Pandemic chaos and fear turned some otherwise rational doctors into dictators
Leadership carries a high risk for bossiness. Some medical Chiefs gain humility from caring for sick complex patients. It shapes their approach to leadership. Unfortunately, many forget their failures. Others never learned in the first place. Many Chiefs of Staff have never seen sick patients at all. But as chief, they see all the medical…
The unintended consequences of our policy decisions
The tragedy unfolding in Ukraine brings several immediate thoughts to mind. In a dangerous world, being able to look after yourself is highly advantageous We talk a lot about how war has become obsolete, how a rules-based international order can substitute for a robust defence capability, and how attachment to the nation-state is increasingly passé.…
The problem is neither the ideas nor the charged rhetoric, but simply the blatant determination to silence critics
We live in angry, intolerant times. The ideological battles of yesteryear seem downright quaint compared to the swirling mess that currently passes for public debate. Politeness and passion have been replaced with intransigence and condemnation from all across the ideological and cultural spectrum. Nuanced political debates are reduced to black and white standoffs, with combatants…
A closer look at almost every fact-checking organization shows a great deal of politics and vested interests involved
Fact-checking takes us past the spin and straight to the truth. Or maybe not. A closer look at almost every fact-checking organization shows a great deal of politics and vested interests involved. Years ago, I went to Snopes.com whenever someone sent me an email thread I wasn’t sure about. I even recommended to others that…
Vancouver is considering a tax on vehicles entering the downtown. It may well reduce pollution, but at what cost?
One definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing and expecting different results. Another definition might be to do something different and not expect any changes. We all have a tendency to do this. For example, we get married and wonder why we no longer have the same services we had in our…
Just because someone else’s history makes you uncomfortable doesn’t give you a moral licence to erase it from public space
If I were a Brit – which I’m not – I’d be materially annoyed at the vandalization of Winston Churchill’s statue and the related attempts to remove it from its perch in London’s Parliament Square. And in keeping with today’s enthusiasm for rhetorical hyperbole, I’d be tempted to consider it the thin end of the…
Public shaming may reach a new low by looking at how much we eat
Move over flight shaming: environmentalists may be getting ready to target a new group of individuals. Overeaters. Yes, overeating could potentially become the next shaming social media target. For months now, many have taken to social media to spread their concerns about choices made when travelling. The plane has been a special target of environmentalists,…
Ultimately, they want nothing short of a transfer of democratic power to oligarchies of frantic enviro-zealots
Cults obey a logic of their own rather than following the parameters of mainstream logic. Climate zealots who concertedly blockaded bridges and important public roads in order to help the planet against climate change defy common logic. Blockading traffic and at times endangering tens of thousands of commuters to pressure governments to listen to their…
It is, at 236 metres high, one of the tallest office towers in Calgary. It’s architecturally stunning – in part because of the design by world-famous architectural firm Foster + Partners, but also because of its massive scale. When it was completed in 2012, it was among the top 10 architectural projects in the world…
On Thursday, Encana Corp. dropped a major bombshell on Canada’s energy industry – the company plans to move its headquarters to the U.S. early next year, and to rebrand under a new name. Who can blame them? The new name – Ovinitiv Inc. – drops the reference to Canada in their corporate branding. Encana evolved…
Even overlooking the personal smears, record fudging, or repressing the truth, the parties are filled with contradictions of the things they stand for
If there were any idealism left regarding the virtues of Canadian politics, the current federal election campaign is almost certain to have smashed it. Good governance and the common good were not the winners in last week’s English language debate. Thursday's French language debate was a slight improvement, but a one-off exception hardly undoes the…
I ride a bicycle as often as I can, but that doesn’t mean I feel compelled to paint myself silver, wear funny clothes, and block traffic
No one can argue that bicycles are increasingly becoming a major part of the urban landscape. I like bikes: I own two and consider the Tour de France to be one of the greatest athletic events of all time. But did you know that riding in a pack like they do in the Tour de…
We need to get to the roots of problems with Indigenous communities and stop casting blame where it doesn't belong
Maclean’s magazine once declared Winnipeg as “Canada’s most racist city.” Now it’s Thunder Bay’s turn. Thunder Bay is in turmoil after a report slammed its overstretched police force (if not the entire city) for alleged “systemic racism” towards its Indigenous population. Meanwhile, Thompson, Man., deals with Indigenous men filling its courts to overflow while Saskatoon…
We’re behaving as though absolutely nothing we do today will cause future generations to look back at us as backward, insensitive and brutish
There’s a certain myopic moral indignation in the criticism of prominent public figures for having painted their faces, dressed inappropriately, or said or done things in the past that we find offensive today. It’s understandable, for example, that many are offended and disappointed in the conduct of Justin Trudeau. These feelings are justified and important.…
What will it say about our country if Trudeau is re-elected after this latest scandal?
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has experienced one of the most controversial, bizarre and mind-numbing episodes in Canadian political history. It’s damaged his public image and tarnished his reputation. On Sept. 18, Time magazine released a 2001 photo from a school yearbook that showed Trudeau in brownface. He was a 29-year-old teacher at West Point Grey…