July 1 is about cottages, fireworks, beer, and the long weekend. As a white person born and raised in Canada, I was taught to believe that Canada Day was a nice summer tradition. Of course, as a kid growing up in the early ’90s, there was no obvious reason to think otherwise. By and large, […] More »
Transgender performance artists Lexi Sanfino and Nina Arsenault were arrested after a WestJet flight June 20. Sanfino caused a disturbance, strutting down the airplane aisle topless after a flight attendant rudely asked the friends for makeup tips: “You know, because you used to be guys, right?” according to the Toronto Star, though the Huffington Post […] More »
On June 11 Marineland released a statement saying Baker the sea lion died. The first three sentences of the four-paragraph document talk about the animal friend. He died of natural causes at 29 years old; he may have been the world’s oldest sea lion. The rest reads a little passive aggressively, perhaps against the protesters […] More »
Recent changes to the policing of Canada’s controversial Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) have some Canadians questioning the safety of their civil liberties. The changes allow agents of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC), the branch of government in charge of the program, to enter the premises of any business employing TFWs and search […] More »
Cleaning commercials have always been crystal clear on whose job it is to keep the family home sparkling. It is a pretty standard formula to show women on the brink of orgasm, dancing over their whites getting their whitest, high on the fumes of the chemicals responsible for their Martha Stewart castles. It’s been a […] More »
The DSM-5 is the newest edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual—the book of mental illnesses. The tome has been around since the ’50s, and updated editions have reflected changing social norms— homosexuality was taken out in 1973. Over its five editions, names have changed, symptoms have changed, and new illnesses […] More »
The Victoria Day sun beckoned my five-year-old daughter and I to the park. While playing near the slide she was pushed over by a tongue-waging canine; looks like Bella was beckoned too. The kiddo laughed it off and the six-month-old puppy kept running with her owners, a family of three. The mother told me how […] More »
If you didn’t hear, the Toronto Maple Leafs made the playoffs, a first since 2004. The last time they won the Stanley Cup was in 1967. This is all newsworthy stuff, history made with the youngest team in the playoffs. But it was a look between two women that made the news for days. “DRAMA! […] More »
The Conservatives are at it again with another sneak-attack on democracy. This time one of the targets is an old favourite—the CBC. If you search hard enough, tucked away in the 111 pages of unrelated motions, you’ll piece together the government’s plan to tighten control over crown corporations. Via Rail and Canada Post are among […] More »
He could be the one, soul mate, husband, loving father to your children. But first, you’ve got to get him to say hello. These are actual words from an actual Crest 3D White Arctic Fresh Toothpaste commercial that started airing last November (and is still on air). Naturally, the commercial suggests the only way to […] More »
Remember that day Wikipedia didn’t have all the answers? That day you turned to the world’s trustiest encyclopedia but all it said was, “Imagine a world without free knowledge”? Last year on January 18, thousands of websites protested against the major U.S. internet censorship bills, Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protest IP Act (PIPA). […] More »