Paul Champ

On Monday Oct. 26th we’ll post my @ricochetmedia.bsky.social podcast conversation with @naomiaklein.bsky.social & @astra.bsky.social about their new book “End Times Fascism: And the Fight for the Living World” recorded in Ottawa. podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/i...

More interesting analysis would be which ones were called bc governing party perceived the opposition was in disarray. I believe Canadian voters have a strong sense of fair play and punish govts that call opportunistic elections.

I voted for Carney last election. And it feels like he is aggressively trying to make me and like-minded folks regret it.

Two years ago, we started the 3 month trial in Abdelrazik v. Canada regarding Canada's role in the arbitrary detention and torture of Montrealer Abousfian Abdelrazik in Sudan. Still waiting for judgment. The case was launched in 2009. Victims of torture deserve prompt justice.

US garment workers helped pioneer multi-ethnic labor unions, which united people across racial, religious, gender, linguistic, and cultural divides. Also native-born citizens and immigrants. I think about that sometimes when I see people suggest such divides are unbridgeable.

Today is Ahmed Mansoor’s birthday. Since 2017, he has spent his birthday behind bars, where he’s been arbitrarily imprisoned in an isolation cell in the UAE. All charges on which he was convicted were based on his human rights advocacy. Emirati authorities should #FreeAhmed. #BirthdayWishes4Ahmed

Protest is how ordinary people change history. #TheProtestBook by Annie Leonard & Andre Carothers shares 40+ stories of movements that reshaped the world. If you believe dissent strengthens democracy, this book is for you. And you'll want to attend this virtual event.

Close it for 18-24m & repair. Save a billion $. Reopen for cycling & pedestrians (it carries about 7-8% of cross river traffic max); use savings to repair MK bridge, fix truck traffic and other bridges. Boom, sustainable infrastructure investment @yasirnaqvicdn.bsky.social @mark-carney.bsky.social

I saw the same guy voting in different photos for news stories about the Alberta referendum. Plaid dickie, beard and backwards baseball cap. C’mon media! Enough with the stereotypes. (And I bet that guy voted for Canada.)

Convoy lawyer Keith Wilson has gone AWOL, CBC News reports

Invasion, mass murder, rape, kidnapping of children - all fine

On transit, my record is clear. I have consistently voted against service cuts and I co-sponsored a motion with @jleiper.bsky.social to restore 5-min LRT frequency — one that was ultimately defeated by the current mayor and his supporters.

Toronto police seized 2,500 rounds of ammunition stolen from the Canadian Armed Forces which apparently had not been missed. How does that happen?? This is extremely serious and there should be parliamentary hearings.

Homicides at a 50-year-low, yet too many politicians beating the drum for strict bail, despite inhumanely overcrowded prisons. Cheap politics that violates human rights and cost taxpayers money.

No surprise given Council's stop&go with service cuts & fare hikes, plus well-publicized service interruptions. Amazing that Sutcliffe now offers bus pass cuts when just a year ago he was going to hike seniors bus passes 18% (Council thought better). #OCTranspo

Totally agree. Ottawa is a great community and the nation’s capital but austerity, terrible decisions and only serving the interests of developers has left our city in a poor state. Yet Ottawa elites are all lining up behind Sutcliffe/Watson regime. 🤷🏼‍♂️

republicans used to complain about the violence in gangster rap and now they want to livestream an execution

Elon Musk is South African because Saskatchewan wasn’t white enough for his grandfather in 1950.

It is disturbing to read that some are planning pro-Palestine protests today, on October 7. The Oct 7th atrocities by Hamas were evil and antisemitic, with the obvious goal of provoking disproportionate attacks on Palestinians. Today should only be about mourning Jewish lives.

We’ve offered the Bank of Canada two clear options to resolve the conflict in Ottawa: withdraw the concessions that undermine workers’ rights, or agree to arbitration. The solutions are on the table. What’s your call, Bank of Canada?

Speaking this morning at the Ontario Bar Association Annual Charter Conference on constitutional remedies, including damages and systemic remedies. My 4th invite over the years. Great to see so many constitutional litigators and professors. Terrific presentations.

Sutcliffe's infrastructure plan is so much smoke & mirrors as he is handcuffed by his 2.5% tax cap. He expects to finance some of this through $250 million from "savings" but doesn't tell us what is to be cut. Add on his bus pass cut, his 350 new first responders - clearly magic is in the air here.

This is classic Mark Sutcliffe double speak. I know people who are inclined to support Sutcliffe but who are confused by his conflicting campaign messages. He is desperately trying to be all things to all people, but really his main vision for Ottawa is enriching developers. Vote Leiper.

CEO-to-worker pay ratio in 1965: 20-1 CEO-to-worker pay ratio in 1990: 75-1 CEO-to-worker pay ratio today: 325-to-1 Trickle-down economics was always a sham. Nothing has ever trickled down.

