Governments must address disproportionate poverty rates of First Nations children in BC, say First Nations Summit
First Nations Summit leaders are once again calling on governments to address the disproportionate child poverty rates suffered by on and off-reserve First Nations children in BC following this week’s release of the 2013 Child Poverty Report Card by First Call; the BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition. “Several independent...
Ban on imported seal products upheld; Ottawa to appeal
The European Union (EU) will continue its ban on imported seal products, despite the Canadian government's appeal that it violates fair trade agreements. In February 2011, Canada requested that the World Trade Organization (WTO) create a dispute settlement panel to challenge the ban set by the EU. However, the WTO decided...
Doing Time
Many Norwegians responded in disbelief and anger when it was announced that convicted mass murderer Anders Breivik had enrolled in a political science course at the University of Oslo. Allowing a mass murderer to enroll in a university course was going too far. The university’s rector, Ole Petter Ottersen, explained that...
Toronto police bring down international child pornography ring
At least 386 children have been saved from child exploitation around the world, thanks to Project Spade – a massive, international investigation headed by the Toronto Police Service (TPS). The TPS started investigating a Toronto-based individual that was suspected of sharing graphic images of children being sexual abused in...
Moving Beyond Our Obsession with Stephen Harper
Remember Brian Mulroney, the PM so many people loved to hate? We need to remember him so we can learn a lesson from that period in our political history: there is a real danger in demonizing prime ministers to the exclusion of other longer term political objectives. Mulroney’s unctuous manner, his arrogance and his shameless...
COMMENT: What would a trade agreement intended to benefit all Canadians look like?
This is of more than academic concern right now as the Harper Conservative government will eventually unveil the full details of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). From what we know about it now this agreement is little more than a ‘corporate bill of rights’. It gives corporations...
When lives are lost, have we taken deregulation too far?
The history of regulations goes back to the early civilizations of Greece and Egypt. Their purpose then as it is now is to protect society from the negative consequences of risks and hazards. Regulations, backed by the power of laws, govern what we wear, what we eat, where and how we live, and all but the most benign of our...
The Crisis of Extreme Capitalism
Our current incarnation of capitalism — variously referred to as savage capitalism, extreme capitalism or euphemistically as the “free market” (free of any constraints) — is in one of its periodic crises. For years many assumed that the smart people who ran the system and benefitted from it would find a practical way to fix...
OPEN LETTER TO THE PM: Leave our British past...in the past
Mr. Harper: I write about your directing our military to revert to the use of British military rank insignias and designations after 45 years of a home-grown Canadian system. I also note that you previously had directed our services to revert to ‘Royal’ services in name, indicating service under the Queen of England. My wife […]
Reinventing progressive politics
We are so accustomed to the connection between political parties and democracy that to question the relationship between the two might seem absurd. But for those who recognize the multiple crises faced by humanity — the destruction of our environment, climate change, the ravages of unfettered finance capital, the undeniable limits to growth — the […]
