Category: The Conversation – Canada

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Jingyi Zhang, Doctoral Student, Psychology, University of Alberta

Canadian immigration policy has long emphasized family reunification. In fact, most of Canada’s 200,000 yearly newcomers migrate as a couple or a family unit.

For these families, migration means more than just starting over — it means that each family member, and the unit, must adapt to the new culture while finding ways to maintain a connection with their original culture.

This dual transition, known as family acculturation, can be a source of both growth and stress. The complexity of this process is well illustrated by examining the smallest-sized family unit: the immigrant couple.

Language barriers, social isolation and new parenting challenges often add to the everyday pressures of marriage. When partners adapt to Canadian culture at different rates and levels, these acculturation gaps can strain communication, shift power dynamics and challenge a couple’s sense of connection and harmony.

What are acculturation gaps?

Acculturation refers to how individuals balance maintaining their heritage culture while adopting aspects of a new one. Within families, not everyone does that in the same way or at the same pace. One spouse might quickly learn English, find employment and follow social norms, while the other may hold more strongly to traditional values or struggle with integration.

They may also adapt differently across domains such as child-rearing practices. These differences, known as acculturation gaps, can affect not only individual well-being but also the quality of a couple’s relationship and overall family functioning.

Research on family acculturation has largely focused on parent–child relationships, showing how differences in cultural adaptation can cause tension and misunderstanding. Yet spousal acculturation gaps — though less studied — may be equally influential.

Couples, after all, are the foundation of most immigrant families, and large acculturation gaps between spouses may erode feelings of connectedness, negatively impacting both individual and relational well-being. These gaps may also spill over into parenting and other aspects of family functioning.

The acculturation gap–distress model explains how differing levels of adaptation within a family can lead to conflict. When partners adopt new languages, norms or values at different speeds, they may develop mismatched expectations about family roles, parenting and daily decisions.

This mismatch can erode intimacy and communication, increasing marital stress and dissatisfaction. Studies have found that couples with greater acculturation gaps tend to experience more marital distress, higher rates of conflict and separation and lower relationship quality over time.

Power dynamics within the family can also shift. The partner who adapts more easily — perhaps gaining stronger language skills or financial independence — may take on more decision-making authority. This can challenge traditional gender roles, especially for families migrating from patriarchal societies to more egalitarian environments.

As a result, couples may find themselves renegotiating not only household responsibilities but also their identities as partners, sometimes leading to tension or resentment.

Parenting adds another layer of complexity and pressure. Parents’ beliefs and practices are deeply shaped by their cultural backgrounds. When mothers and fathers acculturate differently, their child-rearing ideologies and approaches may diverge. For instance, one parent might encourage independence in line with Canadian norms, while the other emphasizes collectivist values. These inconsistencies can lead to co-parenting stress, spousal conflict and confusion for children.

When resilience meets policy

Not all acculturation gaps lead to conflict. The vulnerability–stress–adaptation (VSA) model suggests that couples’ ability to adapt determines whether stressors such as language gaps strengthen or weaken the relationship.

While acculturation gaps can create vulnerabilities, partners who communicate openly, show empathy and support each other often turn these challenges into opportunities for deeper connection. Couples’ resilience and adaptive coping can mediate the negative effects of acculturation gaps on their well-being, enhancing long-term satisfaction and stability.

Unfortunately, recent immigration policies have added another strain on immigrant families. Canada’s indefinite suspension of new permanent residency sponsorships for parents and grandparents removes an important support system for many newcomers. Grandparents often provide child care, transmit cultural values and offer emotional support — resources that buffer acculturative stress and promote family cohesion.

---

Read more:
Canada halts new parent immigration sponsorships, keeping families apart

---

Under the VSA model, the removal of extended-family support functions as an external stressor that intensifies couples’ existing vulnerabilities. With fewer adaptive resources to manage daily stress, immigrant couples may find it harder to maintain resilience, marital quality and family well-being.

The story of couple acculturation is one of commitment and adaptation under stress. The success of this journey depends not only on language skills or employment but also on mutual understanding and support.

Immigration policies influence the ecology of resilience in immigrant families, yet within this context, couples must continuously negotiate acculturative stressors and gaps.

Well-adjusted couples are the foundation of thriving immigrant families and communities, and understanding couple acculturation gaps is a crucial step toward supporting them.

Jingyi Zhang received funding from the China Institute at the University of Alberta

Kimberly A. Noels received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada through an Insight Grant #435-2024-1437.

– ref. Marriage is hard, but it’s even harder when you immigrate together – https://theconversation.com/marriage-is-hard-but-its-even-harder-when-you-immigrate-together-266216

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Alyssa Grocutt, Postdoctoral Associate at Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary

As Canadians head into another flu and COVID season, many workers still face an impossible choice if they fall ill: stay home and lose pay, or clock in sick and risk spreading illness. This is more than an individual dilemma; it’s a predictable public health failure — one the government already knows how to fix.

Paid sick leave is good for both health and business, reducing the spread of illness while supporting workforce productivity, promoting better health outcomes and increasing labour force participation.

So why don’t all workers in Canada have it?

A lesson we’ve failed to learn

The costs of sick people going to work were starkly evident during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2021, Peel Region in Ontario became a hotspot for transmission. Research from Peel Public Health found that one in four employees went to work while showing symptoms of COVID-19, and about one per cent did so even after testing positive.

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie called these figures “evidence” that workers were being forced into a dangerous trade-off between “losing a paycheque and putting food on the table.”

---

Read more:
COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care highlight the urgent need for paid sick leave

---

And yet, Canada still lacks a comprehensive paid sick leave system. Access remains patchy, depending on the province, sector or employer. The Canada Labour Code mandates 10 days of paid sick leave, but only for federally regulated employees.

At the provincial level, only British Columbia (five days per year), Québec (two days) and Prince Edward Island (one to three days, depending on tenure), have permanent paid sick leave. Ontario briefly offered three days during the pandemic but ended the program in 2023.

Even where these programs exist, they don’t cover everyone. Independent contractors and gig workers are excluded, and many low-wage and part-time employees still lack coverage altogether.

Gig workers, in particular, fall through the cracks. They’re classified as self-employed and left without the basic protections that most employees take for granted.

Canadian unionized workers are more likely to have paid sick days negotiated into their contracts, but coverage remains uneven and far from universal. In sectors with low union density, such as hospitality and agriculture, workers are least likely to have access to any form of paid sick leave at all.

