Shaun Dean
@shaunpdean.bsky.social
Retired public servant and former political communicator based in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. Musing about how distrust in public institutions rises and spreads when I'm serious. About music, movies, books and pop culture when I'm not
Shifting government thinking from “we can’t” to “how do we do the important thing?” is intriguing. In my GNWT career, it felt like looking for reasons not to do something was the frustrating default reaction to every new idea, with money being the ultimate excuse for preserving the status quo.
What is modern monetary theory? An economist explains how it could help Canada
What is modern monetary theory? An economist explains how it could help Canada
A heterodox school of economic thought known as modern monetary theory has significant implications for how Canadians understand public debt and deficit spending.
theconversation.com
May 27, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Shifting government thinking from “we can’t” to “how do we do the important thing?” is intriguing. In my GNWT career, it felt like looking for reasons not to do something was the frustrating default reaction to every new idea, with money being the ultimate excuse for preserving the status quo.
Deh Cho Bridge across the Deh Cho (Mackenzie) River at Fort Providence, Northwest Territories. (The government wishes it was) #AnotherRoadsideAttraction
May 17, 2025 at 11:28 PM
Deh Cho Bridge across the Deh Cho (Mackenzie) River at Fort Providence, Northwest Territories. (The government wishes it was) #AnotherRoadsideAttraction
Louise Falls on the Hay River in the Northwest Territories, below Alexandra Falls. #AnotherRoadsideAttraction
May 17, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Louise Falls on the Hay River in the Northwest Territories, below Alexandra Falls. #AnotherRoadsideAttraction
Alexandra Falls on the Hay River near Enterprise, Northwest Territories. #AnotherRoadsideAttraction
May 17, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Alexandra Falls on the Hay River near Enterprise, Northwest Territories. #AnotherRoadsideAttraction
Alberta-Northwest Territories Border: 60th North Parallel. #AnotherRoadsideAttraction
May 17, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Alberta-Northwest Territories Border: 60th North Parallel. #AnotherRoadsideAttraction
Peace River, Alberta. Twelve-Foot Davis, who was not twelve feet tall, but made his money on a twelve-foot wide gold claim. #AnotherRoadsideAttraction
May 17, 2025 at 12:28 AM
Peace River, Alberta. Twelve-Foot Davis, who was not twelve feet tall, but made his money on a twelve-foot wide gold claim. #AnotherRoadsideAttraction
Falher, Alberta. World’s Largest Bee. #AnotherRoadsideAttraction
May 16, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Falher, Alberta. World’s Largest Bee. #AnotherRoadsideAttraction
Cabin did a great job of sharing the known knowns, but was there actually information to share most of the time? I suspect that internal disorganization and slow and ineffective decision making meant there wasn’t. Which is not a communications problem, it is a management and response problem.
"those involved with Cabin Radio should be applauded for their efforts and commitment to NWT communities. Still, it is concerning that a third party carried the torch of information sharing, as a stop-gap to a lack of public information available through other means, including government." 3/3
May 15, 2025 at 2:01 AM
Cabin did a great job of sharing the known knowns, but was there actually information to share most of the time? I suspect that internal disorganization and slow and ineffective decision making meant there wasn’t. Which is not a communications problem, it is a management and response problem.
Any emergency management agency has to have full authority to direct all aspects of response. So long as the preferred approach is for individual departments to sit at the table while reserving the right to make their own decisions for themselves response will be muddled and slow.
The NWT must create a dedicated emergency management agency and make Indigenous governments full partners in that, a major review of 2023's wildfires declared.
NWT’s 2023 wildfire review calls for new approach to emergencies
The NWT must create a dedicated emergency management agency and make Indigenous governments full partners in that, a major review of 2023's wildfires declared.
cabinradio.ca
May 15, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Any emergency management agency has to have full authority to direct all aspects of response. So long as the preferred approach is for individual departments to sit at the table while reserving the right to make their own decisions for themselves response will be muddled and slow.
Telling the government what matters to you is an important way to help shape its decisions and exercise your democratic rights between elections.
haveyoursay.nwt-tno.ca/budget-dialo...
haveyoursay.nwt-tno.ca/budget-dialo...
May 14, 2025 at 3:36 AM
Telling the government what matters to you is an important way to help shape its decisions and exercise your democratic rights between elections.
haveyoursay.nwt-tno.ca/budget-dialo...
haveyoursay.nwt-tno.ca/budget-dialo...
Interesting. PMs have traditionally been reluctant to put a northerner in ministries that deal with the north. Maybe a good sign that Carney intends to move away from treating the region like a dependency to be ruled, instead of a partner in Confederation.
NWT MP Rebecca Alty is Canada's new minister of Crown-Indigenous relations, becoming the territory's first federal minister in nearly 20 years.
