Mike Patterson
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mykle.bsky.social
Mike Patterson
@mykle.bsky.social
69 followers 62 following 52 posts
Multimedia journalist on Vancouver Island interested in environmental reporting, global warming, climate change, equality, social justice and change.
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Reposted by Mike Patterson
democracydocket.com
NEW: Yesterday, the House passed the SAVE America Act, a measure that would disenfranchise millions of Americans domestically and abroad.

@demsabroad.bsky.social Martha McDevitt-Pugh asserts voting is not a privilege; it’s a constitutional right. And they do not lose that right when living abroad.
The SAVE America Act would disenfranchise Americans living abroad
The “SAVE America Act” is a rebranded version of the anti-voter SAVE Act, and its new name should not fool anyone.
www.democracydocket.com
February 12, 2026 at 10:17 PM
Reposted by Mike Patterson
katharinehayhoe.com
As I say here, there is no scientific justification to revoke the engagement finding. In fact, over the last 15+ yrs, the evidence of how climate change affects our health has only grown. Higher risk of allergies, dementia, fertility, heart disease, and death: that’s what’s on the line. @nature.org
There is No Scientific Justification to Revoke the Endangerment Finding
The U.S. EPA's decision to repeal the Endangerment Finding will limit the government's ability to regulate emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.
www.nature.org
February 12, 2026 at 9:45 PM
Reposted by Mike Patterson
dsdp.ca
drugdatadecoded.ca/email/80ec49...
Online event tonight: How harm reduction impacts public safety
Ever wonder why police narratives dominate "public safety" discourse, when police funding has no correlation with actual safety? Tonight, the business and outreach communities are joining forces to pu...
drugdatadecoded.ca
February 11, 2026 at 9:46 PM
Reposted by Mike Patterson
bcpolicy.bsky.social
86 billionaire families had as much wealth as the 6.2 million least-wealthy Canadian families in 2023 (most-recent data) shows a new report, The New Robber Barons: A quarter century of wealth concentration in Canada by Silas Xuereb & Alex Hemingway
The new robber barons: a quarter century of wealth concentration in Canada
Wealth and political influence tend to reinforce each other. Tracking who owns wealth and how that distribution is changing is more important than ever for the health of our democracy and the future of Canada.
bcpolicy.ca
February 11, 2026 at 11:00 PM
Reposted by Mike Patterson
nurseranger.bsky.social
‘No one in our community is disposable’: Island Health and community call on North Cowichan to rethink sheltering sites

@thediscourse.ca

#bcpoli

thediscourse.ca/cowichan-val...
‘No one in our community is disposable’: Island Health and community call on North Cowichan to rethink sheltering sites – The Discourse.
Designated overnight sheltering sites in Somenos marsh are ‘increasingly dangerous’, outreach groups say.
thediscourse.ca
February 11, 2026 at 1:43 AM
Reposted by Mike Patterson
cape-acme.bsky.social
🩺 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀 have successfully advocated for advertising restrictions before. Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada led the push for comprehensive tobacco control, first calling for a tobacco advertising ban in a CMAJ editorial in 1991. It's time to apply the same tools to fossil fuels.
February 11, 2026 at 1:14 AM
Reposted by Mike Patterson
cape-acme.bsky.social
In the newest @cmaj.ca, CAPE President @samanthagreen.bsky.social and Health & Economy Policy Director Leah Temper make the case for restricting fossil fuel advertising to protect population health. 👉 Read their analysis: loom.ly/thU-IPg
CAPE President Dr. Samantha Green and Health & Economy Policy Director Leah Temper just published an important analysis in the Canadian Medical Association Journal examining why restricting fossil fuel advertising is a legitimate public health intervention.
February 11, 2026 at 1:14 AM
Reposted by Mike Patterson
torrancecoste.bsky.social
Community activism in support of Indigenous leadership works folks!
February 5, 2026 at 11:07 PM
Reposted by Mike Patterson
georgemonbiot.bsky.social
William Nordhaus received the Nobel Memorial Prize for these flawed economic models, and Bjorn Lomborg built a highly lucrative career on them.
They told rich and powerful people what they wanted to hear.
While helping to consign us all to catastrophe.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Flawed economic models mean climate crisis could crash global economy, experts warn
States and financial bodies using modelling that ignores shocks from extreme weather and climate tipping points
www.theguardian.com
February 5, 2026 at 8:28 AM
Reposted by Mike Patterson
rbreich.bsky.social
Immigrants have paid more in taxes than they have received in benefits every single year for the past 30 years, according to new analysis from Cato.

