The U.S. COVID response is a strong lesson in what not to do
OTTAWA—As COVID-19 has now affected the entire globe, it is interesting to observe just how it has impacted different cultures, aside from actual mortality rates or those measures governments have taken to contain the spread of the virus. In Italy, for instance, one of those countries that has been exceptionally hard hit by COVID-19, locked […]
‘Senseless’ violence is a crock of nonsense in a country built on patriarchy
OTTAWA—Not all men. However, when it comes to mass murder, it is indeed all men. The shootings in Nova Scotia were shocking, until they weren’t. The shooter had a history of domestic violence, which is something that the police made only perfunctory mention of, and his first victim (though not killed) was his girlfriend. Seems […]
Community organization, not embassy, spearheads annual genocide commemoration, group corrects
Re: “Armenian Embassy moves commemorations online to mark the 105 years since genocide,” (The Hill Times, April 22, p. 27). While we thank you for highlighting this important event, we are deeply concerned that the information highlighted in the article is not entirely correct. The article explicitly mentions in its subheading that it is the […]
We need a Canada for what matters
As an economist observing this downturn, I find myself wondering, “What if?” For the first time in our history, we have a chance to rebuild our economy to enrich collective well-being rather than individual profit. We have a chance to create an economic system designed to care and produce real joy. I believe we could all participate in steering it that way. Over the past month, our priorities have shifted dramatically. Governments have been forced to determine which businesses are essential to […]
COVID-19 death rates and arrogance
LONDON, U.K.—Something has gone wrong in the “anglosphere,” as the English-speaking countries are known in some other parts of the world. Smaller English-speaking countries are coping with the COVID-19 emergency quite well. New Zealand’s coronavirus death toll so far is 18, and Australia’s is 83. Even Canada, despite being next door to the United States, […]
Why does it take a crisis to understand that health workers are our health system?
OTTAWA—In country after country, members of the public are clapping from their doorways and balconies to show their appreciation of health workers. It is becoming clearer than ever that our health system is largely our health workers. Ventilators do not work without health workers; testing does not happen without health workers. All forms of care […]
Gotlieb revolutionized Canadian diplomacy with our primordial partner
The best of mandarins, as our ambassador to the United States, Allan Gotlieb revolutionized Canadian diplomacy with our primordial partner. His insights into the U.S. and the value of public diplomacy continue to have application and relevance. His schooling set him up as a comer: as an undergraduate at Berkeley, a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, […]
A view from the EU: our COVID-19 response at home and abroad
The COVID-19 pandemic has thrust the world into a public health crisis unlike anything we have seen in recent history, unprecedented in scale and speed. The rapidity and ferocity of the outbreak caught many, including in the European Union, off guard at first. We must thank and show our appreciation to the numerous doctors and […]
Once again, the country is tear-drenched by a single shooter
HALIFAX—Once again, the country is tear-drenched—22 murdered in rural Nova Scotia by a single shooter. There is a special lexicon for abominable acts. Sadly, most of us know it by heart these days. Surreal, senseless, horrifying, unthinkable, unspeakable, confounding, and cowardly. Those words have been used to describe atrocities from Columbine and Sandy Hook to […]
Death of separatism unintended outcome of COVID-19 pandemic
OTTAWA—The death of separatism is an unintended outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the first time in my memory, provincial governments are looking to the federal government as more than just a cash machine. They are actually working together, pooling resources and information in an effort to fight the spread of a pandemic that knows […]
