Dig this from yesterday’s oral questions in the House of Commons. The build up is a bit precious, but the question itself is pure gold: Hon. Jack Layton (Toronto Danforth, NDP): Mr. Speaker, if the Prime Minister wants to behave like FDR, the least he could do is provide a new deal for the lumber […] More »

Front page news this morning has Justice Gomery putting the finger on everyone but Paul Martin for the sponsorship scandal, despite Martin being such a prominent wallet man for the previous liberal government. This can only further soften the seat of power federal Liberals have been getting very cosy in as polls rise over the […] More »

Everyone should listen to and buy “Do they know it’s Halloween?,” a Geldof send-up performed by an ensemble calling itself the North American Halloween Prevention Initiative. Included in the group are some great and hot artists, such as Beck, The Arcade Fire’s Win and Regine, Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore, Sloan’s Chris Murphy, Feist, and so […] More »

Unlikely hero, Brian Diesbourg, hauled off and booted a football over fifty yards and put it through the uprights—for non-sports fans in the audience, this is a very, very long way, even for a professional football kicker, which Brian Diesbourg is not—last night at halftime during the Toronto/Hamilton CFL game (hey, guess who won), and […] More »

I want to laugh at the idea of CBC president Robert Rabinovitch spilling water all over himself and then falling out of his chair, but I’m afraid I’ve done the same a few too many times to pass judgement. However, I’m having trouble with his claim that the CBC lockout was justified. While his point […] More »

This is curious. The Governor General, defender of the constitution, decided to honour a dedicated and unambiguous secessionist poet by giving him some bling and a nice wad of cash. Fair enough. This is Canada, and rewarding disloyalty is how we do things here. But after his secessionist friends found out that he was Uncle-Toming […] More »

Ralph Nader is coming to the centre of the universe—wait, isn’t he already there? Anywayyy, “The Nade” is speaking in Toronto next Friday (October 28), at the Ryerson Theatre (43 Gerrard St. East). His topic: Innovative Solutions for our Survival: Connecting Climate Change with Social Justice Of course, you don’t have to believe in either […] More »

In this week’s NOW Magazine, Wayne Roberts provides some much-needed perspective on the softwood lumber dispute. He wonders why many moderate, even progressive, Canadians are looking to the federal government to stand up to the United States on the issue of tariffs being applied to raw lumber imports from Canada: “It disturbs me that any […] More »

Rest in Peace, Saturday Night magazine. Just learned from D.B. Scott’s Canadian Magazines blog that St. Joseph’s Media has decided to suspend publication of Saturday Night, yet again. The magazine has died and been resurrected more times in the last decade than I can remember. If this is it’s last life, I will truly miss […] More »

A loose coalition of Canadian arts groups is travelling to Ottawa next week to deliver an enormously important message to federal politicians — Canada’s arts and culture industry is a huge contributor to the Canadian economy, yet we continue to treat this sector like it can eat air. From a recent Canadian Arts Coalition press […] More »

Currently making the email rounds: George: Condi! Nice to see you. What’s happening? Condi: Sir, I have the report here about the new leader of China. George: Great. Lay it on me. Condi: Hu is the new leader of China. George: That’s what I want to know. Condi: That’s what I’m telling you. George: That’s […] More »