Personal Will, Anyone?
Question: What do Stephen Hawking and Shamsia Husseini have in common? Answer: They both know the power of personal will. Ms Soapbox has been thinking a lot about “personal will”…
Crime and Justice
The Country is Broken!
Just when Albertans thought things couldn’t get any worse, Jason Kenney declared the country was broken. What? Did Trumpism seep across the border while we were sleeping? Canada survived the…
An Unfathomable Darkness — The Gerald Stanley Verdict
“There is a darkness that exists in this country and I believe we are going to have to feel our way out of it.” — Chris Murphy, lawyer for the…
Who’s the Real Enemy?
“You’re either with us or against us.” — Benito Mussolini First the UCP demanded the Premier ignore the rules of the House, then they accused her of being against rural…
How Do We Talk About the Edmonton Terrorist Attack?
A police officer is stabbed and four people are injured when a man drives a U-Haul into a crowd of pedestrians in Edmonton. The suspect is identified as 30-year-old Abdulahi…
Marie Henein’s Take on Kellie Leitch
Last Friday Ms Soapbox attended the 2017 Milvain Lecture at the U of C Law School. It was given by Marie Henein who recently made headlines by successfully defending CBC…
The Wildrose and PCs Weigh In On Medically Assisted Dying
We’ve seen a lot of fireworks in the Alberta Legislature but nothing can match the rhetoric and misinformation that characterized the response of the Wildrose (and to a lesser extent…
Ghomeshi’s Apology
It’s over. Yesterday Jian Ghomeshi signed a peace bond and apologized to Kathryn Borel. The Crown dropped the sexual assault charge. Here’s Mr Ghomeshi’s apology and Ms Borel’s reply. Ghomeshi’s…
The Catholic Church’s Last Chance
Suing the Catholic Church is like throwing Jello at the wall, it’s a mess but not much sticks. Thousands of Canada’s First Nations, Metis, Inuit and Inuvialuit joined in a…
The Ghomeshi Verdict: We Deserve Better
“Violence against women is not about the behavior of the women.”–Gillian Hnatiw, lawyer for Lucy DeCoutere By his own admission Jian Ghomeshi likes rough sex. The legal question is whether…
“Kudatah”: It’s not a joke
Ms Soapbox is deeply troubled by last week’s failed Kudatah. The Kudatah (or “coup d’etat” for those who know how to spell) was George Clark’s attempt to overthrow the NDP…
Refuges? Paris? Wait, what?
What’s the difference between these two sentences? Sentence “A”: “You terrorist, you don’t belong here.” Sentence “B”: “You might be a terrorist, you don’t belong here.” Sentence “A” was uttered…
How to Stay Under the Radar When Bill C-51 Becomes Law
Bill C-51 is an omnibus anti-terrorism bill that grants CSIS new information sharing powers and converts CSIS from a covert intelligence gathering organization to a covert enforcement agency. No wonder…
Ralph Nader’s Open Letter to Stephen Harper
February 18, 2015 The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, P.C., M.P. 80 Wellington Street Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2 Dear Prime Minister: Many Americans love Canada and the specific benefits that have…
Anatomy of a Homicide Investigation
Just as Ms Soapbox was fretting over Prime Minister Harper’s decision to appoint former CSIS director Richard Fadden to the newly created post of National Security Advisor she received an…
Fortress Calgary: The “Gate” in Mahogany Manor
What is it about gated communities that sends us into orbit? Calgary Planning Commission (CPC) just approved the construction of a “gate” in the southern Calgary to keep the hoi…
The Conservative Government Responds to the Deaths of Two Canadian Soldiers
Two Canadian soldiers were killed this week. The first, Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent, was run down by a car in a parking lot in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. The second, Cpl. Nathan…
A Gift from Chief Justice McLachlin: The Tsilhqot’in Decision on Aboriginal Rights*
On June 26, 2014, in a unanimous decision of the Supreme Court of Canada, Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin gave the First Nations (and the rest of Canada) a treasure map.…
Alberta’s “Traffic Court Reform”: One Step Closer to a Police State
Justice Minister Denis is touting “Traffic Court Reform” as a “citizen-friendly” dispute resolution process to “resolve” traffic tickets. It’s also the first step into a quagmire that erases our civil…