You never know where interesting comments will come from. A reader in British Columbia agreed with my comments recently on how to protect the French language. As a he is originally from Quebec, he felt that I left out a key reason. He felt I should have mentioned the Quebec
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Babel-on-the-Bay: Locked Down, Locked In, Locked Out.
It was never said that being a prisoner in your home was so bad. It is not until you look across the breakfast table and realize that the person sitting over there, reading the newspaper, feels the same as you. Damn you Doug Ford. His shilly-shallying over what is a
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Caution and concern in a pandemic.
I was laughing the other day when reading a suggestion that we should have a judicial review of our handling of the pandemic. The writer thought it would be helpful for the next pandemic. Sure. Did you note how we all rushed to read the notes from the Spanish Flu
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Brampton’s mayor is not Barrie’s best!
As outsiders, Barrie residents might not know as much about politics in Brampton but we sure know the mayor. In a straight trade for Brampton’s former mayor for Patrick Brown, we know we would have got the best of the deal. The one thing for sure is that in a
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: What if Ontario protected English?
Trying to make sense of Quebec’s new language act, Bill 96, the other day, it raised the question of what would happen if this type of bill was enacted in Ontario. It is a silly question. Ontario goes out of its way to encourage people speaking French to be able
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: A leader with no teeth?
Watching a recording of an interview with Ontario liberal leader Steven Del Duca the other day, it seemed that he talks without showing any teeth. Never having read of any affliction or medical cause for this in humans, it seemed to be a metaphor for the man—or a turtle. In
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Politicizing the Pandemic.
There is nothing political about the Coronavirus and the pandemic. Each country, in its own manner, has had to deal with the spread of the virus, the sickness and the deaths. Yet it was the politicians, the democratically elected and the dictators, the leaders who showed their stuff. The comparisons
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Sex and the soldier.
There was a gritty movie made years ago about Balkan partisans during the Second World War. These partisans were fighters who attacked German patrols and were hunted in turn by the Germans. A key scene was when a female and male partisan were shot by their comrades for taking a
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Those pesky preferential ballots.
It is always good to hear from loyal readers. And from some readers who enjoy arguing. One of the frequent arguments is over different types of voting. In more than 4,000 commentaries posted in Babel-on-the-Bay over the past ten years, I get the most comments about this aspect of our
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Following the money.
You can’t track the money trail to Canadian politicians as easily as you can to American politicians. I finally have a theory on what is driving Jason Kenney in Alberta. I have kept an eye on Kenney since he first appeared in Ottawa as a member of parliament for Calgary
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Just a voice in the wilderness!
The truth is that blogs get as much attention as just another mosquito in the wildness of Ontario. No matter what the readership numbers, you never seem to reach the readers who can do something. They are too busy to read blogs. And after all, it is just one person’s
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: That pessimist Hepburn.
It is not that often that I argue with Bob Hepburn of the Toronto Star. He is a very knowledgeable commentator. He gets the big bucks! It is just that he recently wrote a column for the Star headlined “Five reasons (Ontario premier) Ford may get re-elected.” That is a
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Neither Respite, Nor Hospice.
It is called ‘Long-Term Care’ and I have never liked the words. Growing up in Toronto, the words said to me that this was warehousing for people unable to function with the rest of society, through no fault of their own. As president of the Multiple Sclerosis of Canada and
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Peering into the abyss.
There is not much we can say for the Internet’s overabundance of time wasters. In early iterations of Facebook and Twitter, I tested the programs and found the idea wanting. You can find the remains of my testing somewhere in that vast realm of garbage. Life is too short to
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Trumpeting for the Trumpers.
Those provincial premiers from Alberta and Ontario must be taking all their cues from former U.S. president Donald Trump. They have both got their asses in a sling as they lead their provinces from confusion to catastrophe. They are both on a slippery slope to impeachment before they can do
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: When every vote counts.
There are Canadians I know in the Jewish community who tend to come down hard on me if I criticize Israel. It just cannot be helped though when that country’s government, the Knesset, is such an interesting example of proportional voting. It looks now as though Mr. Netanyahu and his
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: A snapshot in time.
Nothing is more foolish than to read the opinion polls of today and apply them to a general election somewhere down the distant road. The polls are nothing more than a snapshot in time that will change and wander until the voters have a chance to have their say. Nobody
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: As the cow farts.
To be honest, this little story is more about burps than farts. Farts are more amusing. It is about the ability of both milk and beef cattle to produce large quantities of methane gas. It has something to do with their complex stomachs that can digest things that a human
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Bitumen is not oil.
If pipeline companies were honest about what they are transmitting around North America, there would be fewer problems with environmentalists. It would also help if reporters were more accurate and editors more diligent There are differences between refined oil products such as the different grades of gasoline and crude oil.
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Green with Envy?
Why cannot Canada’s green party get its act together? There has got to be something more important for that party to do than argue about who is being nice to whom? Elizabeth May is entitled to her retirement—such as it is! She is a tough act for anyone to follow.
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