John Mathenke was once arrested for being gay but, after failing to pay the customary bribe, was forced to have sex with the policeman. He had an orgy with a priest who publicly excoriates homosexuality, along with five other Masaai boys. And his Arab trader clients curse him during the day, but come back looking […] More »

[Editor’s note: Every month, EcoChamber profiles an environmental activist from Canada or abroad in a series called “Eco-Warriors.” These profiles are part of a collection of stories Emily is working on for a book called The Next Eco-Warriors.] [This post has been updated yet again, see below] Imagine being afraid of the air your daughter […] More »

If, as a disabled person, you think you’re still getting the shaft out in the real world, then you better thank the Lord you didn’t land in prison. Though twenty-five-to-life can be utterly soul-destroying for anyone, no one has it worse than the disabled inmates around the world.  For them, even basic human rights are […] More »

[Editor’s note: this series of blog posts on the bombings of natural gas wells in Northern B.C. is running over three days; part one was posted on Monday. Part two ran yesterday. This is the final part of the series.] The RCMP’s recent decision to raise the temperature in this region by officially describing the […] More »

[Editor’s note: this series of blog posts on the bombings of natural gas wells in Northern B.C. is running over three days; part one was posted yesterday. Look for the conclusion tomorrow morning.] If the gas that was coming out the ground in Northern B.C.  smelled like rose petals, it might not be such a […] More »

[Editor’s note: this series of blog posts on the bombings of natural gas wells in Northern B.C. will run over three days, starting today. Look for part two on Tuesday morning and the final part on Wednesday.] When I agreed to take a job as the editor of a small newspaper in Chetwynd, B.C., I […] More »

[This is the first in a three-part series on the Alberta tar sands. Also note: EcoChamber will be moving to Mondays starting today.] There is a sense of progress in the air. For the first time in over a decade, G8 countries and developing nations, including China and India, have agreed to reduce their emissions […] More »

A few days ago, a deadline with potentially enormous consequences passed very quietly. Thank goodness. It was June 30th, the day a court order to save Insite – Canada’s only safe injection site for heroine users – was due to expire. Fortunately the government agreed to extend the exemption and allow the facility to continue […] More »

If several high-profile individuals have their way, one of Canada’s major political parties could be on the way to a rebranding even before the summer is out. The New Democratic Party could enter the fall session of parliament with a new name, simply called the “Democratic Party.” The move has been promoted by a mounting […] More »

You’ve probably noticed by now, unless you’ve been hiding under a rock or just standing endlessly in line to offload your garbage, that Pride is in full swing. I have to admit I find Toronto Pride kind of overwhelming. This is largely because I come from Scotland, where Pride is shared by two cities who […] More »

Girls are expected to behave a certain way. While I’m not exactly sure what that means, I do know that I was once chastised by one of my high school drama teachers for what she diagnosed as “this stupid Goth thing you’re going for”: referring—albeit inaccurately—to my self-styled uniform of inky dyed hair, Salvation Army […] More »