FROLITICKS

Satirical commentary on Canadian and American current political issues

May 23

State Bans on Legal Abortion Having Other Effects on Affected Women and Their Doctors

by bcurry

In 1969, the federal court of appeals (Third District, California) in Jessin v. County of Shasta ruled that “voluntary sterilization is legal when informed consent has been given, that sterilization is an acceptable method of family planning, and that sterilization may be a fundamental right requiring constitutional protection.”  The increasing number of restrictions and effectively bans on abortions by certain states is having a major impact on remaining choices by women, including increasing the number of requests by women for voluntary sterilization.  Since Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court, some women have considered or are considering permanent sterilization.  Sterilization is a serious matter which is not easily chosen by women who do not want children, often considered by women who believe strongly that they want autonomous control over her body.  Moreover, as the future of medication abortion remains uncertain, more and more women are opting for surgical fertilization.

Considering sterilization is however very expensive without private health insurance.  In addition, it has been reported that some people seeking sterilization procedures across the U.S. are being turned away.  Patients who don’t have children and are in their childbearing years are reporting difficulties finding physicians willing to sterilize them.  Some reluctance by physicians may stem from studies that suggest patients who are sterilized at age 30 or younger are about twice as likely as those over 30 to express regret after getting the procedure. However, other studies had mixed results and found that some women feel less regret over time.

Believe it or not, some observers are even anticipating that there’s going to be attacks on other forms of “contraception”.  In 1965, the Supreme Court ruled in the Griswold v. Connecticut decision that banning contraceptives violates a married couple’s right to privacy. However, Justice Clarence Thomas opened that door by suggesting in his concurring opinion in Dobbs that other precedents, such as this ruling, should be revisited.  Where does it all end?

More recently, Republicans used their new power in the House of Representatives to push through legislation that could subject doctors who perform abortions to criminal penalties, underscoring their opposition to abortion rights even as they stopped short of trying to completely ban the procedure.  Fortunately, the bill has no chance of passage in the Democratic-controlled Senate.  However, in several states there are already laws which could end up in doctors being charged with a criminal activity when an abortion is performed, even in cases where the pregnant woman’s life in jeopardy.  In the past, the vast majority of abortions in the U.S. occurred in the first trimester, before the point of fetal viability, which is currently at about 23 weeks.  Now, several states, including more recently Florida, have passed legislation prohibiting abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.  In the case of Florida, the law ends Florida’s long-held role as a destination for women from across the Deep South seeking abortions and will force them to travel farther, to states such as North Carolina or Illinois, for care.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the new Florida law also prohibits doctors from prescribing medication abortions through telehealth and prevent the dispensing the pills by mail. This makes Florida’s six-week ban even more restrictive than Georgia’s.  The law also bars state funds from being used for a person to travel outside of Florida for an abortion, except for when it is a medical emergency or when federal law requires it.

Horrendous impacts are being revealed daily on women being denied access to abortion.  There is little doubt that the “right to choose” in under attack in America, literally taking away the rights of women wanting autonomous control over their bodies.  The latest impact, somewhat more extreme than others, is one where young women are increasingly choosing surgical fertilization due to this evident lost in choice.  Doctors who base their decisions on the needs of their female patients are also caught up in this environment, trying to discern what is legal or not instead of what’s best for the patient’s health, both physical and mental.

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May 15

Investigation Into China’s Meddling In Canadian Politics Could Lead to Witch-hunt

by bcurry

There is little doubt that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has attempted to meddle in Canadian politics over several decades.  Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong wrote in a recent statement. “It’s long past time for the Trudeau government to come forward with a robust plan to counter Beijing’s foreign interference operations here on Canadian soil.”  Recently, we learned that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) informed Mr. Chong that they were aware of a Chinese diplomat’s threats to his family in Hong Kong.  This alleged intimidation created further outrage among the opposition members who continue to call for a full public enquiry into the CCP’s attempts to interfere in Canadian politics at the local, provincial and federal levels.  The federal government is currently looking into the matter through an independent review as to whether a full public enquiry is needed.

