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Erika Shaker

@ershaker.bsky.social
1.6K followers 600 following 1.2K posts

Director, CCPA National Office bsky.app/profile/policyalternatives…

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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc... ‘British Columbians most likely don’t realize how good the public system has been in keeping a lid on rising auto insurance prices in recent years.’ @policyalternatives.ca @marclee.bsky.social
policyalternatives.ca
What would happen if B.C. scrapped public auto insurance? | CCPA
In British Columbia’s election, public auto insurance is in the crosshairs. How does the system work—and compare to other provinces?
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
www.ctvnews.ca/politics/art... ‘Bruske said changes to clarify a minister’s power to scuttle a work stoppage when the “national interest” is at stake completely undermine unions’ ability to use the threat of a strike to extract gains at the bargaining table.’
ctvnews.ca
Conservatives vote with Liberals as Bill C-39 heads to committee
A key piece of the Carney government’s economic agenda, Bill C-39, passed its first vote in the House of Commons Thursday when Conservatives voted with the majority Liberals to send the bill for study...
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
‘This, the spokesperson wrote, includes changing the building code “to optimize space within existing and new provincial adult correctional facilities to support current and future capacity expansion needs.”’
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
www.thestar.com/news/investi... ‘In a statement sent via email, a spokesperson for Kerzner said the province is investing $3 billion to increase jail capacity “as part of the government’s plan to strengthen the bail system and keep dangerous offenders behind bars.”‘
thestar.com
The Ford government quietly changed its building code, clearing the way for more triple-bunking in Ontario’s overcrowded jails
Ontario quietly eliminated minimum sleep-area rules for jails, clearing the way for triple-bunking in overcrowded facilities.
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
‘There is a lot of misinformation about taxes in B.C., and who pays what. Prepare for an offensive from top earners in B.C. against this tax proposal, which should otherwise be fairly popular among voters.’
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc... ‘Asking the most well-off to pay a bit more should not be a hard sell at a time when our province is mired in a trade war, and has many pressing challenges that need public support.’ @marclee.bsky.social @policyalternatives.ca
policyalternatives.ca
Taxing the rich: What’s on the table in the 2026 B.C. election? | CCPA
Different parties have different ideas for how to reform the B.C. tax system and potentially make the rich pay a fairer share.
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
'In the remaining time of the election campaign, voters need BC’s political parties to table costed platforms that put numbers to their promises—and provide clarity about their financial decision-making should they win the electoral prize.' @marclee.bsky.social @policyalternatives.ca
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc... 'With the high social costs of cutting back public services, targeted tax & natural resource royalty increases aimed at high-income individuals & large corporations is an approach that would minimize economic impacts & improve fairness in BC'
policyalternatives.ca
B.C.’s fiscal choices after the provincial election | CCPA
No matter which party wins, there are some difficult choices coming in the next fiscal year.
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic... ‘The separatists arrived in Washington, D.C., last year armed with a determination to leave Canada and a raft of ideas for how an independent Alberta could instead interlace its future fortunes with the United States.’
theglobeandmail.com
The elephant in the room
Alberta separatists have gone to D.C. offering fresh water and oil in exchange for American support – and Republican operatives have provided tactical assistance inside the province
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Good morning!
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc... ‘the main purpose of this legislation…is about clearing the way for greater corporate profit, at the expense of everything else. In this case, the feds are offering up the environment, First Nations, and workers to the bulldozer.’ @policyalternatives.ca
policyalternatives.ca
Bill C-39 is a massive corporate giveaway | CCPA
The feds’ latest omnibus bill dismantles environmental regulation, steamrolls Indigenous rights, and attacks workers
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc... 'we have found ourselves in a campaign which increasingly feels like a referendum on the future of Quebec’s battered social democracy.' @policyalternatives.ca @iris-recherche.bsky.social
policyalternatives.ca
The Quebec election is a triumph of neoliberalism | CCPA
The election feels like a referendum on social democracy. Most parties, to varying degrees, seem to be voting “No.”
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc... ‘The proliferation of AI is awash in immediate harms, but the benefits remain elusive. Widespread AI adoption is thus a costly bet—a gamble on future prosperity with our jobs, our planet & very minds at stake. Welcome to the AI casino’ @policyalternatives.ca
policyalternatives.ca
All in at the AI casino | CCPA
The federal government is betting everything on an AI future that may never exist
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
'Carney and his team obsessively read Canadian media. They are sensitive to criticism from it, so they’ve simply opted to go around it...But as one Liberal pointed out to me: “You can get away with a lot when you’ve got a 10-point lead.”'
