The World Is Burning and Canada Will Not Extinguish It
Justin Trudeau applauds during the opening ceremony of the 2017 Canada Summer Games. Photo from Flickr. It’s hard to find things to celebrate right now. Between a dangerous virus and…
Canadian Politics
Kenney’s controversial speechwriter listed as CEO of federal Conservatives’ Edmonton Strathcona constituency association
Given the uproar over an article widely perceived as expressing racist sentiments by Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s speechwriter, it will be interesting to see how the Conservative Party of Canada…
Meng Wanzhou, Huawei and Canadian Law
Huawei booth at the Mobile World Congress 2015 Barcelona. Photo by Kārlis Dambrāns/Flickr. One of the graver risks for big-time criminals is that investigators will be able to identify them…
Time to Fundamentally Reassess Canadian Foreign Policy
Members of the Lima Group meet at the G20 summit in Osaka to discuss next steps towards an “urgent and peaceful resolution” to the crisis in Venezuela. Photo from Twitter.…
It seems Alberta’s inquiry hasn’t found any foreign-funded anti-energy campaigns yet, but it’ll keep looking!
I’m sorry to have to report, Alberta, that the inquiry into foreign-funded campaigns targeting Alberta’s oil and gas industry apparently hasn’t found any foreign-funded campaigns targeting Alberta’s oil and gas…
Referenda are ‘a device for dictators and demagogues’ — but never mind about that, Alberta, or who said it …
Referenda, British prime minister Margaret Thatcher once observed, “are a device for dictators and demagogues.” I mention this in light of of Alberta’s new referendum legislation — Bill 26, the…
Trudeau should withdraw from the Lima Group, rescind sanctions on Venezuela
President Maduro among other Latin American leaders participating in a 2017 ALBA (Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America) gathering. Photo from Wikimedia Commons. On June 17, the Trudeau…
State-supported academic research in Alberta should be about more than Making Oil & Gas Great Again
As Alberta launches its 10-year plan for “transformational change” in post-secondary education, a new study suggests the province’s universities and the government agencies that fund them are helping to prolong…
Alberta Union of Provincial Employees goes to court to challenge UCP law that criminalizes public protest
It was inevitable that sooner or later someone would challenge the United Conservative Party Government’s so-called Critical Infrastructure Defence Act, which appears on its face to include patently unconstitutional attacks…
The federal Conservative leadership race takes a turn both sinister and juvenile
Probably the last thing the Conservative Party of Canada needs right now is a side battle over allegations of dirty tricks and data theft between the campaigns of the two…
Feed children instead of training them for war
Canadian Army Cadets march in a parade. Photo from Cadets.ca. In Canada’s capital, children whose families cannot afford internet access at home camp out in their school’s parking lot to…
International community rejects Canada’s bid for a seat on UN Security Council
June 17, 2020 – Canada lost its high-profile bid for one of the rotating seats on the United Nations Security Council. A total of 128 votes were needed to secure…
More Than 900 Scholars and Lawyers Call on Government to Defund Police
Riot police at the G-20 Summit, Toronto, June 26, 2010. Photo from Wikimedia Commons. In light of ongoing police violence against Black, Indigenous and racialized people in Canada and around…
Corrupt language corrupts minds: Police are civilians, under control of civilians
One of the bees in my bonnet has long been the misuse of the term civilian to describe people who are not sworn police officers. I wrote the post below…
‘Policing Black Lives’ author on confronting Canada’s historical amnesia, Black expendability, and the path forward
Justice For Regis – Not Another Black Life rally and march in Toronto, May 30, 2020. Photo by Jason Hargrove/Flickr. The murder of 46 year-old George Floyd at the hands…
Despite COVID-19, 15,000 people join Fight for Equity rally against racism at Alberta Legislature
A mostly youthful throng estimated at more than 15,000 people braved the coronavirus pandemic yesterday evening to join the Fight for Equity rally against racism at the Alberta Legislature in…
No need to lose much sleep over yesterday’s firearms ownership announcement by the UCP
If you’re worried by the announcement Alberta Premier Jason Kenney is seeking ways of “respecting law-abiding Albertans’ long history of responsible firearms ownership,” there’s no need to lose much sleep…
‘Carceral systems won’t solve crime’: An interview on theft, policing, and disability justice
A cyclist talks to a Winnipeg Police Service officer. Photo by Dave Shaver/Flickr. Allen Mankewich is a disabled resident of downtown Winnipeg. His handcycle was stolen in May. Although he…
Can We Ever Truly Transform or Democratize the Police?
Police parade, July 1927. Photo by Alfred Pearson/City of Toronto Archives/Flickr. This article is a response to two recent essays on police reform and abolition by James Wilt and Herman…