However, anyone and any organization that has had dealings with or received funds from Chinese sources is now under greater scrutiny, whether deserved or not.  The first instance of note was related to donations apparently given to the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, which of course can be indirectly connected to his son, current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.  However, the Foundation is an independent non-profit organization whose mandate is to provide generous financial support for doctoral research by outstanding Scholars, and to support the development of future engaged leaders who inspire innovative approaches as they blaze new trails in the Social Sciences and Humanities.  Being devoted to educational endeavours and scholastic research, there is no proof of any direct influence on the federal government attributed to previous Chinese funding to the Foundation.  However, the optics are not great!

Now, it has been reported that Toronto mayoral candidate Olivia Chow, and a veteran New Democratic Party politician, has won support of a group aligned with China.  However, Chow has been defending democracy activists in Hong Kong and was among a handful of federal MPs who stood in the House of Commons and commemorated the Tiananmen Square massacre and attended Tiananmen vigils.  Toronto has a large Chinese community, so Chow has had meetings to reach out to Toronto’s community of mainland-China immigrants, some of which unfortunately were organized by the CCP branch that spearheads Beijing’s influence and interference efforts worldwide.  In fact, she’s not the only prominent Toronto-area politician to have rubbed shoulders with the group.  Current Liberal Trade Minister Mary Ng posted pictures of her celebrating the lunar New Year with the same group in 2019, praising its efforts to promote “diversity and inclusion.”  As for Vancouver, CSIS reportedly noted that Chinese diplomats tried to get sympathetic candidates elected in last year’s municipal vote, in part by using groups that represented Beijing’s interests.  Ken Sim, who won the mayor’s race in a landslide, has denied that such interference played any part in his victory.  It would now appear that no Canadian politician of Chinese descent is immune to being investigated by the media over possible support received from CCP-affiliated organizations in Canada of which there are several.

The case of Michael Chong has led to the expulsion by the federal government of the Chinese diplomat accused of attempting to intimidate him as a Member of Parliament and outspoken critic of China’s regime.  This is the first high profile case acted upon involving findings by CSIS, and there could potentially be others.  The danger is that, under the current environment, more Canadians of Chinese descent could unjustly become the targets of the media and security agencies simply because of their ethnicity.  One commentator compared the current situation to that of the McCarthy era in American history that saw U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy produce a series of investigations and hearings during the 1950s in an effort to expose supposed communist infiltration of various areas of the U.S. government.  Numerous Americans suffered unfairly and severely simply from investigations by his Senate committee and its widely publicized indiscriminate allegations.  One can only hope that we will not see a similar witch-hunt taking place in Chinese communities across Canada.  Chinese Canadians have every right as citizens not to be unjustly targeted.  Cooler heads need to prevail during these difficult times.

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May 10

America Wanted to be Great Again.  Now It’s Just Sick!

by bcurry

I know what I’m about to write is controversial.  However, it is true and the facts bear it out.  During and after the pandemic, the U.S. like a lot of countries went through very difficult times.  Over a million Americans died due to COVID and many more were ill and now face what has become known as long COVID.  The rate for COVID-related deaths was the highest on a per-capita basis among industrialized countries.  Although a vaccine existed, a large number of Americans refused to get immunized and even prevented their children from being protected against this horrific disease.  Now, corporate giants are buying up primary care practices at a rapid pace in order to institute what is now referred to as corporate medicine.  In order to take advantage of the growing privatization of Medicare and an aging population, deals are being made which will risk shifting the balance in health care from quality treatment to profits.  Today, nearly seven in ten of all American doctors are either employed by a hospital or a corporation, with primary care doctors increasing simply becoming employees.  It’s all tied to billing.  As for Medicaid coverage, as pandemic protection expires, states are again determining which people are eligible for the health insurance program.  Millions could potentially lose access to their current coverage. 

Then there is the issue of abortion.  More and more states have placed either greater restrictions on legal abortions or have effectively banned abortions within their states.  Anti-abortion factions have even initiated lawsuits aimed at questioning the safety of medication abortion, the method used in more than half of abortions in the U.S.  They are trying to block legal access to mifepristone, a drug approved years ago by the Food and Drug Administration (F.D.A.) as being safe.  The Justice Department strongly disputed the claims in these lawsuits The F.D.A.’s rigorous reviews of mifepristone over the years repeatedly reaffirmed its decision to approve mifepristone, which blocks a hormone that allows a pregnancy to develop.  In addition, where states have placed strict prohibitions on abortions, doctors are complaining that the health of pregnant women can be seriously endangered due to their inability to perform an abortion for medical reasons, resulting in needless suffering.

