Gerry Bowler

A Short History of Political Corruption

A Short History of Political Corruption

As public attention in Ottawa focuses on accusations of skullduggery and jiggery-pokery in the awarding of government contracts to certain charities, it may be useful to remember that corruption is as old as civilization. Those in authority, from the loftiest of...

Go Woke, Go Broke

Go Woke, Go Broke

The world is in the midst of a cultural war known as The Great Awokening. Armies of young progressives, media personalities, journalists, bureaucrats, and academics have seized the moment to demand that the rest of society must have only one set of correct thoughts...

Scholars Strike! The Nation Reels!

Scholars Strike! The Nation Reels!

Keen observers of the English language will have noticed the appearance of a new acronym. From the lips of CBC announcers, the keyboards of woke reporters and the throats of protestors comes a two-syllable word that defines a collective of the oppressed: BIPOC, short...

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Sex, Law, and Religion

Sex, Law, and Religion

Two thousand years ago, two small religious groups fought against the prevailing sexual morality of the Roman Empire. Unlike their neighbours, who were permitted to abuse their wives, have sex with their slaves, keep concubines, patronize brothels, attend orgies, and...

Two Cheers for Charles III

Two Cheers for Charles III

The recent marriage of Prince Henry to an American divorcée and the declining vigour of our sovereign majesty Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God Queen of this Realm and of Her Other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, has led some...

Another Look at Apologies

Another Look at Apologies

The string of calls for public apologies continues unabated. Yet again, demands have been made that Pope Francis apologize for the role that the Catholic Church played in the Indian Residential School system. His refusal to do so has outraged native leaders....

Canadian Superheroes Abound

Canadian Superheroes Abound

Much has been made lately of the arrival of a new Canadian superhero. Welcome please, Amka Aliyak, alias Snowguard, a shape-shifting Inuit lass from Pangnirtung, in Nunavut who will soon be appearing on the pages of a Marvel comic book. With the assistance of her...

Regrets, I’ve Had a Few

Regrets, I’ve Had a Few

The Prime Minister mounted the National Apology Pulpit in Ottawa again this week by promising that at some point Parliament would express its regret for the McKenzie King government’s refusal in 1939 to grant asylum to German Jews aboard the MS St. Louis. The ship,...

Big Crimes and Little Crimes On Campus

Big Crimes and Little Crimes On Campus

I must confess to a crime. Many years ago, when I was still in my twenties, I was enjoying a late night non-alcoholic beverage with an old friend from my high school days. Our talk turned to the teachers we had had in our adolescence, some of whom we revered, some of...

Anti-Diversity and Comic Books

Anti-Diversity and Comic Books

Consumers of popular culture, aware of the recent box-office success of the movies Black Panther and Wonder Woman, may have been puzzled by recent claims that the world of fantasy entertainment – comics, films, books – was deemed to be suffering a crisis in diversity....

White Privilege

White Privilege

Parents in the interior of British Columbia were shocked recently when their children came home from school with news of a new social awareness campaign. Posters throughout School District 74 were featuring administrators commenting on racism; in one, the image of...

We Mustn’t Judge, Must We?

We Mustn’t Judge, Must We?

The young homeowner was in bed with his wife when the telephone rang. Sleepily he lifted the receiver to hear: “Sir, this is Sergeant Preston from Security. I thought you should know that there has been a property invasion in the neighbourhood and the perpetrators are...