History shows plenty of radicals who pushed too hard. We have plenty on today’s world stage
In the summer and autumn of 1789, the French National Assembly overturned 1,000 years of law and custom to produce a modern constitutional democracy. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen spelled out all the new conditions of civil life: the abolition of feudalism and aristocratic titles, freedom from arbitrary arrest,…
The days are increasingly short and grey, but nature is on full display everywhere we look
I’m looking out of our living room window on a predominantly grey sea and landscape. The eye first trips over some close-in treetops before it encompasses five km of Jervis Inlet, leading to Scotch Fir Point in the mid-distance. The bulk of Texada Island beckons in the further background, hiding whatever it wishes behind its…
How we can help our children be comfortable and happy in their own skin
My five-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter has an eye for fashion. She has her favourite outfits and she is fond of accessories. She likes to wear beads like Granny and my earrings are a source of great interest. It’s all very cute and sweet, but I wonder if I should compliment her less frequently on her attire. I…
Creative solutions to complex and challenging problems come from a willingness to constructively navigate civilized disagreements
Conflict is natural and often unavoidable. But when emotion takes centre stage, it can lead to hostility. We've all encountered unproductive, frustrating or infuriating situations. We know how they make us feel. What's often less obvious is the degree to which nonverbal nuances contributed to the problem. Take the way our facial micro gestures (specifically around…
Certainly there are factors beyond domestic control, but some simple regulatory changes and a general will to help industry will go a long way
Andrew Leach, an energy and environmental economist at the University of Alberta, recently observed that a number of things challenge the oil and gas industry in Canada, particularly the oil sands sector. And some of those challenges aren’t the fault of Canadian politicians or environmental activists. He noted that the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers…
And what does that matter more than other qualities when it comes to electing politicians?
Society has become obsessed with identity. I’m old enough to remember when there was only one channel on the television and just two sexes. Humans came packaged as either male or female and vive la différence! Now I’m told that there are many, many genders: agender, genderqueer, neutrois, pangender, transgender, androgyne, bigender, transmaculine and two-spirit,…
Cherry was fired for making controversial remarks about immigrants; Trudeau was re-elected after it was revealed he wore blackface 3 times. Ironic?
Don Cherry, one of Canada’s best-known media personalities, was fired by Sportsnet after a rant about immigrants, poppies and Remembrance Day. His termination shockingly happened mere hours after the memorial ceremonies had ended. Was it justified? When it comes to this bombastic, politically incorrect and controversial figure affectionately known as “Grapes,” shades of grey barely…
Take your mind off automatic pilot and get it to work for you rather than against you
When left to our own devices, we humans have the capacity to create 'worst case scenarios' that play around in our heads unchecked and often without boundaries. When this happens, it paralyzes us and prevents us from speaking up when someone hurts our feelings, springing into action on an exciting opportunity or doing what needs…
As Sportsnet trims costs and their cantankerous commentator missteps, the outcome seems likely
You have to hand it to Don Cherry. Only the bombastic star of Coach’s Corner could give the cause of the war dead a bad name. Cue Saturday night’s Hockey Night In Canada. Cherry had exchanged his usual floral table cloths for a blazer with a military crest to recall Remembrance Day. Much to the…
As Trump upsets the world order, many countries may feel they have no choice but to develop nuclear weapons
What will the world look like in 50 years – or even 10? One of the rather unsettling possibilities is that the future will have to accommodate a Germany with nuclear arms. For the short period after the Second World War that the United States was the only nuclear power, the world was stable. But…