been quietly evolving through careful curation of venues, live music, food offerings, and niche late-night culture. The City has now created a central portal aimed at aggregating entertainment options while offering clear, accessible safety information. The result is a civic initiative that feels both timely and responsible.

The site functions as a hub rather than a hype machine. Design choices favour clarity and usability. Visitors encounter a cleanly organized venues directory, a safety section that points to trusted public health resources, and a business area that consolidates permits and licensing guidance. The tone is professional and approachable, which suits a municipal platform whose aim is to broaden participation in the night economy while maintaining public safety.

The venues directory is the site’s core. Category and location filters provide a practical way to find music venues, bars, lounges, and cultural spaces. Each listing supplies essentials such as name and address alongside genre tags that communicate the nightly atmosphere. This structure is especially helpful for patrons seeking a particular sound or vibe, from intimate jazz rooms to late-night electronic sets and drag performances. The directory reflects a diverse cultural offering that will surprise those who still picture Ottawa as monochrome after dark.

Safety receives thoughtful attention. The site links to harm reduction guidance and public health materials rather than attempting to recreate clinical advice. That approach builds credibility. Safety information is presented as a core part of the proposition rather than an afterthought, which sends a clear message that expanding the night economy must be done with public wellbeing in mind.

Resources for businesses demonstrate the City’s recognition of nightlife as an economic driver. Permit information, licensing details, and strategic planning documents are gathered in one place. This helps operators navigate civic requirements and signals that the municipality intends to partner with the private sector rather than simply regulate it. The inclusion of an Insiders section, which points to local newsletters and scene curators, is a welcome nod to the grassroots networks that actually animate the night scene.

In its current incarnation, the site succeeds at centralizing information and legitimizing after-dark culture as a civic priority. It feels like a strong launch platform that sets the groundwork for a more dynamic, user-focused service. To evolve into the indispensable tool that patrons, promoters, and visitors will rely upon, the site should add features that make discovery spatial, immediate, and deeply searchable.

Upgrades and Improvements to Make Ottawa At Night Truly Useful

Map-Based User Interface A split-screen map and list view would turn a static directory into an exploratory tool. Clustered markers in denser neighbourhoods, clickable venue callouts, and the ability to draw a search box on the map would speed discovery for both tourists and locals planning a multi-stop evening.
Cuisine Filtering Food choice often drives evening plans. Add structured cuisine tags such as Italian, Indian, Thai, Ethiopian, Mexican, Middle Eastern, Caribbean, and vegetarian or vegan options. Include kitchen hours so a user can find venues serving late dinners or small plates before a show.
Enhanced Search Facets Extend search beyond music and neighbourhood. Offer filters for price range, accessibility, outdoor patio, open now, family friendly, gender neutral washrooms, and age restrictions. Granular facets reduce decision friction and increase confidence when choosing a venue.
Integrated Event Calendar An events calendar with ticket links and add-to-calendar functionality would give the site a living pulse. Allow users to filter events by date, genre, and venue, and permit venues to post recurring nightlies. This transforms the portal from a directory into an event discovery engine.
Transit and Ride Integration Embed late-night transit data, suggested pickup points for ride-share services, and walking times between venues. Clear routing information reduces the uncertainty that often dampens spontaneous nights out and improves safety outcomes.
Accessibility and Safety Tags Make accessibility and safety facts prominent. Tag wheelchair access, accessible washrooms, service animal policy, quiet areas, and proximity to safe pick-up locations. Visibility of these details broadens inclusion for patrons with differing needs.
User Ratings and Short Reviews Introduce a lightweight review system with verification for venue owners. Short, moderated reviews provide social proof while preserving a professional tone. Combine editorial descriptions with user impressions for balanced listings.
Venue Claiming and Live Updates Allow venues to claim listings and update hours, menus, and event schedules through a verified portal. A moderated workflow keeps data accurate without imposing heavy administrative burden on City staff.
Open Data and API Publish an exportable dataset and a simple API so local apps, tourism operators, and researchers can reuse the listings and events. Open data multiplies civic investment and supports the broader night economy ecosystem.
Personalized Itinerary Builder Add an itinerary tool that chains dinner, a show, and a late-night bar with travel time calculated automatically. Shareable itineraries make planning with friends effortless and encourage multi-venue nights.
Popularity Signals Provide anonymized crowd-level indicators, initially based on scheduled events rather than live tracking. Event-driven signals give a sense of atmosphere without creating privacy concerns.
Multilingual Expansion Offer partial translations of key pages in languages frequently used by visitors to the city. This increases accessibility for international tourists and supports broader cultural engagement.

