Articles by Dru Oja Jay

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Canada: Alberta’s NDP, the Oil industry, and the Fate of the Planet

Dru Oja Jay May 10, 2015 Dru Oja Jay

Source: Media Coop

In 2001, Alberta Premier Ralph Klein got drunk and told his chauffeur to drive him to a homeless shelter. He proceeded to berate the people who were there, yelling at them to “get a job”. The encounter ended with the inebriated Klein throwing money on the floor while venting his disgust with the homeless people (some of whom turned out to be employed but unable to access housing in an overheated and unregulated Edmonton economy).  

In 2004, Klein and his PC party won a 62-seat majority in the Alberta legislature. Rather than being the nail in the coffin of a cruel and morally bankrupt political ideology, Klein’s visit to the shelter became the stuff of political legend, cementing Alberta’s self-image as the radical champion of individualism, the free market, and total alignment with the oil industry. read more

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Nunavut and the future of Canada’s Arctic

Dru Oja Jay July 10, 2013 Dru Oja Jay

Source: Al Jazeera

Inuit challenge Canadian government over failures on Nunavut deal’s 20th anniversary.

Iqaluit, Canada – Royal Canadian Air Force jets will streak across the arctic sky on Tuesday, part of celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the agreement that created Nunavut, a northern territory home to about 30,000 native Inuit people.

It was the largest indigenous land claim in Canada’s history covering 2 million square kilometres, or about eight times the size of the United Kingdom.

But as the fighter jets fly high in the sky to mark the day, on the ground the celebrations will be modest. About 50 percent of the Inuit live in dire poverty, one-third reside in overcrowded and dilapidated housing, and half cannot afford to buy enough food to eat. read more