Elliot Rossiter
@elliotrossiter.bsky.social
Philosophy prof at Douglas College. Currently working on the Changing the Conversation project. Mostly interested in reading stuff related to housing, cities, and justice.
Reposted by Elliot Rossiter
In New West, the political rhetoric has gotten completely out of control, stoked by the New West Progressives. At our Monday council meeting, the two NWP members voted against me attending a conference about countering online harm and misinformation. Meanwhile, on their social media page, there is
November 19, 2025 at 3:55 PM
In New West, the political rhetoric has gotten completely out of control, stoked by the New West Progressives. At our Monday council meeting, the two NWP members voted against me attending a conference about countering online harm and misinformation. Meanwhile, on their social media page, there is
Reposted by Elliot Rossiter
Freshet News - Western Canada's first non-profit news co-operative - is now online. Check it out! #NewWest #Burnaby #Tri-Cities www.freshetnews.ca/a-new-beginn...
A new beginning for local news in Burnaby, New Westminster and the Tri-Cities - Freshet News
The Freshet News is a new voice for Burnaby, New Westminster and the Tri-Cities with a mission to put community back in community news.
www.freshetnews.ca
October 15, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Freshet News - Western Canada's first non-profit news co-operative - is now online. Check it out! #NewWest #Burnaby #Tri-Cities www.freshetnews.ca/a-new-beginn...
One way to address the looming threat of job losses amidst downturn in the housing sector could be to stabilize housing production through countercyclical non-market housing development at scale (in addition to reforms and innovations that make housing production generally more cost-effective).
The Coming Wave of 20,000 Job Losses in Vancouver’s Housing Sector
Policymakers are staring at starts, while sales show the collapse
www.missingmiddleinitiative.ca
October 1, 2025 at 5:17 AM
One way to address the looming threat of job losses amidst downturn in the housing sector could be to stabilize housing production through countercyclical non-market housing development at scale (in addition to reforms and innovations that make housing production generally more cost-effective).
Reposted by Elliot Rossiter
Reposted by Elliot Rossiter
If Dan’s Diner isn’t on your weekly grocery trip #newwest you’re missing out.
I just got my regular three tubs of frozen soups, plus a berry jam.
They’re all made from perfectly good supermarket unsold food.
I just got my regular three tubs of frozen soups, plus a berry jam.
They’re all made from perfectly good supermarket unsold food.
September 22, 2025 at 7:42 PM
If Dan’s Diner isn’t on your weekly grocery trip #newwest you’re missing out.
I just got my regular three tubs of frozen soups, plus a berry jam.
They’re all made from perfectly good supermarket unsold food.
I just got my regular three tubs of frozen soups, plus a berry jam.
They’re all made from perfectly good supermarket unsold food.
Reposted by Elliot Rossiter
The fed gov cuts to pay for military and wealthy tax cuts have rapidly expanded. My new analysis shows that most of the cuts will now be on transfers to other govs, non-profits and people. A stunning 1 in 5 dollars is just cuts to FN govs for basic social programs. @policyalternatives.ca 🧵👇👇
July 17, 2025 at 2:03 PM
The fed gov cuts to pay for military and wealthy tax cuts have rapidly expanded. My new analysis shows that most of the cuts will now be on transfers to other govs, non-profits and people. A stunning 1 in 5 dollars is just cuts to FN govs for basic social programs. @policyalternatives.ca 🧵👇👇
Reposted by Elliot Rossiter
Karyn Pugliese: The NDP’s recovery depends on whether the progressive left still wants a party of its own — or is willing to survive on the scraps of an almost unprecedented Liberal-Conservative alliance.
thetyee.ca/Analysis/202...
thetyee.ca/Analysis/202...