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc... 'Working people across Canada got us through the COVID19 pandemic and they are putting their elbows up to stand with the government in this current tariff fight. The government would be wise not to abuse that support with Bill C39' @policyalternatives.ca
policyalternatives.ca
Bill C-39 undermines Canadian workers’ right to strike | CCPA
The federal government is acquiescing to the business lobby’s attempt to tip the scales and water down workers’ rights
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
www.thestar.com/opinion/cont... ‘Calling any of these “guardrails” is doublespeak in the strict sense: a word chosen because it means the opposite of what the clause does.’
thestar.com
Mark Carney says he’s protecting Canadian workers. It’s Orwellian doublespeak
Subject to ministerial review, the right to strike is likely to be much weakened by Bill C-39.
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
www.thestar.com/opinion/cont... ‘Rents are driving up the cost of living & the minimum wage is not keeping up…if rent increases are outpacing inflation, that’s not because of the invisible hand of the market but…the outcome of this govt’s decisions’ @policyalternatives.ca @ricardotranjan.bsky.social
thestar.com
Essentials are expensive. Donald Trump’s tariffs loom. A small raise for thousands of Torontonians isn’t going to cut it
Hundreds of thousands of people will still not be making a living wage
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
'If the privatization of surgeries and diagnostic procedures was sound health care policy, then the evidence would support this direction—but it does not.' @alonghurst.bsky.social @policyalternatives.ca
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc... 'This research study analyzes how the ON govt’s policy direction favours the for-profit surgical & medical imaging industry over public hospitals & evaluates whether this policy direction is reducing wait times & serving the public interest.'
policyalternatives.ca
Not adding up: Surgical and diagnostic privatization in Ontario | CCPA
The Ontario government favours for-profit delivery of surgeries and medical imaging, but the evidence shows this isn't good health policy
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/arti... ‘The study…found that since Ontario has started outsourcing more key procedures, wait times for these medical imaging services and surgeries are actually going up.’ @alonghurst.bsky.social @policyalternatives.ca
ctvnews.ca
Wait times increasing for some medical procedures outsourced to for-profit clinics in Ontario: report
Outsourcing surgeries and imaging to private for-profit clinics has not resulted in a drop in wait times for most procedures, according to a new study released Monday.
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
ca.news.yahoo.com/israeli-mili... ‘McPherson said Canada should follow the European Union's example and demand that Israel pay to repair the infrastructure it has damaged, along with damage to projects that the Israeli military has allowed settlers to inflict.’
ca.news.yahoo.com
Israeli military, settlers damaged aid projects backed by Canada: documents
OTTAWA — Canada has contributed to dozens of aid projects in the Palestinian territories that have since been damaged or destroyed by the Israeli military and Israeli settlers, according to a document...
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
www.cbc.ca/news/politic... ‘Casey said he received a call from the Atlantic desk of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on Thursday saying that he was being replaced. He described the conversations with both the whip and the PMO as "direct" and clearly referencing his support for Kwan's bill.’
cbc.ca
Liberal MP says he was demoted for supporting NDP bill targeting arms export controls | CBC News
Charlottetown MP Sean Casey says he was removed from his position as parliamentary secretary to the minister of veterans affairs because he voted against the government and supported an NDP private me...
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
youtu.be/kfI-_5HhABM oh boy, you’re in for a treat—check out the 2026 Rosenbluth Lecture featuring @lindamcquaig.bsky.social, Neil Brooks and their newest book ‘Cancelling Billionaires.’ @marclee.bsky.social @policyalternatives.ca
youtu.be
Cancelling Billionaires Before They Cancel Us
YouTube video by Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc... ‘the reality is that the PMD opens the doors to a lot of dirty investments, including oil and gas pipelines, (higher-carbon) LNG facilities and mining investments.’ @marclee.bsky.social @policyalternatives.ca
policyalternatives.ca
The Canadian government's new “mega” corporate tax cut  | CCPA
What you need to know about the Productivity Mega Deduction, the latest measure purportedly designed to induce an investment boom.