The case for paid sick leave

Every year, workers bring colds, flu and other contagious illnesses to work because they cannot afford to stay home. Presenteeism — working while ill — harms recovery, spreads infection and increases workplace outbreaks.

Research shows that high job demands and low resources drive presenteeism, which in turn reduces job satisfaction and organizational effectiveness. It’s a lose-lose equation: employees suffer, productivity drops and illness spreads faster.

The evidence shows that paid sick leave improves both public health and business outcomes. A 2023 review of 43 studies found that paid sick leave is linked with higher job satisfaction, better retention, fewer workplace injuries, reduced contagion and even lower mortality.

Other research shows that employees without paid sick leave experience greater psychological distress, while simply knowing that such policies exist improves attitudes and trust toward employers.

Although some studies note short-term costs for organizations, the previously mentioned 2023 review found these costs are outweighed by long-term gains, including stronger employee loyalty, lower turnover and improved public health outcomes.

Building on what works

To address this, Canada should integrate paid sick leave into systems similar to workers’ compensation for workplace injuries and fatalities.

Canada already has well-established mechanisms, such as provincial Workers’ Compensation Boards and the Federal Workers’ Compensation Service, that provide income replacement and rehabilitation support for employees with work-related illnesses and injuries.

Extending this logic to illness, especially when it spreads through communities, would prevent workers from being penalized for following public health guidance while helping organizations avoid widespread disruption.

Governments and employers could draw lessons from the successes and shortcomings of existing compensation systems to design a program that is fair, efficient and responsive to routine illness and public health emergencies.

For instance, the workers’ compensation programs have long provided reliable, no-fault coverage for physical injuries, but they also struggle with uneven access, complex claims procedures and limited recognition of mental health conditions.

Leadership is also crucial. Leaders who prioritize employee well-being and model prosocial safety behaviours can reduce presenteeism and strengthen safety culture. They are also crucial for setting examples and encouraging employees to use sick leave without fear.

When leaders communicate that taking time off while sick is responsible, not risky, they help rewrite the social norms that keep people working through illness and ensure paid sick leave policies translate into healthier workplaces.

Paid sick leave is a public health imperative

Policymakers, business leaders, unions and the public need to support the creation of a paid sick leave system that is robust, fair and capable of protecting all workers and workplaces. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the need for expanded sick leave policies, and it remains just as urgent today.

Paid sick leave is basic public health infrastructure. During the COVID-19 pandemic, paid sick leave enabled workers to stay home when they were exhibiting symptoms, which reduced transmissions, workplace outbreaks and worker absenteeism.

A universal sick leave system would help Canada better manage seasonal illnesses and future outbreaks, protect economic stability and prepare for emerging crises, from new pandemics to climate-related health shocks.

Lives depend on it. Organizational health rests on it. Society’s well-being requires it.

Alyssa Grocutt receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Julian Barling receives funding from the Borden Chair of Leadership and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

Nick Turner receives research funding from Cenovus Energy Inc., Haskayne School of Business’s Future Fund, Mitacs, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

– ref. Canada still lacks universal paid sick leave — and that’s a public health problem as we approach flu season – https://theconversation.com/canada-still-lacks-universal-paid-sick-leave-and-thats-a-public-health-problem-as-we-approach-flu-season-266987

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Marguerite Xenopoulos, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Global Change of Freshwater Ecosystems, Trent University

Fifty years ago, winter didn’t just visit the Great Lakes — it took up residence. If you blinked too slowly, your eyelashes froze together. Standing on the ice at the edge of Lake Superior, just after an early January snowstorm, everything was white and still, except for the lake. The wind had swept across it revealing ice cracked along thunderous fractures.

Usually by Christmas, Lake Huron’s Saginaw Bay would be locked in — thick enough for trucks, ice shanties dotting the horizon like little wooden cities. People hauled augers and bait out before dawn, thermoses of black coffee steaming in the cold.

But in 2019-20, the ice never came.

The air, wet and gray, hovered above freezing. The ground was muddy. Kids tried sledding on dead grass. Businesses that rented shanties stayed shuttered and people wondered if this is how winters would be going forward.

The environmental and social consequences of warming winters are impacting lakes globally. Despite these clear signs, most Great Lakes monitoring occurs during warmer, calmer weather.

As professors researching winter and members of the International Joint Commission Great Lakes Science Advisory Board, we’ve developed evidence-based advice for policymakers in Canada and the United States on water quality priorities and co-ordination. To strengthen international monitoring co-operation, we recommend adding winter monitoring to fully understand what ails the lakes.

Warming winter syndrome

Diagnosed with “warming winter syndrome,” the Great Lakes’ surface water temperatures are increasing, especially during the cold season.

Winters in the Great Lakes region are trending warmer and wetter, and annual maximum ice cover is significantly declining. Winter conditions are getting much shorter — by about two weeks fewer each decade since 1995.

In the Great Lakes region, businesses, visitors and more than 35 million residents see winter warming symptoms year-round. Shifting seasons increase nutrient runoff, fuelling algal blooms that foul summer beach days.

Changing food webs affect commercially and culturally important species like lake whitefish. Shrinking ice cover makes recreation and transportation less safe, altering the region’s identity and culture.

Winter is changing the most, but studied the least

We are losing winter on the Great Lakes before fully understanding how the season affects the ecosystem and communities. Our review of recent literature shows winter is understudied.

Researchers have limited understanding of the physical, biological and biogeochemical processes at play. Changes to these processes can affect water quality, ecosystem and human health, and the region’s social, cultural and economic well-being, yet understanding them is difficult without the necessary background.

Under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, Canadian and American agencies monitor and report water quality and health indicators. The agreement establishes objectives for Great Lakes water quality, including keeping them safe for drinking, recreation and consumption of fish and wildlife. However, current efforts focus on warm months.

Expanding to winter would address key data gaps. Ad-hoc studies already show winter warrants systematic monitoring. In 2022, a dozen Canadian and U.S. universities and agencies collected under-ice samples across the basin in the Great Lakes Winter Grab.

Teams travelled by foot or snowmobiles and drilled through the ice to collaboratively gather a snapshot of lake life and water quality conditions across all five Great Lakes.

