🍁 Friday Roundup: Strikes, Soldiers and Schools

Good morning, Maple readers, and welcome to the Friday Roundup.

We published a pretty wide range of articles this week, including the most-read Class Struggle issue of the year thus far, an exciting announcement about the next series at The Maple, my latest opinion article and a report into the shocking underfunding of schools in Toronto. Further down in the email, we’ll share some more details about the series with readers who sent in comments and questions about it. We really want to hear your feedback about it all, so please do become a member and join in the conversation.

Here’s what this week looked like…

1. Board’s Ruling Against Port Workers A Blow To Labour Rights

Photo via ILWU Canada on Facebook.

The latest issue of Class Struggle from Adam is already the most-read of the year, and in the top five of most-read articles/newsletters of the year at The Maple in general. In this issue, Adam breaks down exactly what happened with the port worker strike in British Columbia, how the government interfered to help break it and why we shouldn’t put our trust in the supposedly neutral adjudicators of labour law. The issue as a whole offers a great reminder that changing laws won’t be enough to ensure our objectives are accomplished. Give this a read, particularly if you feel like you aren’t really sure what the strike was all about.

Read the full newsletter.

2. The Maple Is Launching A Deep-Dive Series On ‘Foreign Interference’ Narratives

As you’ve probably heard, we’re launching a new series critiquing “foreign interference” narratives that have become dominant in Canadian media and politics. Check out this announcement about the series from Alex, which offers a sneak peek of what you can expect in the weeks to come.

Read the announcement.

3. Underfunded Toronto Schools Are Falling Into Disrepair

Contributed photo.

The latest news article at The Maple takes a look at the grim situation facing many schools in Toronto as a result of decades of neglect, including significant underfunding by Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government. As the article notes, “The Ford government slashed $100 million from Ontario public school repair budget after first taking office in 2018. Since then, Ontario’s education sector has been underfunded to the tune of $2.5 billion, with schools left to manage with dwindling repair grants.” The article goes through just how dire the situation is, including stats, reports from staff at the schools and some pretty bleak photos.

Read the full article.

4. Soldiers Aren’t Victims, And They Deserve Contempt

Photo via Filip Andrejevic on Unsplash.

Yes, this has a somewhat provocative title. The piece itself, though, is pretty measured, taking the arguments that many progressives make to excuse people becoming soldiers head on with facts in an effort to debunk so much of the military propaganda that manages to influence what should be its natural critics. I make a comparison between how police officers and soldiers are treated by progressives, arguing that so many of the valuable lessons learned in recent years about the systemic issues with policing and the inherent complicity of individual officers have failed to naturally be extended to the army and soldiers. It’s definitely possible you’ll disagree with me even after reading the entire article, but I think it’s worth doing so to see if it challenges any beliefs you may have.

Read the full story.

From The Archives

• To follow up on my article about soldiers and military propaganda, you should check out these two articles from Kelly Jarman published in November 2020 and November 2021, respectively. First, Kelly critiques how the media has failed to hold the military to account. He offers some really useful insights in this piece that expand on the section in my article that focused on things more “progressive” media outlets have written about the military. Second, Kelly argues that the Royal Canadian Legion should have no place in Canadian classrooms because it pushes a pro-war style of Remembrance Day lessons, which contributes to the uncritical support for the military so many students end up growing to have.
• To follow up on the article about Toronto schools, here’s one we published back in September 2020 outlining how Ford was using the pandemic as an opportunity to gut public schools throughout the province. This is all part of a broader plan, stretching from education to healthcare.

Now, let’s turn to the members’ corner…