Maybe the problem isn’t the mischief-makers who are planting claims. Maybe it’s the social media themselves that are the problem
Did you know that the Covid-19 virus was created by the emergence of 5G networks? I know this information may come as a bit of a shock to you, but it’s from a doctor in the U.S., so, you know, we have to take it seriously. Dr. Thomas Cowan claimed in a video released on…
Protesters have silenced free speech through a combination of media pressure, inflated security costs claims, boycotts, riots and violence
The Cancel Culture has claimed another victim. Renowned poet George Elliott Clarke has backed out of giving the University of Regina’s Woodrow Lloyd Lecture over accusations from Indigenous activists that he associates with another poet with a criminal background. His talk was to have been titled ‘Truth and Reconciliation;’ versus the ‘Murdered and Missing’: Examining…
New tolerance demands that we accept either the most popular view or the view of the most vocal group or shut up
“I am intolerant of intolerance” has become something of a mantra for suppressing unpopular opinions. Today’s “new tolerance”, as it is called in academic circles, is redefining our understanding of tolerance and shaping our behaviour in public spaces, but it is no friend to the exercise of conscience and freedom of speech. In the past,…
Mental health professionals offer a public service to help us recognize the danger signs and risks of having a tyrant in office and how to disarm them
Tyrannical leaders share certain qualities. In essence, they live under a tremendous fear of being overthrown. Through their actions, almost without exception, they inadvertently make this fear a reality. I know how fortunate I am to live in a free country. I will never forget my first experience of no longer having the freedom to…
May we always have the freedom to ask the difficult questions and the courage to seek the difficult answers
Over the years, I’ve found that being authentic is one of the most important qualities I need to display with my students. From time to time, this requires me to admit that I’m wrong. I once corrected a student who was putting on a stereotypical Indigenous accent. His reply was, “I’m part Indigenous, this is…
The value of free inquiry is the very reason for universities, and it’s the foundation of free and democratic societies
Free speech is under siege on many university campuses, including in Canada. Professors, administrators and students are ‘deplatforming’ invited guests, or disrupting and disparaging their fellow academics who fail to toe the politically correct party line. With precious little evidence, these speakers are said to be “sexist,” “racist” or “Islamophobic.” So closed-minded enforcers, just like…
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,…
Mounting student debt and irrelevant fields of study have left us with a frustrated and unproductive young population
Last summer, the federal government paid employers more than $200 million and up to 100 per cent of compensation to get them to hire students. If these young adults are Canada’s best and brightest – enjoying taxpayer-funded education – why are they so unappealing to employers that they have to be discounted to half price…
His mission is to seek the truth at all costs. He refuses to be constrained by political correctness and hurt feelings
On Oct. 27, comedian Dave Chappelle was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He’s the 21st recipient of this prestigious honour, joining legends like Carol Burnett, Billy Crystal, David Letterman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Eddie Murphy, Bob Newhart, Richard Pryor, Carl Reiner and Jonathan Winters.…
If enough people band together, they can finance a new platform. This is a free and open market
Against the frenzy of inaccurate and manipulative information consistently roaring through social media sites, the companies that manage these sites – like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter – have been trying to combat misinformation. However, they always seem to be two steps behind. Initially, in an effort to keep up with the sheer volume of material,…