When Toronto launched Canada’s first bike share program in 2001, many saw it as a miracle project. Mirroring the popular-abroad systems of Paris and Vienna, the system allowed cyclists to grab their bikes at one hub, cruise the streets, and then drop the bike off at a rack nearest their destination—all for a daily or […] More »
With all this hand-wringing over firebombs and security perimeters, perhaps it’s time to put our hands to better use. I’m talking, of course, about getting creative when the G8/G20 rolls into the province next month. John Greyson, filmmaker and York University professor, posted this short film on his Vimeo site a few days ago. Greyson’s […] More »
The epic wars of the past between filmmakers and critics—Vincent Canby’s mano a mano with James Toback, James Cameron going cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs on any critic who looks at him funny, or the minor dustup that happened at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, in which a producer’s rep was punched in the face by […] More »
Monsanto has donated 475 tonnes, that’s $4 million worth, of hybrid vegetable seeds to Haiti, proving that a devastated nation is land ripe for corporate sowing. But at least one of Haiti’s major peasant-driven activist groups is looking a gift horse in the mouth. In an article for The Huffington Post, Beverly Bell explains “A […] More »
One group’s feeble witch-hunt won’t deter legitimate criticism of Israel’s actions It started out on a hopeful note. To kick off the second hearing of the Canadian Parliamentary Inquiry into Anti-Semitism, Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld, director of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, flew to Ottawa at the committee’s request to testify [PDF]that Canada is a […] More »
Who knew our federal government liked acting so much? We had our debut on the world stage in the role of the antiquated and stubborn ‘Colossal Fossil’ with our less-then-stellar environmental track record and we are now preparing for our lead role as the evil Sheriff of Nottingham to the world’s Robin Hood tax. It’s […] More »
When her adopted father and longtime abuser was let out of prison, Alli Russell channeled her turbulent feelings into a deeply personal song called “No Shame.” That song has become a continent-wide charity tour by Russell and her urban roots band, Po’ Girl, to support victims of childhood sexual abuse. “It was a three-year sentence […] More »
My first encounter with Kat Burns occurred ten years ago in Whitby, Ont. My family had a spare room in their basement that they were renting out and Kat Burns was a rebellious teenager in need of a roof over her head. She didn’t live there long—a few months at most. We never really knew each other. […] More »
The Claim Bamboo fabric is the perfect solution for the eco-chic shopper. The plant grows fast, with little water, few pesticides or fertilizers, and produces 30 percent more oxygen than trees. But does all that really mean guilt-free fashion—or is bamboo just a savvy marketing trick? The Investigation Last year, the Competition Bureau of Canada […] More »
Even as the Deepwater Horizon spill releases an estimated 25,000 barrels of crude oil a day into the Gulf of Mexico—making it, in some experts’ estimates, an even greater ecological disaster then 1989 Exxon Valdez spill—Chevron Canada Ltd. is pursuing plans to create one of the deepest offshore oil wells in the world off the […] More »
The May-June 2010 issue of This Magazine has been on newsstands for a while already, so I apologize that I’m a little late to the party blogging about what you can read in this issue. You can find This in quality bookstores coast to coast, or get every issue without making a special trip by […] More »