Internationally, Canada’s a beacon for science and scientists

Take a look at the world right now and you will see that there are countries where support for science is on the decline. In some instances, scientists have been muzzled or funding for research has been scaled back. That is not the case in Canada today. In fact, internationally, we are viewed as a […]
‘Canada’s greatest prime minister was a mama’s boy,’ Unbuttoned: A History of Mackenzie King’s Secret Life

Canada’s greatest prime minister was a mama’s boy. Not only that, he was a sexually repressed, hypocritical, ghost-talking, spiritualism practising, guilt-ridden, prostitute-visiting mama’s boy. Or so Canadians learned in 1976. That was Mackenzie King’s annus horribilis, when the “Weird Willie” phenomenon reached a climax amidst a mounting din from books, documentaries, poetry, newspaper stories, and […]
Why girls’ education matters, even in a conflict zone

Growing up in a conflict zone, I know all too well how it feels to be told: “You can’t go to school today. It is too dangerous!” As a girl, I felt the frustration and anger of being stuck in an underground shelter instead of going to school, playing with my friends and learning new […]
‘My first reaction was, ‘Oh my god, my mom’’: Toronto van attack hits home for local MPs

While the Peace Tower flag flies at half-mast in Ottawa, Liberal MP Ali Ehsassi is back in his north Toronto riding of Willowdale to be with his community. He said he never expected a mass casualty attack would happen in Toronto, let alone his unassuming, mostly suburban Toronto neighbourhood. “I would have never imagined this,” Mr. […]
Time for Canada to re-engage with Commonwealth Scholarships

Commonwealth Scholarships are a prestigious international brand, well known and respected throughout the world. They help students with the cost of obtaining an advanced degree in a Commonwealth country other than their own. The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the United Kingdom recently issued a report that addressed its successes and challenges. The authors indicated that […]
Infrastructure improvements could increase annual GDP of northern territories by $4.7-billion: report

Upgrading trade-enabling infrastructure in Canada’s northern territories could add billions each year to the national economy, says a new report from the University of Calgary. Goods and services in the North are costlier than elsewhere in Canada, largely owing to logistical and geographic barriers limiting access to communities in the south. In the report “Gains from Trade for Canada’s […]
Time to stop funding Catholic school boards

OTTAWA—The passage of Easter and Passover, the most important days on the Christian and Jewish calendars, has led me to contemplate the role of religion in Canadian public life. While Canadian politics has not been infected with the sort of right-wing evangelism experienced in the United States, we remain a country where church and state […]
Without action, we will lose an entire generation of girls

This June, when it hosts the G7 summit, Canada will have five broad issues for the agenda, as set by the prime minister. One of these is gender equality and women’s empowerment. With less than three months until world leaders meet, the Canadian government has put out a social media call for Canadians to share […]
Liberal MP Khalid won’t back down after racists crash her town hall

A town hall meeting centred on how to remove systemic racism in Canada was derailed by a group of people yelling racist slurs, primarily directed at the host, Liberal MP Iqra Khalid who represents Mississauga-Erin Mills, Ont. The Toronto Sun reported on Feb. 23 that one man yelled “you’re a fraud,” another yelled “is this […]
Budget 2018 not an election-year spending plan, but Liberals ‘pre-staging’ some issues: stakeholders

The Trudeau government’s third federal budget is not an election-year spending plan crafted with an eye towards the campaign trail, though certain elements could hint at what issues the Liberals will run on in the 2019 vote, say stakeholders. Nearly 200 representatives from the private and non-profit sectors gathered in the Reading Room in Centre […]