Review source and official site: https://ottawaatnight.ca

Along with general information about the site for the public, this review aims to provide constructive, actionable recommendations that can be handed to designers or civic teams for implementation.

The State of Geomatics in Paraguay

Posted on September 6, 2025 by Chris McBean

As of 2025, Paraguay’s mapping and cartography landscape is undergoing significant transformation, driven by technological advancements, collaborative initiatives, and institutional reforms. I was working in country on an agri-traceability USAID initiative, just over a decade ago, when Paraguay received funding from a development bank for a national mapping project. Problems with a clear mandate, objectives, and governance limited the outcomes of that project, and it’s good to say that huge progress has since been made.

National and Thematic Mapping

MapBiomas Paraguay
Launched in 2023, MapBiomas Paraguay is a collaborative initiative involving Guyra Paraguay and WWF Paraguay. Utilizing Google Earth Engine, it produces annual land use and land cover (LULC) maps from 1985 to 2022 at a 30-meter resolution. These maps, encompassing ten LULC classes, are instrumental for environmental monitoring, policy-making, and land management. The platform offers open access to raster maps, transition statistics, and satellite mosaics, with updates planned annually.

Historical Thematic Mapping
Historically, Paraguay’s thematic mapping has been limited. Notable efforts include a 1:500,000 scale resource mapping project in 1975, covering geology, soils, vegetation, and population, and a 1995 publication focusing on soil and land use in the Oriental Region. These maps were produced with support from international organizations and are based on the WGS84 datum.

Urban and Regional Mapping

YouthMappersUNA and Atlas Urbano Py
Addressing the scarcity of up-to-date urban data, the YouthMappersUNA chapter at the National University of Asunción initiated the Atlas Urbano Py project. This project employs open-source tools like OpenStreetMap (OSM), Mapillary, and QGIS to map urban areas. Fieldwork includes 360° photomapping and drone-based orthophotography, resulting in detailed building use and height data for municipalities along Route PY02. To date, over 21,000 georeferenced images and 3,700 building polygons have been documented.

Cadastral Mapping and Property Fabric

Servicio Nacional de Catastro (SNC)
The SNC is responsible for Paraguay’s cadastral mapping. Recognizing the need for modernization, a comprehensive reform is underway to streamline procedures, update technological infrastructure, and enhance legal certainty. A significant development is the proposed National Unified Registry (RUN), aiming to integrate the General Directorate of Public Registries, the General Directorate of National Cadaster Services, and the Department of Surveying and Geodesy. This integration seeks to reduce processing times by at least 20% and improve transparency.

Indigenous Land Mapping

A participatory project focused on indigenous land delimitation has been conducted in six communities of the Mbya Guaraní and Yshir peoples. Covering approximately 35,828 hectares, this initiative involved geolocating traditional boundaries, documenting land invasions, and integrating data into the SNC’s digital cadaster. The project provides legal tools for communities to assert land rights and seek regularization.

Open Geospatial Data Infrastructure

Paraguay is part of the GeoSUR initiative, a regional network promoting free access to geospatial data across Latin America and the Caribbean. GeoSUR supports the development of spatial data infrastructures (SDIs) by providing tools for data sharing, visualization, and analysis. While progress has been made, challenges remain in ensuring data interoperability, standardization, and widespread adoption of open data practices.

Paraguay’s cartographic landscape is evolving through collaborative efforts, technological integration, and institutional reforms. National initiatives like MapBiomas Paraguay enhance environmental monitoring, while grassroots projects such as Atlas Urbano Py address urban data gaps. Reforms in cadastral systems aim to improve land administration and legal certainty. Continued investment in open data infrastructures and capacity building will be crucial for sustaining and advancing these developments.

Reevaluating Policing Priorities: A Call for Community-Centered Approaches in Ottawa

Posted on September 3, 2025 by Chris McBean

The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) has proposed a significant budget increase, citing the need to enhance services across the city. However, evidence suggests that reallocating existing funds towards community-focused policing could be a more effective, and sustainable approach to reducing crime without additional financial burden.

Community Policing: A Proven Strategy
The OPS has implemented several community-oriented strategies that have shown promising outcomes. The Community Outreach, Response, and Engagement (CORE) Strategy, for instance, focuses on addressing the root causes of crime in specific areas such as the ByWard Market and Rideau Street. By increasing foot patrols and engaging with local stakeholders, the OPS has reported a 17.9% reduction in calls for service and a 4.62% decrease in crime across these hotspots.

