Stop the “NEW RECORD“ framing of this cataclysmic shitshow our selfish political choices have created for more than a century numbers numb don’t present it like hockey scores CONTEXT CONNECTIONS a future depends on it any future

It’s shocking to me that the intersection between involuntary treatment and colonialism is mostly a footnote within policy discussions.

I’m not a doctor, but feels like *actual* early intervention in frostbite cases would entail giving people warm shelter before amputation becomes necessary. Like, how much later than “amputation required” can intervention be?

by leaving people his government has deprived of housing the options of amputation, freezing to death, or incarceration, the increase in amputations indicates that Nixon is reducing homelessness without providing housing The purpose of a system is what it does www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

NEW Federal prisons are removing methadone and Suboxone opioid treatments, leaving only a patented once-per-month injection for prisoners. A large group of experts is raising serious concerns about harms to prisoners––and the corporate motivations behind the move. drugdatadecoded.ca/150-experts-...

We need more shelters and housing, amputations from frostbite are preventable. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

"The Minister’s office is suggesting that record frostbite amputation surgeries are somehow good news. In what world is amputating a finger or a foot an ‘improved outcome for vulnerable Albertans’!?” Read more: www.friendsofmedicare.org/record_frost...

Treaty 8 Grand Chief Trevor Mercredi had some strong words for Canada & Alberta... He made it clear that Treaty 8 will not just not support, they will actively oppose any new pipelines in the north without consultation & called for an immediate pause. #abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli

Acting Chief Teri Vellibrun with the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nations made her position very clear today! The AFCN stand with coastal First Nations and against everything in the pipeline MOU. #abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli

"The expansion of coca cultivation is a direct driver of deforestation in the Andean valleys and the Colombian Amazon." - Learn more about how illegal coca cultivation and the drug war are driving climate and environmental disaster www.reformrestorerecover.org/evidence

"Ungoverning is not a neutral act. It is an ethical choice. It shifts power from the many to the few. It transforms rights into commodities. It turns need into opportunity for private profit. And it abandons the belief that a society should be judged by how it treats the vulnerable."

COVID Shots Tied to a Lower Risk of Death From Any Cause medpagetoday.com/infectiousdi... "After standardizing characteristics between the two groups, all-cause mortality incidence was 25% lower in those who had received a COVID shot."

Of course the courts should be the ones to adjudicate constitutional issues. That’s the whole point of the rule of law, the cornerstone of government. You can’t trust government or popular opinion to determine or safeguard fundamental rights. #cdnpoli www.ctvnews.ca/edmonton/art...

Thinking a lot about this moment from literally the first chapter of "1984."

I just wrote this in a report: "researchers must be accountable for conducting ethical research involving Indigenous people when collecting sensitive or sacred Indigenous data, data of Indigenous people at risk of being criminalised, or data of those targeted by so-called child welfare authorities."

Essentially what Danielle Smith is saying is we don’t have three branches of government anymore.

Poverty and poor health are a deadly mix. Every WHO region has made strides in expanding health service coverage. But only three regions—Africa, South-East Asia and the Western Pacific— have managed to ease the financial strain on families.

NEW: Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani said Thursday he will not continue sweeps of homeless encampments — which city data shows have not yielded any permanent or supportive-housing referrals in more than a year. www.thecity.nyc/2025/12/04/m...

Yes! it psychologically dismantles people, removes support networks, reduces physiological tolerance and harvests conditions that fuel environmental salience to drug/alcohol cues. Forced treatment is an ideological comfort blanket for many who lack capacity to address the deeper social problems. 🤔

Premier Eby will have announcement tmrw about "strengthening access to involuntary care for young people." CMHA: "lack of evidence to support effectiveness of involuntary treatment for substance use disorder... evidence suggests it leads to an increased risk of death..." bc.cmha.ca/news/involun...

What I saw reporting on the American lives cut short by killer heat

Re-upping this as daily temps are set to plunge in Edmonton. Zero frostbite amputations is an achievable goal we all can work towards. City Council and the Government of Alberta can lead here by overhauling their winter emergency response efforts #yegcc #ableg edmontonjournal.com/opinion/colu...

From November 26, 2025 manufacturing public consent in partnership with media using anecdote and exploitation as evidence for the coerced and unconstitutional detention of children. www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/ar...

Canada can’t build pipelines without Indigenous consent Mark Carney and #Alberta’s pipeline pitch promises co-ownership with First Nations, but without any authority over their land, resources, or revenues. From Nehiyaw and Metis writer Marcel Desjarlais: ricochet.media/indigenous/c... #cdnpoli

Overdose deaths in the US are down 41% from epidemic peak in 2023. Modelling suggests declines in death are due to 1) decreasing size of the susceptible population; 2) stabilization of the mortality rate. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

"Liberation doesn’t hinge on extraordinary individuals; it requires structural transformation. When we elevate “heroes,” we risk distorting accountability and reinforcing inequity." (Celeste Pedri-Spade, para 12) theconversation.com/thomas-king-...

