karen ward
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kwardvancouver.bsky.social
karen ward
@kwardvancouver.bsky.social
3K followers 890 following 9.7K posts
once called « Canada's only public intellectual »

drug policy researcher & advisor ⁕ historian ⁕ artist ⁕ schemer ⁕ disorganizer

institute for the history of possible futures

https://free-futures-society.org/
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by karen ward
amandafollett.bsky.social
I think it’s bad, actually, to play political chess with Indigenous rights.
November 27, 2025 at 11:34 PM
Reposted by karen ward
twseal.bsky.social
The Business Council of British Columbia has issued this statement on today's deal between the federal government and Alberta:
November 27, 2025 at 11:17 PM
Reposted by karen ward
mehlerpaperny.bsky.social
important update to Ontario's involuntary hospitalization regime:
Box A of Ontario's Form 1 for involuntary hospitalization includes the box "plans to watch the NDP leaders' debate."
November 27, 2025 at 11:17 PM
kwardvancouver.bsky.social
Vancouver was once a city known for innovative and effective drug policy that was grounded in human rights.
Sim told BIV Thursday morning that the city has spent an “astronomical” amount of money to deal with fallout from provincial actions related to mental health, which is a provincial responsibility. He would not pinpoint a dollar figure because, he said, “someone's going to challenge that number, but it is significant.” Main costs relate to police and fire responses. “Think of all the times that our first responders have showed up at the Luugat: not just police, but fire and rescue,” Sim said. ou know, people are literally dying in the streets here. These are all health-care issues that the province needs to address.” Sim has three specific asks from the province: Provide clear closure timelines for the St. Helen’s Hotel and the Granville Villa; Announce new involuntary health-care beds for Vancouver; and Deliver a mandatory care system. Sim said Vancouver has been left out when it comes to new involuntary care beds. Surrey has some of these beds, he said. So does Maple Ridge.
November 27, 2025 at 11:24 PM
Reposted by karen ward
jeff.doctor
I have questions, like, wut, and, the fuck
November 27, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Reposted by karen ward
joannehammond.bsky.social
Pipelines BAD, integrity GOOD
#cdnpoli
stevenguilbeault.bsky.social Steven Guilbeault @stevenguilbeault.bsky.social · 1h
This afternoon, I informed the Prime Minister of my decision to resign as Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture, Minister responsible for Official Languages, Minister of Nature and Parks Canada, as well as his Lieutenant in Quebec.

You can find my full statement below.
November 27, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Reposted by karen ward
ctheriault.bsky.social
Guilbeault resigns from cabinet after Carney signs Alberta pipeline deal

globalnews.ca/news/1154707...
Guilbeault resigns from cabinet after Carney signs Alberta pipeline deal - National | Globalnews.ca
Global News has confirmed Canadian Identity and Culture Minister Steven Guilbeault, the former federal environment minister, has resigned from cabinet.
globalnews.ca
November 27, 2025 at 9:42 PM
kwardvancouver.bsky.social
Downtown Eastside alley, Vancouver
Graffiti mural in alley: REFUGEES WELCOME Chinatown antifascist neighborhood - 2022
November 27, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Reposted by karen ward
brandonyan.com
Smith building a pipeline thru BC is Ken Sim promising nurses.
November 27, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Reposted by karen ward
sethdklein.bsky.social
What we have witnessed tday in this new federal-Alberta agreement is a complete abandonment of core federal climate policy and a complete abdication to the MAGA-aligned govt of Alberta and to oil & gas corporations that send huge chunks their profits to the US.
November 27, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Reposted by karen ward
ahvancouver.bsky.social
Send your support for Vancouver's Social Housing Initiative TODAY before 5pm! The public hearing is tonight.

