COVID-19 has obviously changed our lives in the short term, and now there is a growing consensus that the pandemic will also bring more long-lasting changes to our society—how we value workers, how we treat our seniors, how we house the homeless, how we protect the environment, and more. One topic that is surfacing more and...

  The coronavirus spreading COVID-19 around the globe isn’t the first disease microbe suspected to have jumped from other animals to humans, nor will it be the last. That we know to a large extent why so many diseases are making that leap should help us resolve the problem.   Dealing with a swiftly spreading illness with many...

By Dirk Philipsen; first published in Aeon Adam Smith had an elegant idea when addressing the notorious difficulty that humans face in trying to be smart, efficient and moral. In The Wealth of Nations (1776), he maintained that the baker bakes bread not out of benevolence, but out of self-interest. No doubt, public benefits...

As if we didn’t have enough to contend with, now we’re facing a “murder hornet” invasion — but it’s more an invasion of newsfeeds than an actual descending plague of killer insects. Numerous media outlets have carried ominous stories about whether the giant hornets will pillage honeybee...

In early 1995, eight grey wolves were transferred from Jasper National Park in Alberta to Yellowstone National Park in the U.S. Within two years, 23 more were brought in. The last wolves in Yellowstone had been killed in the 1920s.   What happened next was remarkable. Over time, the wolves not only reduced rapidly increasing...

At this time of year, we mark two days to remember the contribution and sacrifice that workers make for our society--the National Day of Mourning on April 28th and International Workers Day on May 1st. On the National Day of Mourning we remember those people who died in the course of their work.  People who went to work in ...

  Editor’s Note:  This article is just over a year old, thus contains no mention of COVID-19; readers can add our awareness of the pandemic to the author’s commentary. ByLonnie Aarssen, Professor of Biology, Queen’s University, Ontario, via The...

By Andrew Longhurst  and Kendra Strauss, from “Policy Notes” via the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives The coronavirus pandemic has shone a light on serious problems in Canada’s seniors’ care system, as nursing homes quickly became the epicenters of the outbreak. These problems are not only due to the greater vulnerability...

By Marie-Hélène Dubé, via The Broadbent Institute As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many restrictions have been placed on fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In response, serious warnings have rightfully emerged regarding the necessity of safeguarding these freedoms...

The coming struggle over ‘Normal’:  when pandemic lessons are erased, forgotten, or falsified – what is to be done? There’s something that I’m watching, means a lot to me. It’s coming for me darling, no matter where I go. Its duty is to harm me, my duty is to know.       -- Leonard Cohen, Banjo Writing about it Are you tired...