Generally I think we are too quick to jump all over public figures for remarks they make —usually flippantly—that don’t jibe with our current understanding of sensitivity. It leads to a perpetually offended population where outrage, shock and condescending disappointment dominate the public discussion over what often amount to trivial matters. The endless string of […] More »

One of the best ways to get noticed is to disrupt the morning commute. That is exactly what a convoy of independent tow truck drivers did this morning as part of a protest against the Ontario Provincial Police’s proposal to contact its use of tow truck companies to a selected few. Together, those 50 plus […] More »

At Marv’s Classic Soda Shop, Marvin Garriott, known for his oiled handlebar moustache, is often asked to speak of politics. He’s the local prophet on the subject; all small towns have one. A two-term councillor sitting for the 1,900-person Southern Alberta town of Black Diamond, Garriott poses for tourists and reporters, mugging in a bowling-alley […] More »

On February 8, roughly 1,500 Quebec crown prosecutors and lawyers went on strike in frustration over being the country’s most overworked and underpaid public lawyers. The strike is believed to be the first in Canada. Prosecutors were given the right to strike in 2003 by the provincial government, who opted for contracts and incremental raises instead of […] More »

Even as the Deepwater Horizon spill releases an estimated 25,000 barrels of crude oil a day into the Gulf of Mexico—making it, in some experts’ estimates, an even greater ecological disaster then 1989 Exxon Valdez spill—Chevron Canada Ltd. is pursuing plans to create one of the deepest offshore oil wells in the world off the […] More »

Michael Schmidt, the dairy farmer whose David-and-Goliath battle with the Ontario government has turned him into somewhat of an emerging folk hero, wants to restore liberty to the dairy aisle of your local supermarket. There is, he says, no place for the state in the kitchens of the nation. Schmidt successfully defended himself last month […] More »

Last Wednesday, the following ‘letter to the editor’ appeared in Toronto’s Now Magazine: Disabled stay home I am a person with a disability who does not use Wheel-Trans, as others need it more and my needs have been better met by riding the subway, which is conveniently located half a block down my street. It’s […] More »

We’ll all get older, and start to slow down. It’s just a fact of life. But in the Atlantic Provinces, the population as a whole is getting older, and that’s going to lead to tough times ahead unless the provincial and federal governments step-in and make some changes. A report released Monday by the C.D. […] More »

[Editor’s note: today we introduce “Body Politic,” a new blog column about medicine and public health, written by Lyndsie Bourgon. Visit her website or follow her on Twitter. Body Politic will appear every other Thursday.] As the Calgary Flames hit the ice this weekend they appeared to show no great superpower, which is what I […] More »

Students, faculty, workers and community members will march today, November 5th, as part of the Campaign for a Poverty-Free Ontario. Organized by the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) and allied groups, this Day of Action calls on the McGuinty government to take concrete steps to eliminate poverty in Ontario by adequately funding social services and […] More »

The Environmental Commissioner of Ontario released his annual report to the provincial government yesterday and it contains some interesting tidbits. In particular, it’s interesting to note that the press release for the report highlights the problem of SLAPP suits in environmental planning governance right off the top, despite the fact that it gets just a […] More »