Why the headlong rush into expansion while so many questions remain?
Just six years after legalization, the availability of assisted suicide in Canada is about to expand again. But members of Parliaments and senators who’ll tackle these life-and-death questions don’t have enough time to consider all the weighty matters before them. Much less have they taken stock of how assisted suicide has affected the entire health-care…
It certainly isn't any sense of national purpose
As long as I’ve been following politics (which is almost as long as I’ve been alive), the question of what defines Canada has provided unsatisfying answers. Polls typically tell us that some combination of the Charter of Rights, our health care system, and the fact that we are not American top the list. Canadians generally…
For someone who was allegedly not up to the job, Trudeau has made significant achievements in support of his policy agenda
The first day of Canada’s Election#44 campaign involved critics accusing Prime Minister Trudeau of selfishly calling an election as a vanity project seeking a majority government. The prime minister naturally rejected that allegation, noting that pivotal decisions need to be made as Canada emerges from the pandemic, suggesting voters’ upcoming decision would be “maybe the…
Houses of worship are as much an essential service for our physical needs as grocery stores
Springtime – which includes observances like Easter, Passover and Ramadan – seems a good time to bust the popular Canadian myth that religion is a completely private, personal matter with little relevance for broader Canadian society. New evidence from the Angus Reid Institute, in partnership with the think-tank Cardus, indicates the opposite is true: religion…
The longer the pandemic and the necessity of restrictions drags on, the costlier it becomes for our inner selves
If mommy kisses Santa Claus this Christmas, hopefully they’ll be in the same household bubble. After all, COVID-19 means this is going to be a holiday like no other we’ve experienced before. Canadians’ plans for the holiday season are a reminder to all of us – but especially to those making decisions about lockdowns and…
Just because politicians and activists are gung-ho about expanding medical assistance in dying (MAID) doesn’t mean all Canadians are so enthusiastic. If anything, Canadians would tell the politicians it’s time to slow down and broaden the discussion on Parliament Hill. A parliamentary committee recently rushed through witness testimony on Bill C-7. The bill would expand…
The year’s hardships, and concern for what’s next in 2021, can refocus our vision and practices at the personal and social levels
As we enter the final quarter of this year, many Canadians are likely more than ready to say goodbye and good riddance to 2020, the year of the pandemic. But what if, in some ways at least, 2021 could actually be even more difficult? Consider this: Besides killing nearly 10,000 Canadians and more than one…
It’s time to reflect not just on what politics is doing to our democracy but what it’s doing to us
Let’s begin by wishing U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump a full and speedy recovery following their positive COVID-19 testing. The text below was drafted before this diagnosis was known and reflects on the toxicity of public discourse for which the president is partly culpable. Some of the social media response to…
Contrition that’s merely on the lips changes nothing in the heart or, for that matter, around the waistline, within the workplace, inside troubled relationships
It’s traditional to head into a new year full of resolve fuelled by last year’s regret. Our commitment to renewed discipline, diets and dream-achieving over the coming 12 months is all too often driven by short-term overindulgence during Christmas festivities. More importantly, there’s a lingering sense of another year lost by not doing what we…
Closing politics and public life to those who are religious leaves us with a less tolerant society that brings fundamental freedoms into question
Disagreement is normal, if not necessary, in a healthy democracy. Being intolerant and disrespectful toward those with whom we disagree, however, is fatal to that democracy. Historically, Canadians have had the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (and the Bill of Rights before it) for protection. That’s especially important for racial, religious, political or sexual minorities,…