Opponents of oil pipelines, such as the Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta to the U.S. Gulf Coast, have arguably caused unnecessary harm to the environment, reduced public safety, and slowed the Canadian economy.
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The environmentalist war on fossil fuels has opened a new front: a war on pipelines. For years, activists claimed the world was rapidly depleting its oil and natural gas supplies. The fracking revolution (horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing) obliterated that...
The attempt by a Victoria BC promoter to institute “justice pricing” for a movie series has attracted considerable attention, most of it hostile. The “Made You Look Media” company had decreed that to view their offering at the Roxy Theatre the “general admission price...
Once they were big, really big, kings of Hollywood, producers of movies that were nominated for over 300 Oscars, but when their founder was outed as Captain America of the freestyle groping team, the Weinstein Company name became toxic.
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Why University?
In this essay, I explain that young people should come to university to be educated, and not to become credentialed; the public should support universities because universities educate young people, not because they produce credentialled workers. Why should a...
A Lamentable Tale of Two Colonies
During the whole of recorded history, the empire has been the most constant and common form of political organization. A basic, self-evident feature of all empire-building has been the successful occupation of the lands of the local, Indigenous inhabitants by outside...
High-Speed Rail Not Best Use of Taxpayer Money on the Prairies
There is renewed discussion in Alberta about building a high-speed rail link between Calgary and Edmonton. The idea has been around in one form or another for more than 30 years, but experience elsewhere in the world suggests that a high-speed train on the Canadian...
Nothing Inherent About Home Schooling Means Socially Awkward Children
Many Canadian parents reject home-schooling as a viable option for their children because they don’t want them to be socially awkward. But nothing inherent about home-schooling points to that as a likely result. Home-schooled children have contact with neighbours, in...
Rights of Union Workers Should Not be Unilaterally Altered
For too long, Canadians have watched as governments have entered into bad and costly labour agreements with public sector employees. Now that the politicians can no longer afford these expensive contracts, the rights of public sector workers are being altered without...
Anti-Oil Sands Propaganda Cannot Win the Day
Environmental extremists like the public to believe that the debate over the oil sands is a choice between economic rewards or a healthy environment. But Canada and Alberta can have both. The oil sands are being developed in a responsible way. Only three percent of...
Fining A Mother For Sending An “Unbalanced” Lunch Shows The Need For Common Sense
A rural Manitoba woman was recently fined $10 for sending her two kids to daycare with a lunch that was deemed nutritionally unbalanced according to Canada’s Food Guide. The meal included roast beef, potatoes, carrots, an orange and milk. To comply with provincial...
Prairies Will Benefit From Canada-EU Free Trade Agreement
The Canada-Europe Free Trade Agreement is a major milestone for the country. The potential impact will be hugely positive, especially for prairie agriculture. Among the greatest beneficiaries would be cattle ranchers in several provinces. Increased duty-free access to...
First Nations Election Bill a Step in the Right Direction
Ottawa has introduced Bill C-9, the First Nations Elections Act. It comes in response to concerns expressed by First Nations in Manitoba and Atlantic Canada about rules governing the election of chiefs and band councils. Among other things C-9 will allow...
Pipelines are the Safest Way to Transport Oil
Activists are continuing to work hard in an effort to block the construction of major oil pipelines like the proposed Northern Gateway project. As a result, oil companies have turned to alternatives, like moving crude by rail. But the tragedy at Lac Megantic, Quebec...
Class Size is not the No. 1 issue in education on the Prairies
New school trustees were elected in Alberta recently, and several of them have identified class size as a major public concern. But they and their colleagues in Manitoba and Saskatchewan should be looking at the larger picture. If school boards would focus on how to...