David Johnston told the unvarnished truth: all Canadians, including aboriginals, are immigrants from somewhere. No apology necessary
Canada’s governor generals have been famous and infamous. They have played large parts in our country’s history. In some cases, the contribution has been dramatic. Where does David Johnston's recent capitulation put him? In 1926, the King-Byng affair kept the country spellbound as it unfolded, after Gov. Gen. Lord Byng refused Prime Minister William Lyon…
The absurdity of a man worth hundreds of millions of dollars playing the race card is truly dismaying
As Game One of the NBA Finals turned into a runaway, ABC/ESPN (owned by Disney Corp.) decided to liven things up with a teaching moment. The otherwise excellent reporter, Doris Burke, was summoned court-side to remind everyone that LeBron James’s home had been spray-painted with the N word. James had already opined to media: “It goes…
Transgender women face high rates of physical, sexual and fatal violence. To combat that, human rights must be at the heart of contemporary Canadian feminism
By Kimberley Ens Manning Concordia University and Julie Temple Newhook Memorial University Earlier this month, Sophie Labelle, a Montreal-based, internationally-renowned transgender author and activist, was subject to a violent cyber attack, including death threats and hate speech. The attackers not only temporarily destroyed her popular website, they also published personal details – including her home address. Labelle is now…
For the CBC and others, a joke about cultural appropriation is more important than, you know, things like real racism
All novelists are liars. Thieves, too. So said the late Mordecai Richler. My friend and I were in the dark at the back at the Bovine Sex Club on Queen West, waiting to see the Minneapolis punk band Off With Their Heads. My friend had just told me the story of how, years ago, he…
Senator's twisted perspective on residential schools and the horrible suffering students went through should not be accepted by the party or other Canadians
Canada’s last Indian residential school closed in 1996. The residential schools experience is not ancient history. Nor was the residential school experience positive, despite comments from Conservative Sen. Lynn Beyak. It’s easy to be blasé about the topic when you’ve never been around First Nation and Metis peoples who attended these institutions. It’s easy to…
What propelled a member of my own family into the arms of a monster like Donald Trump?
My family member is pinned to my wall, like an insect. It’s a bit clinical, perhaps, but it’s apt. Ever since Donald Trump shocked the world, and rode a wave of white resentment and rage into the Oval Office, I’ve been thinking a lot about my relative. He used to be a Canadian, and normal.…
Canada’s governor generals have been famous and infamous. They have played large parts in our country’s history. In some cases, the contribution has been dramatic. Where does David Johnston's recent capitulation put him? In 1926, the King-Byng affair kept the country spellbound as it unfolded, after Gov. Gen. Lord Byng refused Prime Minister William Lyon…