Then there is the record number of mass shootings so far this year in the U.S.  To date, there have been 22 mass killings in 2023, defined as four or more people killed, not including the perpetrator.  According to the Gun Violence Archive, a non-profit publicly sourced database, there have also been at least 202 mass shootings in the U.S. so far this year, leaving 792 victims injured and 276 dead.  The archive defines a mass shooting as at least four victims struck by gunfire.  Military-styled assault weapons, used in most of these shooting are everywhere, and apparently easily purchased by anyone without stringent background checks.  As usual, Republicans and gun owners offer their condolences and prayers, often alluding to some form of mental illness as the primary cause.  While mental illness is a concern, studies have shown that the majority of the shooters acted because of other motivations, including hate and anger directed at particular groups and individuals.  There appears to be no end to these tragedies in sight.

Then there are the growing actions by certain states over transgender youth.  Over the past three years, Republican state lawmakers have put forward a barrage of bills to regulate the lives of transgender youths, restricting the sports teams they can play on, bathrooms they can use and medical care they can receive.  The people pushing these laws include Christian conservatives — among them some of the same figures who fought the legalization of gay marriage.  Medical groups have overwhelmingly rejected arguments by conservative activists emphasizing parental control and child protection and calling transition care harmful.  They note that transgender people have higher rates of depression and suicide.  Research shows that transition care — which can involve puberty blockers, hormones or surgery, though minors rarely receive surgery — can improve mental health.

Over all, the list goes on and on and on.  I have not even touched on issues related to climate change which several state governments continue to ignore and disavow.  I used to look up to the U.S., but no more.  Its policies now represent the elements of one very sick society.

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May 6

Child Labour Is No Longer An Issue Found Only In Third World Countries

by bcurry

In 2017, the U.S. Department of Labor released an update of its annual child labor report – representing the most comprehensive research product at that time on the state of child labour in over 130 countries worldwide.  The release included International Labor Organization (ILO) figures estimating there were still over 152 million child labourers and 25 million forced labourers worldwide.  In 2016, 23 countries, including Canada, made a significant advancement in their efforts to address child labour, more than ever before.  The former U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta asserted that: “We must make these injustices a relic of the past.”  However, the Labor Department which is supposed to find and punish child labour violations, noted that inspectors in a dozen states said their understaffed offices could barely respond to complaints, much less open original investigations.  The same department noted dozen of cases of young migrant workers who were killed since 2017, the last year the Labor Department reported any such data.

One now has the state government of Iowa introducing a bill aimed at rolling back labour protections for children, allowing them to work longer hours and take jobs that had been previously prohibited. The measure would permit children as young as 14 to work in roofing, construction and demolition, provided they are part of educational or apprenticeship programs and a parent has granted permission for the work.  A law passed in Arkansas in March eliminated work permits and age verification requirements for workers younger than 16, and similar legislation is advancing in Missouri.  Other similar child labour proposals have been introduced in Minnesota, Ohio and Georgia.  Wisconsin legislators on Monday introduced a bill to allow children as young as 14 to serve alcohol in restaurants.

One cannot believe that Americans could justify sending 14 year olds into what are definitely considered hazardous or inappropriate workplaces, employment situations considered as too hazardous for young people in many states and countries.  For example, in Ontario, Canada, children under 14 cannot work in an industrial establishment of any kind.  Children under 15 cannot work in a factory.  Children under 16 cannot work in a logging operation, in a mine, or in construction.  We’re not talking here about delivering newspapers or helping out in a restaurant or on a farm, as long as the use machinery and tools are not included.  This does not mean that child labour doesn’t exist in Canada as recent labour standards violations and employment-related deaths and injuries have demonstrated.  Indeed, workers between the ages of 15 and 24 are more likely than any other group to suffer serious injuries, according to statistics gathered by the Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada (WCBC).  Investigations and inquests consistently find a major cause to be the lack of proper health and safety training, especially related to younger workers.  Between 2011 and 2015, the WCBC reported that 33 young workers aged 15 to 24 died in work-related incidents.  Every year, young workers between 14 and 17 are killed or injured on the job, often in workplaces deemed to be hazardous, including roofing, construction, transportation, industrial sites, farming and forestry.

