Truth, duty, valour, and don’t get caught: Canada’s military colleges need real reform
SAN FRANCISCO—In their opinion piece, “Royal Military College, a dishonoured tradition,” published in last Monday’s issue of The Hill Times, lawyers Michel Drapeau and Joshua Juneau, whose clients include some of the victims of alleged sexual assault at RMC, commented on the recently published 2019 Statistics Canada report entitled, “Experiences of unwanted sexualized and discriminatory […]
The Joe and Kamala cavalry
As the world heaved a sigh of relief on Saturday with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris declared the projected president and vice-president-elect of the United States, just the prospect of a change in Washington had the church bells of Paris pealing and scores of the post-election petrified flinging off their covers at 11:30 a.m. as […]
How low will Trump go?
HALIFAX—There is only one thing scarier than Donald Trump as a second term president: Trump as a lame duck president. With the arithmetic of the electoral college close to closing the presidential curtain on Trump 2.0, a disquieting question sits squarely behind the sense of relief much of the world is feeling at the likely […]
Tackling systemic racism starts with an overhaul within government institutions
In recent months, there has been increased attention to systemic racism brought on by demonstrations worldwide since the killing of George Floyd in June. In Canada, the recent death of Joyce Echaquan due to alleged racially motivated negligence and the brutal killing of Mohamed-Aslim Zafis outside a Toronto mosque, have led to calls for changes […]
Persons with disabilities deserve a basic income
Last month’s Throne Speech committed to the creation of a new Canadian disability benefit for persons with disabilities—that’s good news. The details remain vague, but some disability advocates have long championed a basic income for people with disabilities. The newly announced benefit may offer a step toward that reality. Basic income is a guarantee that […]
Honey, the pandemic shrunk transparency
OTTAWA—In these pandemic months, no one, not the public, or Parliament, is getting greater transparency. Existing committees, like the House of Commons Health Committee, will be having a one-shot, quicker-than-usual partial viewing of some redacted pandemic documents. That’s only after the opposition parties outvoted the reigning Liberal minority government. But attempts at creating a new […]
The dark and sombre shadows of the Atlantic fishery conflict
There is real sadness in the anger and violence erupting on the East Coast. This kind of conflict is not the norm in Canada, particularly when racially loaded comments, threats, and violence are included. The Government of Canada faces a difficult situation out of which must emerge a balance, with an effort to define and […]
Canadian government bailout of airlines needs conditions
TORONTO—While airlines struggle and make major service cuts due to an unprecedented drop in passenger demand, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc recently suggested the Canadian government could take an ownership stake to bail out our airlines. Canada could follow what Germany did in May when it took a 20 per cent stake in Lufthansa as part of […]
Macron’s statements over string of killings in France inflame Islamophobia
The brutal killings in Nice, France, seem to follow the same pattern of killing of Samuel Paty, a teacher who was beheaded after he showed cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad, earlier this month. Muslims all over the world condemn these killings as much as, if not more than, every person who does not accept any […]
#FreeCihanErdal: Canada needs to press Turkey on release of Carleton student
#FreeCihanErdal is currently circulating on social media, a demand for the release of the Carleton University PhD student from his imprisonment in Turkey. Since Cihan’s detention on Sept. 25, this call has been heard across Canada and around the world. Thousands have responded and lent their support so far. Why should Canadians, let alone our […]
