Here in Toronto, I’m hiding in my apartment as the temperature hovers just above zero and I’m wondering how it is that I turned out to be such a wimp when I spent my formative years in Winnipeg, the land of cold and snow and over-sized Halloween costumes fitted over snowsuits. It seems to be […] More »

Why does the Econo Lodge at 335 Jarvis St. have a push button automatic door with a handicap logo on it, but a single staircase that leads inside? Why does Bar Burrito on Yonge & Sheppard have a step leading into their restaurant, while the restaurant right next door is on level ground? Why does […] More »

The economy is on a lot of people’s minds as Canadian newspapers warn of recession and the United States deals with its subprime mortgage problem. And so this might be the perfect time to read Margaret Atwood’s new book Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth. Consisting of five essays, each presented during this […] More »

Forget about the drug store commercials that tout pharmacists as friendly neighbourhood fixtures who look out for your family’s well being. The Ontario Medical Association is downgrading them to med-school dropouts who can’t tell a tummy ache from metastatic stomach cancer. A new proposal floating around Queen’s Park would allow pharmacists to diagnose simple ailments […] More »

November 20th, 2008, is World Philosophy Day, an annual celebration initiated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). This year, in Palermo, Italy, a set of philosophers will gather for talks under the theme “Rights and Power”, and with titles like “Human dignity, civil community and public authority”, “From the Mediterranean to […] More »

Yesterday was the Speech from the Throne, the strange annual ritual where the government writes a speech and the Governor General has to read it in Parliament. The Conservatives laid out a cautious — NDP leader Jack Layton dismissed it as “very timid” — and cost-cutting agenda, with a focus on the economy. There were […] More »

Margaret Wente has now covered race and its discontents in two consecutive issues of The Globe and Mail. Yesterday in her opinion piece, “Testing, testing, bigot 1-2-3”, she described an outwardly, and unabashedly, prejudiced aunt – a woman who would often have a nasty thing to say about the black people she called “coloureds”. This […] More »

You’d be surprised how close the resemblance is between This Magazine’s offices and the set of “The Price is Right.” The shag carpeting, the spinning contraptions, the screaming fans — it’s quite the work environment. But of course the thing that unites us most are the FABULOUS PRIZES that are available. If you come on […] More »

I have a favorite Thai restaurant, here in Toronto, called Salad King. There’s nothing I love more than selecting how many chilies I want with my mango chicken, but I can’t take anyone I know there — or at least, not unless they can conquer the huge front step outside the front door. But in […] More »

[Editor’s Note: from time to time we feature guest bloggers on important issues. Email editor at thismagazine dot ca to enquire about contributing.] BY CATE SIMPSON Forty years after the Stonewall riots, Julie Bindel, writing in The Guardian earlier this week, claims that trans men and women haven’t earned the right to be recognized by […] More »

If the audio player doesn’t display, click here to download the mp3 file. The current issue of Toronto Life magazine features a cover story on the murder of Aqsa Parvez, the Mississauga teen who was killed last year, allegedly by members of her own family, over a dispute about — well, it’s tough to say […] More »