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc... 'Together, these new laws are likely to significantly increase business and employer health care costs—just as private health insurance drives up business costs in the United States.' @policyalternatives.ca @alonghurst.bsky.social
policyalternatives.ca
Alberta’s U.S.-style health care reforms will increase costs for businesses | CCPA
The benefits of single-payer medicare are undeniable. Alberta’s reforms upend the economic benefits of public health insurance
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic... ‘Health Canada said Wednesday it had suspended the licence of the Taylor Avenue location, further complicating Grifols’ plans to reopen it.’ @alonghurst.bsky.social
theglobeandmail.com
Health Canada suspends licence of Grifols site in Winnipeg
A 22-year-old donor experienced heart problems at the site and later died
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
www.oise.utoronto.ca/len/events/t...
oise.utoronto.ca
Toward Liberation: Dreaming and Designing the Education We Need
This full-day opening gathering invites K-12 teachers, principals, community leaders, and scholars to lay the relational and imaginative foundation for the Liberatory Education Network's 2026/27 acade...
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc... ‘CDA must not leave workers vulnerable by ignoring the importance of labour cooperation & enforcement through our relationship with Mexico, or by shirking the hard but essential work of building on the earlier progress forged by CUSMA’ @ccpa-tirp.bsky.social
policyalternatives.ca
A worker-first agenda for Canada-Mexico trade | CCPA
Canada has an opportunity to advance workers' rights through its relationship with Mexico amid Trump’s tariffs.
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
www.thestar.com/politics/fed... ‘Government officials and cabinet ministers touted the legislation — which was applauded by at least one major business organization — as a way to create certainty for investments in development projects.’
thestar.com
Carney government tables sweeping bill to overhaul environmental and labour rules
The federal government tabled new legislation Monday to make sweeping changes to environmental and labour rules, in Prime Minister Mark Carney's latest effort to remove what he sees as barriers
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
www.theglobeandmail.com/business/com... ‘There are good symbolic and policy-related reasons to prioritize deeper ties with Europe….What is needed is not a new label, but steps that encourage more buy-in from all levels of government, business and civil society.’
theglobeandmail.com
Opinion: Carney’s beautiful Euro vision must meet harsh reality
While there are good symbolic and policy-related reasons to prioritize deeper ties with Europe, talk about ‘associate membership’ is much less compelling
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art... ‘the government plans to introduce a bill called the Building Canada Strong Act that would ensure that federal projects face a single review and a decision within one year.’
theglobeandmail.com
Carney government to introduce major economic bill as Parliament returns Monday
Building Canada Strong Act would ensure that federal projects face a single review and a decision within one year, Prime Minister said last week
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
www.ctvnews.ca/politics/art... ‘The sources tell CTV News the government has conveyed to them that the legislation will be aimed at introducing binding mediation before strike action is taken.’
ctvnews.ca
Feds could introduce new labour legislation as soon as next week: sources
A senior government source tells CTV News that plans are underway to introduce such legislation following a review of the Canadian Labour Code that began in April.
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc... CDA’s glacial progress in reducing gender wage disparities speaks to the scale of the challenge involved in rooting out intersectional gender discrimination w/in a context of increasing income & wealth polarization@policyalternatives.ca @kjscott.bsky.social
policyalternatives.ca
Dismantling gender pay discrimination in Canada: Current trends and policy responses | CCPA
The gender pay gap has narrowed but remains unacceptably wide, with the average woman earning only 72% of what men earn
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
www.thestar.com/politics/pol... ‘Canada’s major airports are currently run by not-for-profit authorities that redirect their revenues — $3.95B in 2022 — into infrastructure and operations. They also send Ottawa millions in lease payments — $525M in 2025, with Pearson alone paying $236M’
thestar.com
Althia Raj: Mark Carney’s flight plan means turbulence for Canadian air travellers
Pension funds seek the stable returns that airports provide, but it's less clear what passengers get out of privatization, Althia Raj writes.
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc... "...the caregiver story points to a broader tendency in Canadian public policy. Govts respond to enduring problems through instruments designed to expire: pilot programs, one-time benefits, interim measures & funding envelopes that they must actively renew"
policyalternatives.ca
Canada can’t stop relying on temporary pilot programs | CCPA
From worker supports to immigration to housing, the federal government has a really hard time committing—but pilot programs aren’t a mode of governance
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
globalnews.ca/video/120612... @davidmaccdn.bsky.social @policyalternatives.ca
globalnews.ca
PM seeking to privatize Canada’s four largest airports | Watch News Videos Online
Watch PM seeking to privatize Canada’s four largest airports Video Online, on GlobalNews.ca
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
'Despite the Manitoba government’s claims that it remains powerless in the face of an U.S. health care corporation, there are a number of options available to the provincial government.' @alonghurst.bsky.social
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc... 'In 2025, the MB govt signed a five-year contract with Dynacare that effectively locked these private-sector lab workers into wages 20 - 50% below their public sector co-workers performing the same work in public hospitals.' @policyalternatives.ca
policyalternatives.ca
Dynacare workers are standing up to U.S. health care greed in Manitoba | CCPA
The private lab—owned by a U.S. corporation—oversaw a relative drop in workers’ wages. Manitoba stepped in on the side of the company.