As Carney Redraws the Political Map, Where Do New Democrats Go? | The Tyee
The PM’s spurning of the NDP could generate energy for angered progressive movements.
thetyee.ca
July 10, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Karyn Pugliese: The NDP’s recovery depends on whether the progressive left still wants a party of its own — or is willing to survive on the scraps of an almost unprecedented Liberal-Conservative alliance.
thetyee.ca/Analysis/202...
thetyee.ca/Analysis/202...
I agree that this is an excellent article on the importance of developing much more social housing. Móytel Lalém is a beautiful building with wonderful people living in it like Margaret, who is a pillar of strength and love in the community. May there be many more places like it.
this is a magnificent long read on the complexity of building social housing needed and why we need to, right now. its comprehensive, packed with facts and @sobittersosweet.bsky.social hits it out of the park
21,502 households were on the BC Housing Registry in 2024
thenarwhal.ca/bc-affordabl...
21,502 households were on the BC Housing Registry in 2024
thenarwhal.ca/bc-affordabl...
Climate-friendly affordable housing helps tackle two crises | The Narwhal
B.C.’s non-profit housing sector is building affordable homes that help tackle the housing and climate crises
thenarwhal.ca
June 12, 2025 at 5:02 AM
I agree that this is an excellent article on the importance of developing much more social housing. Móytel Lalém is a beautiful building with wonderful people living in it like Margaret, who is a pillar of strength and love in the community. May there be many more places like it.
The CMHC's 2022 supply gap analysis, where they advocated for tripling housing production (primarily through market supply) to reduce prices by roughly 30-40% in major markets by 2030, has always felt like something of a fantasy to me.
When asked by reporters if he thinks home prices need to go down, he told reporters: “No, I think that we need to deliver more supply, make sure the market is stable.”
globalnews.ca/news/1117941...
globalnews.ca/news/1117941...
Should home prices go down? ’No,’ says Canada’s new housing minister - National | Globalnews.ca
Gregor Robertson, the former Vancouver mayor, was sworn in as housing minister in Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new cabinet on Tuesday.
globalnews.ca
May 14, 2025 at 10:24 PM
The CMHC's 2022 supply gap analysis, where they advocated for tripling housing production (primarily through market supply) to reduce prices by roughly 30-40% in major markets by 2030, has always felt like something of a fantasy to me.
Reposted by Elliot Rossiter
Read Dan, and read @andreawoo.bsky.social, www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic... on an incredible Canadian figure. The Downtown East Side has been a hard place for decades, and it eats people. Trey Helten seems like he was one of the truly archetypal figures in the fight for life and death there.
May 2, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Read Dan, and read @andreawoo.bsky.social, www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic... on an incredible Canadian figure. The Downtown East Side has been a hard place for decades, and it eats people. Trey Helten seems like he was one of the truly archetypal figures in the fight for life and death there.
Tenant protections that prevent renters from being displaced by redevelopment into situations of housing insecurity should be seen as a minimum development standard akin to essential safety infrastructure, basic environmental regulations, and respect for labour rights.
Opinion: Tenant rights shouldn’t be an afterthought during redevelopment
Opinion: Building new supply while protecting existing tenants is not an impossibility akin to violating the laws of physics.
vancouversun.com
May 1, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Tenant protections that prevent renters from being displaced by redevelopment into situations of housing insecurity should be seen as a minimum development standard akin to essential safety infrastructure, basic environmental regulations, and respect for labour rights.
After hearing Carney slip some Aristotelian virtue ethics into his speech last night (virtue is like a muscle that grows with exercise), there was part of me that was hoping that he might continue into more abstruse virtue-theoretic concepts while maintaining the style of political rhetoric.
April 30, 2025 at 6:31 AM
After hearing Carney slip some Aristotelian virtue ethics into his speech last night (virtue is like a muscle that grows with exercise), there was part of me that was hoping that he might continue into more abstruse virtue-theoretic concepts while maintaining the style of political rhetoric.
It was nice to see the NDP's announcement today on renters' rights, including support for national rent control and the legal recognition of tenant unions to collectively bargain with landlords.
www.ndp.ca/news/ndp-end...
www.ndp.ca/news/ndp-end...