Remember this the next time Trump and his racist lackeys call immigrants "freeloaders."
February 5, 2026 at 7:20 PM
Reposted by Mike Patterson
davidrvetter.bsky.social
The right wing Cato Institute has released a paper showing that, over 30 years, immigrants to the US created a fiscal surplus of $14.5 trillion, and that without immigrants, US public debt would be twice its current level.
Immigrants’ Recent Effects on Government Budgets: 1994–2023
Our analysis in this paper shows that immigrants generated a fiscal surplus of about $14.5 trillion from 1994 to 2023, that the average immigrant is much less costly than the average US-born American,...
www.cato.org
February 5, 2026 at 1:39 PM
mykle.bsky.social
Experts say a new BC Forestry Advisory Council report doesn't mention the paradigm shift called for by the Old Growth Strategic Review. Without legal changes and measures to keep old growth standing, it's another “talk and log” situation.

#forest #environment #oldgrowth

thetyee.ca/News/2026/02...
BC Must Overhaul the Province’s Forestry Industry, Report Says | The Tyee
A council created as part of the Greens’ decision to back the NDP says the government can’t ‘keep kicking this can down the road.’
thetyee.ca
February 5, 2026 at 2:46 AM
mykle.bsky.social
BC's Provincial Forestry Advisory Council report recommends transitioning the forestry industry into a more sustainable sector, with regional decision-making and area-based land management. Link to report below:

#environment #climatechange #forestry #bcpoli #bcgreens

pfac.ca/wp-content/u...
pfac.ca
February 3, 2026 at 7:30 PM
mykle.bsky.social
BC's former Chief Coroner says only organized crime and some private residential treatment centres charging exorbitant amounts to families desperate to help loved ones are benefiting from BC's addiction response strategy.

#addiction #drugcrisis #health #mentalhealth

thetyee.ca/News/2026/02...
BC’s Drug Response Isn’t Following the Evidence: Former Coroner | The Tyee
The province is neglecting safer supply and housing, which are proven to reduce harms, says Lisa Lapointe.
thetyee.ca
February 3, 2026 at 7:03 PM
Reposted by Mike Patterson
dsdp.ca
drugpolicy.ca/bc-revives-c...
IGNORING ITS OWN DATA, B.C. REVIVES CRIMINALIZATION - Canadian Drug Policy Coalition
On January 14, 2026, the province of B.C. announced it would end its limited decriminalization policy and reinstate criminal penalties for personal drug possession.1 The province’s decision not to ren...
drugpolicy.ca
February 2, 2026 at 9:42 PM
Reposted by Mike Patterson
andreawoo.bsky.social
“20 people unconscious each night” in Trail, B.C., as veterinary sedative medetomidine gains foothold in illicit opioid supply. Significantly stronger than xylazine, can cause cardiac/respiratory depression and deep prolonged sedation.
vancouver.citynews.ca/2026/01/29/b...
'Disturbing' scenes, record overdoses, as powerful sedative hits B.C. drug supply
Last weekend, frontline health workers in Trail, B.C., reported "disturbing" scenes to Dr. Karin Goodison, medical health officer with Interior Health.
vancouver.citynews.ca
January 30, 2026 at 3:42 AM
Reposted by Mike Patterson
nurseranger.bsky.social
This next horror in the forever emergency of unregulated drug poisonings is brought to you by the ongoing War on Drugs™️.

