Closure of HuffPost Canada another hit to already battered Canadian media landscape
The closure of HuffPost Canada and HuffPost Québec earlier this month is just another gut-punch to an already battered news industry in this country following the economic wreckage of the COVID-19 pandemic. And Zi-Ann Lum, one of the reporters at HuffPost Canada, told The Hill Times that although she’s been “overwhelmed with support” following the […]
From disorientation to lockdowns to recovery: my year reporting on COVID
Following the one-year mark of the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve noticed more and more folks on social media asking and answering this question: ‘on what day did the pandemic really and truly start for you’? For me, it was March 16, 2020, when I checked into a hotel just off Elgin Street for the first of […]
A year into the pandemic, nurses are angry, exhausted
As the anniversary for March 11 anniversary of the World Health Organization declaring COVID-19 a global pandemic has come and gone, nurses across Canada are at their breaking point. We are exhausted, burned out—and angry. Nurses are on the front lines of the pandemic and our health-care system every day. We see its problems in […]
Swift federal action needed to close the agri-food sector’s digital divide
The changes facing Canadian society in this historic era cannot be understated. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced widespread adoption of technology to keep our economy moving and has increased Canadians’ appreciation for sectors, services, and workers that are deemed essential. But while most Canadians have increased their reliance on technology to stay connected, reliable high-speed […]
LGBTQ2 capacity funding a good start, but groups say it needs to be consistent and continued
A new capacity-building fund for LGBTQ2 community organizations has the potential to solve many issues the community faces as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, but some concerns remain among recipients, including over the lack of guaranteed future funding to maintain the capacity to be built. Announced Feb. 11 by Diversity and Inclusion […]
Feds’ investment in university infrastructure comes with environmental benefits
A year of social distancing has given many of us a closer look at where our homes could use an upgrade—a leaky tap wasting water, a drafty window sending heat outside, a furnace that rumbles through the night. Picture that on a much larger scale where a campus is home to thousands of students, faculty […]
Canada needs a major housing investment to ensure health, climate, job security
This month marks a sombre first anniversary for Canada. On March 16, 2020, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the decision to close our borders. If you need to come home, said Trudeau, do it now. Stay safe, we were told, stay healthy. Stay home. Home. Shelter in place. These are loaded words in a pandemic. […]
Wear masks, wash hands, and have a little more patience please
A number of lessons can be taken from what the world has gone through over the past year. The COVID-19 pandemic illustrates just how small our globe actually is, not only in terms of how the virus has impacted countries but also in how different political regimes have managed it. Where some democracies have adhered […]
Canadians awaiting competing visions of a post-pandemic recovery from the government and opposition parties
Justin Trudeau’s government is expected to unveil its budget in the coming weeks, and Canadians are eagerly waiting on the governing Liberals and opposition Conservatives to elucidate their competing visions of the post-pandemic recovery. Considering the recent ramping up of the vaccination rollout, Canadians expect to turn the page on the devastating pandemic in the […]
COVID crisis or change point: how agriculture can lead out of pandemic recession
Canada’s Conservatives understand the many challenges that the agricultural sector has faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite these challenges, Canadian farmers have remained resilient and continue to put world-class food on our tables to feed our families. John F. Kennedy famously pointed to the Chinese characters for “crisis” as signifying both danger and opportunity. However, […]
