The unbridgeable gap: Alberta and Saskatchewan
One result of the recent election is a certain amount of angst about Alberta and Saskatchewan failing to elect a single Liberal. How to ameliorate the alienation felt by this…
Bill Longstaff
Eastern Europe happy (mostly) with democracy and free markets
In November, 1989, the world’s most infamous wall came down and the “Evil Empire” crumbled away. The communist regimes of Eastern Europe collapsed like dominoes and by 1990 free elections…
A bad night for politicians, but not so bad for the country
It was not a good night for political parties. Clearly, the voters were not about to commend the Liberals for their four years in power. And just as clearly, they…
Apparently I’m a Quebecker
Vote Compass recently published a survey of Canadians’ attitudes toward a variety of issues. The results were broken down by province, scaling how much respondents agreed or disagreed with different…
Living with the apocalypse
Is it time to recognize that we are politically incapable of dealing with global warming? Is the gap between what is politically acceptable and what is scientifically necessary too great?…
War Rooms, Secrecy and a Little Patronage—Democracy in Alberta
Former journalist and conservative lobbyist Tom Olsen was the UCP candidate in my riding of Calgary-Buffalo in this spring’s Alberta election. Tom lost to Joe Ceci of the NDP, but…
Perfidious America
Early in 2018, U.S. President Donald J. Trump withdrew the United States from the Iran nuclear deal, a deal largely negotiated by and signed off on by his own country.…
Scapegoating the oil industry
I always admired that great philosopher Pogo. I still remember the picture of he and a friend looking out over their polluted swamp as he uttered those immortal words, “We…
One Gem in the LIberal Package
With promises flying about right and left as the election approaches, one gem emerged from the Liberal package: “We will establish the Canadian Centre for Peace, Order, and Good Government,…
Will automation steal all our jobs?
Yet another report predicts we are all going to be replaced by machines. Well, maybe not us, but our jobs at least. The report, issued for Wells Fargo clients, predicts…
Scheer would make us even worse cheapskates on foreign aid
When Andrew Scheer released his party’s foreign policy earlier this year it turned out to be in large part a copy of Donald Trump’s. Pandering to the Israelis, hypocritical approach…
"We need a carbon tax"—oil company CEO
MEG Energy Corp. is a Canadian oil company focused on in situ tar sands production. Its CEO, Derek Evans, claims the company intends to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. The…
Trust in science falls—due to global warming?
Greta Thunberg made a statement to the U.S. Congress the other day that, like most of what she says, was simple, profound and obvious at the same time. Simple (only…
Is Universal Suffrage Logical? Is it Moral?
Not everyone is a fan of democracy. Other than those who outright prefer dictatorship of one kind or another, some critics simply don’t trust all citizens having equal power over…
Media waking up on climate crisis
I have long been puzzled why the growing climate crisis has not been better covered in the media. For the greatest threat facing humanity it seemed to get few column…
It will be lonely when the birds are gone
I live deep in the city yet I enjoy visits from a number of our feathered friends. In the winter I am occasionally honoured by the visit of a wee…
"For ’tis the sport to have the engineer hoist with his own petard"
Accusing Justin Trudeau of being racist is ridiculous. This is a prime minister who formed the most ethnically diverse cabinet in history, welcomed 40,000 Syrian refugees, condemned a proposed niqab…
My Relulctant Strategic Vote
Here’s an irony. I’m forced to vote Liberal (again) because Justin Trudeau betrayed me. No, it doesn’t make any sense and, furthermore, it pisses me off. But that’s just the…
The ghost of Bible Bill Haunts us still
In the late ’30s and early ’40s Alberta’s premier was the colourful William Aberhart, known as “Bible Bill” for his bible studies classes and radio sermons. Founder of the Social…
Inhabiting the Radical Middle
While I take an active interest in politics, and have always been a member of a political party (sometimes two), I no longer get directly involved in election campaigns. My…