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…
Bill Longstaff
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…
Trudeau’s future—past as prologue?
According to a recent Angus Reid study Prime Minister Trudeau’s approval rating while low is still better than most of his recent predecessors. It currently stands at 40 percent, not…
For Alberta, sovereignty; for Calgary and Edmonton, supplication
One might think that Alberta’s provincial government would have the greatest respect for its subordinate level of governing—the municipalities. One might expect that to be especially true for the two…
Global warming—news old and new
I got up this morning in semi-darkness even though the sun had risen at 5:45 a.m. and the forecast was for sunny and warm. I looked out my window and…
Generative AI—threat or opportunity?
“No contract! No content!” and “Here’s a pitch: Pay us, Bitch!” Thus the Hollywood members of the Writers Guild of America colourfully voice their views during their strike against the…
Electoral reform—to be or not to be?
Once again our hopes rise. Or do they? At their recent national policy convention the Liberals voted to back a citizens’ assembly on electoral reform. Specifically, the convention resolved that…
Are we on a path to sustainability?
Humanity’s biggest challenge is sustainability. How does our avaricious species live within the natural constraints of the planet? Certain global trends suggest we may inadvertently be answering that question. Superficially…
Climate change—we make progress
Each spring, Canada submits The National Inventory Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The report holds Canada accountable to targets it is committed to under the…
Republican trans phobia
People generally like to keep things simple. Black and white, right and wrong, men and women. But of course things generally aren’t all that simple. More often than not there…
Election manna: Calgary gets a new arena
The on-again, off-again project for a new arena in Calgary is on again. At twice the cost. Earlier this week The City of Calgary, the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation…
Off with his head!
Canadians, it seems, are not particularly enamoured of Charles Philip Arthur George Windsor. According to an Angus Reid survey, 60 percent of us do not want Charles III as head…
The secret is equity, not wealth
No society has ever created wealth like the United States. And no other society does today. Its dynamic capitalism with freer markets and smaller welfare states than other industrial nations…
Americans aren’t so American anymore
A recent survey funded by The Wall Street Journal showed some dramatic changes in the attitudes of our neighbours to the south. For example, two of Americans’ most cherished institutions,…
Religion still making mischief
In a rapidly changing world, some things do remain the same. One such thing is religion’s capacity for mischief. Examples are legion. The mullahs of Iran, who as religious leaders…
How Americans came to love pot
Reading a Pew Research Center study about Americans and marijuana, I was surprised how rapidly support for legalization rose, and to what heights. From 16 percent support in 1989 edging…