Similarly, the District Deployment Model tailors policing efforts to the unique needs of Ottawa’s diverse neighborhoods. This approach emphasizes collaboration with community partners to resolve local issues, enhancing service delivery and community trust.

Resource Reallocation: Investing in Prevention
The proposed budget increase for the OPS is substantial, potentially adding approximately $30 million to the police budget. Critics argue that these funds could be more effectively utilized by investing in community-based services that address the root causes of crime, such as poverty, mental health, and education.

Initiatives like Crime Prevention Ottawa’s “Vision Jasmine” project have demonstrated the effectiveness of community-led efforts in reducing crime. By focusing on community engagement and support, such programs have led to a significant reduction in crime rates in neighborhoods that experienced multiple homicides.

Building Trust Through Engagement
Community policing emphasizes building trust and collaboration between police and community members. The OPS’s CORE Strategy and District Deployment Model are steps in this direction, aiming to create stronger relationships with residents and address their unique concerns. Investing in these initiatives can lead to more effective policing and a safer community overall.

While the OPS’s request for a budget increase highlights the need for enhanced services, a shift towards community-focused policing offers a more sustainable and effective solution. By reallocating existing resources to initiatives that address the underlying causes of crime and foster community trust, Ottawa can create a safer and more equitable environment for all residents.

Cascadia Rising: Ecology, Identity, Politics

Posted on August 29, 2025 by Chris McBean

I began this article over a year ago, and at the time my biggest challenge was finding its focus. I wasn’t sure what the central thread should be, so I followed the flow of ideas and shaped it into a summary of recent activities and announcements. In many ways, it became a placeholder; something to capture the moment and hold space until I had the chance to return and explore the subject in greater depth.

1. Bioregional Roots & Indigenous Foundations
The idea of Cascadia springs from the interconnected ecosystems spanning the Cascade Range; anchored by rivers like the Fraser, Columbia, and Snake, a landscape long inhabited by diverse Indigenous nations: Chinook, Haida, Nootka, Tlingit, and dozens more, whose vibrant cultures predate colonial borders by millennia.

In Indigenous understanding, stewardship over land and salmon-rich waters isn’t just practical; it’s spiritual. Their societies are woven into place, honoring ecosystems as kin. This pre-colonial history sets a vital foundation for any modern Cascadia vision.

Today, Cascadian movements forefront Indigenous sovereignty and truth and reconciliation, advocating for dialogue-led, consensus-based confederation models where First Nations guide governance and cultural revitalization, like restoring Chinuk Wawa as a regional lingua franca.

2. Bioregionalism & Mapping as Decolonizing Tools
Bioregionalism – which Cascadia champions, breaks from traditional politics, centering its framework on natural boundaries and ecological integrity. Indigenous mapping traditions inform this, such as bioregional atlases by Tsilhqotʼin, Nisga’a, Tsleil-Waututh, and others that helped affirm territorial claims in court.

Through community-driven cartography, highlighting traditional ecosystems, language, stories; bioregional maps act as instruments of empowerment, healing, and planning rooted in place-based knowledge.

3. Elizabeth May’s Provocative Invitation & BC’s Identity
In January 2025, Green Party of Canada leader Elizabeth May reignited Cascadian conversation with a striking, partly rhetorical offer: that California, Oregon, and Washington might consider joining Canada; with BC naturally included in the idea, based on shared values like universal healthcare, reproductive rights, and climate justice.

Her gesture wasn’t an actual policy, but served as an emblematic spark, fueling grassroots discussions across the region; especially in BC, where many already feel culturally closer to the U.S. West Coast than to central Canada. This made the concept of transnational Cascadia feel suddenly plausible.

4. Governor Newsom & West Coast Climate Leadership
Cascadia’s vision isn’t purely conceptual, it’s grounded in concrete policy collaboration:
• In May 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom was appointed co-chair of the U.S. Climate Alliance, joining a bipartisan coalition of 24 governors spearheading high-impact, state-driven climate action, encompassing nearly 60% of the U.S. economy and 55% of its population.
• Newsom also announced a major cap-and-invest (formerly cap-and-trade) budget proposal, extending California’s program through 2045 and earmarking billions toward firefighting, high-speed rail, and climate adaptation projects.
• The three regional partners – California, Québec, and Washington, have also agreed to explore linkage of their carbon markets, signaling potential for a broader, cross-border climate economy.
• Simultaneously, West Coast governors (Newsom, Oregon’s Tina Kotek, and Washington’s Bob Ferguson) signed a joint statement promising to defend their states’ climate policies against federal rollback, demonstrating regional resolve and cohesion.