What followed was a grassroots Great Lakes Winter Network of academics and government researchers to better understand how rapidly winter conditions are changing, with the aim to improve data sharing, resource co-ordination and knowledge exchange.

Impacts on communities

Warmer winters are linked to increased drownings from unstable ice. Greater nutrient runoff fuels harmful algal blooms and complicates drinking water treatment.

Reduced ice cover may extend the shipping season but can harm the US$5.1 billion fishery sector by altering habitats, increasing invasive species pressures and degrading water quality.

Winter also shapes cultural identity and recreation. From snowshoeing to skating on frozen lake waters, residents and visitors to the Great Lakes region can share happy memories of wintertime activities. Its loss can erode community ties, traditions and livelihoods.

Changing winter conditions also present threats to the traditions and cultural practices of Indigenous Peoples in the region. Many Indigenous Peoples express their cultural relationships to their ancestral lands through hunting, fishing, gathering and farming.

For example, lower total snowfall and more frequent freeze-thaw events remove nutrients from soil and may result in changes in the seasonal timing and availability of culturally important plant species. Unstable ice limits fishing and reduces opportunities to pass on skills, language and cultural practices to future generations.

Strengthening Great Lakes winter science

Data collection in cold-weather conditions poses logistical challenges. Researchers need specialized equipment, trained personnel and co-ordinated approaches for safe, efficient observations. Expanding Great Lakes winter science requires more resources.

Our new report highlights knowledge gaps in winter processes, socioeconomic and cultural impacts of changing conditions, and how to strengthen Great Lakes winter science.

The report also cites infrastructure limits, calling for more training so scientists can work safely in cold conditions, such as the 2024 Winter Limnology Network training workshop. Better data management and sharing are also needed to maximize the value of collected information.

Great Lakes winter science is growing, but improved capacity and co-ordination are essential to keep pace with changing conditions. These changes affect not only ecosystems but also communities. Strengthening winter science will help safeguard the health and well-being of those who live, work and play across the Great Lakes basin.

Marguerite Xenopoulos receives funding from Canada Research Chairs and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.

Michael R. Twiss is affiliated with the International Association for Great Lakes Research.

– ref. Warmer weather is leading to vanishing winters in North America’s Great Lakes – https://theconversation.com/warmer-weather-is-leading-to-vanishing-winters-in-north-americas-great-lakes-263108

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Jeremy Snyder, Professor, Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University

More than 300 ostriches have been threatened with destruction in eastern British Columbia after avian flu was detected in the flock. The birds’ owners have argued this is a case of “unjust governmental overreach.”

The owners’ plight received support from members of Donald Trump’s administration in the United States and raised more than C$290,000 for their legal and operating costs through a series of crowdfunding campaigns.

This level of financial support for a small ostrich farm shouldn’t be completely surprising. It demonstrates how crowdfunding rewards and encourages political polarization.

Government overreach

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s decision to cull birds at Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood, B.C., has echoes of debates over government policy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This includes decrying what is seen as government overreach into personal freedoms and medical decision-making, with comparisons drawn to 2022’s crowdfunded anti-vaccine Freedom Convoy.

The farm’s interest in researching natural immunity has attracted vaccine skeptics more generally and support from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and others in the U.S.. This is reflected in some donors’ comments, where supporters have posted messages including “down with communism,” “the tyrannical leftist Canadian Government is to blame,” and “globalists don’t want natural cures. They only want to profit from their poison jabs!”

Political appeals

Crowdfunding campaigns of all stripes benefit from public attention and the ability to appeal to potential donors. But while appealing to the general public is a well-tested way to win the popularity contest that is built into crowdfunding, so too is connecting to a subset of partisan supporters who see donating to campaigns as way of expressing their political values.

This has been evident in many viral crowdfunding campaigns, including the hugely successful Freedom Convoy campaign in Canada that raised more than $10 million.

In the U.S., some Jan. 6 defendants used crowdfunding to great success, raising more than US$5 million to pay for their legal bills through these campaigns.

These viral politicized campaigns are associated with a range of forms of populist political mobilization, as well as extremism.

Most recently, this included a campaign to pay for the legal bills of Luigi Mangione, accused of killing an American insurance executive in 2024.

Politicising issues

Our research has demonstrated the benefits of linking campaigns with politicized issues. Crowdfunding campaigns for legal needs tend to perform much better when they are linked to political events. These include fundraisers for people seeking help defending themselves in court for violations of COVID-19 pandemic policies, legal campaigns linked to “election integrity” and politicized violence.

Take the case of Daniel Penny, for example, who was charged with manslaughter after killing a Black man on a New York subway train. After Penny’s case was publicized by Republican politicians and linked to wider issues of public disorder and racialized crime, Penny raised more than US$3.3 million to fund his legal defence.

By comparison, ordinary people accused of violent crimes who are not able to link their needs to political outrage are much less likely to be able to afford a world-class legal defence. Savvy campaigners know this and, in some cases, may actively promote the more politicized dimensions of their needs, values and personal stories.

This incentive structure means that rather than seeking compromise or reflecting on behaviours that led to legal trouble or public condemnation, crowdfunding campaigners can benefit financially from doubling down on the politically polarizing elements of their campaigns.

Profit incentives

Crowdfunding platforms can benefit from encouraging this politicization as well. GiveSendGo, a crowdfunding platform used for many politicized campaigns, has a practice of not restricting campaigns for the legal defence of violent behaviour. The platform has also hosted white nationalist causes.

Crowdfunding platforms are generally financed by voluntary tips from donors, and so the large amounts raised by some politicized campaigns contribute to these platforms’ own financial success.

Political outrage and political donations can be legitimate and even praiseworthy ways of engaging in political expression. The problem with politicized crowdfunding is that it financially rewards polarization and attention-grabbing rhetoric.

Happily, people who are genuinely interested in animal welfare and political reform can find many groups working to address these issues in ways that promote social and political progress rather than polarization.

Jeremy Snyder receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

Claire Wilson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. How anti-vaccine sentiment helped raise funds and saved the lives of some B.C. ostriches – https://theconversation.com/how-anti-vaccine-sentiment-helped-raise-funds-and-saved-the-lives-of-some-b-c-ostriches-267471

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Ehsan Noroozinejad Farsangi, Visiting Senior Researcher, Smart Structures Research Group, University of British Columbia

Canada is facing larger wildfires, rising flood risks and worsening traffic congestion. The federal government’s infrastructure plan budgets at least $180 billion over 12 years, yet insured disaster losses hit a record $8.5 billion in 2024.

