Philadelphia story: an early lesson in the new politics
In the midst of America’s most recent, gratuitously divisive, and antediluvian racist drama unleashed by its own president, I turned, as has become a habit, to some counter-content to self-medicate. In the case of a patently racist president of the United States denying he’s a racist, the best antidote seemed an anti-racist president of the […]
Banning tattooed soldiers only scratches the surface of potential problem recruits
OTTAWA—What started out as an almost comical, albeit embarrassing, incident in Halifax has led the Canadian Armed Forces to once again amend their policy on individual service members’ deportment. This whole saga began last June in a Tim Horton’s outlet when a member of the Royal Canadian Navy was observed displaying a contentious tattoo on […]
Anti-abortion group RightNow on cross-country tour to recruit volunteers for anti-abortion candidates
An anti-abortion political action group, RightNow, is going across the country trying to recruit volunteers to work on the campaigns of anti-abortion candidates, despite the fact that the leaders of every major party have said they will not reopen the abortion debate after the election. RightNow hosts training sessions that “essentially go over the numbers, […]
As eco-fascism takes hold, Canada’s leaders have yet to prove they’re up to the fight
OTTAWA—Many have been ringing the alarm about the terrifying connections between climate change, economic anxiety, and white nationalism movements and ideology. Eco-fascism, as it is otherwise known, is no longer a theory that resides in the depths of seedy internet forums. It is a fatal threat that must be challenged in the open. The El […]
#NotSoEqualVoice: the race for equality can’t be completed wearing blinders
OTTAWA—Equal Voice, an organization “dedicated to electing more women to all levels of political office in Canada,” has spent the better part of the last two decades purportedly trying to achieve its mission through campaign schools, panels, luncheons, award ceremonies, mentorship programs, conferences, and parties (oh, the parties). All the usual ways Hill-adjacent organizations try […]
Enemy of the People?
If you’ve never been to Baltimore, you may not want to trust Donald Trump’s Yelp review. Instead, maybe consider the range of artists who’ve each depicted distinct Baltimores—Barry Levinson, John Waters, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Anne Tyler, David Simon, among others—that are somehow all authentic and indelible. Baltimore is a microcosm of the United States in all its gritty, diverse, yearning, tough, tense, […]
Women splitting their vote more among various progressive options, says Bricker
A recent Ipsos poll showed Conservatives with a 10-point lead over the Liberals among female voters, 39 per cent to 29 per cent, respectively, but Ipsos CEO Darrell Bricker cautions against viewing this as a female surge towards Conservatives. “The Conservatives are not surging among women. What’s happening is that women are splitting their vote […]
Canadians deserve more than a white-bread response to racism
OTTAWA—“That’s not how we do things in Canada.” Are you sure about that? This was the statement our racially unsavvy prime minister gave to reporters in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s statements telling four congresswomen to “go back to where they came from,” and it’s very Canadian. So too is Bill 21, Quebec’s […]
The Trump nightmare hits full stride
OTTAWA—The thing about Watergate was that Richard Nixon resigned. With impeachment by the U.S. Congress over Watergate looming in 1974, Nixon stepped down—becoming the first president to do so. Would Donald Trump quit the White House if lawmakers were moving to impeach him? There’s every reason to think he wouldn’t. Two-and-a-half years into his term, […]
Take a lesson, premiers: women’s soccer leading the charge on gender equality
OTTAWA—If you only followed last week’s Council of the Federation meeting, you might believe that political gender equality and equity were in retreat. The annual premier’s meeting was notable not for its pronouncements, but for its pictures. Each shot featured male leaders, as, for the first time in a number of years, there are no […]
