Memorial University President Vianne Timmons is only the latest “Pretendian” to be exposed as a non-indigenous person claiming to be indigenous. There is a growing list of such people, including Mary Turpel-Lafond, Carrie Bourassa and Joseph Boyden. What all of these...
Brian Giesbrecht
Russia’s Nervous Neighbours
We don’t know how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will end, but whatever the outcome, the world will be changed forever. Already, the post WWII consensus—often called the Pax Americana—that has kept the world relatively peaceful is rapidly breaking down. China, Russia,...
The Redman Plan
When the pandemic hit, and almost all of the western nations simultaneously adopted a western version of the lockdown strategy devised by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to respond to the original Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan, China, very few voices questioning voices...
Xi’s “Clark Kent” Moment
Xi Xingping recently had his “Clark Kent” moment. Kent was Superman. He would rip off his workaday shirt to reveal his true identity. China’s despot leader figuratively did that when he unilaterally “brought peace” to the Middle East, and will now proceed to solve the...
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Timeless Wisdom – The Politics of Successful Structural Reform
It’s a well-known pattern in public policy – profligate politicians damaging their economies with out-of-control spending, massive borrowing and higher taxes – inevitably leading to fiscal crisis, sharp declines in growth and ultimately rapidly falling currency value...
Canada’s National Hysteria in the 21st Century
Mass hysteria is the spontaneous manifestation of a particular behaviour by many people. There are numerous historical examples: Middle Age nuns at a convent in France spontaneously began to meow like cats; at another convent, nuns began biting one another. In...
Indigenous Vaccination Priority Policy Deeply Flawed
Most Canadians – even those with serious health problems – are still waiting for the vaccination that might save their life. Meanwhile, vaccinations for indigenous people are proceeding at a rate eight times faster than elsewhere. In some cases, all adults in...
COVID is Really an Obesity Epidemic
A 1973 ParticipACTION ad informed Canadians that the average 30-year-old Canadian was as fit as the average 60-year-old Swede. It urged us to get into shape. It didn’t work. We are heavier and in worse shape now. And, unfortunately, this coronavirus targets the obese....
It’s Okay to Have Unpopular Opinions
Rafael Zaki is a medical student who has filed a court application alleging that he was expelled from the University of Manitoba School of Medicine for expressing controversial opinions. Zaki is a Coptic Christian, an ancient Egyptian people who have increasingly...
When the Media Doesn’t tell the Truth – the Floyd and Boushie Cases
Derek Chauvin is the Minneapolis police officer who achieved international notoriety for his role in the death of George Floyd. A video showing Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes, as Floyd pleaded that he couldn’t breathe, was viewed millions of times...
The Pretendians
“Pretendians” are what Indigenous people call non-Indigenous people who claim that they are Indigenous. Government financial incentives reserved exclusively for Indigenous people—supposedly, to achieve “equity”—have created “Pretendians” who are increasingly being...
Teaching About Residential Schools
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) recommended that all Canadian children learn about residential schools. This is part of Canada’s history, and is now taught in every classroom. However, there is reason to worry that a fair and balanced view is not being...
Supreme Court – Only Francophone Judges Need Apply
The federal government has announced that it intends to promote the French language more aggressively throughout the country. A document entitled “English and French: Towards the substantive equality of official languages in Canada,” lays out 50 proposals to buttress...
Holding Back the Pandemic Tide and Other Government Delusions
Good news has many fathers, the saying goes, while bad news is an orphan. So it was when the Covid-19 case numbers and casualty counts began to recede late last spring. Even faster than dandelions sprouting, variations on “We have flattened the curve” became among the...
The Snitches vs. The Scofflaws
Manitoba is at a pandemic low - not in infections, they are high - but in the government’s response. We are now encouraged to rat out fellow citizens on a “snitch line”. Officers have been hired to hand out tickets carrying hefty fines to business owners and...