things i heard at the library: an occasional series: #28
With apologies to my man C. Dickens, it was the worst of customers, it was the best of customers. Our Children’s Department is short-staffed right now, and although that is…
Canadian Culture
a must-read if you’re responding to ignorance and bigotry about omar khadr’s settlement
In case everyone hasn’t seen this yet, written by someone named Ben Feral Selinger. July 6 Okay, I’m fucking sick of the idiocy and done with writing a diatribe every…
thoughts on canada 150
It’s Canada Day, this year dubbed Canada 150, with its own corporate brand and a carefully worded story of that number 150. We also have Canada 150+, which acknowledges that…
travel safety in egypt vs anywhere else in the world
When I tell people I’m going to Egypt, they are happy and excited for me. Then, almost everyone asks me if it’s safe there, and says, “Be careful.” The recent…
u.s. iraq war resisters: the struggle continues
Still war resisters. Still in Canada. Still fighting to stay.So far, the change in government hasn't helped the Iraq War resisters who remain here, nor the ones who were forced…
dispatches from ola 2016, part 1: choosing to walk a path
I attended OLA* for only one day this year, partly because I'm already missing so much work for bargaining and other union business, and partly because one day is often…
truth and reconciliation, past and present: why this matters to all of us
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada has just completed its week-long closing event in Ottawa. The Commission was part of the historic settlement between the Canadian Government and the…
in which i remember a difference between the u.s. and canada or maybe between new york and everywhere else
I’m in New York for a few days, visiting my mom and some friends. Today at a Whole Foods, my mother said to the cashier, “Don’t make the packages too…
11.11: honour the dead by committing to peace
Robert Fisk, in The Independent: But as the years passed, old Bill Fisk became very ruminative about the Great War. He learned that Haig had lied, that he himself had…
kevin vickers, nathan cirillo, and canada’s response to recent acts of violence
I’ve been thinking a lot about Kevin Vickers. By now the world knows Vickers’ name: he is the sergeant-at-arms of the Parliament of Canada, and his quick thinking and courage…
will canada become a country continually at war? or, stephen harper gets his wish in iraq
I had been living in Canada but a few short months when Stephen Harper, as leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, formed his first minority government. At the time,…
what i’m reading: indian horse by richard wagamese, a must-read, especially for canadians
Indian Horse, by Richard Wagamese, is a hauntingly beautiful novel about an Ojibway boy’s journey into manhood. It was the Readers’ Choice winner of the 2013 Canada Reads, CBC Radio’s…
government destruction of environmental archives: the harper govt’s war on facts marches on
At year’s end, The Tyee reported that a memo – marked “secret” and first reported on OCanada.com – cast grave doubts on the Harper Government’s claim that environmental archives were…
11.11: lest we forget, let’s not forget: there is no glory in war.
For Canadians who fear and distrust the steadily growing militarism suffusing the culture of our country, two recent books are indispensable: What We Talk About When We Talk About War,…
noah richler on the language of war propaganda, and the dishonesty of present ideology
From Noah Richler’s What We Talk About When We Talk About War: We have a duty to be honest and rigorous, with ourselves and with others, and to be able…
noah richler: canada was shaped by discussion and compromise, not through war
distorts and downplays the significant roles that Canadian politicians, diplomats, jurists and a variety of other civilians (such as artists) have had in shaping not just the domestic Canadian polity…
the harper government’s vision of canada, in our passports and in our wallets
Some years ago, I analyzed the “Discover Canada”, the most recent guide for immigrants studying for the Canadian citizenship exam. I compared the booklet to the previous citizenship guide, “A…
sports without war: canada out of aghanistan, and military out of our sports
I have written a bit about the use of professional sports as a vehicle for war propaganda and militarism, such as when the Harper Government used the Olympic torch relay…
a people’s history of british columbia, and a chance to preserve it for the future
Here’s a chance to preserve Canadian history – the real history, not the government-approved kind – and to preserve art and creativity and alternative media, all at the same time.…