Middle Aged and Out of Touch

Komokwa Mask

Frog Mask

Marley Moose is spending her third summer planting trees in northern Manitoba as part of a crew trying to help Mother Nature regenerate forests destroyed by wildfires. But that goal has become more challenging with the cancellation of a federal program that aimed to plant two billion trees by 2030. "Everywhere around me is burnt, but it's where life used to be, so we're back here giving life back to these dead areas," said Moose, 22, efficiently digging a hole and slipping tiny jack pine and black spruce trees into the ground.

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Newfoundland and Labrador's transport minister says changing school start times would save between $5 million to 6 million per year, as the province looks for feedback on the newly-proposed schedules. Last week NL Schools sent out a survey to families, asking about changing the start and end times for dozens of schools in the province. Some start times could change by up to an hour, starting in September 2027.  Transportation Minister Barry Petten said the new schedules would require fewer buses as it would use a “double run” system. Older students would have later start times, he said, as studies show benefits for the age range.

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📷 Bob Oswald

Forster's Tern in a steep dive.

I am begging the UK trans community and its allies to attend the Mass Lobby at Parliament on June 25th, 11am-4pm, organised by Trans Solidarity Alliance.

The new EHRC Code of Practice pushes trans people out of toilets, hospital wards, and community spaces. It normalises gender policing based on appearance and stereotypes. It becomes statutory guidance in the UK by the end of June.

Trans people are now legally their assigned gender at birth and must join gendered spaces accordingly, but if they are perceived as their lived gender, they can also be ejected from those spaces. The guidance says: either break the law, or don’t pass too well.

A mass lobby is where you invite your MP to discuss your concerns with you in-person. Ask your MP to:

Demand full parliamentary scrutiny, debate, and use their free vote on the EHRC Code of Practice.

Support any motions rejecting the EHRC guidance. As of June 4th, Labour MP Nadia Whittome has submitted a prayer motion - Early Day Motion 240.

Write to Bridget Phillipson, the Minister for Women and Equalities about our concerns

Your MP does not have to be an ally, they do not have to respond to your email for you to show up and greencard them (details below the cut.) What matters is that as many people as possible show up.

I cannot stress this enough: Showing up in person matters. It is much more effective than petitions, emails, and letters.

It is a horrible, stressful time, and I am so sorry if you're trans and live in the UK. But I was at last year's mass lobby and the line for greencarding alone stretched around the back gates. It was a record breaking mass lobby and made us impossible to ignore. Let's do even better this time. Details under the cut:

ICE has detained over 500 babies and toddlers under Trump

On an average day, ICE has 25 children aged 3 or younger in custody, according to joint research by MS NOW and The Marshall Project.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is halfway through a two-day trip to Washington, D.C. to talk trade, with no events open to the media Monday and limited visibility as to exactly what he’s up to beyond a few social media posts. The Premier posted a photo of himself with Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., Mark Wiseman, on the rooftop of the Canadian embassy with the U.S. Capitol building in the background, along with Ontario Trade Minister Vic Fedeli. The post said he “kicked off” the D.C. trip speaking to Wiseman about “how we can work together to make the case for a tariff-free trade in North America.”

Really nice recipes. Every hour.