Harassment such as that experienced by Rempel Garner and Trudeau must be immediately condemned
Canada’s federal election campaign just passed the two-week mark. Alas, we’ve already witnessed an invasion of the privacy of some politicians in public and private spaces. There was the Aug. 27 disruption of a Liberal rally in Bolton, Ont. Dozens of protesters, ranging from government critics to opponents of COVID-19 masks and vaccine passports, yelled…
Just like any human institution, religions are in a constant state of evolution. Just like any human, religious leaders make mistakes
Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship…
Without safeguards, the abuse of dream tech is inevitable
By 2030, could an agency record everything we dream? Danish member of parliament Ida Auken thought so. In her 2016 blog post on the World Economic Forum’s website and republished by Forbes, “Welcome to 2030: I Own Nothing, Have No Privacy and Life Has Never Been Better,” Auken envisioned a person saying, “Once in a…
Building viable businesses and services on First Nations is the best way to build self-respect, self-determination and self-reliance
There’s little doubt that the condition of Indigenous people is desperate in Canada, especially for those living in the 600 or so small, isolated First Nations communities. Most Canadians know some facts about the quality of lives of the people in these communities but let’s refresh our minds with a few statistics. First Nations have…
The Islamist group has killed tens of thousands and displaced more than 2.3 million people since 2009
The world reacted with shock and horror when 276 Nigerian schoolgirls were kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014. Some of the girls managed to escape, others were rescued by military forces, but many were coerced into serving the group’s terrorist agenda, some acting as suicide bombers. While the mass abduction in the small Nigerian town…
Cancel culture slaughters reputations, leaving its victims to endure financial uncertainty, isolation, bewilderment and pain
The riot that produced the U.S. Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump has its analogue in the cancel culture rampaging through North American institutions. Neither cancels the other, of course. Both are horrid, each in its especially hideous way. The Jan. 6 attack on America’s federal Capitol destroyed institutional property, mobbed and halted the democratic…
New findings an important step toward developing potential new treatments for mental health disorders
A groundbreaking new study has shown that traumatic or stressful events in childhood may lead to tiny changes in key brain structures that can now be identified decades later. The study is the first to show that trauma or maltreatment during a child’s early years – a well-known risk factor for developing mental health conditions such as…
While mostly ceremonial, it can still mean something very important
The embarrassing schmozzle involving our most recent governor general, Julie Payette, has a lot of Canadians questioning why we still have a vice-regal. Actually, the close brush with a self-appointed president-for-life just to the south of us provides a pretty compelling reason for Canada to hang on to the seemingly archaic tradition of having a…
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…
Social services providing online help amid pandemic need to be aware of how technology can be used and misused, argues U of A researcher
Social service providers must be more alert to the role of social media and communications technology in domestic abuse, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new commentary co-written by a University of Alberta graduate student. Since the pandemic began, social service providers have been aiding their clients online as some shelters and other…
Canada’s federal election campaign just passed the two-week mark. Alas, we’ve already witnessed an invasion of the privacy of some politicians in public and private spaces. There was the Aug. 27 disruption of a Liberal rally in Bolton, Ont. Dozens of protesters, ranging from government critics to opponents of COVID-19 masks and vaccine passports, yelled…