5. Indigenous and Climate Confluence in Cascadia’s Future
Modern Cascadia stands at the intersection of Indigenous resurgence and regional policymaking. Here’s how they converge:
• Indigenous frameworks act as ethical and governance cornerstones; urging truth, place-based authority, and cultural restoration, especially in BC where colonial histories persist.
• Bioregionalism and community mapping form tools for inclusion and urban planning that honor traditional ecological knowledge.
• Cross-border cooperation on climate, via co-carbon markets and alliances, offers practical scaffolding for aligning policy with ecological realities.
• Political solidarity, as seen in Newsom’s climate leadership and the West Coast climate defense, underscores Cascadia’s capacity as a functional mega-region, not merely a cultural idea.

Cascadia Reimagined: A Vision of Inclusive, Place-Based Governance
Cascadia today is evolving, not as a secessionist movement, but as an integrated regional model that:
• Places Indigenous sovereignty and ecological connection at its core.
• Encourages cross-jurisdictional collaboration on climate, economy, and culture.
• Utilizes bioregional mapping as a decolonizing and planning tool.
• Builds grassroots resonance through symbols, discourse, and identity.
• Innovates policy frameworks connecting shared values, particularly across BC and U.S. West Coast states.

Elizabeth May’s invitation, Governor Newsom’s climate strategy, and Indigenous leadership together signal a Cascadia imbued with governance relevance, moral thickness, and aspirational scope.

Sources
• Cascadia Bioregional Movement. Indigenous Sovereignties. Cascadia Bioregion. https://cascadiabioregion.org/indigenous-sovereignties
• Cascadia Bioregion. The Cascadia Movement. https://cascadiabioregion.org/the-cascadia-movement
• Cascadia Bioregion. Independence and Public Opinion. https://cascadiabioregion.org/independence-2
• CascadiaNow! Building a Resilient Cascadia. https://www.cascadianow.org
• Brandon Letsinger. It’s Time for a Cascadia Political Movement. https://brandonletsinger.com/political-movement/its-time-for-a-cascadia-political-movement
• KIRO 7 News. Canadian Lawmaker Offers to Take Washington, Oregon, California as New Provinces. January 10, 2025. https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/canadian-lawmaker-offers-take-washington-oregon-california-new-provinces/LPFT7I4AYBGCLHBKVOB2TIFQOQ
• Cascadia Daily News. Washington Joining Canada? Don’t Bet Your Timbits. January 10, 2025. https://www.cascadiadaily.com/2025/jan/10/washington-joining-canada-dont-bet-your-timbits
• OPB (Oregon Public Broadcasting). West Coast Governors Say They Will Defend Their Climate Policies Against Trump Attack. April 10, 2025. https://www.opb.org/article/2025/04/10/west-coast-governors-we-will-defend-our-climate-policies-against-trump-attack
• Office of Governor Gavin Newsom. Governor Newsom Appointed Co-Chair of U.S. Climate Alliance. May 9, 2025. https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/05/09/governor-newsom-appointed-co-chair-of-u-s-climate-alliance
• U.S. Climate Alliance. News & Events. https://usclimatealliance.org/news-events
• CalMatters. Newsom’s Budget Leans on Cap-and-Invest to Fund High-Speed Rail and Firefighting. May 2025. https://calmatters.org/environment/climate-change/2025/05/california-governor-climate-budget-cap-trade-high-speed-rail
• ClearBlue Markets. California Cap-and-Invest Program: Extension Proposed in California Budget. 2025. https://www.clearbluemarkets.com/knowledge-base/california-cap-and-invest-program-program-extension-proposed-in-california-budget
• Washington Department of Ecology. Shared Carbon Market Agreement between California, Québec, and Washington. March 20, 2024. https://ecology.wa.gov/about-us/who-we-are/news/2024/mar-20-shared-carbon-market

Feeding Ourselves Together: Why Community Co‑op Food Stores Belong in a Barrier-Free Canada

Posted on August 26, 2025 by Chris McBean

I have written before about why we need to see cooperative food stores in communities across Canada. With the recent reduction or removal of trade barriers, now is the time to make this happen.

