The dubious ‘problem’ of purported global warming has become a key driver of public policy, bringing social coercion and huge capital allocations by governments and corporations across the world. Thus, very skeptical scrutiny should be brought to bear on...
Manitoba has a problem. Actually, it has a lot of problems but proper cell phone and internet service is a glaring one. Many years ago, as in about 150 years ago, Manitoba, as it is today, was a land of opportunity. Farming was starting to take hold, the fur...
During a mid-May CBS morning show, host Nate Burleson asked former U.S. President Barack Obama if there’s anything about the country that still keeps him up at night. Obama said: “The thing that I’m most worried about is the degree to which we now have a divided...
For many years past, and probably many to come, fiscal conservatives have told governments to have small cabinets. Let’s face it–it’s a symbolic gesture at best and the last place where saving money should be a factor. Effectiveness should be our goal, not...
Who decided the nearly uniform messages we hear on the pandemic and what to do about it? Our politicians defer to doctors who, in turn, look to the World Health Organization (WHO). When we realize who pays the WHO, the senselessness makes sense. Leave it to the...
Without doubt, Alberta’s premier is in some trouble. A recent opinion survey put the opposition NDP’s leader ahead of the United Conservative Party (UCP), within reach of forming a majority if a vote were held now. The premier’s popularity has eroded during the...
Centerra, a mid-size gold mining company, is engaged in a legal and political dispute with the government of Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia with a chronically unstable and fractious political class and culture. Its main asset, the Kumtor mine,...
I’ll start this commentary by observing that I am not a climate skeptic. As an environmental scientist/engineer by training, I think climate change is real, but it’s like every other environmental issue: a more-or-less routine engineering challenge, rather than a...
Recently, a bidding war has erupted between Canada’s two mammoth and historic railways, Canadian National, ‘CN’ and archrival, Canadian Pacific, ‘CP,’ for the U.S. railroad, Kansas City Southern, ‘KCS.’ This is all about KCS’ mid-American location and its extensive...
Spring has finally arrived and the scourge of COVID-19 is slowly being beaten back. Manitoba’s economy was in trouble before COVID-19 and the last 15 months have weakened it even more. Before COVID-19, the province’s economic weakness could be attributed to its...
The Chinese dragon puts his eyes on everyone he can. A Chinese tech startup is helping with that task in every way possible. Shenzhen Zhenhua Data Information Technology Co. Ltd. is collecting all of the open-source information available and is building tools to keep...
The staid and venerable television program 60 Minutes aired a segment last Sunday night that focused on a topic that has been examined before, but not with the same widespread receptivity and credibility. It had to do with ‘UAPs’, Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, what...
The prime minister of Canada has made no secret about his belief that every Canadian should get vaccinated. “I just want to get back to normal,” he said in May, insisting that the path back to normality was to ensure that everybody, including the “crusty old uncle...
The pandemic took many countries, governments and people by surprise. Many were not prepared to face this crisis. Initially, most Western countries refused to panic and wanted to manage the situation like another flu epidemic. But the outbreaks in hospitals and other...
In recent days, reports, studies and analyses have implicitly shown that the essential character of state-owned enterprises, including Canadian Crown corporations, makes it impossible for these entities to have true independence of mission, strategy, governance or...