If we want peace and a better future for Palestinians, we must hold Palestinian officials accountable for their anti-peace actions
The Canadian government is sending $25 million of taxpayers’ money to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which is uniquely dedicated to supporting Palestine refugees. But does Canada’s financial aid advance the cause of peace or impede it? Some observers say that UNRWA actively supports Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood movement dedicated to the destruction…
Fairy tales impart pro-social values and are full of lessons for the young. We do our children no favours when we read lust and sexual assault into them
In Casablanca, the greatest movie ever made, Dooley Wilson (as Sam) sings: “You must remember this/ A kiss is just a kiss/ A sigh is just a sigh.” Sarah Hall of North Shields, England, would disagree. For her, a kiss, such as that bestowed by the handsome prince on Sleeping Beauty, teaches impressionable youngsters that…
The energy revolution has brought conventional utilities to the brink, only to discover that solar and wind power can’t be relied on
Australia’s new National Energy Guarantee (NEG) has a sad, dangerous resemblance to Canadian policy. It’s a desperate attempt to make renewable energy projects viable when they’re not. The idea is to always have ‘dispatchable power’ – alternative sources – available to relieve brownouts and blackouts that result from an increasing dependency on renewable power. The…
Everyday people who want to make money from their homes are opposed by unions protecting their members from competition
“There’s no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation,” Pierre Trudeau, then justice minister of Canada, famously said in 1967. Fifty years later, this statement is no longer true. People who are straight, gay, transgendered or otherwise can’t necessarily get a room for the night from anyone willing to rent. No, when…
Winnipeg's decision to go with new curbside collection providers ramps up unnecessary costs for taxpayers as the market for recyclables softens
The City of Winnipeg’s intended austerity budget predictably nickels and dimes ratepayers, with rate increases and service cuts in response to lower than expected provincial transfers. But city council has thrown away tens of millions of dollars in available savings on garbage collections and recycling. In September 2016, independent pollsters found that 93 per cent…
On the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, some romantics still embrace the fallacies of communism and its sister socialism
A number of Canadian newspapers recently noted the 100th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution. The attention was misplaced and lacked perspective. In 1917, a small band of fierce, committed and violent extremists seized control of the Tsarist Russian Empire. They then created the much more oppressive and murderous Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. After the success…
In his important book Firewater, Harold Johnson talks about the enormous problem of alcohol abuse that plagues so many Indigenous communities
What is the ’60s Scoop and why should a conversation about it still matter to Canadians today? The ’60s Scoop has been much in the news recently, and I expect we’ll hear much more about it in the coming weeks and years. I’m guessing there are already plans to make it the subject of the…
First Nations should take an inventory of their cultural, spiritual and ecological assets, then develop ways to present them to tourists
Many years ago, I learned an important lesson about tourism while travelling on Via Rail. As a first-class passenger, I enjoyed sitting in the dome car, where I could get a full view of the countryside. At one point, I zoned out and someone was trying to get my attention. Pointing outside, he gestured at…
Marijuana legalization opponents say long-term health and social costs will be significant
Legalize and tax marijuana and the budget will balance itself. Marijuana advocates from stoners to recreational users to the prime minister have tried to convince us of this for years. But they’re all wrong. It makes some sense that a product so commonly used should be regulated rather than criminalized, sending its newly-enabled taxation revenues…
How the Saskatchewan government’s predatory lending practices doomed the Meadow Lake pulp mill
Saskatchewan’s Meadow Lake pulp mill was doomed from the beginning. The repercussions are still being felt, according to a new research paper. It’s been decades since the government of Grant Devine (he was premier from 1982 to 1991) was in power in Saskatchewan. But traces of the Conservative premier’s economic decisions remain. The Meadow Lake…
The Canadian government is sending $25 million of taxpayers’ money to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which is uniquely dedicated to supporting Palestine refugees. But does Canada’s financial aid advance the cause of peace or impede it? Some observers say that UNRWA actively supports Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood movement dedicated to the destruction…