This whole Alberta pipeline discussion is the opposite of nation building. I feel that our nation building projects should be more along the lines of a national integrated carbon neutral electricity grid. A national high-speed rail system. Discussion of crownlands being returned to First Nations.

Authoritarians typically neither like science nor scientists We are seeing this everywhere So, fighting for science is also fighting for democracy www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

"When a hospital staffer comes across someone about to use, they now face a difficult choice of turning a blind eye, having the person kicked off hospital grounds or directing them to a clinic they may not want to visit." #ableg edmontonjournal.com/opinion/colu...

Many large projects are being discussed by Canada and its provinces without the most important conversations taking place first. All land Canada plans projects on is Indigenous Land, Free, Prior and Informed Consent is not optional.

It's that time again. The Halluci Nation, "Burn Your Village to the Ground (Neon Nativez Remix)" www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNi_...

Court hears DULF founders felt "thrown under the bus by multiple institutions." www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Great new report on homeless encampment governance. The unhoused are rights-holders and all levels of government need to act like it. imfg.org/research/doc/

Yet another barrier for the unhoused…

Today, DULF co-founders launch their constitutional challenge to Canada’s drug laws that criminalize possession for the purposes of trafficking. “[The law] is over broad in that it prohibits non medical safer supply programs no matter how efficacious” - lawyer Tim Dickson @pressprogress.ca

It has such a horrible impact on those few Indigenous folks who have managed to break into settler institutions. Because the question becomes - if colonizers only value frauds dressed as NDNs, what does that say about actual Indigenous folks in these spaces? Such an insidious undermining.

It's funny because even though this has been a known issue in NDN country for aaaaages, and I still feel like no one is actually prepared for the fallout. Folks really don't understand how deep this stuff goes and how many people end up hurt.

I contributed to this @cmaj.ca Commentary because: 1. Choosing control over care is a failure of imagination that invites despair; and, 2. Health equity requires advocacy. #HealthEquity #DecolonizeCare #CareOverControl @dsdp.ca @nobill53ab.bsky.social www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.250910

“The decision to override Charter rights fails this test.” The Anglican, Lutheran and United Churches in Alberta have written to Danielle Smith condemning her use of the notwithstanding clause to punch down on the vulnerable Albertans. #abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli

Ugh. Yet MORE MAGA-style madness. AB aims to curtail regulatory bodies from sanctioning workers www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... Reality: - reg response to spread of misinformation rare (few "silenced") - misinformation does great harm (um, measles status?) - privilege of being prof comes with standards

The UCP "have shown that they do not care about Albertans’ rights. They’ve shown that they’ll happily steamroll your rights as soon as they become inconvenient to the government. No matter who you are or who you vote for, that should scare you." #ableg calgaryherald.com/opinion/colu...

CRISM Prairies has a national webinar series that launch in September. If you are interested in supervised consumption services, rapid access to addiction medicine clinics, or compulsory drug treatment, check out the first three talks here: www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

Great interview with my colleague Dr. Kathryn Dong about what the loss of the Royal Alex supervised consumption service means for patients and the hospital. www.cbc.ca/listen/live-... #ableg #yeg

CTV: Alberta musician and rancher Corb Lund has filed a new application for a citizen's initiative petition to stop coal mining on the eastern slopes of the Rockies. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fQV...

Yet another Alberta Supervised Consumption Site is being shuttered, this one at the Royal Alex. “Today’s announcement is yet another blow to evidence-based addictions care,” says FOM's Chris Gallaway: www.friendsofmedicare.org/closure_of_a... ➡️Take action: www.friendsofmedicare.org/isupportharm...

The UCP's pre-emptive use of the notwithstanding clause is further evidence of their populist approach to policymaking. Pluralists -- whether progressives committed to minority rights or libertarians prizing checks & balances on government power -- must stand together against this over-reach.

Belatedly sharing this study on the rapid rise of manslaughter charges in Canada against people alleged to have shared or sold drugs that led to an accidental overdose death. Police agencies are quietly changing investigative procedures to recast medical emergencies as homicide scenes. #drugsky

Today, government introduced Bill 9 legislation invoking the notwithstanding clause to override a court ruling that protects youth access to gender-affirming care. This places government between a patient and their physician, undermining clinical autonomy. www.albertadoctors.org/news/publica...