I remember, long ago when there was hockey in the land, watching the Leafs play the Habs. I was a Habs fan, my roommate loved the Leafs. It was the early 90s. Toronto was kicking the stuffing out of Montreal in this game, and things were getting chippy. A scuffle broke out, and suddenly there […] More »

Just back from 4 days in Saskatoon, where I gave a couple of talks at the University of Saskatchewan. It was lefty-groupie heaven; as two female students were showing me around, we walked right past Roy Romanow, who is teaching there right now. The students got all giggly. On my flight back today, Stephen Lewis […] More »

Looks like another journalist has been sacked for having an extra-curricular blog. I think the This Magazine office is a little too small for me to anonymously chronicle everyone’s behaviour…”the indie-rock loving publisher, the ageless art director, the editor with the Thai cuisine addiction…” More »

Here is the letter I sent today to the MP of Parkdale-High Park, Sarmite Bulte: Dear Ms. Bulte, I am writing today to voice my strong beliefs on the issue of same-sex marriage, and to urge you to support Bill C-38 in the House of Commons. I understand you are on record as a supporter […] More »

Here’s a lovely piece from today’s CBC Montreal: Smog warning remains in effect MONTREAL – A thick winter smog blanketing southeastern Quebec is unlikely to lift before next week. That’s my cue to get out of here. I’m off to Saskatchewan for a few days. Have a good week everyone. (P.S. Hey Joyce, want to […] More »

So much for the thesis that healthy was the new unhealthy. From Brand Autopsy: According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, ‘Burger sales at the roughly 2,050 Hardee’s outlets have climbed 20% since the 2003 introduction of the first Thickburgers. CKE (owner of Hardee’s) has posted 19 consecutive months of same-store sales growth, after […] More »

So let me get this straight: Paul Martin goes to Newfoundland to do a radio show, and gets, not praise, but an earful from the people to whom he has just handed $2 billion of other people’s money. Meanwhile, the guy who extracted that cash by hauling down the Canadian flag goes to Toronto, and […] More »

I’m sure you are all wondering how negotiations between Ottawa and Quebec City are going over the parental leave file. Last time we looked at the file, Ottawa was offering $375 million, and Quebec was demanding $750 million. Has either side moderated its position? You have to dig into Le Devoir to find that — […] More »

Last week on This blog, we looked at how Quebecers had risen up against their government’s decision to allow jewish private schools the right to opt-out of a public programme, with full compensation. I suggested that in this case, the people of Quebec were denying to the jewish community a right that Quebecers themselves had […] More »

Making the unique political promise of “No more lies, evasion, [and/or] spin,” potentially insane former talk-show host Robert Kilroy-Silk launched Britain’s newest political party today. Wait a second, is it April 1st? No, must be for real. For a good laugh, see the Guardian article here. Unconfirmed rumours suggest the party name “Veritas” was originally […] More »

Offshore deal prompts Saskatchewan to seek similar pact Emboldened by the success of Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia wrestling their offshore oil revenues from the federal government, Saskatchewan is pressing Ottawa for a similar deal for its energy resources. Instant Update: Paul Wells beat me to it. More »