"He doesn't hear himself the way that others hear him."
by Geoffrey Stevens
If the man weren’t so self-satisfied and insensitive, one could almost feel sympathy for Mitt Romney.
Poor Mitt. All he wants is to realize the American dream by becoming president of his country. He is spending scads of his own and, mainly, other people’s money in pursuit of that dream – so far, $179 million for advertising in swing states alone, with more than three months to go to election day.
by Richard Wagamese
I'm brown. It's the second or third thing I notice about myself every morning. The others are that I'm alive and that I have things to get done by the end of the day. Depending on the state of my bladder, the second thing is sometimes shuffled.
by Phil Taylor the Taylor Report for CIUT
Poet Joe Rosenblatt on the important work of Milton Acorn. Celebrated illustrator Francis Back objects to glorification/distortion of the war of 1812. Yves Engler explains the dynamics of Quebec student movemen
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by Jody Dallaire, Dieppe Advisory Committee on Equal Opportunity between Women and Men
Recently, New Brunswick celebrated Disability Awareness Week (DAW) for the 25th time. This year, DAW fell on May 27 to June 2 with a theme "Ready and Able to Work." Galas held during May and June celebrated the achievements of local individuals with disabilities.
by Geoffrey Stevens
If Dalton McGuinty had his eye on the ball, he would waste no more time in calling the provincial by-election in Kitchener-Waterloo. He would then throw the Liberal treasury, the kitchen sink, and anything else he can lay his hands on, into the fray.
Kitchener-Waterloo offers McGuinty his best (perhaps only) opportunity to realize his fondest dream: a return to a majority Liberal government (albeit with a bare majority: 54 of the 107 seats).
by David Suzuki
A recent pipeline leak sent 475,000 litres of oil into Alberta's Red Deer River. It could have been worse; nothing was being pumped at the time. The company, Plains Midstream, claims the light sour crude may smell bad but poses no risk to humans!
It happened as crews were cleaning a larger spill from last year at another of the company's pipelines. That one dumped 4.5 million litres of oil into the surrounding forest and wetlands. The recent Red Deer River spill was also the site of a leak in 2008. Industry figures show that more than 3.4 million litres of fossil fuels have been accidentally released from pipelines every year in Alberta since 2006. One litre of spilled oil can contaminate a million litres of groundwater.
Giant fish proves to be foe worthy of respect.
Rivers fascinate me. When I was a boy I loved nothing better than solitary wandering along their serpentine lengths, studying the water, searching the places where fish would lie, watching the creatures that lived there, and lying on their banks lost in thought under the seemingly endless blue skies of boyhood.
Back then a river was an opportunity. Within it lay the fish of my dreams or the magic passage away from the world that had me snared. I was an unhappy kid. Only in solitude did I feel safe and only in the aloneness that the land and rivers represented could I find the freedom to dream and create.
by Jody Dallaire, Dieppe Advisory Committee on Equal Opportunity between Women and Men
Among the many misguided changes in the 2012 federal budget — the much hated Omnibus Bill C-38 — the government announced (along with cuts to several programs) that it is allocating $8 million dollars to police Canadian charities.
This is only the latest of several policy and budget decisions the federal government has made, that impede the work of registered charities and non-profits.
Indeed, this government has implemented drastic funding cuts to programs designed to support public education, research, public policy and advocacy work. For instance, the Status of Women Canada's mandate no longer includes the word "equality"; the Court Challenges Program was abolished entirely; and of course cuts to environmental programs such as the Experimental Lakes Area.
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It does not appear that there is a rampant problem in Canada.
There are certain issues that simply will not go away. Fueled by religious or ideological conviction, they lie dormant for a spell, then reappear on the public agenda.
Capital punishment was a deeply divisive issue in the 1960s and '70s. Although the death penalty was finally abolished in Canada 36 years ago this month (on a 130-124 free vote in Parliament), the issue is not dead. It is still alive in the weeds of the political right, and no one will be surprised if it surfaces again if there are a few more shootings like those in Toronto and Colorado in the past week.
Quebec and Canada keep deadly industry alive.
Mesothelioma is a nasty cancer that affects the lining around a person's lungs. It can also damage membranes around the abdomen, heart, and testicles. The prognosis for those who have it is poor. It causes close to 90,000 preventable deaths a year. More than 90 percent of cases are attributed to asbestos exposure.
Asbestos is made up of tiny fibres that can be inhaled, penetrating the lungs. Because they are mineral-based, they can't be broken down by the body's natural defences, so they cause inflammation. The fibres also remain in the lining around the lungs, and over time — often 20 to 30 years or more — may cause mesothelioma or other diseases.