NDP to end landlord money grabs and bring in national rent control
HALIFAX – Today, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh announced a plan to fight soaring rents and protect renters, starting by implementing national rent control—a policy that will stop predatory corporate landlo...
www.ndp.ca
April 7, 2025 at 6:31 AM
It was nice to see the NDP's announcement today on renters' rights, including support for national rent control and the legal recognition of tenant unions to collectively bargain with landlords.
www.ndp.ca/news/ndp-end...
www.ndp.ca/news/ndp-end...
Reposted by Elliot Rossiter
I'm reading Stephen Jay Gould's book, Wonderful Life, on the fauna of the Burgess Shale and natural history (I'd love to do the Walcott Quarry hike in Yoho someday). The themes of contingency and path dependence are making me think about the nature of both evolutionary biology and urban planning.
March 3, 2025 at 9:59 PM
I'm reading Stephen Jay Gould's book, Wonderful Life, on the fauna of the Burgess Shale and natural history (I'd love to do the Walcott Quarry hike in Yoho someday). The themes of contingency and path dependence are making me think about the nature of both evolutionary biology and urban planning.
Reposted by Elliot Rossiter
There is no shortage of good ideas for disentangling Canada from the U.S. and investing in more resilient alternatives. What all of these ideas have in common is a foundational belief in and commitment to the public interest.
New from me: www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...
New from me: www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...
Ten Trump-proof nation-building projects for a strong, independent Canada - CCPA
Thanks to decades of concerted action by Canadian businesses and governments—often working in opposition to workers and the broader public interest—the Canadian economy is now deeply integrated with o...
www.policyalternatives.ca
February 25, 2025 at 7:43 PM
There is no shortage of good ideas for disentangling Canada from the U.S. and investing in more resilient alternatives. What all of these ideas have in common is a foundational belief in and commitment to the public interest.
New from me: www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...
New from me: www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...
Are there any politicians in Canada calling for a large-scale public works program (e.g., infrastructure, public housing, jobs guarantee) to counter the recession-inducing effects of US tariffs? This seems like an opportunity for the NDP to distinguish themselves and/or pull the LPC leftward.
February 14, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Are there any politicians in Canada calling for a large-scale public works program (e.g., infrastructure, public housing, jobs guarantee) to counter the recession-inducing effects of US tariffs? This seems like an opportunity for the NDP to distinguish themselves and/or pull the LPC leftward.
Reposted by Elliot Rossiter
is 2025 the year of worker-ownership?
yes
it is.
excited to announce with @brishti.bsky.social and @davidpball.bsky.social that we're launching @debriefcomms.bsky.social, worker-owned collective doing communications work!
yes
it is.
excited to announce with @brishti.bsky.social and @davidpball.bsky.social that we're launching @debriefcomms.bsky.social, worker-owned collective doing communications work!
ATTN BC and Canada:
Announcing Debrief Communications, a brand new initiative created by some of your favourite journalists in town.
We’re a worker-owned collective of journos now offering our skills to help drive your communication goals.
Check out our website: debriefcomms.ca
Announcing Debrief Communications, a brand new initiative created by some of your favourite journalists in town.
We’re a worker-owned collective of journos now offering our skills to help drive your communication goals.
Check out our website: debriefcomms.ca
Debrief Communications: Worker-Owned Collective for Media Services | Debrief Communications
Debrief Communications offers expert writing, editing, and media training workshops. Our worker-owned collective is dedicated to enhancing media literacy and providing comprehensive communications ser...
debriefcomms.ca
February 10, 2025 at 6:28 PM
is 2025 the year of worker-ownership?
yes
it is.
excited to announce with @brishti.bsky.social and @davidpball.bsky.social that we're launching @debriefcomms.bsky.social, worker-owned collective doing communications work!
yes
it is.
excited to announce with @brishti.bsky.social and @davidpball.bsky.social that we're launching @debriefcomms.bsky.social, worker-owned collective doing communications work!
