An Ill Wind
There is a chill in the air this morning. When Scott Walker kept his job last night, it became more difficult for unionized workers — public and private — to…
June 2012
What I Feel about the Jubilee: A Message from Kew
Among the most lovely gardens in the world are the Royal Gardens at Kew in London. To rsearch it for my book Recreating Eden: A Natural History of Botanical Gardens…
Hey Mister Prime Minister, Why Are You So Afraid Of Canadians?
Courageous and talented Canadian artist Franke James, whose 2011 European art tour was cancelled after interference from the Harper government, has recently published an illustrated essay on the current overlap…
When the Police Come Calling
The police are more-or-less a permanent fixture in every Emergency department. They bring in the drunks, the suicidal, the psychotic, the homeless and yes, the criminal, who have either sustained…
Live and let live: if you can’t even do that, your religious schools do not deserve my funding
The constitution has some strange artifacts in it. One of them is the guarantee of government funding for Catholic schools in Ontario Alberta and Saskatchewan and the territories. No other…
The Budget, Employment Insurance and the Unemployed
Following are the notes on which I based presentations to the Senate National Finance Committee on June 6 and the House of Commons Finance Committee on May 29. They summarize…
Briefs: Budget bill paving the way for privatization? / Chaos in the absence of patient transfer regulation
There has been much press coverage of what the Federal government has quietly inserted into its omnibus budget bill, including considerable environmental deregulation. Hiding sweeping legislative changes inside these large…
HCCSJ operational review a decade later #nlpoli
Talk of financial problems at Eastern Health brought to mind an operational review of the former Health Care Corporation of St. John’s, completed by the Hay Group and released in…
Tiananmen Square: Citizens Still Remember
In 1989 protestors in China took to Tiananmen Square and were confronted by tanks and the full Chinese state apparatus to shut them down. The most iconic image is the…
140Law – Legal Headlines for Wednesday, June 06, 2012
Here are the leading legal headlines from Wise Law on Twitter for Wednesday, June 06, 2012: Lawyer/Novelist Morley Torgov hasn’t quit his day job yet Sperm donation laws on trial…
GM confirms jobs gone for good: all Canada is Cape Breton
"Goin' Down the Road" (1970) is one of Canada's best films. It shows how poorly educated folks from Cape Breton struggle and fail in Toronto where the good jobs require…
People slept in front of Nike last night
They’ve been there for a couple nights, too, at Nike’s Yorkville store. Anyone know why?
Wither The Tribes?
Interesting article today, detailing developments in a lone riding which could become a template for greater “co-operation” moving forward. I contend some measure of co-ordination is largely inevitable, as well…
Justin Trudeau
His protests notwithstanding, I’m told he is in fact running. Comment away!
Apparently, Talk Of Charter Rights Is Just Nonsense
“Guys are talking nonsense and he got nonsense back.” – Sgt. Mark Charlebois in defense of his denial of Paul Figueiras’s Charter Rights during Toronto 2010 G20 Summit. Unfortunately, Sgt.…
New Future Planning Magazine Hot Off the Press!
A few months ago, I travelled to Toronto at the invitation of Louise Kinross, Director of Communications at Holland Bloorview Children’s Rehabilitation Hospital. I spoke to the parents there about…
Blocked! Messrs. Wicary, Murray and McLeod are idiots, a continuing series
The Globe’s Stephen Wicary and the Post’s Steve Murray have blocked me on Twitter, presumably because I had the temerity to object to the fact that they were joking online…
Improving Old Movies: Roman Holiday
I think Roman Holiday would have been better if stormtroopers were chasing Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck the whole time. And just to be fair, Peck should have some kind…
The Harper interview
A few thoughts on the big interview last night between Harper and Peter Mansbridge on the National… This interview seemed to have two parts to it. The primary focus was…