Evidence for Democracy

Our current federal government’s aversion to facts is now, unfortunately, well-established as a fact itself. Examples are legion, but I will just mention one. Health Minister Rona Ambrose has assured Canadians that her government is a firm believer in science-based policy. Unfortunately, in a recent CBC interview she went about

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knitnut.net: When words turn bad

The other day I was on a conference call and we were discussing which tags and keywords should be included in a collaborative online database. The terms “substance use” and “harm reduction” were both on the list. I suggested we add “addiction.” Some other people on the call said that

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knitnut.net: Seamy Underbelly, Part II

Visiting the Downtown Eastside (DTES) has churned up some contradictions for me, and resolving those contradictions requires re-thinking some questions I thought I already knew the answers to: 1) To what extent do people choose to live in the DTES, and to what extent are they stuck there? 2) Does

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