Alberta sacrifices agriculture for oil
There is panic on the prairies. The greatest fear of farmers and ranchers alike is stalking the land—drought. Drought has always been a part of prairie life, of course, but…
Bill Longstaff
Seeing out the Holocene?
We are experiencing a truly momentous event. For 11,700 years we have been living in the epoch our geologist kin call the Holocene. Now they may be about to announce…
The cluster bomb curse
The United States recently took a step towards civilizing war, if war can be in any way termed civilized. Last Friday the US Defence Department made history by destroying the…
UCP to loosen reins on unions … charitably
Alberta’s UCP government likes to keep a tight rein on labour unions. One of the first pieces of legislation brought in after their election in 2019 was the infamous Bill…
Harper reveals new conservative colours
Stephen Harper has recently been promoting closer ties between Canadian conservatives and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government. Harper is chair of the International Democrat Union, a global alliance of…
Affirmative action—race or socioeconomics?
The US Supreme Court recently struck down race-based affirmative action as a basis for college admissions. Americans are now busy entertaining new ideas about how to account for historical disadvantage…
Discontent in the provinces
A recent Angus Reid Institute survey of Canadians’ approval (or disapproval) of their provincial governments’ performances was full of surprises while bereft of optimism. Angus Reid maintains a Government Performance…
Happy birthday, US of A
Today our good neighbours to the south are celebrating their country’s birthday—its 247th. Two hundred and forty seven days of democracy, the longest ever. The second most famous democracy—ancient Athens—lasted…
How neoliberalism brought down Russia … and nearly us
The economic collapse of the 1930s brought down democracies across Europe unleashing fascism across the continent. Other countries, including Canada and the United States, introduced drastic measures to protect the…
Preaching misogyny
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is the biggest Protestant denomination in the US, descending from Baptists who settled in the American colonies in the 17th century. The southerners broke away…
Disaster city
“Canada is increasingly a riskier place to live, work and insure,” said Craig Stewart, Vice-President, Climate Change and Federal Issues, Insurance Bureau of Canada. The bureau’s stats back up Mr.…
The brilliance of the Sustainable Jobs Act
Last week the feds tabled Bill C-50, the Canadian Sustainable Jobs Act, in the House of Commons. The bill would create a Sustainable Jobs Partnership Council to advise the government…
Johnson, Trump and contrasting ethics
Boris Johnson and Donald Trump are two buffoons who embarrassed two major democracies by their election to national leadership. Both are now gone and much good riddance. Both are also…
The last progressive conservative?
In December 2003 the Progressive Conservative Party merged with the Canadian Alliance (formerly the Reform Party) to become the Conservative Party of Canada. The “progressive” disappeared in both name and…
An open letter to Premier Smith
I didn’t vote for Danielle Smith and her party, nonetheless I thought congratulations on her victory were in order. Consequently I wrote her the following letter. Dear Premier Smith: Congratulations…
Conservatives clash over housing
What do I know about Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre? He hates our prime minister. He loves cryptocurrency. If he’s elected PM, he will fire the governor of the Bank of…
Canada smokes New York
Good neighbours share. But what Canada is sharing these days with its good neighbour to the south is not appreciated. I refer to the dense plumes of smoke from our…
Alberta—rural government in an urban province
The last century saw the greatest revolution in this country’s history. I refer to the mass migration from country to town. At Confederation, about 80 percent of Canadians lived in…
Danielle Smith’s Alberta
No one had a bigger win on Alberta election night than Danielle Smith. Her UCP (and this is definitely her party now) won a solid majority of seats and a…
About reparations
Last Tuesday, the air quality in Calgary hit a level in the range hazardous to human health. According to meteorologist Jaclyn Whittal, Alberta had the “worst air quality in the…