Counting sperm, ‘I tried counting mine once, but I went blind with exhaustion’
LONDON, U.K.—“I tried counting mine once, but I went blind with exhaustion,” tweeted one reader of the BBC website after it reported that sperm counts were down by half in the past 40 years all over the developed world. And it’s true: they are hard to count. The little buggers just won’t stay still. The […]
Time to eliminate gender discrimination in Indian registration, First Nation women deserve equality
PARLIAMENT HILL—I have been following with great interest the government’s decision to award Omar Khadr $10.5-million in compensation and in particular Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statements defending the decision. I invite the prime minister to use the same reasoning, principles, and values with regard to First Nations women and their rights in Bill S-3: An […]
Nanos Weekly Tracking: ending July 28, released Aug. 1, 6 a.m. EST
Ballot: The latest Nanos federal ballot tracking has the Liberals at 36.7 per cent support, followed by the Conservatives at 29.1 per cent, the NDP at 20.0 per cent, the BQ at 5.8 per cent and the Greens at 6.8 per cent. Accessible Voters: Asked whether they would consider voting for each of the federal […]
Are Saudis really on our side in counterterrorism?
OTTAWA—One country that remains a mystery to many is Saudi Arabia. A relatively new state—it really only dates from 1930—this desert land sprang from an odd mid-18th century agreement between a very conservative religious tradition, Wahhabism, and the rule of a single family, the Al Sauds. The Wahhabis care for (and dictate behaviour for) Saudis’ […]
The politics of alternate reality
OAKVILLE, ONT.—According to a quantum physics theory (my understanding of which is based mainly on what I learned from watching Star Trek), there exists an infinite number of alternate Earths and thus an infinite number of alternate realities. It’s a fantastic, mind-boggling concept to be sure, but one which should actually be familiar to people […]
Making our cities stronger is important
TORONTO—For all the euphoria over improved economic data, there remain nagging concerns over how well the economy is really doing—and is likely to do based on present trends. While the headline statistics look better than before, we seem to be settling for a new normal—lower rates of growth, continuing weak productivity gains, inadequate business spending […]
Ukrainians remain unbowed, not the first time they have fended off a foe
ON THE DONBAS FRONTLINE, UKRAINE—Looking out and down from the inside a Ukrainian Armed Forces Mil Mi-8 helicopter, I surveyed Ukraine as I have never done before—marvelling at that country’s measureless tracts of sunflowers and wheat fields nourished by the fertility of its Chernozem soil—understanding by seeing it from this height why this land, known […]
‘B.C. is burning and we’re only right at the very beginning,’ says MP Doherty as British Columbia’s wildfires season officially starts
British Columbia is in a state of emergency as the forest fires continue to burn out of control in the province, and the MPs whose ridings have been impacted the most say that while the federal government’s response so far has been adequate, resources are tapped, emotions are running high, and much more assistance will […]
Arrogance is what gets us beaten in elections
TORONTO—Every political hack remembers where they were when the first black man was elected president of the United States, or when Nelson Mandela was freed from a South African prison, or when Donald Trump cheated his way into the White House. Those were big political events. But some of us even remember where we were […]
NDP second quarter fundraising numbers ‘disappointing,’ highlight ‘challenge’ ahead: Bélanger
The federal NDP’s fundraising numbers have slid for the second quarter in a row, and former NDP national director Karl Bélanger says the results are “disappointing,” not just for the party itself but for those currently vying to lead it in the next election. “They are disappointing for the party as a whole, and I […]
