Its policies on renewable energy mean that dependence will only deepen
By Mark Milke and Lennie Kaplan Canadian Energy Centre One of the more bizarre developments in Europe in recent years has been the twin policy path in which fossil fuels are discouraged in favour of wind and solar energy, but deals are struck with autocracies such as Russia to import more fossil fuel via pipelines.…
Pastor Artur Pawlowski sees another government intruding on societal institutions
When Artur Pawlowski came to Canada in 1995, he didn’t think it would turn out as it has. The pastor of Calgary’s Street Church Ministries, famous for his confrontations with police, says Canada looks too much like the communist Poland he grew up in. “I grew up seeing police and authorities destroying my country, not…
Totalitarian societies such as China require conformity and loyalty, not independence of thought
One of the most notable features of Nazi Germany was its anti-intellectualism. While it claimed to be at the forefront of scientific and technical advances, its ideology and totalitarian rule made free enquiry and interchange between scientists and other technical people untenable. Researchers became wary of making bold assertions, even when backed by solid evidence…
The conflation of state and individual has long been popular among those who crave power over others
Last spring, Trent University Professor Christopher Dummitt took us all to task for our insufficient dedication to the collective – which, he worries, leaves those who “call for national sacrifice” on behalf of “the collective will” in a bind, bereft of the obedience they deserve. Dummitt’s alleged “collective action problem” betrays a fundamentally illiberal misunderstanding…
The U.S. and its allies should signal in no uncertain terms that dragging the world into war over Taiwan would impose severe costs on China
The increase in Chinese military activity near Taiwan over the past year has engendered a tremendous amount of commentary and analysis from various circles, professional and not. With People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft intruding into Taiwan’s southern Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) occurring on a near-daily basis, and with record-breaking numbers in some instances, the…
The actor and wrestler has angered China
Are you familiar with John Cena? If not, good for you; he’s not really worth knowing about. For the uninitiated, John Cena is a former professional wrestler. According to the World Wrestling Entertainment website, he’s a 16-time WWE champion, author and ‘actor’ (quotes are mine). To quote directly from the website: “After gaining the respect…
No more than a sliver of Canada’s natural resources should ever be controlled by non-democracies
Canadians are used to peace and relative prosperity compared to the rest of the world and are occasionally naïve about it. They assume it’s a regular state of affairs rather than an exception. Canada is an exception, in large part because the country is surrounded by three oceans with one neighbour, the United States, a…
Chinese President Xi Jinping has concocted a devious plan to revise the Bible to make it more in line with his country’s totalitarian ideology
Imagine this hypothetical scenario: A world leader decides they’re going to arbitrarily change the text of an historically important religious document to suit their needs. Some people might complain about this decision in private, but the world leader is far too powerful to either publicly criticize or condemn. So these changes are made in short order…
In my youth, I was embarrassed by Canada’s (seemingly) anachronistic constitutional monarchy. Why must we have a Queen, I raged? She doesn’t even live in our country. Why can’t we be a republic, like the United States? It wasn’t until recently that I began to question this view. Looking south of the border, I’m reminded…
It employs its great military, economic and seductive power to advance repression around the world
As we watch the chaos on the streets of Venezuela, it’s apt to revisit the latest Human Freedom Index, published in part by the Fraser Institute. The index highlights an old danger re-emerging: authoritarian seducers, regimes that promote their model of despotism internationally through charm, money, power, bribery, threats and violence. Since the rise of…