Zoning is supposed to regulate the use & not the user, but public hearings for social housing often turn ugly & discriminatory. This zoning improvement will lead...
1/2
November 27, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Reposted by karen ward
andreawoo.bsky.social
Coastal First Nations pres Marilyn Slett now: "Coastal FNs along w/ prov of BC will do everything in our power to protect our coast from the real threat of an oil spill... We will never consent to allowing oil tankers in our coastal waters. We will never tolerate exemptions to an oil tanker ban."
November 27, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Reposted by karen ward
tylerfromtheinternet.com
Are we destroying the planet? No, it is the cows who are wrong
themckenziest.gay Lauren McKenzie @themckenziest.gay · 3h
Who wants to watch me lose my shit completely
Bill Gates: "Cows make 6% of global emissions." "You can either fix the cows, or make beef without the cow. That's the conversation now: not about farming, not about land use — but redesigning the cow itself.
November 27, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Reposted by karen ward
dsdp.ca
"A day prior to the spike in overdoses, North Cowichan bylaw officers, backed up by RCMP, started clearing out an encampment on Lewis Street and returned the next day to finish."
November 27, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Reposted by karen ward
sethdklein.bsky.social
Eye on the ball folks! It seems the pipeline piece may well be a distraction. While a pipeline remains very unlikely, the practical impact of this deal are all the immediate concessions to oil & gas industry & the federal abandonment of core climate policies.
www.nationalobserver.com/2025/11/27/n...
BREAKING: Alberta gets its way in deal with Ottawa
A newly signed memorandum of understanding gives Alberta almost its entire list of demands, from the removal of regulations to the fast-tracking of a pipeline.
www.nationalobserver.com
November 27, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Reposted by karen ward
mehlerpaperny.bsky.social
Is Canada's drug-trafficking law unconstitutional? And would your answer change if access to legal "safer supply" were near-impossible? www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...
Legal safer supply programs inaccessible to most, B.C court hears
Jeremy Kalicum and Eris Nyx were convicted of trafficking earlier this month for having operated an illicit-drug compassion club
www.theglobeandmail.com
November 26, 2025 at 8:33 PM
kwardvancouver.bsky.social
Remember when the Auditor General reported that the government’s implementation of Prescribed Alternatives was ineffective because they didn’t communicate how many people were accessing it

they had the data and didn’t release it

lies flooded the streets

free-futures-society.org/2024/04/25/a...
November 27, 2025 at 10:28 AM
kwardvancouver.bsky.social
Hey @cbcstephenquinn.bsky.social you’ll like this

youtu.be/BPEn-kceO00?...
Rheostatics - Vancouver [Official Audio]
YouTube video by Rheostatics
youtu.be
November 27, 2025 at 9:36 AM
Reposted by karen ward
kirktousaw.bsky.social
This, like every other seizure of cocaine before it, will have pretty much no positive impact at all. Meanwhile prohibition is killing people all over the world, from people dying in the streets of small Canadian towns to fishermen being bombed by US drones in a prelude to a ground war for oil.
November 27, 2025 at 7:05 AM
Reposted by karen ward
rjjago.bsky.social
Give me money and I’ll make Corner Smokes - a Native spinoff of Corner Gas where Davis moves to rez to take over his late aunt’s smokeshop. I’m not saying I’ve written the first episode and show bible, but...
nikostratis.com Niko Stratis @nikostratis.com · 1d
I think if Canada wants to have a strong cultural identity we need to go back to doing what we're best at, making the weirdest fucking TV shows you've ever seen
November 27, 2025 at 7:03 AM
kwardvancouver.bsky.social
Artist-run centres.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadia...
November 27, 2025 at 6:48 AM
Reposted by karen ward
ifyouseekay.bsky.social
Canada gave stoners around the world the gift of The Hilarious House of Frightenstein. Never forget.
November 26, 2025 at 11:57 PM
kwardvancouver.bsky.social
Sim has no idea what he’s doing. i cannot listen
cbcstephenquinn.bsky.social Stephen Quinn @cbcstephenquinn.bsky.social · 1d
Hey all. If you would like to see this morning's interview with Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, I have attached a YouTube link below.
Thank you for watching.

youtu.be/s9Khl0T_BEA?...
Vancouver mayor stands by city's budget
YouTube video by CBC British Columbia
youtu.be
November 27, 2025 at 6:16 AM
Reposted by karen ward
socialbc.ca
1/n Yesterday on @chris I commented (https://mstdn.chrisalemany.ca/@chris/115612771113881465) about the #postsecondary review announced by the #BCNDP.

Today, on #socialbc I want to do a summary thread on this 145 page “State of Post Secondary in Canada 2025” […]

[Original post on socialbc.ca]
A screenshot of the PDF document shows a blue document title page with “The State of Postsecondary Education in Canada 2025” at the top and a collage of square and rectangular opaque images mostly in blue shades by some highlights in orange sepia and green.
November 26, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Reposted by karen ward
tsk.bsky.social
Karen Fry's promotion of an intervention that makes the crisis worse just two months ago to city hall—we're nearly ten years into a public health emergency...
globalnews.ca/news/1140302...
“Think of that, a third less calls,” she said. The number of calls in which firefighters have had to wait for police to arrive and secure a scene were down by 25 per cent, she added. “These results demonstrate that operation barrage is effectively reducing the demand on our resources,” said Fry of
November 27, 2025 at 5:44 AM