Neiman Marcus closed its downtown Dallas flagship on Wednesday. The store played a notable role in the history of desegregation in Dallas. Previously, Black shoppers across the US could enter department stores, but they weren't allowed to try on clothes without adhering to certain conditions. 🧵

It’s so obvious that Mayor Sutcliffe has decided this will be his last election even if he wins. He’s promising money to everyone and everything, but maintains he will keep tax increases below inflation. He wants desperately to win this last one and thinks we are all stupid.

I just saw a film about the AI-enabled apocalypse. Only it's not science fiction. It's not even in the future. It's in the present. The film is called NAZA. See it. @theguardian.com @us.theguardian.com youtu.be/98xLCdc7t7E

NEWS: My new investigation uncovers the horrific ChatGPT history of the Tumbler Ridge school shooter. OpenAI’s chatbot fueled the shooter's violent fantasies and plans up to the day of the massacre. Chats about guns, timing of attacks, becoming infamous, and more. www.motherjones.com/media/2026/0...

From 1910. History may not repeat, but it rhymes.

Dang. McManis was my favourite wine for years. The US alcohol boycott was the right call, but it’s very sad to see some of these companies fail. Trump’s fault.

In 1962, Canada removed race as a factor in immigration In 1967, we removed nationality as a factor and created the world's first merit-based immigration system In 1971, multiculturalism became official government policy and in 1988, the Canadian Multiculturalism Act was enacted

The Liberal government is attacking workers' rights and protecting employers when they break labour laws. Do you believe this answer? I don't! @psac-afpc.bsky.social

I researched this last night and concluded Canada would have the most regressive legislation on the right to strike in the EU or G7. Who’s advising these guys? This is a miscalculation by Carney.

Prime Minister is promising new legislation to ‘Build Canada Strong’. It seems amending the Canada Labour Code is part of the plan, but strengthening workers rights isn’t what he’s talking about. The real Carney wants foreign investment above all and is prepared to sacrifice labour rights to get it.

Watching the Ottawa mayoral race closely. Sutcliffe desperately wants re-election, and has swung ‘left’ on transit, homelessness, etc. But his fiscal plan doesn’t match, and where was he for 4 years? Leiper is the real deal.

The right to strike and collective bargaining give workers the power to fight for better wages and working conditions. As Parliament returns, employers are pushing for new limits on these rights. We need the government to stand with workers. United we stand!

In the largest crackdown in years, Turkish authorities raided LGBT rights organizations and arrested activists in major cities on September 12-14. 🧵⤵️ apnews.com/article/turk...

Kremlev, the Russian who sponsored Don Jr's wedding, is a former member of the Night Wolves biker gang, went to China with Putin and is personally sanctioned by Ukraine for his role in abducting children. He praises Stalin on social media www.propublica.org/article/dona...

A quarter century after he had his life torn apart in the aftermath of Sept.11th #MaherArar and his wife Mona Mazigh, now a celebrated novelist, have become civic leaders and community builders in Ottawa.

1. In late Sept. 2002 just a year after the Al-Qaeda led Sept. 11th attacks on the US & in the midst of the so called War on Terror that followed #9/11, #MaherArar, a Syrian-born-McGill University-educated engineer, was on his way home to Canada following a family trip to Tunisia.

We have two kids starting university this fall. What a blessing. But the costs are a bit staggering. Tuition and residence costs alone for both exceed $60K. We saved for years and both kids busted their asses in jobs this summer, but it is really hard. Stay strong families.

I spoke w/ Ottawa-based Palestinian human rights lawyer Yafa Jarrar about the 5 weeks she recently spent in the #WestBank with her family & about daily life for Palestinians. Our conversation will air on an upcoming episode of my @ricochetmedia.bsky.social podcast.

The Executive Director of the Office of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is not only celebrating a far-right German extremist party’s election results He’s also attacking Andrew Coyne for being a “Laurentian elite” for pointing out he’s “cheering on the AfD”

This is a great book. “Nickel and Dimed” gets at the corrosive dynamics of poverty.

This is an important First Amendment victory, backed by a careful, well-reasoned opinion from Judge Noel Wise in the Northern District of California. www.newsday.com/news/nation/...

This pales in the face of enabling genocide, brutalizing migrants, tearing up international law, turning back climate action, and spewing hate. This is juvenile, mean-spirited petulance. Still, how can any American, whatever their politics, look at this & not cower with embarrassment.

This isn't the first time the USA has placed 50% tariffs on Canada. In 1890, the USA's Tariff Act was touted as a way to build up American industry, but the true goal was forcing the annexation of Canada. It backfired and made Canada stronger. This is the story. 📸 LoC 🧵1/10

1/2 Our government talks about Canadian values on the world stage, but we need it to act with moral clarity when it matters.

Yep.