Politics
Politicians, as a rule, should not swear too easily. At least not in public. But there are exceptions. Here’s a perfect one. Peterborough mayor Diane Therrien was called on to respond to a scene that unfolded in her city east of Toronto over the weekend. A few dozen people
Gender
Have you heard the one where a government in Canada ran an essay contest designed, ostensibly, to inspire and encourage women between the ages of 17 and 25 to get involved in politics, and awarded third place to a misogynistic screed? The conservative government of Alberta (now you laugh) is
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
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
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
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
Politics
I’ve known Tasha Kheiriddin since before either of us had kids. It’s how I measure time now, bear with me. Mine are almost all teenagers now. So I’ve known her for (counts fingers, adds a couple of toes) a while. We’re not close friends or anything.