Amy Kaler
@amykaler.bsky.social
320 followers 500 following 150 posts
Writer, sociology professor, Canadian, feminist, internationalist. Concerns: public health, cats, gender, political culture, essays, place-knowledge, religion, survival on hot planet. More here: https://northofhere1.wordpress.com/
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amykaler.bsky.social
“Tom of Finland?”

ACCEPTED.
amykaler.bsky.social
Good reminder, relevant to #abpoli, that the right doesn’t have much of a track record on “compromising” on their aversion to trans people existing (unless you count “they should not exist” as a compromise position). Centrist and left can’t just cede a little bit of ground and hope for detente.
katelynburns.com
I'm so glad you said this, because about 30 seconds ago, I published a newsletter piece detailing how conservatives have dump-trucked through all of the previously established common sense, nuanced, compromise positions on trans rights to get here: burns-notice.ghost.io/what-would-t...
amykaler.bsky.social
No, you’re not really Air Canada.
amykaler.bsky.social
… and @aircanada.bsky.social says they can’t figure out how to issue the refund they promised (although they had no trouble taking payment in the first place); they want me to spend more time on the phone with Aeroplan. Not satisfactory. Air Canada created this problem, Air Canada needs to fix it.
amykaler.bsky.social
Just got reply on X from @aircanada.bsky.social asking for booking info. I sent dm with all details. Will Air Canada finally refund me as promised? Stay tuned.
amykaler.bsky.social
Many things to recoil from following Kirk shooting, including the (apparent) expectation in some quarters that Americans in public eye shd perform grief at Kirk's death - which is v different from just not being a gleeful jerk. Coercive theatre of emotion = bad news for democracy & public sphere.
amykaler.bsky.social
Matthews is aligned with Tim Cartmell’s mini-UCP, Salvador has been a big disappointment on safety + sucking up to private real estate developers, and Dalel appears to be a nonentity with no endorsements and a really AI-ish campaign website, so I guess I’m … writing in some random name.
amykaler.bsky.social
Bleah, campaigning with Kerry Diotte pretty much says it all. So his campaign is all about “pragmatic fiscal tightfistedness”, not really about “make Edmonton better for everyone including people w/o a lot of money of property”. Too bad, I like his coffee shop.
amykaler.bsky.social
Yeah, I saw this. The rationale seems to be “we have to give the Oilers $138 million for giant sports playpen right now bc if we don’t we’ll miss this opportunity to give the Oilers $138 million for giant sports playpen!”. Meanwhile #yegdt looks like a bomb site except with parking lots.
amykaler.bsky.social
#Edmonton #yegdt needs many things (safe transit, public toilets, any signs of life downtown) & a giant sports playpen for the wealthy is none of them. Why did #yegcc throw >$100 million at it? @AshleyASalvador just lost my municipal vote for supporting this giveaway. globalnews.ca/news/1135140...
Edmonton city council approves $400M deal to build event park, village at Ice District - Edmonton | Globalnews.ca
The majority of Edmonton city council approved the $400 million master agreement plan after contentious deliberations on Monday. The vote came down 9 to 4.
globalnews.ca
amykaler.bsky.social
I’m Canadian. What is this protest about? ICE? Trans rights? I tried zooming in on the placards but they’re too blurry to read.
amykaler.bsky.social
The JCCF enters its “win stupid prizes” era.
amykaler.bsky.social
The anti #transgender nonsense in #alberta just keeps pounding away. Here’s why I think the latest gender-verification requirements for girls are #Handmaid’sTale bad. It’s a grand time to be a sociologist.
#abpoli #bill29 #schools

northofhere1.wordpress.com/2025/08/31/y...
Yes, It Really Is Like The Handmaid’s Tale
Yes, Alberta really is like The Handmaid’s Tale and here is why.  In the forty years since Margaret Atwood published The Handmaid’s Tale in 1985, it’s become a cultural touchstone for describing po…
northofhere1.wordpress.com
amykaler.bsky.social
This isn’t quite … a denunciation of queer-targeted book bans. I mean yes it’s a really stupid priority when a strike is imminent, but even if there were perfect labour peace, it would still be wrong to ban books like this. Come on @albertandp.ca, you know what to do.
amykaler.bsky.social
Half-Light is one of four finalists for @abbookpub.bsky.social’s Regional Book of the Year! Winner announced at big fancy gala on September 18.
abbookpub.bsky.social
Shortlisted for Regional Book of the Year, @ualbertapress.bsky.social's HALF-LIGHT is an important meditation on middle age, the meaning of life, the climate catastrophe, and what it means to “go west”. #ABPubShortlist #ABbooks
At the top there is the header: “Regional Book of the Year shortlist.” Below is a Graphic of an open book. On the left page of the book is the book cover for Half Light by Amy Kaler. On the right is the logo for  University of Alberta Press. At the bottom to the left there is the footer: “The 2025 Alberta Book Publishing Awards”. To the bottom right there is a circular badge: “BPAA 50 YEARS”
Reposted by Amy Kaler
andiewinnipeg.bsky.social
Today @mmaroto.bsky.social @amykaler.bsky.social and I are featured in the @thetyee.ca to discuss the mistake employers are making by mandating workers back to the office.
thetyee.ca
The Tyee @thetyee.ca · Aug 25
Canadian employers have been ordering workers back to in-person work through blanket return-to-office policies.

On top of harming workplace equity, these policies have repercussions as children head back to school and respiratory illness season looms, write three experts. 🦠 #canlab
Back-to-Office Orders Are Destructive and Unnecessary | The Tyee
For no reason, employers are risking a disease surge, hurting parents and setting back equity.
thetyee.ca
amykaler.bsky.social
(Jesse Watson = @jesseforyeg on Instagram)
amykaler.bsky.social
(also there’s weirdness going on w affordable housing or absence thereof, despite #yegcc acquiring many parcels of prime land which sit vacant or morph into high-priced rentals. Jesse Watson is doing a series of exposées; don’t know if he’s right abt everything, but doesn’t look good).
amykaler.bsky.social
Salvador isn’t bad exactly, just MIA when it comes to pressing ward problems, esp safety & disorder (other than vague hand-waving towards the province’s delinquency). This leaves the political space open for NIMBYs & law-n-order types to come in with property-rights & cop-centric “solutions”.
amykaler.bsky.social
The #AirCanada strike puts Canadian workers’ rights into focus - we show how everyone benefits when workers have the right to take sick leave & access workplace flexibility policies. Mandatory back-to-office rules create more problems than they solve.
amykaler.bsky.social
I’m not thrilled by my choices either (Ward Metis). It’s kind of like being a Democrat in 2016.
amykaler.bsky.social
At the risk of sounding overly fussy, nobody should have to “pre-order” their own vax. Vax are part of basic public health supplies, not a consumer option. We don’t “pre-order” our own antibiotics or blood transfusions, we’re entitled to them. “Pre-ordering” is the language of privatization.