Rebecca Alty becomes NWT’s first federal minister since 2006
NWT MP Rebecca Alty is Canada's new minister of Crown-Indigenous relations, becoming the territory's first federal minister in nearly 20 years.
cabinradio.ca
May 13, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Interesting. PMs have traditionally been reluctant to put a northerner in ministries that deal with the north. Maybe a good sign that Carney intends to move away from treating the region like a dependency to be ruled, instead of a partner in Confederation.
Took my kid to see TMBG play two nights in the rain in San Diego two years ago. It was a whole lot of fun.
May 13, 2025 at 4:41 AM
Took my kid to see TMBG play two nights in the rain in San Diego two years ago. It was a whole lot of fun.
I was a little alarmed by today’s coverage of this story, which basically treated it as a serious and legitimate trade deal, not the denouement of a ridiculous whim. Normalizing the crazy by “analyzing” it as if it was real news is not helpful.
He embarrassed himself—and all of us—and got _nothing_ in return. And we’re _still_ going to experience shortages and price increases this summer. To which CNN has now responded by...
...praising this asshole and his whole political team.
I would say “unbelievable,” but it’s all too believable.
...praising this asshole and his whole political team.
I would say “unbelievable,” but it’s all too believable.
May 13, 2025 at 4:36 AM
I was a little alarmed by today’s coverage of this story, which basically treated it as a serious and legitimate trade deal, not the denouement of a ridiculous whim. Normalizing the crazy by “analyzing” it as if it was real news is not helpful.
Mundare, Alberta. World’s Largest Sausage, “commemorating a century of sausage making”. #AnotherRoadsideAttraction
May 13, 2025 at 12:46 AM
Mundare, Alberta. World’s Largest Sausage, “commemorating a century of sausage making”. #AnotherRoadsideAttraction
Vegreville, Alberta: World’s Largest Pysanka (Ukrainian Easter Egg). #AnotherRoadsideAttraction
May 12, 2025 at 11:47 PM
Vegreville, Alberta: World’s Largest Pysanka (Ukrainian Easter Egg). #AnotherRoadsideAttraction
Innisfree, Alberta, home of the Cut Bank Penguin. #AnotherRoadsideAttraction
May 12, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Innisfree, Alberta, home of the Cut Bank Penguin. #AnotherRoadsideAttraction
Wainwright, Alberta. Canada’s Largest Bison Statue. #AnotherRoadsideAttraction
May 12, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Wainwright, Alberta. Canada’s Largest Bison Statue. #AnotherRoadsideAttraction
Cut Knife, Saskatchewan: World’s Largest Tomahawk. #AnotherRoadsideAttraction
May 12, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Cut Knife, Saskatchewan: World’s Largest Tomahawk. #AnotherRoadsideAttraction
North Battleford, Saskatchewan. A larger than average Mountie. #AnotherRoadsideAttraction
May 12, 2025 at 6:05 PM
North Battleford, Saskatchewan. A larger than average Mountie. #AnotherRoadsideAttraction
Kenaston, Saskatchewan. Home of the “famous Kenaston Snowman, one of the tallest freestanding snowmen in the world”. #AnotherRoadsideAttraction
May 9, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Kenaston, Saskatchewan. Home of the “famous Kenaston Snowman, one of the tallest freestanding snowmen in the world”. #AnotherRoadsideAttraction
Davidson, Saskatchewan. Half-way between Regina and Saskatoon and a good place to stop for a coffee. #AnotherRoadsideAttraction
May 9, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Davidson, Saskatchewan. Half-way between Regina and Saskatoon and a good place to stop for a coffee. #AnotherRoadsideAttraction
This Golden Knights pre-game show is pure Vegas, and an embarrassment for the NHL.
May 9, 2025 at 1:43 AM
This Golden Knights pre-game show is pure Vegas, and an embarrassment for the NHL.
CN main line at Waldron, SK. We’re about 100 metres from the track and I can sit in the living room and watch the freight roll by; grain and oil cars heading west and flatbeds loaded with sea cans headed east from the Port of Vancouver towards the population centres of Central Canada.
May 8, 2025 at 6:27 PM
CN main line at Waldron, SK. We’re about 100 metres from the track and I can sit in the living room and watch the freight roll by; grain and oil cars heading west and flatbeds loaded with sea cans headed east from the Port of Vancouver towards the population centres of Central Canada.
Lesia, the World’s Tallest Ukrainian woman, bearing traditional welcome gifts of bread and salt. Canora, Saskatchewan. #AnotherRoadsideAttraction #SlavaUkraini
May 7, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Lesia, the World’s Tallest Ukrainian woman, bearing traditional welcome gifts of bread and salt. Canora, Saskatchewan. #AnotherRoadsideAttraction #SlavaUkraini
C’mon people, this is a preventable disease….
May 5, 2025 at 7:58 PM
C’mon people, this is a preventable disease….