In the retail food business, customers have plenty of questions about how their food is produced. The answers often surprise them
By Jackie Fraser Small business owner “Are there any BMOs in this?” my dear customer asks. It takes me a moment to realize she's not asking about the bank. Sigh. Where do I start with this one? My husband and I own a fresh food retail store and catering company in Fergus, Ont. He’s the chef…
In the interests of diversity and inclusion, society shies away from Christian manifestations of Christmas
In the interests of diversity and inclusion, society shies away from Christian manifestations of Christmas. Battles loom over nativity displays, the traditional “Merry Christmas” greeting and Christmas trees. Public schools banned carols from school concerts years ago. There is, some argue, a war on Christmas. While some seek to eliminate anything that remotely resembles religious…
The environment is only a side issue for an increasingly passionate mob of activists whose assault on the ‘establishment’ is nothing less than a moral crusade
Regardless of your political feelings about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, you have to admit the guy has guts. Not many politicians would have the courage to host a town-hall meeting in a place as openly hostile as Nanaimo, B.C. Immediately upon entering the building last week, the climate bullies jumped on him with a torrent…
Focusing on what’s right with gender dynamics rather than what’s wrong might produce better outcomes for women and girls
Women’s marches were held around the world recently, with more than one million people taking to the streets to highlight the gap in gender equality. Their stated purpose is to get more people politically engaged. To that end, they’re no doubt working. But what if that goal comes at too high a cost? One that…
Where perceived slights are personally avenged, and the law is supplanted as the final arbiter of justice
It’s truly astonishing that no other national political figure beat Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to an apology to the LGBTQ2+ community. In 2008, his predecessor Stephen Harper was first to offer an apology for Indian residential schools. And Canadians have hardly been spared from endless variations on the theme over the past decade. Similarly, the British…
Should we really be surprised – let alone shocked – when our political leaders bring the language of the streets into the corridors of power?
Ah, the words we use – do they define us or merely reflect the times we live in? If it seems that the way we speak is becoming less elegant – not to mention less educated – then it might simply reflect the consistent coarsening of society instead of a sign of demons possessing the…
History is not about judging the past or the people who lived it. It is about understanding how past events made us who we are today
Each morning, I peer out the window of my apartment at St. Paul’s Basilica, the centre of the Irish immigrant community that arrived in Toronto’s Corktown neighbourhood in the mid-1800s. Last year, I taught a course in writing about history. I used the basilica as a test case. If I were to write a history…
The Liberals’ latest decision means summer employment is now a testing ground for ideological adhesion, obedience and purity
It’s tough work to imagine two groups more radically different than the Canadian Council of Christian Charities and the gays rights network LGBTory. So when both join the rising chorus opposing changes to what should be among Ottawa’s most innocuous programs, it’s a signal something significant is going on. The Four Cs, as the council…
The bad experiences at residential schools have been well documented. But we can't forget that there were good experiences as well
Sen. Lynn Beyak was finally expelled from the Conservative Party caucus because “she allowed” racist posts to be placed on her website. More significantly, she refused to remove the offending material when ordered to do so by the Conservative leader. I’m one of the people with an email message posted on her website. In the…
Arguing that meat is the new tobacco is sensationalist nonsense, since tobacco is not essential to life and food is. Let the market evolve
Imposing a sin tax on foods that are deemed environmentally detrimental seems to be gaining support. But little can be accomplished by taxing meat. For some, eating meat is considered a sin and therefore meat products should be taxed, like alcohol and tobacco. A new report published recently by a group called Farm Animal Investment Risk…