Across Canada, there is a growing hunger – not only for better food, but for better ways of feeding our communities. The conventional supermarket model, dominated by multinational chains and long supply chains, has left many rural and urban neighbourhoods underserved, overpriced, or entirely cut off from fresh, affordable produce. In this landscape, community-based food cooperatives offer a compelling alternative. They prioritize local sourcing, democratic ownership, and keeping profits within the community. With momentum building to eliminate interprovincial trade barriers in Canada, the conditions are finally aligning to help co‑ops move from niche to necessary.

Historically, Canada’s internal trade system has been surprisingly fragmented. Despite a national economy and federal structure, provinces have operated with distinct sets of rules on everything from food labeling to trucking routes. These non-tariff barriers have acted like an invisible tax on internal trade – estimated by economists to be equivalent to a 21 percent tariff. The consequences have been far-reaching: regional producers face steep compliance costs just to sell across a provincial border; small grocers and co‑ops encounter shipping delays and complex regulations; and ultimately, consumers pay more at the till, with one estimate suggesting Canadians lose up to $200 to $250 per year on food costs due to internal barriers.

This disjointed regulatory landscape has been particularly tough on community co‑ops, which often rely on smaller suppliers who can’t afford to navigate provincial red tape. A co‑op in Saskatchewan wanting to feature artisanal Quebec cheese, or a Northern Ontario store hoping to offer Nova Scotia apples, may find themselves tangled in transportation rules, inspection standards, or product packaging requirements that vary from one province to the next. For organizations founded on values of local empowerment and food access, these barriers have long undermined their ability to operate efficiently and expand.

But change is in the air. A concerted effort, led by federal and provincial governments in response to longstanding calls from economists, producers, and consumers, is finally dismantling these internal walls. The Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA), adopted in 2017, was a foundational shift. It moved from a restrictive “positive list” approach, where only specified goods could cross provincial lines freely, to a “negative list,” where everything is presumed tradeable unless specifically excluded. Further momentum arrived in 2025 with the introduction of the One Canadian Economy Act, which enshrined mutual recognition of many provincial regulations and expanded labour mobility agreements. Recent cooperation between provinces like Alberta, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia has also smoothed trade in alcohol and agri-food products, and Ontario is now joining these efforts.

For food co‑ops, these developments are transformative. Reduced regulatory duplication and harmonized standards mean a broader, more diverse pool of suppliers is accessible. A co‑op in Winnipeg can now stock free-range eggs from a Manitoba farm alongside preserves from Prince Edward Island without needing a legal team to ensure compliance. With fewer restrictions on trucking and packaging, costs are lowered and logistics are simplified. This makes it more feasible for new co‑ops to start up, for existing ones to expand, and for regional partnerships to flourish.

Communities stand to gain tremendously from this shift. Food cooperatives can now tap into a more diverse national supply while staying true to their commitment to local and sustainable sources. Access to different growing zones and seasonal products across the country helps stabilize supply, especially for regions prone to climate disruptions. In Indigenous and Northern communities, where reliable food access remains a challenge, co‑ops empowered by seamless interprovincial trade could offer life-changing improvements.

There is also a broader economic story here. With fewer trade restrictions, small- and medium-sized farms and food businesses gain new markets. Many of these enterprises are community-owned or family-run. Selling into co‑ops in other provinces can help them grow sustainably without abandoning their values. The revenue generated stays local, supporting jobs, infrastructure, and innovation. Over time, this creates a virtuous cycle of local food systems supporting each other across provincial lines – a true pan-Canadian cooperative economy.

The benefits are not only economic. Food co‑ops build social capital. They encourage civic participation, give members a voice in decision-making, and often support education, nutrition, and sustainability initiatives. By breaking down provincial barriers, Canada is not just enabling trade; it is strengthening the social fabric of its communities.

Still, vigilance is needed. Some of the most entrenched barriers, particularly in supply-managed sectors like dairy and poultry, remain in place. Continued advocacy will be necessary to ensure reforms are fully implemented and that smaller players, including co‑ops, are not overlooked in favour of large industrial producers. But the path forward is clearer than it has ever been.

The vision of a Canada where every town and neighbourhood can nourish itself through a thriving, cooperative food economy is no longer idealistic – it is within reach. The removal of internal trade barriers is more than just a policy win; it is a catalyst for community renewal. It allows cooperatives to be what they were always meant to be: rooted in the local, connected across regions, and working together to feed a stronger, fairer nation.