We need a legal, regulated drug supply for all currently illicit drugs.
January 27, 2026 at 2:36 AM
Reposted by Mike Patterson
drmelissalem.bsky.social
BREAKING: Winter sports fans want Olympic organizers to drop fossil fuel sponsors.
Good to join international colleagues in a unified call to protect our health and save our snow and ice.
More here: www.newweather.org/2026/01/29/n...
January 30, 2026 at 12:39 AM
Reposted by Mike Patterson
cape-acme.bsky.social
According to our new poll, Canada is a country of winter sports lovers... and we do NOT support fossil fuel companies advertising at the Winter Olympics!
https://loom.ly/y1KyHi0
January 29, 2026 at 8:59 PM
Reposted by Mike Patterson
eos.org
Just a 10% reduction in emissions that lead to particulate air pollution would save more than 500,000 lives each year, and $1.2 trillion across the Northern Hemisphere, find researchers from @carleton.ca, @geohealthjournal.bsky.social eos.org/research-spo...
Which Countries Are Paying the Highest Price for Particulate Air Pollution? - Eos
Reducing the effects of air pollution requires estimations of where it costs the most—in both money and lives.
eos.org
January 28, 2026 at 5:25 PM
Reposted by Mike Patterson
dsdp.ca
thetyee.ca/News/2026/01...
‘Very Little Value’: Judge Frustrated by Health Canada at DULF Trial | The Tyee
Justice Catherine Murray said witness Eric Costen appeared to be ‘guessing’ in his responses on the stand.
thetyee.ca
January 28, 2026 at 6:07 PM
Reposted by Mike Patterson
rbreich.bsky.social
Under Lina Khan, the FTC stopped anticompetitive mergers, cracked down on junk fees, and protected working people.

She's one of my heroes — and has a bright future guiding the Democratic Party through the Trumpian wilderness.

Join us for an in-depth conversation.
What’s the Path Forward? (Ft. Lina Khan)
Zohran Mamdani is off to a strong start, cracking down on junk fees and predatory landlords to make life more affordable
youtu.be
January 20, 2026 at 6:21 PM
Reposted by Mike Patterson
ehyshka.bsky.social
www.cbc.ca/news/red-dee... #ableg
Red Deer firefighters see jump in opioid-related calls after overdose consumption site closes | CBC Accessibility
Firefighters in Red Deer are facing burnout and safety issues following a spike in opioid-related EMS calls. It follows last spring’s closure of the central Alberta city’s only overdose prevention si...
www.cbc.ca
January 18, 2026 at 8:56 PM
Reposted by Mike Patterson
kpateonthehill.bsky.social
Bills S-205 (Tona’s Law), S-206, S-207, and S-208 currently before the Senate offer concrete, evidence-based steps to reduce marginalization, criminalization, and institutionalization, and to support community-led justice. Read more about these bills in the graphics attached. 3/4
Slide titled “4 Senate Bills That Could Help.” A subtitle reads: “Working to reduce the marginalization, victimization, criminalization and institutionalization of vulnerable Canadians.” Text lists: “1) Bill S-205 (Tona’s Law): Would breathe life into existing but rarely used measures to transfer people in need of supports out of prisons and fund their placement in Indigenous communities, hospitals, and other community settings.” It also lists: “2) Bill S-206: Would require the federal government to develop, with Indigenous, provincial and territorial governments, a plan for implementing a guaranteed livable basic income sufficient to lift people out of poverty, preventing victimization and criminalization.” The handle @kimpateonthehill appears at the bottom, with a right-pointing arrow indicating continuation. Slide listing additional Senate bills. Text reads: “3) Bill S-207: Would allow criminal records to expire, without a fee or application process, reducing barriers to housing, jobs and other essentials for community integration.” It also reads: “4) Bill S-208: Would allow judges to not impose mandatory minimum penalties where doing so would result in an injustice. This would include allowing judges to fully consider section 718.2(e) Gladue factors, where mandatory minimums currently restrict their discretion.” A note at the bottom states that each bill is informed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action, the Calls for Justice of the MMIWG, the Senate’s 2019 amendments to Bill C-83 on solitary confinement, and the 2021 Human Rights Committee report on federally sentenced persons. The handle @kimpateonthehill appears at the bottom. Dark slide with large pink text displaying a quote: “Senators and MPs must work together. We cannot abandon the countless Canadians condemned to poverty, oppression, criminalization and incarceration. Canada must take a stand for human rights.” The quote is attributed to Senator Kim Pate. The handle @kimpateonthehill appears at the bottom.
January 17, 2026 at 11:44 PM
Reposted by Mike Patterson
kwardvancouver.bsky.social
Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, UBCIC President:

“By ending the decriminalization pilot, the Province is failing to treat addiction as a public-health issue, not a criminal one, and is doubling down on policies that have already caused immense harm to First Nations.“

www.ubcic.bc.ca/ubcic_deeply...
January 16, 2026 at 6:40 PM