Gross Overreach
The past two weeks in our politics has been a watershed moment for sure, especially when you consider everything that’s happened. It took a while, but eventually all of our…
2020
Thank You, Corona Virus
A friend sent the following to me this morning. It is quite powerful, and reflects the kind of thinking I and I’m sure countless others have been engaged in of…
How You Can Help Fight COVID-19
The global pandemic of COVID-19 is flooding healthcare systems with more patients than they can handle. There is something you can do about this: stay home. Yes, just stay home.…
Talking the Response to Covid-19 with Kristy Cameron
Yesterday I joined Kristy Cameron on CFRA’s “Ottawa Now” along with Katlyn Harrison and Lindsay Maskell on the “Political Heat” panel. We talked about the latest developments on Covid-19, how…
Democracy
Walter Lippman said it well: “In a democracy, the opposition is not only tolerated as constitutional, but must be maintained because it is indispensable.” The Prime Minister squanders whatever goodwill…
Welcome to our Downton Abbey.
In reliving the period from before the First World War to the mid 1920s, the television series Downton Abbey was often criticized for not being more critical of the pomp…
COVID-19 Resources
What a lot has changed in just a couple of weeks. Plans have changed, lives have changed. We’d best gear up quickly, the dress rehearsal is over. Hic Rhodus, Hic…
There is a permanent ban on campfires in the Municipal Forest Reserve — obey it
I drove to the top of Mount Prevost this past sunny weekend. The place bustled with sightseers, mountain bikers, hikers, and motorcycle/ATV enthusiasts. I took a spur logging road and…
Alberta Health gives way on docs’ billing for virtual services, but plunges ahead with controversial Babylon app
Bowing to pressure from the Alberta Medical Association and critics of the controversial Babylon “virtual care” app that’s created significant disruption to public health care in the United Kingdom, the…
On spin over substance
PressProgress is right to point out how many landlords are using the loud announcement of coronavirus relief – which, if you read the small print, won’t be available for months…
Conventional Wisdom!
A public health emergency demands that we unite mindlessly behind the government which deliberately mocked it, utterly failed to prepare us, and is now prohibiting anybody from taking stronger action.
Stuart Mackinnon’s BetterParks for Vancouver 2020-03-23 23:10:00
Practice physical distancing in social situations. 2 m between. It’s for all of us. The sooner we do this, the sooner it will be over. Stay safe. Stay Healthy.
Running a War Room in the age of coronavirus: Nothing much happening right now
For those of you worried about the prolonged silence from Alberta’s Energy War Room, it turns out the nine-member staff of Canadian Energy Centre Ltd. are just taking a little…
Coronavirus Colonialism: How the COVID-19 Crisis Is Catalyzing Dispossession
This image from a transmission electron microscope shows a sample from a case of COVID-19. The spherical viral particles, colored blue, contain cross-sections through the viral genome, seen as black…
Brookings Institute – A Mortality Perspective on Covid-19
I’m posting this because, a), it’s the Brookings Institution and it is highly credible, and, b), it offers an up to date discussion about the issue of coronavirus mortality. I…
Derek Harrison Justifies Violence Against Women in Transphobic and Misogynistic Video
In a video uploaded to YouTube on March 22, Derek Harrison (Rants) of Plaid Army framed a new clip as a being about “personal responsibility,” showing what Harrison claims to…
Boris Puts UK on Lockdown
Effective this evening which on the far side of the Atlantic is just about now, Brits are confined to quarters. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the decision on Monday evening…
Coronavirus and Your Workplace: Thoughts for Employers from an Ontario Employment Lawyer
BY SIMRAN BAKSHI, ASSOCIATE LAWYER UPDATE: With Ontario today mandating closure of all non-essential businesses, effective March 25, we can urgently hope for updated legislation shortly, to guide employers’decisions in…
Gender Issues Relating to Children: California intersex surgery bill fails
BY GARRY WISE AND SIMRAN BAKSHI Reprinted from The Lawyer’s Daily In a highly controversial decision last month, a California senate committee voted against proceeding with a bill that would…
social distancing is awesome but the world has become surreal
Removed from all context, I am loving social distancing. I was very disappointed to cancel our planned vacation to visit west-coast family and friends. But other than that, I am…