Sources:
• Retail Insider (2025). “Interprovincial Trade Barriers Impact Canada’s Food and Beverage Sector.” https://retail-insider.com/retail-insider/2025/01/interprovincial-trade-barriers-impact-canadas-food-and-beverage-sector
• Canada Regulatory Review (2025). “The Impact of Lower Interprovincial Trade Barriers on Canada’s Agriculture and Agri-Food Sector.” https://www.canadaregulatoryreview.com/the-impact-of-lower-interprovincial-trade-barriers-on-canadas-agriculture-and-agri-food-sector
• Financial Times (2024). “Internal Canadian Trade Costs More Than You Think.” https://www.ft.com/content/90d68648-1905-48f9-906c-301ff047ca56
• Canadian Grocer (2025). “Breaking Down Interprovincial Trade Barriers: What’s at Stake for the Food Sector?” https://canadiangrocer.com/breaking-down-interprovincial-trade-barriers-whats-it-food-sector
• Reuters (2025). “Carney Says Canada Aims to Have Free Internal Trade by July 1.” https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/carney-says-canada-aims-have-free-internal-trade-by-july-1-amid-us-tariffs-2025-03-21/

Parking Fees in Eastern Ontario Hospitals Are a Hidden Tax on Patients

Posted on August 22, 2025 by Chris McBean

Eastern Ontario has always prided itself on community and care. From the small-town generosity of Kemptville and Almonte to the bustling networks of support in Ottawa, people here know what it means to stand by one another in times of crisis. Yet a troubling trend is quietly eroding that sense of fairness: hospital parking fees.

In the past year, residents across our region have seen new charges introduced at hospitals once known for their accessibility. Kemptville District Hospitalbrought in a “Scan to Pay” system in July 2024, charging a flat $6 per day. This month, Almonte General Hospital, long a point of pride for offering free parking, is rolling out a gated system at $5 per day. In Ottawa, families face even steeper costs: the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario charges up to $15.60 per day, while Montfort Hospital’s daily rates range from $15 to $19, depending on in-and-out access.

For anyone who has supported a loved one through serious illness, these numbers tell a painful story. A cancer patient attending daily treatments in Ottawa could easily spend hundreds of dollars a month just to park. Families visiting sick children at CHEO or aging parents at Montfort are forced into impossible choices: pay the fee, or cut back elsewhere on essentials like groceries, fuel, or rent.

Defenders of these charges argue they are needed to cover parking lot maintenance or to discourage casual use of hospital spaces. But such reasoning sidesteps the ethical reality. The cost of public infrastructure should be borne by the public collectively, through fair taxation—not downloaded onto patients and families at their most vulnerable. To frame fees as a deterrent is worse: it implies that comforting a dying parent or spending time with a hospitalized child is somehow frivolous.

These fees are also inherently regressive. A single parent in Almonte living on Ontario Works pays the same $5 daily rate as a professional with six-figure earnings. But for the former, it may mean skipping meals or delaying bill payments. That is not just inconvenient, it is structurally unjust.

Eastern Ontario families know that healing rarely happens in isolation. Hospital visits often involve not just the patient but an entire network of care: parents, children, siblings, and friends. Parking fees act as barriers to this essential support system. They isolate patients, deepen stress, and send the message that community presence is only for those who can afford it.

Across the region, people are noticing. In Almonte, the introduction of paid parking has sparked conversations about fairness. In Kemptville, residents question why a community-driven hospital is now charging a flat rate for access. In Ottawa, families with children in long-term care quietly count the mounting costs. This is not just an inconvenience, it is a creeping inequity that undermines the very ethos of universal health care.

Eastern Ontario should lead by example. Scotland and Wales have already abolished hospital parking fees, recognizing them as barriers inconsistent with the values of public health care. We can do the same here. Local hospital boards and provincial leaders should treat these charges not as a revenue stream, but as a moral question: do we want to tax people for being sick and for supporting those they love?

Hospital parking fees in Eastern Ontario are not minor nuisances. They are hidden taxes that punish patients and families precisely when compassion should be our guiding principle. If we truly believe in fairness and universality, these fees must go.

Sources
• Kemptville District Hospital. “KDH Announces a New Barrier-Free Parking System.” July 2024.
• Mississippi Mills. “Almonte General Hospital to Implement Paid Parking.” August 2025.
• CHEO. “Parking Information.” April 2025.
• Montfort Hospital. Parking Information. 2025.
• Canadian Medical Association. “Parking Fees at Health Care Facilities.” CMA Policy, 2016.
• Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. “User Fees: A Threat to Public Services and Equity.” CCPA Report, 2014.