Despite these massive investments, too often problems are only discovered after construction begins. One way to address this is to model risks and impacts before they occur using a digital replica that mirrors how real systems work.

A “digital twin” — essentially a live virtual model of roads, transit, energy, water and public buildings — would let policymakers and planners test ideas and spot risks ahead of time. It blends maps and 3D models with data (some live, some updated regularly), so policymakers and planners can run “what-if” scenarios.

---

Read more:
What are digital twins? A pair of computer modeling experts explain

---

For example, policymakers could use a digital twin to see how a lane closure, new bus route or wildfire evacuation order might ripple through a city before making a decision. Singapore already uses this approach to test planning and emergency responses and its documented efficiency gains are clear.

As researchers, we see a national, federated digital twin improving Canada’s resilience and efficiency in three practical ways.

Benefit #1: Safer wildfire evacuations

Canada’s 2023 wildfire season was the worst on record, with more than 18 million hectares burned, and 2025 has already been called the second-worst on record.

When fires move fast, evacuation routes can become jammed and communication can break down. During the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire, for instance, residents received “mixed messages” about the threat and proximity of the wildfire. Thousands of people ended up jamming Highway 63, the sole road in and out of the city.

Similarly, during Yellowknife’s 2023 evacuation, an after-action review found there was a lack of clear and transparent communication to the public about an evacuation plan, leading to “significant confusion and stress.”

A national digital twin could help emergency teams rehearse evacuations in advance. They could test detours, traffic signal plans, one-way controls, signage and reception-centre capacity; check if ambulances can reach hospitals when smoke closes a route; and push clear routes to navigation apps in real time.

Benefit #2: Faster, more reliable commutes

Traffic congestion and transit delays cost Canadians time, productivity and peace of mind. We all know what it’s like when a construction project snarls traffic or a crowded station slows trains.

A 2024 report from the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis estimated that congestion cost Ontario $56.4 billion in total economic and social impacts. Of that, about $43.6 billion was linked to reduced quality of life, including stress, health impacts and time lost to delays.

A digital twin could help. With this technology, transit agencies could test bus-only lanes, signal timing, platform-crowding fixes and construction plans before rolling them out.

Vancouver International Airport has already built a real-time digital twin to optimize passenger flows. The same principles can also be applied to transit hubs and busy corridors, helping cities identify problems early, reduce disruption and move people more efficiently.

Benefit #3: Better use of tax dollars

Cost overruns and rework continue to drain public budgets across Canada. Major infrastructure projects frequently exceed their initial pricetags, like the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, which is now projected to cost nearly $34 billion — almost six times the original $5.3 billion estimate.

Montréal’s Réseau express metropolitain light-rail project has faced multiple cost increases as wells, rising from an initial estimate of $6.3 billion to more than $7.9 billion as of 2023.

Digital twins can reduce these losses by identifying design conflicts early, comparing options side-by-side and improving transparency with the public.

Evidence suggests the savings can be substantial. A technical report from the National Research Council of Canada found that using digital design tools to resolve design conflicts early saved roughly 20 per cent of a project’s contract value.

The potential returns are equally clear abroad. The U.K. government estimates that applying digital twins to network management could deliver 856 million pounds in benefits over 10 years.

Canada is already testing these possibilities. Ontario’s $5 million digital twin pilot is exploring how they can be used to deliver hospitals, highways and transit projects on time and on budget.

Similarly, the federal government is exploring using a digital twin to improve infrastructure maintenance and planning. Public Services and Procurement Canada has issued a Request for Information on a digital twin platform for its building portfolio.

From scattered projects to a national framework

Canada already has a strong foundation to build on for a national digital twin. Many Canadian cities already publish detailed base spatial data, such as Toronto’s 3D massing models and Vancouver’s public LiDAR data that captures its urban form in high resolution.

Canadian universities are already leading the way. Researchers at Carleton University have been the first to model a digital twin at a national scale, and plan to release the project’s code as an open-source project and the platform for free.

Infrastructure Ontario and Toronto Metropolitan University have signed a two-year partnership to apply digital-twin technology to modernize provincial infrastructure planning. Meanwhile, four other Canadian universities are involved in a project to explore how these tools can improve development approvals and regulatory decision-making.

The challenge is not to start from scratch, but to connect these existing initiatives under a coherent national framework.

This means agreeing on a few shared rules: common formats so maps and assets line up, clear privacy and security standards that prohibit personal tracking (only anonymous or aggregated data) and a small federal team to maintain standards and allow the different systems to work together.

Transparency about how the digital twin models work will be essential. The government should publish the methods and test results online for communities, journalists and independent experts to check. Routine audits and a quick way to fix mistakes should also be added.

A practical first step is to focus on projects that address urgent, tangible issues, namely wildfire evacuation routes and commute reliability. Early successes in these areas would demonstrate value quickly while proving the model’s effectiveness.

Learning from global leaders

Canada does not need to invent its own rule book. It can adopt existing frameworks like the U.K.’s plain-English Gemini Principles and information-management playbook, which focuses on public benefit, openness and safety.

Singapore, the U.K. and the European Union have all developed, implemented and tested digital twin programs, showing how to set standards, protect privacy and deliver public benefits.

If Canada borrows their templates and lessons, it can move faster and at a lower cost. It will be able to link early adopters, focus on high-impact uses like wildfire evacuations and commute reliability, publish results for review and then expand.

By doing so, Canada would shift from fragmented projects to a national digital twin that strengthens resilience, protects privacy and improves everyday life.

Dr. Ehsan Noroozinejad has received funding from both national and international organizations to support research addressing housing and climate crises. His most recent funding for integrated housing and climate policy comes from the APPI. He has also been involved in securing funding from NSERC and Mitacs. He is also affiliated with Western Sydney University.

Professor T.Y. Yang secures funding from national and international organizations to develop innovative solutions for housing and climate crises, with a focus on modern methods of construction.

– ref. A digital twin could help Canada beat wildfires, fix commutes and save tax dollars – https://theconversation.com/a-digital-twin-could-help-canada-beat-wildfires-fix-commutes-and-save-tax-dollars-266460

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Adrian Ma, Assistant Professor, Journalism, Toronto Metropolitan University

In the debut episode of the new sitcom The Paper, freshly appointed editor-in-chief Ned Sampson tries to rouse the spirits of his colleagues at The Truth Teller, a fictional local newspaper in Toledo, Ohio.

