The Canadian Dissident

Long before covid-19 hit the country, hospitals across Canada were often stretched past their limits. Our healthcare system has long been underfunded, underequipped, and unprepared to deal with surges. In 2011 , hospitals in Ontario and Manitoba were overwhelmed by a surge of flu cases. Surgeries were cancelled as hospitals ran out of room for patients.  In 2013 , hospitals all across Canada were overwhelmed by surges of flu and norovirus. Surgeries in Alberta were cancelled as hospitals operated over capacity. In 2014 , Ontario hospitals were overwhelmed by another surge of flu patients. In 2016 , Ontario hospitals were overwhelmed again. Hospitals in Hamilton were forced to operate over capacity for months and the city ran out of ambulances. In 2017  numerous hospitals across Ontario were overwhelmed, as documented by extensive news coverage. Surgeries were cancelled and hospitals were  forced  to stuff patients into lounges, offices, and storage rooms. The Ontario Hospital Associati

On  social media yesterday, Jason Kenney proudly announced that 12 people would be in the crowd for the Edmonton Oilers' first playoff game of the year. These 12 people were employees of Alberta Health Services. Rogers Place has a capacity of 18,641 fans for hockey games, meaning the building was at 0.06% capacity. Many NHL teams have hosted thousands of fans for months, but Kenney somehow thinks it's a win for the Oilers to have a grand total of 12 fans in the building. In January, the Arizona Coyotes hosted over 3000 fans for their season opener. In  February, the New York Rangers started playing in front of a 10% capacity crowd. In March, the New Jersey Devils, Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, Vegas Golden Knights, Carolina Hurricanes, Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, and others welcomed back fans by the thousands. With the majority of adult Albertans vaccinated and covid case numbers declining, Jason Kenney's snail's pace reopening of

The  majority of Canadians over the age of 16 have now received at least one dose of a covid-19 vaccine. This includes the majority of adults in Ontario, Quebec, BC, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland, NWT, Yukon, and Nunavut. Though most Canadians are still waiting for their second dose, even just one dose provides a significant amount of protection. A recent CDC study found that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are over 80% effective after just one dose. Thanks to the massive vaccination effort, new covid-19 cases are now declining across Canada.

Canada's federal government has long been plagued with problems and inefficiencies. Nationwide programs are not tailored to local realities and often don't work well on the ground. The federal government is too big and bulky to respond to rapid change. The size of Canada's bureaucracy renders it unresponsive and out of touch. Most importantly, democracy works best when it is small and local. Large nations like Canada and the US inevitably devolve into plutocracy - rule by the rich and elite. When you live in a nation of 40 million people, your voice is inconsequential and individuals are unable to make a difference in society and government (unless you're rich). Politicians are unable to campaign directly to all their constituents, needing to rely on expensive ad campaigns instead. As a result, the political world revolves around money. It's only on the local scale that you can make a difference. You can meet your city councillor or even the mayor, but you won't

Alberta is now the biggest covid-19 hotspot in North America. Canadian media continues to trumpet large numbers of cases every day, but one simple fact has been mostly ignored: the death rate has plummeted. Despite having 24,497 active cases, Alberta reported zero deaths related to covid-19 yesterday. The  rate of deaths in the last 14 days related to covid-19 in Alberta is only 1 per 100,000 population. At it's peak earlier this year the covid-19 death rate was 8 times higher than now. Why do we have so many cases but so few deaths? Because almost everyone vulnerable to covid-19 has already been vaccinated. The average age of death  related to covid-19 in Alberta is 81, and the majority of Albertans over the age of 55 are now vaccinated. Most importantly, over 80% of Albertans over the age of 75 are vaccinated. We are now dealing with a disease that is spreading widely but doing very little damage. Most cases are not severe, most do not end up in hospital, and many are asymptoma

Most countries around the world have prominent dissidents who challenge their government's ideology from outside the political establishment. Russia has Garry Kasparov and Alexei Navalny. The UK has Nigel Farage and Brendan O'Neill. America has Noam Chomsky and Edward Snowden. Canada, on the other hand, has an obsession with conformity and political unity. Canada's Overton window is narrow and seems to shrinking further. Political discourse in Canadian media rarely deviates from the major parties' talking points. This has resulted in polarization and few opportunities for real conversations and real opinions.  Because the left sees nothing of value on the right, and vice-versa, our political parties are insular and inward-looking. Most Canadians recognize this and as a result are largely disinterested in politics. This is why I've decided to start The Canadian Dissident . My voice may be  small, but I'm willing to step outside the Conservative/Liberal/NDP narrat