This is an excellent thread, and it reminds me of a line from bell hooks, "What we cannot imagine cannot come into being." The naive cynicism that Solnit describes limits our imagination of what is possible and thus limits what we can become.
I'm exhausted by all the people out there who are trying to prove they're each the most cynical world-weary disillusioned person who's not gonna ever do a fucking thing ever except dump on everything and expect to be admired for that. Wrote about that in 2016:
January 28, 2025 at 10:10 PM
This is an excellent thread, and it reminds me of a line from bell hooks, "What we cannot imagine cannot come into being." The naive cynicism that Solnit describes limits our imagination of what is possible and thus limits what we can become.
Reposted by Elliot Rossiter
Amazon couldn’t stop a historic union drive in Quebec—so now it’s shutting down all its facilities and leaving the province.
Scholar and organizer Mostafa Henaway says the corporate giant is sending an unmistakable message of intimidation to its global workforce.
breachmedia.ca/amazon-quitt...
Scholar and organizer Mostafa Henaway says the corporate giant is sending an unmistakable message of intimidation to its global workforce.
breachmedia.ca/amazon-quitt...
Amazon is quitting Quebec to ‘shock and awe’ workers worldwide ⋆ The Breach
The corporate giant feared a ‘breakthrough’ after Quebec workers unionized and were set to secure the first collective agreement in the world
breachmedia.ca
January 23, 2025 at 11:57 PM
Amazon couldn’t stop a historic union drive in Quebec—so now it’s shutting down all its facilities and leaving the province.
Scholar and organizer Mostafa Henaway says the corporate giant is sending an unmistakable message of intimidation to its global workforce.
breachmedia.ca/amazon-quitt...
Scholar and organizer Mostafa Henaway says the corporate giant is sending an unmistakable message of intimidation to its global workforce.
breachmedia.ca/amazon-quitt...
Reposted by Elliot Rossiter
Want to focus on your community? Consider running for council or school board in your next local election. Our next campaign school starts in February and is 2/3 full already!
docs.google.com/forms/d/1feQ...
docs.google.com/forms/d/1feQ...
Spring 2025 Feminist Campaign School Application
This application is for people wishing to run for local office.
The Feminist Campaign School is for values-aligned candidates who are underrepresented in local government positions because of any par...
docs.google.com
January 21, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Want to focus on your community? Consider running for council or school board in your next local election. Our next campaign school starts in February and is 2/3 full already!
docs.google.com/forms/d/1feQ...
docs.google.com/forms/d/1feQ...
I wonder if it is a distinctive phenomenon of Canadian politics to mix hockey metaphors with calls for austerity governance, all in a spirit of affable good humour.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORCH...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORCH...
“An even better Canada”: Mark Carney announces leadership run for Liberal Party | FULL
YouTube video by Global News
www.youtube.com
January 17, 2025 at 7:40 PM
I wonder if it is a distinctive phenomenon of Canadian politics to mix hockey metaphors with calls for austerity governance, all in a spirit of affable good humour.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORCH...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORCH...
Reposted by Elliot Rossiter
I just want to teach them to write...
January 2, 2025 at 6:00 PM
I just want to teach them to write...
The engagement on these types of threads makes me wonder what the barriers are - and how insurmountable they are - to the seemingly obvious policy synthesis of both upzoning (in a way that minimizes harmful impacts to low-income renters) and gradually but steadily socializing housing production.
it's not a given that the majority of your city's new housing has to, or even needs to be, market rate housing.
December 28, 2024 at 6:16 AM
The engagement on these types of threads makes me wonder what the barriers are - and how insurmountable they are - to the seemingly obvious policy synthesis of both upzoning (in a way that minimizes harmful impacts to low-income renters) and gradually but steadily socializing housing production.