I honestly thought Donald Trump would have…
In 1787, the American Constitutional Convention came to be. George Washington was elected to be its chairman and he sat in a very beautiful chair. On the back of the…
opinion.
It’s time to take our charities to the cleaners
The Oxfam sexual exploitation scandal signals the arrival of the moment for an honest public conversation about charities’ role in society, the white saviour mentality, gender relations, charity accountability, and…
Why is a quarter of Canada’s prison population Indigenous?
The recent decision by an all-white jury to acquit Gerald Stanley, the killer of Colten Boushie calls on us all to confront systematic racism and demand reforms to Canada’s justice…
Why Black Panther’s Wakanda Is the Black Utopia We’ve Been Waiting For
Wakanda, the advanced fictional East African nation in Marvel Studios’ Black Panther film, is the the Black utopia imagined by the African diaspora and its allies since the trans-Atlantic slave…
The inconvenient truth about foreign aid
Like political campaign contributions, today’s self-interested foreign aid often supports badly-designed development projects, imposes foreign investor-friendly policies on recipient countries, facilitates access to intended beneficiaries’ resources, helps aid-giving countries to…
‘Clearing the plains’ continues with the acquittal of Gerald Stanley
Last week’s decision by an all-white jury to acquit Gerald Stanley, the killer of Colten Boushie, a young Indigenous man from the Red Pheasant Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, calls for…
Trump may have emboldened hate in Canada, but it was already here
While many Canadians often associate the continuing rise in white supremacist hate in Canada to US President Donald Trump’s divisive rhetoric, the right-wing extremist movement was already “alive and well”…
BC’s oil and gas industry regulator withheld fracking data
BC’s Oil and Gas Commission (OGC) withheld information confirming that fossil fuel industry fracking operations could contaminate surface waters and groundwater sources, and absolved companies of the responsibility to act…
The FCC’s plan to repeal net neutrality threatens democracy everywhere
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai’s proposed plan to dismantle net neutrality threatens democracy and the free exchange of ideas and information via the Internet. Even if the FCC…
A continuum of unabated violence: Remembering the massacre at École Polytechnique
In 1982, the late NDP MP Margaret Mitchell was laughed down by her fellow MPs when she stood in the House of Commons and presented evidence showing that one in…
Missing and murdered Indigenous women inquiry: We must listen and act
Canada is a signatory to nearly a dozen international legal instruments upholding human dignity and the rights of Indigenous women. But the agreements have yet to influence the current analysis…
David Suzuki: Corporate influence inflames political cynicism
Even though elected politicians, especially those who end up holding cabinet positions, often prioritize corporate interests over those of their electors, David Suzuki still encourages us to overcome political cynicism…
Canada’s international trade agreements should prioritize women’s rights
For the Trudeau government’s ambitious feminist international assistance policy to succeed, Canada’s trade agreements should champion women’s leadership, human rights, and gender equality. The post Canada’s international trade agreements should…
Quebec’s niqab ban uses women’s bodies to bolster right-wing extremism
Quebec’s recent passage of Bill 62, which bans the wearing of the niqab in Quebec for people seeking access to public services, appeases the political demands of the ultra-right in…
Anti-semitism, racism and other old white supremacist prejudices die hard
Anti-semitism, racism and other prejudices are on the rise in most established democracies. Still, silencing white supremacists on the Internet is counterproductive. It would only lead to more senseless acts…
Lessons from the front lines of anti-colonial pipeline resistance
The recent Standing Rock standoff over the Dakota Access Pipeline and eight-year Unist’ot’en resistance camp in northern British Columbia are a manifestation of “indigenous resurgence” against colonialism and fossil fuel…
New NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh battles racism in Canadian politics with love
Jagmeet Singh, a martial artist, Sikh lawyer, and newly-elected leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party (NDP), uses love to challenge racism, Islamophobia and white supremacy in Canadian politics and society.…
David Suzuki: It’s time to nix neonics
David Suzuki on why it’s time for Canada to ban neonics, a class of widely used neuro-active insecticides that harm not only the pests they’re designed to kill, but also…
Re-thinking refugee protection: focusing on people and safe passage
Efforts in Canada to provide safe passage to asylum seekers crossing into Canada from the United States prove that people power and civil society action can change public policy and…
Maxime Bernier should walk in other people’s shoes before he accuses anyone of racism
In the 1970s, Lincoln Alexander fought the caucus of the Progressive Conservative Party. Mr. Alexander fought them because as a Black man, he wanted to support anti-hate speech legislation. His…