Any suggestion that we should consider reopening Canada’s Constitution to solve our increasingly serious problems usually evokes snorts of derision and eye-rolling. The last attempts—Mulroney’s failed Meech Lake Accord in 1990, and Charlottetown in 1992—left the...
Pierre Poilievre recently made headlines when he criticized The Indian Act - calling it racist and archaic. In fact, his remarks were not even controversial, because many indigenous leaders have said the same thing for more than half a century. The Indian Act is...
“Ahead, Thar Be Dragons.” The world of 2023 is a scary place. One major war is raging, with others probably on the way. The Pax Americana that has given us freedom of the seas and allowed global trade to flourish might be breaking down. International piracy,...
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...
This past weekend, we learned of the tragic and unexpected passing of Pastor Leon Fontaine at 59 years of age. Leon was a gifted leader playing many roles both nationally and internationally. He was, with his wife Sally, the senior Pastors at Springs Church with...
Testimony before the Public Order Emergency Commission reveals the case for government invoking the Emergencies Act is either weak or very weak. The Prime Minister was, in fact, opposed to members of his cabinet or senior public health officials meeting with protest...
The current Prime Minister recently publicly contradicted RCMP Commissioner, Brenda Lucki, for saying there is no systemic racism within the RCMP. Actually, Lucki said she didn’t know what “systemic racism” is. In her words, “I have to admit, I really struggle with...
The chief of a Manitoba First Nation (reserve) intends to proceed with a powwow despite provincial COVID-19 regulations prohibiting large gatherings. Recently, four other First Nations set up blockades in northern Manitoba. One chief publicly tore up the court order...
To its credit, Australia, together with strong leadership from the United States, is leading the charge to conduct an inquiry into the origin of the novel coronavirus that has killed hundreds of thousands and severely disrupted the lives of billions of the world’s...
“Reconciliation is dead”, according to a Globe and Mail article penned by two Indigenous academics. That was also the message on signs carried by protestors blocking rail lines in support of some Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs. These people say that by announcing that...
The reports about nursing home deaths keep getting worse. Thousands of parents and grandparents have died before their time because of our collective negligence. At the same time, our decision to lock down has economic consequences that will hurt us for generations....
The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes that we have to learn to live with COVID-19. Notwithstanding hope of a vaccine, there is no guarantee. Thus, the virus awaits as we step out our door. And it could get worse. Here, the virus has been suppressed by a...
As this wave of the pandemic winds down, we should ask honest questions about our response to it. Although an accurate assessment of the lockdowns - closing schools and businesses - is months away, we need a plan to respond to a likely second fall wave. The Economist...
Winnipeg’s Mayor is determined to pursue his name game; renaming, removing, and rewriting history. Among his targets is Bishop Grandin Boulevard - the Mayor doesn’t like Bishop Grandin’s attitudes. If he succeeds, the next logical renaming would be St. Vital - also...
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Those were the famous words of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, spoken at his first inauguration on March 4, 1933, at the height of the Great Depression. Unemployment had hit 25 percent and there was panic in the land....