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
'Is Canada stronger when we spend billions of dollars in military spending to transfer money to the U.S. arms industry? Simply arguing for a strong Canada, without any other criteria, clearly isn’t cutting it.' @policyalternatives.ca
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Is Canada truly strong if the federal government lacks the capacity to regulate industry? Is Canada stronger when we dismantle Canadian health care and replace it with a U.S.-style user-pay system? Does it make Canada strong when we replace public service workers with AI chatbots?'
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
www.policyalternatives.ca/serial/alter.... 'While the federal government may present these choices as natural, inevitable responses to the crisis of U.S. aggression, they are indeed choices—and ones that, in many ways, will create an effect opposite of their stated intentions.'
policyalternatives.ca
Alternative federal budget 2026-27: Bridge to independence | CCPA
A roadmap to a Canada made truly strong by its commitment to solidarity and dignity for all
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
'Does it make Canada strong when we replace public service workers with AI chatbots? Is Canada stronger when we spend billions of dollars in military spending to transfer money to the U.S. arms industry? Simply arguing for a strong Canada, without any other criteria, clearly isn’t cutting it.'
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Reposted by Erika Shaker
Simon Enoch @simonenoch.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
In the end, privatizing Canada’s airports doesn’t solve any of the problems we face. Instead it risks making air travel even more expensive and less pleasant. And Canadians would be giving up democratic control over a critical public asset for generations. www.thespec.com/opinion/cont...
thespec.com
Don’t fall for Ottawa’s airport privatization trap
Privatizing Canada’s airports could mean higher costs for travellers and less control over a critical public asset.
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc... 'A privatized airport authority wouldn’t balance revenues and expenditures, instead it would attempt to drive up revenues and/or drive down expenditures to create a profit that it could pay to shareholders.' @policyalternatives.ca @davidmaccdn.bsky.social
policyalternatives.ca
Air travel in Canada is about to get more expensive | CCPA
The impacts of airport privatization on travellers and workers
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
'Under the current system, democratic institutions have control over how we want our airports to operate and the ability to change them if we want them to operate differently....we shouldn’t be surprised if [privatized airports] no longer operate in our interest.' @simonenoch.bsky.social
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc... 'privately controlled public assets rarely operate in the public interest. And why would they? The private investor has every incentive to minimize their costs and maximize their returns for the life of these multi-decade contracts' @policyalternatives.ca
policyalternatives.ca
Privatizing Canadian airports means less safety and higher costs | CCPA
The feds may announce an “asset recycling” scheme for Canadian airports at their investment summit in Toronto. It would make air travel in Canada worse.
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc... ‘Been sleeping through the trade war, so far? Let’s catch you up.’ @marclee.bsky.social @policyalternatives.ca @ccpa-tirp.bsky.social
policyalternatives.ca
Trump’s new trade escalation: What is going on? | CCPA
Unpacking the tangled mess of the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and Canada, beginning with the latest measures that came into force early September
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
www.readthemaple.com/cija-is-lobb... “It undermines the idea that we’re a sovereign state with rights and obligations.”
readthemaple.com
CIJA Is Lobbying To Expand Grounds For Revoking Citizenship
Experts say CIJA’s demands would have troubling implications for the rights of naturalized Canadian citizens.
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
“The challenge rule was simple,” one student wrote: “my resting heart rate was 80bpm, and I had to stay within 10 percent of that the whole time. Anything above 88 was a fail.”
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Erika Shaker @ershaker.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
futurism.com/artificial-i... ‘As part of the bootcamp, students are also required to pass an eyebrow-raising heart rate challenge, in which they’re hooked up to live monitors in front of their classmates and presented with a pre-recorded video of their parents berating them’
futurism.com
AI School Hooking Children Up to Heart Monitor in Front of Class While Playing Critiques of Their Work
The controversial AI-focused private school Alpha School is making its students do some unusual things before enrolling.
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