It’s a community institution with a storied past but a precarious future — in recent years, the paper has relied almost exclusively on news wire articles and clickbait entertainment to meet its bottom line.

Ned makes a declaration while standing on a desk, as a documentary film crew records it all:

“If you have ever wanted to be the first person to know what’s going on in the place where you live, or if you want to make sure the people who are running your city are telling the truth … You are more than welcome, all of you, to volunteer your time at this newspaper.”

It’s meant to be an uplifting moment, with the earnest but inexperienced leader insisting that good journalism can make the paper profitable again. But, even as some colleagues respond with cautious optimism (if not skeptical curiosity), the episode ends by cutting back to an earlier gag — a nearby building has been on fire the entire time, unnoticed and unreported.

It’s an apt, if unsettling, metaphor for the state of local news in North America, where so many outlets have vanished that residents often don’t know what’s happening in their own backyard.

Alarming rate of collapse

Local newspapers are collapsing at an alarming pace. In Canada, more than 500 outlets have closed since 2008, affecting more than 370 communities, according to the Local News Research Project.

In the United States, the number exceeds 2,800 closures since 2005, based on research by Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.

The result is what scholars call “news deserts” — places where no professional local news source remains to cover councils, courts or communities.

The causes of this decline are multifaceted. Reporters and editors need to be paid, newsrooms need resources and investigative journalism is costly and time-consuming. Print advertising, once the financial lifeblood of local papers, has been in steep decline for years as businesses moved their spending to platforms like Google and Facebook.

That collapse in revenue left papers more dependent on digital ads and subscriptions, neither of which has filled the gap. According to the Florida-based Poynter Institute for Media Studies, local news websites saw about a 20 per cent drop in page views and unique visitors in 2022, undercutting the ad impressions needed to sustain online revenue.

Patchwork assistance

Canadian news organizations have sought compensation for the ways tech platforms profit from news content. Google reached a deal with the Canadian government to provide $100 million annually for five years to domestic publishers in exchange for an exemption from the Online News Act, which allows continued access to Canadian news links.

As Gretel Kahn with the Reuters Institute reports, some Canadian outlets — including The Conversation Canada — have begun to benefit from these payments. The money is disbursed by the Canadian Journalism Collective, a federally incorporated nonprofit.

However, the effects are uneven: larger corporate chains such as Postmedia and Torstar are getting most of the support, while smaller independent and local publishers receive far less. This patchwork assistance offers temporary relief but does little to fix the deeper imbalance in how digital advertising profits are distributed.

Expectation of free news

Audiences have now grown accustomed to receiving news instantly and for free, often through social media feeds or aggregators rather than directly from a newspaper. Younger readers in particular encounter news on platforms like TikTok, Instagram or YouTube, where entertainment and opinion often overwhelm verified reporting.

---

Read more:
More Canadians are paying for news this year, but it’s still too early to celebrate

---

In this environment of declining ad dollars and fragmented attention, local outlets are trying harder than ever to convince audiences their work is worth supporting. This is the tension The Paper plays for laughs.

Throughout the series, the characters contend with all manner of challenges as they strive to keep their newspaper relevant and viable. They get scooped on major stories by a teenage blogger. They struggle to decide whether to chase sensationalism that attracts eyeballs or invest in reporting that actually matters. They try to revive accountability coverage by investigating local businesses but must tread carefully not to alienate the few remaining advertisers willing to support them.

Reporters as underdogs?

On screen, journalists have often been depicted as crusaders for truth — from All the President’s Men to Spotlight to The Newsroom. Even shows and films that explore the darker side of the industry, like The Wire, Bombshell or Tokyo Vice, frame journalism as a profession of serious consequence and high-stakes drama.

The Paper suggests something different: reporters not as larger-than-life figures, but as struggling underdogs doing their best and often getting it wrong. On one hand, this risks trivializing the work of local journalists at a time when the survival of their industry is already in doubt.

For real reporters, it’s no laughing matter. A 2022 Canadian study found many are experiencing high rates of burnout, anxiety and online harassment. In 2021, in the U.S., newsroom employment had fallen by more than a quarter since 2008, with those left behind facing heavier workloads as colleagues were laid off.

The loss of reporters has created gaps in coverage of councils, courts and communities that once formed the backbone of civic accountability.

Heartfelt missive

On the other hand, when it’s at its best, The Paper is a heartfelt missive about why local journalism has always mattered: that despite its sometimes dysfunctional newsroom, the reporters are people who truly understand and care about the community they cover because they live there too.

This kind of connection has long been a foundation for building public trust and encouraging dialogue. But it has been severely eroded as outlets close and news deserts spread.

Research shows that as local news declines, so does voter turnout, civic engagement and political accountability.

The Paper doesn’t pretend to solve the seemingly insurmountable problems facing local news, but it does capture the messy reality of trying to do the job. In a moment when journalists are often idealized or demonized, showing them as flawed but dedicated may not be comforting — but it may be closer to the truth.

Adrian Ma does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. What ‘The Paper’ reveals about local news and journalism today – https://theconversation.com/what-the-paper-reveals-about-local-news-and-journalism-today-264849

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Bhavini Gohel, Clinical Associate Professor, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary

Wildfires are no longer rare disasters in Canada. They are now an annual reality, and 2025 has already been one of the worst on record, with 3,582 fires burning 6.2 million hectares as of July 30 — quadruple the 10-year average.

At a time when hospitals are already strained by staff shortages, long wait times and rising costs, wildfires add yet another layer of pressure.

Rural communities are usually the hardest hit by wildfires. These communities rely on small health facilities with limited staff and equipment.

When fires cut off access or force evacuations, these facilities struggle to provide even basic care. As a frontline health-care worker and system leader, I have seen first-hand how every part of health system — from hospital operations to workforce readiness and community partnerships — is being tested. Leading resilience initiatives has shown me how urgently we need system-wide co-ordination and investment to protect patients when disasters strike.

Frontline health-care workers face surging pressure during wildfires: treating burns, vehicle accidents during evacuation and smoke-related illnesses that damage lungs, worsen asthma, and increase risks of strokes, heart attacks and cardiac arrest. Seniors, children, pregnant women and people with chronic illnesses are especially vulnerable.

