Why Civilian Oversight of the Police is Crucial
Rex Meade of Dundas has a very interesting letter on police heavy-handedness and how to deal with it in today's Star. If you get a chance, take a look at…
Lorne
G20 Summit Police Tactics Continue to Outrage Canadians
There is a series of letters in today's Star that articulate the ongoing sentiments of ordinary Canadians a year after people had their Charter Rights ripped away by an out-of-control…
Asbestos – Canada’s Shame Continues
I recently wrote about the opportunity that Canada had to end its pariah-like status by no longer opposing the listing of asbestos as a toxic product in the Rotterdam Convention.…
Chief Bill Blair: No Apology, No Resignation
Having released a self-serving 70 page report reviewing the G20 Summit debacle, Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair has concluded he has nothing to apologize for and will not consider resigning.…
Canada’s Quasi-Police state
While the Premier of Ontario continues to blithely and glibly disavow any responsibility for the horrendous abuses of Charter Rights that took place during last June's G20 Summit, admitting only…
Some Penetrating Truths
While I always attempt to write as carefully as I can, conciseness and clarity sometimes elude me. Because of these lapses, I take the liberty of reproducing a letter that…
The Moral Fiber of Dalton McGuinty – Being Smug Means Never having To Say You’re Sorry
I have written so much about last June's G20 Summit and the widespread violation of Charter Rights presided over by Police Chief Bill Blair and Premier Dalton McGuinty that my…
With Powers Beyond Those of Mortal Men (And Women)
Loathsome worm that I am, I have spent the past year regularly criticizing the police for their mass suspension of our Charter rights during last June's G20 Summit in Toronto.…
Corporate Ethics – A Contemporary Oxymoron
To those trusting souls willing to leave their and their country's fate to the market forces of unfettered capitalism, please take a few minutes to read the situation of black…
Asbestos – An Opportunity to End Canada’s Shame
While I have written previously on Canada's ongoing indefensible practice of exporting chrysotile (asbestos) to developing nations despite its well-known lethal health effects, this country does get the chance to…
Does This Peel Police Action Help You To Sleep Better at Night?
I stand to be corrected, but I was under the impression that in Canada, we are, at least in theory, protected from arbitrary police intrusion and arrest. Apparently the Peel…
Some Food for Thought
Perhaps it is because I am currently reading The Trouble With Billionaires, by Linda McQuaig and Neil Brooks, but I have become especially sensitive to the increasingly shrill anti-union rhetoric…
Another Sad Story of Police Misconduct
The headline in yesterday's Globe (on-line edition) really says it all: Peel police officers fabricated evidence in prostitution case: judge The story tells of how the two offending Peel officers…
The Ugly Truth About Shark Fin Soup
I was pleased to read in today's Star that two Toronto city councillors, Glenn De Baeremaeker and Kristyn Wong-Tam, are making a motion this week to ban the sale and…
Syria’s Torture and Murder of Its Children
Despite this being an age of almost instant communication and information, it has become very easy for us to isolate ourselves from the larger world, ensconced as we are in…
Finally, a G20 Police Arrest
There is little doubt in my mind that the relentless efforts of the Toronto Star played a major role in the arrest of Toronto police officer Glen Weddell in the…
Linda McQuaig on Canda’s Role in Africa
Although Canadians have traditionally regarded themselves as champions of the underclass, that image is challenged in yesterday's Toronto Star column by Linda McQuaig as she examines how the Candian Government's…
Cost-Saving Innovations in Policing
Dismayed as I may be over the sometimes heavy-handed actions of police, I would never suggest that the necessary role they play in society is exaggerated. Nonetheless, there appear to…
Cell Phone Use and Cancer
Having just completed Disconnect, a book by epidemiologist Devra Davis showing the relationship between cell phone use and cancer, I was heartened to read that the Who has just released…
Star Editorial Recommendation
I really have nothing new to add to the continuing saga of the Toronto Police Service's obstruction of efforts to get at the ugly truth behind the G20 security debacle.…