Recycling seems like a neat solution until we can't dump our garbage on another country and have to deal with it ourselves
China has decided that what goes around doesn’t have to come around – at least not around there. As 2017 came to an end, China stopped importing most recyclables, putting Canadian recyclers in a bind. The Chinese decision also revealed weaknesses in the basic premise of recycling. Many environmentalists regard recycling as imperative for the…
The #MeToo movement has ushered in a revolution that discards hard-won concepts like the presumption of innocence and due process
If anyone doubted that the #MeToo movement has ushered in a revolution, the political execution of Patrick Brown should put those doubts to rest. As in all revolutions, not all the heads that fall into the basket deserve to be there – but the Madame Defarges of this world will gleefully stand by and watch.…
Canadian curriculums fail students when it comes to teaching the content necessary to have informed, intelligent debate
Last fall, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario demanded that Sir John A. Macdonald’s name be stricken from all public schools in the province. More recently, Halifax city council voted to remove the Edward Cornwallis statue that had stood downtown since 1931. Both decisions were vigorously debated and public opinion remains sharply divided. These are…
Don’t blame carbon emissions on weird weather. Corporations and governments have been changing the weather quite intentionally for decades
“How’s the weather?” is far more than a shallow conversation starter. It’s a serious issue. Many would be surprised to know that 100 years ago, the scientific interest in weather surpassed mere observation and advanced into outright modification. A brief survey of mainstream news reports and public documents in the United States confirms a largely…
The uncertain future of Puerto Rico's badly managed power utility (PREPA) should serve as a clear warning to several provincial governments
Public power utilities from B.C. to Newfoundland have expanded enormously, adding copious debt to provinces. This has burdened consumers and businesses with increasingly high power bills and will eventually lower their standards of living. With unsustainable debts, the provinces are going to be in trouble and restructuring looms for these companies. What’s happening in Puerto…
Just as it’s improper for a judge to comment on political matters, it’s completely inappropriate for politicians to comment publicly about court cases
The jury trial of Gerald Stanley, charged with second-degree murder in the death of Colten Boushie, marks a new development in criminal law. The trial itself was not unusual – a jury heard the evidence, deliberated and acquitted the Saskatchewan farmer. It’s what followed the acquittal that’s remarkable. Immediately following the verdict, the most senior…
Canada wants to include social and environmental standards in trade deals. Countries like China aren't interested in anything but economic advancement
If Brett Wilson were still taking business pitches on Dragons’ Den, he would never partner with Canada’s trade negotiators. During a recent television interview, he openly wondered whether the negotiators were “delusional, naïve or stupid.” It seems he settled on stupid, saying: “Right now, we’re trying to build on this social agenda of respect and…
If we had listened to Pierre Trudeau, we would no longer be talking about reconciliation – we would be at least part way there
Reconciliation between Canada’s Indigenous people and mainstream society is a goal all thoughtful Canadians seek. It’s obvious that too many Indigenous people lag far behind other Canadians by most economic and health indicators, and we must find ways to close that gap. It’s worthwhile considering what Prime Minister Trudeau has said: “The weight of history…
You can’t solve problems that can’t be discussed, yet we refuse to have frank and open discussions about a very real crisis
The controversy over comments made by Sen. Lynn Beyak illustrates that it’s virtually impossible to openly discuss Canada’s most important domestic issue: the chronic problems of poverty and unemployment in Indigenous communities. People who disagree with claims that the problem stems from Indigenous victimization – colonialism, bad governmental policy, discrimination, residential schools and the like…
Brutal communist societies did advance economic equality, although what was shared equally was poverty rather than prosperity
Western civilization and liberal democracy are under siege. This isn’t new. We’ve been challenged just in the last century by fascism and communism, by Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Soviet Russia and Red China. One might have expected – and many did– that the ideology of these failed societies would remain in its grave. But,…
China has decided that what goes around doesn’t have to come around – at least not around there. As 2017 came to an end, China stopped importing most recyclables, putting Canadian recyclers in a bind. The Chinese decision also revealed weaknesses in the basic premise of recycling. Many environmentalists regard recycling as imperative for the…
