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January-February 2021

Good riddance, Canada Fitness Test

You are not missed

Julia Zarankin

Dear (thankfully defunct) Canada Fitness Test, It’s been exactly 30 years since since you last subjected me to evaluation, but your quartet of badges still populates my worst nightmares. In the name of promoting healthier attitudes toward personal fitness, you terrorized an entire generation from 1970 to 1992. Your arrival every May coincided with nothing […] More »
November-December 2020

Dear celebrities, it’s time to log off

Please stop your performative attempts at activism—this moment isn't about you

Rayne Fisher-Quann

  Dear Celebrities, The time has come for you to stop posting. We’re tired of it. Stop tweeting, stop snapping, stop dialing up your Rolodex of similarly-famed friends to orchestrate twee, black-and-white videos lamenting any of the society’s various ills. It’s time to take a step back, go to therapy, and realize that while there […] More »
July-August 2019

Breaking Up With Bjork

When You've Built a Shrine to Your Problematic Fave

mel monoceros

Dear Bjork, The year leading up to my 30th birthday almost killed me, quite literally. The stress from my living situation at the time was pushing me to the edge of my sanity. I was living in a place I didn’t want to be in because I had gotten priced out of the place I’d […] More »
September-October 2018

Stand-up comedy got me through the darkest point of my life

How I laughed through the pain

Erica Ruth Kelly

Dear stand-up comedy, I almost threw up all over you the first time we met. I was 18. My then-boyfriend took me to a Just for Laughs showcase in Montreal. Mascara ran down my face as I watched one of the performers, Jeremy Hotz. You and I were still getting to know each other then. […] More »
March-April 2018

Dear art thieves: Stop stealing my work!

On the unnecessary theft of original artwork online

Hana Shafi@HanaShafi

Dear art thieves, Yes, that’s what you are. No, I don’t care that you just really liked my work. No, I don’t care that I didn’t use a watermark. It’s my design, you took it, you didn’t get my consent. You’re an art thief. I know we live in a time where millions of delicious […] More »
January-February 2018

Dear internet algorithms: Stop invading our privacy

Big Brother is watching—and it's not cool

Megan Jones@MegJonesA

Dear internet algorithms, I know that you’re cold, calculating, and goal-driven by nature, so I’ll get straight to the point: We need to talk about your manners—or rather, the fact that you don’t seem to have any. I know you’re made up of computer code, so it’s understandable you’d favour logic and efficiency over any […] More »
September-October 2017

Why Canada’s friends abroad need to get over Justin Trudeau

He's not all that

RM Vaughan@rm_vaughan

Dear Europeans, Listen, we Canadians are fond of you. And sometimes you Europeans can even find our country on a map. We like the way you keep it post-colonial. But we have to have a chat about Prime Minister Trudeau. The new one, Justin. Not Disco Trudeau—that was Trudeau 2.0’s dad. I’m talking about Yoga […] More »