Arguing that giving 14 year olds work experience is all fine and dandy, but not when it comes to potentially risking their lives.  I have dozens of examples over the years where preventable workplace tragedies happened involving young workers, especially in hazardous workplaces.  14 year olds should be in school until such time they are mature enough to take on certain employment opportunities.  There is no place in a modern and ethical society which places children in unsafe conditions, most often for the purpose of profiteering by certain businesses.  Why should we take advantage of the desperation of some families who are living below the poverty line and receiving inadequate social assistance, especially migrant families?  If we continue to promote child labour, then we are no better than those third world countries where unfortunately it exists in large numbers.  There is no excuse to expand the use of child labour either in Canada or the U.S.!

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May 1

Big Brother is Watching You at Your Workplace. So What!

by bcurry

During the late 1900s, the office where I was working introduced access cards, as one security measure, primarily used to enter the workplace.  Everyone suspected, and rightly so, that such technology would allow an employer to keep track of the goings and comings of staff, all registered and maintained by management on an accessible data base.  It would register one’s arrival and departure from the office, including during lunch and coffee breaks outside the office.  Subsequently, word processing units replaced the more traditional typing pools, allowing supervisors the possibility of tracking the amount of and speed of input into the system.  Not long after, personal desktop computers replaced the need for separate word processing units as employees were required to input their work individually at their work stations.  With this technology, programs could be introduced to track one’s work remotely.  Of course, the introduction of these new technologies, most often used to track productivity, also raised a number of privacy and human relations issues.  Take the worst case scenario in call centres, where instantaneous tracking information is now available 24/7.

Employee monitoring software, sometimes called “spyware”, has now become a major issue, for employees and employers alike.  According to a survey from 1E, an information-technology outsourcing firm, 73 percent of Informatics Technology (IT) managers are uncomfortable telling their staff to install it.  Some managers have become fanatical about implementing surveillance technology, researchers referring to it as a symptom of “productivity paranoia”.  However, the negative impacts on workers of constant surveillance at work can include reduced trust and loyalty, along with increased anxiety, stress and even resignations.  The use of spyware, often employing key performance indicators, is increasingly seen as a major human relations issue, especially where employees may not be aware of its existence or have not given their approval to its restricted use under certain specified conditions.

With the introduction of more remote work during the pandemic, more businesses are using monitoring tools to track productivity in an increasingly remote-work world.  The issue has risen to a level of concern that, as of Oct. 11, 2022, employers in the province of Ontario with 25 or more workers will need to have a written policy on electronic monitoring that outlines how and why staff are monitored, what the information will be used for and to disclose that policy to employees.  The new rule is ingrained in the province’s labour standards legislation.  However, while Ontario is the first province to enact a disclosure requirement on electronic monitoring, the rules don’t grant workers new privacy rights.  Most Ontario employees still don’t have any such protections.  The province of Quebec passed legislation in September 2022 that requires employers to have a specific purpose for the data they collect from employees.  While it will continue to allow Quebec employers to use surveillance technologies, by Sept. 22, 2023, it will require them to have a serious and legitimate purpose for their use, as well as to disclose any monitoring to employees and allow them to opt out.

Joe Masoodi, a co-author of the report and a senior policy analyst at TMU’s Leadership Lab, reportedly said monitoring tools aren’t inherently bad and can be used for professional development.  However, these tools fail to capture intangible elements of work like person-to-person interactions that require empathy and compassion.  They can also have “serious consequences” for employees, such as being held back from a promotion or facing disciplinary measures for not meeting the company’s key performance indicators metrics.  For some employees, such surveillance will add to work-related stress and possibly to physical or mental health issues.

The Ontario rule ultimately could be a positive change, because it will prompt employers to justify why they want to monitor employees, and the Quebec rule will then allow employees to opt out.  It’s clear that employers have a right to monitor employees’ productivity, but not at the cost of their trust, health and morale.  The more that an employer is open about such surveillance, the better it can be used in order to achieve its intended benefits without causing negative consequences when it comes to human relations matters.

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