Politics
You don’t have to hate Ontario to loathe much of its politics, but it probably helps. Other than the fact that it’s way bigger than it needs to be, and forgetting the whole GTA-traffic thing, I kind of like Ontario. I’ve lived here more than two decades
Politics
Did you listen to the Ontario speech from the throne? Me neither. I was busy trying to be productive so I can afford to buy bread for my children. I did read it, though. And you know what jumped at me from the text? First, there’s a lot of
Politics
This week in the Ottawa Citizen I wrote about the War Memorial and how it should be off-limits to any and all protests. One of the things that bother me about it is the silence from the usual conservative pro-military law-and-order rule-Britannia pro-anglosphere crowd. If a group of progressives trampled
Fiction
Nobody ever goes to England for the warmth. I brought mine with me. And so did she. I came from Montréal, she from Brazil. I don’t remember her name. Only how she felt. Dancing, I like to say, is the body laughing. At least when it’s done well.
Politics
A little news item caught my attention recently, about how the taxpayers of Ottawa would be on the hook for half a million dollars, more or less, for severance pay for councillors and, famously, one mayor not seeking re-election. That was a long sentence. Pun intended. The system is set
Politics
You wouldn’t know about it if a certain lovely someone (he knows who he is) hadn’t helped me discover the genius of Warren Zevon but I am here to tell you that it is entirely possible to be witty and funny while pretending to complain that you’re
Fiction
Independence means happiness and hotdogs and fireworks. Not to me, it doesn’t. Independence requires freedom. And I am not free, my love. I am angry. I am a prisoner of my anger. I have done so much work on myself but you know, the work keeps expanding. I was
Politics
It kind of came and went without making too much of a splash but I want to take a minute to say something real nice about the Ottawa People’s Commission into the trucker occupation of January and February. No, it’s not the name. That’s a really unfortunate
Français
(Le français, comme d’habitude, voyage en seconde classe et suit l’anglais.) Wednesday night was the first, last and (I hope) only French debate between politicians in the running for the leadership of the federal Conservative party. And thank goodness for that. I was outside in a field watching
Fiction
(Artist/artiste: R. Robson) You’re not supposed to look at your phone when you cross a big downtown street, but you know how it is and please don’t judge me. L’urgence présumée de la situation et le petit bing annoncant l’arrivée d’un message sans doute
Français
The poetry gets lost in the translation from qui se ressemble, s’assemble to two peas in a pod and if there is a better way to say this in English do let me know, my bilingual brain has trouble getting into its cruising gear this morning. But this is
Politics
The Liberals and NDP have apparently decided to work more or less together for the next couple of years until of course any one party finds reasons to not continue to work more or less together. Like, say, if they disagree on something. The leader of the Conservative party issued