It’s high time to evaluate the possibility of a guaranteed minimum income, for greater financial equity for all
Every month, Statistics Canada reminds us that life is getting more expensive. But for food, the situation has been unique over the last few decades. Based on numbers released recently, the price of a typical grocery basket has increased by about 240 per cent since 2000. Some will think such a percentage is expected, given…
COVID-19 concerns could open parents’ eyes to the crucial benefits of kitchen-table learning
David is the father of three children. While pushing his kids on the swings at his local park in Ottawa, he confesses to other parents at the playground that he’s concerned about putting his kids back in school because of COVID-19. However, he’s also worried about keeping them home in case they fall behind. The…
Pandemic inspires University of Alberta innovation in emergency and critical care
A potential need sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic has inspired an Edmonton team of clinicians and academics to build a better cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) board for use in emergency departments and intensive care units (ICUs). Because of COVID-19’s attack on the lungs, many patients in emergency departments and intensive care are placed on their bellies…
According to reports, the Trudeau government may unveil a national pharmacare program in Wednesday’s throne speech in Ottawa. The program may be based on last year’s Hoskins’ report, which recommended an expensive top-down Medicare-style approach that would artificially set drugs prices, restrict patient choice and limit private alternatives. Not only would such a program drive…
Elections will turn us away from dealing with the real issues. And we don't seem to have the means to conduct safe voting
We would really like to have many things right now, even though the prospect of getting them any time soon is rather low. A vaccine against COVID-19 is likely at the top of the list. A bit more certainty about our work and social prospects is probably a close second. Instead of dealing with the…
Politicians like the late prime minister are sources of inspiration for public service, intelligent discourse and common decency
John Turner, Canada’s 17th prime minister, passed away on Sept. 19 at the age of 91. A lawyer by trade, he had a serious relationship with Princess Margaret and was an Olympic-calibre athlete in track and field. He served as a Liberal MP from 1962 to 1976 in two ridings, St. Lawrence-St. George and Ottawa-Carleton,…
For Pamela Mayne Correia, the most satisfying cases are the ones she helps solve with the scarcest of skeletal remains
Forensic anthropology requires guts of steel but there was one disturbing case even Pamela Mayne Correia found hard to stomach. The University of Alberta anthropologist was called in to help reconstruct and identify human remains after one of Canada’s worst mass murders, the 1992 bombing of nine replacement workers during a strike-lockout at the Giant gold mine in…
Road to Reconciliation begins when Indigenous people can stand on their own two feet financially and when their quality of life increases
Editor’s note: Indigenous communities across Canada are learning how to prosper in a new era of co-operation in oil and gas development. Setting aside old grievances, industry, government and First Nations communities are working together to ensure that, as equal partners, Canada’s Indigenous peoples enjoy employment and that sustainable growth trickles down to them. In…
The federal government is apparently preparing massive regulation of the Internet, pandering to the views of niche lobby groups
The nation’s cultural policies may soon switch from protecting Canada from foreign influences to depending on them. That’s because Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault seems determined to shift the burden of funding the nation’s cultural industries to foreign companies. The details of the new communications legislation Guilbeault’s been promising remain under wraps. But he’s strongly signalling…
The world is past the era of growing crude oil demand and it may never recover to pre-pandemic levels
The crude games continue. While crude oil markets continue to be sloppy, despite the possibility of a small bull run just before the weekend, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies in OPEC-plus are opting to keep their cards close to their chests. Avoiding any hint about their next steps, after their virtual…