Contrary to what the New York Times and AP claim, these children are not “highly motivated young recruits"
By Ann Fitz-Gerald and Hugh Segal Macdonald-Laurier Institute When the recent conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region first flared in November 2020, with an unprovoked violent attack by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) on federal forces, the Western media and many aid donors chose their side early on – and it was not Prime Minister…
We have to start demanding that politicians start making some tough choices
Fifty-seven thousand dollars. That’s the average amount each Canadian will owe in provincial and federal government debt by the end of the year. It’s not just the rich or big corporations that will be mopping up this budget mess if politicians don’t take some air out of their bloated budgets. Politicians are already starting to…
The role of government in a democracy isn’t to create barriers to free choice
As parts of the world begin to turn the corner with COVID-19, the discussion related to mandatory COVID-19 vaccine passports has started to intensify. A vaccine passport is a document that confirms an individual’s full immunization against COVID-19. It will contain a proper record of the COVID-19 vaccine doses that a person received and may…
Oh, dear, the statue-defacing vigilantes are at it again! One of the latest targets is erstwhile Canadian feminist icon Emily Murphy (no relation). Her Edmonton statue got the red paint treatment in mid-July. Predictably, the ‘racist’ epithet was deployed. Indeed, the National Post’s news story went beyond merely noting the racist allegation. It accepted it…
Daily positive messages are designed to help emergency personnel cope with trauma of the job, similar to successful Text4Hope
Two free text messaging services have been launched to support the mental health of Alberta’s first responders. Text4PTSI and Text4Well-being are designed to help emergency personnel cope positively with feelings of stress, anxiety, depression, disturbed sleep and suicidal thoughts, said project lead Vincent Agyapong, clinical professor of psychiatry and global mental health in the University of Alberta Faculty…
Decoupling will be difficult and costly, but is a necessity
Several factors have induced Western governments and the firms they preside over to find substitute supply chains for the China-dominant ones they depend on. These factors include growing public revulsion at the repressive and persecutory policies the Chinese Communist Party has for its ethnic, religious and other minorities or critics; the increasingly aggressive expansionary moves…
Mainstream media may have lit the fuse, but there were accomplices
Mainstream media lit a fuse, and churches are burning. Nearly two dozen to date and a greater number have been vandalized with graffiti, paint-dipped handprints, and splatter. Some congregations have accepted acts of vandalism as a visual lesson on the road to reconciliation. Others wonder if their place of worship is safe, or a safe…
Discrimination is actuallly less pervasive in more competitive industries
One of the favourite myths peddled by proponents of government control is that under the free-market system discrimination is rife and leads to unfair outcomes for minorities, women, and other groups. Thus, they say, we need government regulation to correct this unfairness and equalize outcomes. The myth persists despite having been repeatedly debunked over decades,…
Declining Chinese demand, a rising rig count in the United States and a devastating resurgence of COVID-19 in Asia all play a role
It has been a fluctuating week for the oil markets. In the immediate aftermath of the agreement within the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies in OPEC+, crude prices fell by a devastating seven per cent on July 19. However, with signs of demand holding despite the spread of the Delta COVID-19 variant,…
We have a major opportunity to reframe the roles and responsibilities of corporate stewardship
In 1970, Novel laureate Milton Friedman proposed that an enterprise’s sole responsibility was to shareholders by maximizing profits: “the social mission of business is making profits, period, with other social goals best left to politics.” Corporate duty to maximize shareholder value, or shareholder primacy, has emerged as the dominant principle for free-market capitalism. This capitalist…
G7 countries will further cripple their economies by pursuing their green energy fantasies
At their meeting in June, G7 leaders agreed to a greenhouse gas emissions target of “net zero” by 2050. That would require phasing out fossil fuels that currently supply 84 per cent of global energy. But how? The common reply is “putting a price on carbon,” i.e., carbon taxes. But unless there’s a viable alternative,…
The conservative intellect is lost in the proverbial forest
It’s officially silly season, with campaign-style announcements, candidate nominations, and parties ramping up fundraising and logistical planning, signalling a federal election is on the horizon. Incredibly, Teflon-Trudeau remains high in the polls, with a two-dose summer has Canadians spending and optimistic about the future, making it a perfect time to pull the plug on an…
Rogue state is using intimidation tactics against Canadians, including personal threats and attacks on character
If Canadians believe the threat of a communist superpower expired decades ago, they’re wrong. The Union of Soviet Socialistic Republics (U.S.S.R.) may be long dead, but the Chinese dragon is alive and well. In 1970, KGB disinformation agent Yuri Bezmenov defected from the U.S.S.R. and became a Canadian citizen with the adopted name Tomas Schuman.…
Latest technology will test how well different breeds convert the power of the sun, offering hope of better yields for farmers
A University of Alberta researcher is working to capture the power of sunshine to boost canola yield for western Canadian farmers. Over the next three years, plant scientist Linda Gorim of the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences (ALES) will assess up to 300 breeding lines of canola from around the world to find out which are…
Troy Media publisher Doug Firby and Travel editor Lisa Monforton are part of a group of Canadians who call themselves ConnecTour. Starting in May in British Columbia and ending in October in Newfoundland, they hope to make an 8,000-km bicycle journey across the country, discovering how the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped our lives and our…
By Ann Fitz-Gerald and Hugh Segal Macdonald-Laurier Institute When the recent conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region first flared in November 2020, with an unprovoked violent attack by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) on federal forces, the Western media and many aid donors chose their side early on – and it was not Prime Minister…
