I suppose I should first set-up the idea behind what will be a reoccurring column for This on stories that should be covered in the media but for a host of reasons aren’t. Sometimes I’ll offer why it is I think a given story hasn’t been taken up, while other times I’ll simply identify a […] More »
When the earthquake struck in Haiti, it changed Dominique Anglade’s life in Montreal forever. Her parents, Georges and Mireille Anglade, were the first Canadians confirmed killed in the aftermath of Jan. 12, 2010. They were crushed to death in their family compound in the Mont-Joli neighbourhood of Port-au-Prince. Anglade, a 39-year-old management consultant and mother […] More »
In this country we love to talk about the weather. It’s like this guaranteed source of small talk, a go-to topic for filling the gaps in a conversation. It’s the thing we all have in common, because we all experience it. Whether it’s the unnaturally mild weather of last week, the intense snowfalls we’ve seen, […] More »
In this edition of Listen to This — the premiere of our second season of original interviews with Canada’s most fascinating activists, politicos, and artists! — we talk with Heather Leson and Brian Chick, two of the more senior Canadian coordinators of Crisis Commons, an international online community of people who use their technology skills to […] More »
When she isn’t playing jazz organ in Rio de Janeiro or running her own jam session during the Montreal International Jazz Festival, musician Vanessa Rodrigues can usually be found making her own pickles. The Montreal-based musician has her plate full with music projects, but high on her list of priorities is food—the growing of, the […] More »
When Toronto launched Canada’s first bike share program in 2001, many saw it as a miracle project. Mirroring the popular-abroad systems of Paris and Vienna, the system allowed cyclists to grab their bikes at one hub, cruise the streets, and then drop the bike off at a rack nearest their destination—all for a daily or […] More »
When her adopted father and longtime abuser was let out of prison, Alli Russell channeled her turbulent feelings into a deeply personal song called “No Shame.” That song has become a continent-wide charity tour by Russell and her urban roots band, Po’ Girl, to support victims of childhood sexual abuse. “It was a three-year sentence […] More »
Once upon a time, saying a film looked “Canadian” meant that it looked “low budget.” Gone are those days. Take for example, The Trotsky, one of the latest Canadian films to fall into the national and international spotlight after doing the rounds at various film festivals. Starring Canadian Jay Baruchel as Leon Bronstein, a 17-year-old […] More »
Tell someone you like science fiction, fantasy or horror films and you might get “the look.” A look that says, “Are you silly, immature or, worse, pervy?” Fans of genre cinema—the term applies to many different categories of film but is most commonly applied to sci-fi, fantasy and horror—have long had a bad rep as […] More »
“Working people did not cause this crisis … and we won’t pay for it!” These words were printed in bright red letters on a flyer recently published by the Communist Party of Canada as part of its effort to raise public awareness about the root causes of the global economic crisis. The flyer sat atop […] More »
One of the great redeeming aspects of big, multi-day, city-wide music festivals like Canadian Music Week/Fest is the opportunity for discovery. It’s very rare these days that one gets the opportunity to hear something truly great, for the first time, in a live setting. Generally, if I’m going to a show where I’m unfamiliar with […] More »