Beyond physical harm, survivors often face lasting anxiety, depression and trauma. Wildfires are not just environmental events; they are public health crises that demand stronger, more resilient health systems.

Preparing for a predictable risk

During wildfires, poor air quality makes it difficult for both patients and staff to stay safe indoors. Fires can disrupt medical supply chains, damage buildings and force hospitals, clinics and operating rooms to close. Surgeries can be delayed, emergency care becomes harder to access, and patients often crowd into the few facilities still running, stretching resources even thinner.

Health-care workers face their own challenges: finding safe routes to work, arranging child or elder care during evacuations, and coping with the uncertainty of when, or if, they can return home.

Past wildfires in Alberta, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories have forced urgent evacuations of patients, the relocation of health-care workers and the rapid reorganization of care at enormous cost. Each of these events has added millions of dollars in costs and created more strain for a health system already struggling to keep up.

Wildfires are now a predictable part of Canada’s climate reality. Yet health systems remain under-prepared. While emergency management frameworks exist, they often fall short of addressing broader and long-term needs during wildfires and fail to build true resilience. The Climate-Resilient Acute Care Clinical Operations framework and wildfire framework highlight what is required, but these requirements must be scaled and integrated across the entire health system.

What resilience looks like

Building climate resilience in health care requires focusing on several key pillars.

Leadership and governance must come first. Yet many health leaders are not provided with the knowledge or training they need to understand how wildfires affect both health outcomes and health-care systems. Leaders must be equipped to make quick, informed decisions that safeguard patients and staff when disasters strike.

Financing is another critical piece. Resources must be directed to the areas most at risk during wildfire season and reviewed regularly to ensure funding keeps pace with reality. Without sustainable financing, health systems are left reacting instead of being prepared.

Health information systems also need to be strengthened. Power outages and connectivity failures can wipe out access to patient records and communication tools at the worst possible moment. Developing reliable backup systems and clear plans ensures that records, co-ordination and critical data are not compromised.

At the same time, the health-care workforce must be supported. Staff need training, such as simulation-based exercises that prepare them for wildfire events. Protecting the mental health of staff and encouraging personal resiliency plans are equally important, allowing workers to remain in the system when demands are highest. Workers can only serve patients effectively if they themselves are supported.

Workforce planning must also account for seasonal risks. Wildfire season falls in the summer, when health systems are already short-staffed due to vacations. Every winter, we prepare for respiratory virus surges, but we do not treat wildfires with the same seriousness. This must change.

Strengthening access to care

Protecting medical supply chains is another priority, as disruptions are common during wildfires. Identifying alternatives and ensuring backups to maintain critical supplies is key. Technology can help fill gaps: virtual care platforms can keep patients connected to doctors even when roads are closed, facilities are damaged or patients are displaced.

Equally important is ensuring that patients and communities know how to access care under stress. Preparedness should include clear communication, education kits, checklists, extra medication supplies and mental health resources. Collaboration with municipalities, under-served groups and high-risk communities is vital, since they often feel the effects of wildfires first and most severely.

An investment that pays off

Strengthening health systems for wildfire resilience will require resources. But it’s anticipated that these investments will ultimately save money in the long run by reducing disruptions, preventing costly emergency transfers and minimizing long-term health impacts. Most importantly, they protect access to health care for patients with urgent or ongoing chronic conditions.

If we fail to prepare, wildfires will continue to exacerbate the cracks in our health system. Patient-centred, climate-resilient care is no longer optional; it is essential.

Bhavini Gohel is affiliated with Canadian Coalition for Green Healthcare & Brain Climate Equity Collaborative

– ref. How wildfires and other climate disasters put health systems under extreme pressure – https://theconversation.com/how-wildfires-and-other-climate-disasters-put-health-systems-under-extreme-pressure-265483

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Scott J. Davidson, Assistant Professor and CARCLIQUE Research Chair, Groupe de recherche interuniversitaire en limnologie (GRIL), Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)

Peatlands are among the world’s most important yet underappreciated ecosystems. They are a type of wetland that covers a small fraction of the Earth’s land, while containing the most carbon-rich soils in the world.

Healthy peatlands shape water cycles, support unique biodiversity and sustain communities. Yet for all their importance, we still lack a clear picture of how peatlands are changing through time.

When peatlands are drained, degraded or burned, the carbon they hold is released into the atmosphere. More than three million square kilometres of wetlands have been drained by humans since 1700, meaning we have lost a huge amount of carbon sequestration potential globally. This makes it all the more important for us to understand and conserve remaining peatlands.

Traditionally, studies of peatlands have focused on a few well-researched sites, often in temperate or boreal regions. But climate change, land use pressures and extreme weather are affecting peatlands everywhere, including in remote, tropical and under-studied regions.

To predict how peatlands will change and react under future conditions, we need frequent data on different types of peatland habitats that captures how they change over seasons and years.

In our recent research, we harnessed the power of people, easily accessible technology and a research network to collect data using a distributed data approach. This means using data collected following a standardized methodology: everyone collecting similar data using the same methods regardless of location.

---

Read more:
Canadian wetlands are treasures that deserve protection

---

Methods that make a difference

Our study, called The PeatPic Project, used smartphone photography to collect data. We connected with peatland researchers around the world via social media and word of mouth and asked them to collect photographs of their peatlands during 2021 and 2022. We gathered more than 3,700 photographs from 27 peatlands in 10 countries.

We analyzed these photographs to look at the plant colour, telling us how green leaves are across the year, and providing rich information on the vegetation growing there. Changes in green leaf colour indicate when plants start their growing season.

They also indicate how green or healthy plants are, how much nutrient plants take up and when they turn brown in the autumn. Colour shifts can also signal changes in moisture or nutrient conditions, temperature stress or disturbance.

This kind of science, conducted by a global community of researchers, amplifies reach. Local observers can use smartphones to record seasonal changes, water levels, vegetation colour or cover, land use or disturbance. With training, standardized protocols, good metadata and validation, community-generated data can be robust. These methods lower the cost, increase the amount of data available to researchers, and build local stewardship and global networks.

Better predictions of peatland function are not just academic; they are essential for mitigating the effects of climate change, protecting biodiversity, water security and reducing risks from disasters like fires and droughts.

Information derived from images can be converted into mathematical representations of plant behaviour and this can in turn be added into digital twins of peatlands.

