By Clifton Mark, for Aeon; edited by Nigel Warburton ‘We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else …’ Barack Obama, inaugural address, 2013  ‘We must create a level playing field for American companies and workers.’ Donald Trump,...

Last Wednesday we heard riveting testimony from former Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould on her account of events in the SNC-Lavalin story.  This is a long and sordid tale of corruption both abroad and here in Canada. As the SNC-Lavalin scandal rolls out, I’m reminded of Tommy Douglas’ political fable “Mouseland”. In it,...

In the most-recent column, I opened questions of the history of the West, its historic global dominance, non-westerners reactions to that past, and the present geopolitical world of Western, First-World primacy. I also delved into the meaning of our history in terms of human cognitive and cultural evolution. My expertise is...

Volunteers – please take a bow.  We honour you, and we’re grateful for all your help.  Collectively, you do such a huge amount of good for people in your communities.    Our communities rely heavily on volunteers for so much that makes our hometowns great places to live.  Service clubs, Fall Fair, Winter Carnival, our arts ...

Energy is inextricably linked to a range of community issues, from health to housing. That was one message that emerged from a four-day gathering in Calgary of more than 200 young Indigenous leaders from every province and territory, organized by Disa Crow Chief of the Siksika Nation and Cory Beaver of the Stoney Nakoda Nation....

Skiers accessing Cutblock Peak and environs:  please contain your irritation about the logging operation there that is inconveniencing you – it won’t be there for much longer.  Please stay well clear of the logging -- and please do not park on the logging road, or try to ignore the logging operations.  Here’s why: First, let’s...

B.C.'s NDP is now doing precisely what it criticizes the Liberals for doing — manufacturing a need for power while pushing forward with a project that produces energy that can’t be sold for even close to the price it will cost to produce it. By Sarah Cox, for The Narwhal Of all the years of political spin to...

A re-visioning of old habits Today I am trying to explore an old habit of my judgement, with regard to an historical fact I have long attempted to assimilate to a personal sense of justice. The West has dominated the world for 400 years, and practically ruled it for a century from about 1850 t0 1950. The rest of the world...

The B.C. budget will be released tomorrow (February 19) and we’re waiting with bated breath to see the investments in B.C.’s first poverty reduction strategy! Given that the provincial government has been talking about this since they came into power, this is really the time for it to put its money where its mouth is. The...

Pulling together the annual City budget is one of the most complex duties that staff and council performs each year and one that I take very seriously. As a result, at the last council meeting on Feb. 4 – I voted against staff preparing the draft 2019 budget inclusive of an Infrastructure Levy that would be phased in over...