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Postcard from London: Students fight school fees—and the police

jesse mintz

Almost five months to the day and I’m just now realizing that I didn’t learn my lesson from the G20. Sure, I found out first had the power and importance of community organization and activism; and I was forced to come to terms with the tragic ease with which our government could abuse our fundamental […] More »

In Britain and Canada alike, university fees are too high—and getting higher

simon wallace

Last week thousands of British students descended on London’s Conservative Party headquarters to protest drastic increases in tuition fees. Despite protestations from Liberal-Democrat leader Nick Clegg, the changing fee structure will make education much more costly—potentially three times more costly—for all students. Proponents of the fee hikes trotted out the usual lines about parental support, reasonable […] More »

The myth of Peak Masculinity

Graham F. Scott

Last spring, Dockers launched its stupefying ad campaign based around the core message of “Wear The Pants.” (In a move that nicely reinforced the tone-deaf idiocy of the campaign, it premiered on International Women’s Day, March 8. Classy.) The whole series, which is still running in a slightly diluted form, rests on the premise that there […] More »

Book Review: Citizens of Nowhere by Debi Goodwin

kevin philipupillai

The eleven extraordinary young people profiled in Citizens of Nowhere have been teachers, social workers, mediators, and breadwinners. Journalist Debi Goodwin meets them as refugees in Dadaab, Kenya, and follows them through their difficult transition to life as first-year university students in Canada. They have each been sponsored to come to study in Canada as […] More »

Game Theory #4: Dismal graduation rate for black NCAA players is the real March Madness

andrew wallace

The madness of March is upon us. And in the sporting world that means all college basketball, all the time. The Final Four tournament opened last week, where 64 teams (well, technically, 65—there’s a one-game playoff between the two worst sides to enter the actual tourney) do battle in one of the most exciting two-plus […] More »

LISTEN: Progressive groups react to last week's Budget announcement

nick taylor-vaisey

Progressive Canadians seldom get very excited whenever a Conservative government brings down a budget. More often than not, the priorities of the two groups are so wildly different that it’s almost not worth the effort to make a fuss. Last year’s budget was a different story. Stephen Harper’s team came up with a plan of […] More »

For a "national sport," hockey has become too expensive and elitist

Canice LeungWebsite

I grew up in the Greater Toronto Area, home to the most diverse region in all of Canada, perhaps the world, in a Hong Kong immigrant household (caveat: my Man U-loving dad raised me on soccer). I’m intensely proud of that fact. So it ruffles my feathers that, hockey so often precludes all other events — […] More »
January-February 2010

Innu village of Sheshatshiu out of crisis, into the classroom

Denis CalnanWebsite

Many Canadians associate Sheshatshiu with images of children sniffing gas from paper bags. The troubled central Labrador Innu community received nationwide attention in the ’90s as a place in crisis. Now, years later, with the opening of the new Sheshatshiu Innu School, members are working to shed the reserve’s negative image and turn life around […] More »

In the January-February 2010 issue of This Magazine…

Graham F. Scott

The January-February 2010 issue of This is now in subscribers’ mailboxes and on newsstands coast to coast (for the first time ever, we’re also being sold this issue in 30 Canadian airports — let us know if you find us on the racks in your travels!). You’ll be able to read all the articles from […] More »

Margin of Error #2: Why charter schools may not be as good as you think

allison martell

The charter school movement is enjoying something of a renaissance in the United States. Charter schools—which receive public funding but are privately run, thus removing some features of normal public schools, notably established teachers’ unions—are one of President Obama’s priorities.  They are also the cause du jour for New York City’s hedge fund managers. Education […] More »

Margin of Error #1: How much is a university degree really worth?

allison martell

[Editor’s note: Today, we introduce a new regular feature on the blog: Allison Martell will write “Margin of Error” once a month, looking at numbers and statistics in the news. Visit her website or follow her on Twitter.] Welcome to Margin of Error. Each month, I will be picking apart some number or statistical problem […] More »