Creating digital twins of peatlands can help experts simulate “what if” scenarios. For example, what happens if drainage increases after a wildfire or restoration is initiated? But to build useful digital twins, we need data in place: across biomes, seasons and scales.

---

Read more:
What are digital twins? A pair of computer modeling experts explain

---

What needs to happen next

We now have easily accessible tools and technology that allow us to monitor peatlands in ways that were not possible a decade ago. But advancing this depends on action from multiple fronts:

• Research networks should develop, share and adopt standard protocols and data practices so that data from different places and sources can be combined, compared and scaled.

• Communities, including members of the public, can be partners in observation. Training, co-design, fairness and recognition are essential. Local observations, including smartphone photography, could feed directly into decision-making.

• The public can help by supporting policies that fund this work by participating in community science initiatives and recognizing how something as simple as a smartphone photo can significantly contribute to understanding how our planet works.

In fact, the PeatPic Project inspired us to create another community science project called Tracking the Colour of Peatlands. This project involves fixed point locations on 16 peatlands around the world, where members of the public can take a photo of the peatland at different times to help us build a picture how the ecosystem changes over the year.

Peatlands are not fringe ecosystems. They matter for people, climates, water and biodiversity. Harnessing distributed data gathering across a global community, and accessible tools like smartphones gives us a chance to see how peatlands change, to predict where they are most at risk and to act ahead of crisis.

The future of peatlands, and of the Earth’s carbon and water cycles, depends on seeing, recording, sharing and acting together on what is happening now.

Scott J. Davidson receives funding from the Québec Ministry of the Environment. He is a member of the Groupe de recherche interuniversitaire en limnologie (GRIL), an FRQNT-funded network.

Avni Malhotra’s research was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation.

– ref. Harnessing technology and global collaboration to understand peatlands – https://theconversation.com/harnessing-technology-and-global-collaboration-to-understand-peatlands-265472

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Emily Gilbert, Professor, Canadian Sudies and Geography & Planning, University of Toronto

At a testy meeting in Banff recently, the American ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, mused about the future of pre-clearance in Canada. Cross-border travel numbers are down, he complained, which makes the cost of the program less appealing to Americans.

Hoekstra’s comments came across as a threat — almost a demand that Canadians resume travelling to the United States.

But should Canadians continue to stay away? Maybe it’s time to rethink Canada’s pre-clearance program with the U.S. and the ways it can undermine Canadian civil rights and sovereignty.

Started informally, then expanded

The origins of U.S. customs pre-clearance in Canada date back to 1952. It began as an informal arrangement made at the request of American Airlines, which was interested in building up its business in Canada.

Since then, the program has expanded to nine Canadian international airports and the Alaska Marine Highway System Ferry Terminal in Prince Rupert, B.C. The U.S. has also expanded its pre-clearance facilities to the Bahamas, Bermuda, Ireland and the United Arab Emirates.

Under Canada-U.S. pre-clearance arrangement, American border agents are located in Canada so that travellers can clear customs, immigration, public health and safety and agriculture inspection before they travel. This provides an additional layer of security for the U.S. since it can screen travellers much earlier in their travel journeys and stop suspicious travellers before they board their flights.

For Canadian travellers, it makes crossing the border faster. By clearing customs in Canada, they don’t need to wait in long lines when they arrive in the U.S. This makes it much easier to catch connecting flights and also means airlines can fly into smaller American airports from Canada, which can be cheaper and more convenient.

Police powers

Pre-clearance in Canada has become so commonplace that it’s not faced significant scrutiny, even though recent legislation raises pressing concerns.

In 2015, the U.S. and Canada signed a new treaty on land, rail, marine and air transport pre-clearance. This legislation opened the door to expanded pre-clearance with new facilities at Québec City’s airport and Billy Bishop airport on the Toronto islands, scheduled to open soon. Pilot projects have also been introduced at train stations and ports, which raise their own issues because they’re often located in city centres.

Subsequently, Canada passed its new Preclearance Act that entered into force in 2019. The legislation updated the terms for pre-clearance but also introduced worrisome and expansive new police powers for U.S. officers on Canadian soil.

American border agents now have the power to conduct strip searches if a Canadian officer is not available or is unwilling to participate. American border agents also have the authority to carry weapons.

Under the previous legislation of 1999, U.S. border agents were authorized to use “as much force is necessary to perform their pre-clearance duties” if they did so “on reasonable grounds.” But under the recent legislation, U.S. officers are “justified in doing what they are required or authorized to do under this Act and in using as much force as is necessary for that purpose.” In other words, the use of force is now legitimized.

Furthermore, while it was previously possible for travellers to remove themselves from inspection without prejudice, under the 2017 legislation, their withdrawal from the border process could be interpreted as grounds for suspicion.

The act of withdrawal itself becomes suspect, with refusal to answer taken as obstruction, which is a criminal offence in both the U.S. and Canada. This can impede someone’s ability to enter the U.S. at a later date.

If someone is suspected of committing an offence, U.S. border agents are also able to detain them as long it does not “unreasonably delay the traveller’s withdrawal” from the process. There is no time limit placed on what is meant by “unreasonably delay.”

Worrisome legislative changes

When the new Preclearance Act was introduced, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tried to assuage concerns by explaining that pre-clearance allowed more protections for travellers because the Canadian Constitution would apply in Canada.

The act itself states:

“The exercise of any power and performance of any duty or function under United States law in Canada is subject to Canadian law, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Bill of Rights and the Canadian Human Rights Act.”

But can these protections really be assured when there are overlapping jurisdictions at play?

Take U.S. President Donald Trump’s most recent 2025 travel ban that fully bans nationals of 12 countries and partially bans nationals of seven others.

As Amnesty International argues, Trump’s bans are “targeting people based on their race, religion, or nationality, from countries with predominantly Black, Brown and Muslim-majority populations.” Yet these bans are being enforced in Canada via these pre-clearance areas, meaning the rights and protections against discrimination set out in Canadian laws are not being upheld.

Under the terms of the 2015 treaty, pre-clearance officers also receive immunity for civil and administrative offences in their host countries. Furthermore, the U.S. passed legislation a year later stipulating the U.S. has jurisdiction over offences committed by American personnel stationed in Canada.

