The new Canadian $10 Bill
Canada is finally putting a woman on the front of a bank note (other than the Queen, of course). The first will be Viola Desmond, who will replace Sir John…
Canada
Rafe: Trudeau, Notley’s defence of Kinder Morgan doesn’t wash for BC
Justin Trudeau is greeted in Alberta by Rachel Notley (Premier of Alberta/Flickr CC licence) I listened to Alberta Premier Rachel Notley on CBC with Rick Cluff this week and must…
Rafe Mair to Justin Trudeau: BC is not yours to give away
Justin Trudeau speaks at the Paris climate talks – flanked by Canadian premiers (Province of BC/Flickr) “They hang the man, and flog the woman, That steals the goose from off…
THE PROBLEMS OF CARDING: Excising the Discriminatory Police Street Check Process
Over at Academia.edu, I have posted an updated public policy analysis of the police practice of carding, also known as “street checks” that I did as part of my Master’s…
Don’t Throw Away Our Shot
For the first time, we find ourselves not as a reflection of another power. Our politics is not a derivation of Westminster or Washington anymore. Our politics is specific to…
Canada to Phase Out Coal Power Plants
The Canadian government has decided to end the use of coal for electricity by the year 2030. To make up the lost production the provinces which still use coal will…
Bad news for Canada as Donald Trump announces withdrawal from TPP deal on day one of presidency
In an infomercial-style video released Monday, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump confirmed that he’ll withdraw from Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement as soon as he assumes office in January. Trump’s “America First”…
Rafe: Trudeau will have hell to pay in BC if he approves Kinder Morgan
Recent Vancouver rally against Kinder Morgan (Photo: David Suzuki Foundation/Facebook) None should be in the slightest surprised at the anti-British Columbia stance of Justin Trudeau and the Liberals. As Talleyrand…
Canada after Trump: Harold Innis and What to Do When Empires Go Crazy
The Americans shocked the rest of the world by electing Donald Trump last Tuesday. Pierre Trudeau suggested that Canada’s proximity to the US was like “sleeping with an elephant”, and…
If Donald Trump won’t knuckle under, could he face an American ‘Colour Revolution’?
PHOTOS: One of many anti-Trump rallies in the United States in the past few days (from Facebook). Below: U.S. President Elect Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir V. Putin, U.S. Senator…
Will Trump Embolden Bigots in Canada?
Yesterday we read Kinsella’s post about a white power, Alt.Right handbill posted in his neighbourhood. Today we have an account from CBC Ottawa of a woman, Anna Maranta, a rabbi…
Gwynne Dyer at University of Regina
I’ve been to two other Gwynne Dyer lectures at the U of R, and each time they are very interesting presentations of what has happened in the world. There is…
Dear USA: I’m sorry for your loss.
Dear United States of America and my American friends: While I am sorry for your loss on election night, I’m afraid, however, I cannot agree to open the border and…
An election that Rod Serling would be frightened by…
Seriously. This past year or so has been something out of the Twilight Zone. So surreal and way beyond the bounds of imagination. So today is the day, my dear…
Trudeau’s economic model is clear and it is not good
Last week gave us a good idea of the economic model that Trudeau’s Liberals are gradually putting forward and it is business-friendly to the core. The infrastructure bank privatization scheme…
Action vs. Action Plans #GivePollutionAChance
The Liberals would like to tell you that they’ve spent a year making Real Change (TM) in Canada, since being elected in October, 2015. Undeniably, Canada has some notable differences…
The great rentier give-away
With today’s fiscal update, the Trudeau government has really shown itself to be at the forefront of global left neoliberalism. Taking nearly all his cues from his business-dominated Advisory Council…
Too Much Climate Change Truth
Brad Wall’s “plan is laughable“. That’s because it isn’t a plan to address climate change, it’s a plan to sweep it under the rug for another decade. Too bad we’re…
Free speech, and the cruel shackles of empathy and mutual respect
In Canada, we tend to value freedom of speech very highly, and it’s often said that the best way to counter objectionable speech is with more speech. That’s the first…