As Canada’s privacy officer has stated, this lack of accountability in Canada means there is little recourse for someone in Canada who experiences an incident with American border officers when going through pre-clearance. If there is no accountability, then Canadian laws are essentially meaningless.

Border politics

For these reasons, a Canadian reassessment of the pre-clearance program is all the more pressing since efforts are already underway to implement Canadian pre-clearance at land borders with the U.S.

In January 2025, before Trump’s inauguration, a two-year pilot project was announced at the Cannon Corners facility on the New York-Québec border. This would be somewhat different from the police powers granted to American border officials at Canadian airports, but Canada’s objectives have been similar to U.S. security directives — make admissibility determinations before someone enters Canada.

In other words, Canada is proceeding with pre-clearance initiatives that make it more difficult for people to make asylum claims when crossing the Canada-U.S. border.

Hoekstra has put the future of pre-clearance in question. This provides an excellent opportunity to reconsider whether the costs of the program outweigh the benefits in today’s political climate. That’s because no matter how convenient and efficient pre-clearance programs might be, they raise challenging questions about Canadian sovereignty and the rights of Canadian citizens.

The question should really be whether Canada wants to pursue America-style border politics rather than trying to build more humane border policies and practices.

Emily Gilbert has received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

– ref. Is the end looming for Canada’s border pre-clearance program with the United States? – https://theconversation.com/is-the-end-looming-for-canadas-border-pre-clearance-program-with-the-united-states-266764

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Tracy Smith-Carrier, Professor and Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Royal Roads University

With one-quarter of Canadians struggling to put food on the table, Canada has recently received a D grade from Food Banks Canada for its performance in meeting the country’s food security needs.

According to a 2024 report by the federal government’s National Advisory Council on Poverty, poverty is also on the rise, and people who once thought they were financially secure are starting to feel the squeeze.

Canada is a signatory to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, recognizing the right to food, housing and an adequate standard of living.

As a social scientist, my research shows that Canada is struggling to realize these rights because decision-makers often lack the political will to act, and the judicial system still relies on an outdated approach that cannot hold these decision-makers accountable.

Understanding the rights split

Human rights are indivisible, meaning they’re all equally important and interdependent: one right cannot be realized without realizing the others. To meet their commitments, signatory states have agreed to respect, protect and fulfil human rights and to use the “maximum available resources” at their disposal to progressively achieve them.

While Canada and other United Nations member states have endorsed social and economic rights, these rights have often been treated differently from their civil and political counterparts.

Civil and political rights are typically considered negative rights, which do not require the government to act or provide anything, but rather to protect or not interfere with people’s rights, such as freedom of expression or religion. Social and economic rights, on the other hand, have often been deemed positive rights, meaning they require the state to act or provide resources to meet them, like education or health care.

In 1966, human rights were split: civil and political rights were placed under one covenant, and economic, social and cultural rights under another, rather than having them all affirmed under one, as was originally envisaged in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.

Weaker language was deliberately included in the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights by the rights architects, particularly those in the United States, who felt that its ratification should not encroach on state autonomy or require “thicker social programs and a robust welfare state.”

Consequently, the courts, particularly Canadian lower courts and others internationally, have over the years commonly affirmed that social and economic rights are policy matters best determined by political entities and given democratic legitimacy at the ballot box.

While there is overlap between the two sets of rights, social and economic rights have frequently been deemed non-justiciable — not something people can challenge in court — and therefore not ones people can directly claim or pursue legal remedies for. Instead these rights have taken on an aspirational quality.

When courts are reluctant

Gosselin v. Québec set an important precedent for how social and economic rights would come to be interpreted in Canada.

This case relates to a regulation in the 1980s that set Québec’s social assistance benefits for people under 30 at only two-thirds of the regular benefit ($170 rather than $466 per month). The plaintiff claimed that the regulation was age-discriminatory and violated the Québec and Canadian Charters of Rights and Freedoms under Sections 7 and 15.

Judges in Québec, and later in 2002 in the Supreme Court — although the justices were split on the decision — confirmed the Charter did not impose positive-rights duties on governments, even while the Supreme Court left the door open that it could do so in the future.

Yet some legal scholars contend that the case took constitutional law “two steps backward” and failed to debunk the prejudicial stereotypes surrounding people living in poverty that influenced the decision. In 1992, a Québec Superior Court judge said “the poor were poor for intrinsic reasons” — that they were under-educated and had a weak work ethic.

Such reasoning, however, reflects an individual explanation of poverty — that financial hardship derives from personal failings or deficits — rather than a structural one, where poverty stems from economic downturns, weak labour markets and a lack of affordable child care or housing.

A significant body of evidence now shows that poverty largely has structural origins. Although there have been some victories on social and economic rights, many cases have followed the interpretation in Gosselin.

The right to housing was explicitly identified in the 2019 National Housing Strategy Act. The act introduced the National Housing Council and a complaints and monitoring mechanism through the federal housing advocate, a model that limits people from demanding state-provided housing and suing if they don’t receive it.

Lacking an ecosystem of rights compliance and enforcement, governments have turned to less effective options like charity, rather than engaging solutions that could actually end poverty and hunger, such as a basic income guarantee.

The impasse on social and economic rights has led to the denial of these rights for those living in poverty.

Enforcing implemented rights

Some, like Oxford legal scholar Sandra Fredman, argue the courts should use legal frameworks not to defer to politicians or usurp their decision-making capacity, but to require them to provide reasoned justifications for their distributive decisions.

Although non-binding, the UN’s judicial body, the International Court of Justice, recently concluded that countries have legal obligations to curb their emissions. Some courts, domestically and globally, are also gravitating toward the enforcement and justiciability of human rights, particularly in climate-related cases and the right to a healthy environment.

These could provide new precedents that transform how these rights are understood and enforced in the future.

Without concrete resources, targets and accountability mechanisms to ensure people have dignified access to food, housing and social security, these rights will remain largely hollow.

The “climate of the era” has changed. It’s time for politicians to actively work to fulfill social and economic rights and for the courts to hold them accountable when they fail to do so.

Without substantive rights — ones backed by action — poverty will continue to rise and people will be denied justice.

Tracy Smith-Carrier receives funding from the Tri-agency’s Canada Research Chairs program and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

– ref. Canada’s rising poverty and food insecurity have deep structural origins – https://theconversation.com/canadas-rising-poverty-and-food-insecurity-have-deep-structural-origins-265570