Opponents of so-called free trade deals have always struggled with the question of why these international treaties don't generate more alarm and vocal opposition from Canadians. These treaties, after all, trump all other Canadian authority to make laws -- provincial legislatures, Parliament, the courts and even the...

“In a peaceful age I might have written ornate or merely descriptive books, and might have remained almost unaware of my political loyalties. As it is I have been forced into becoming a sort of pamphleteer.”—George Orwell, Why I Write, 1946 George Orwell warned of totalitarian states in his dystopic novel ‘1984.’ (Courtesy Wikimedia Commons) […]

On April 14, provincial and territorial leaders are to meet in Quebec City for a special Council of Federation meeting to talk about climate change.  Some prominent Canadians — and many others, less prominent but equally concerned — plan to attend a march there on April 11, in an attempt to get a message to […]

The World Federalist Movement has issued a press release about Canada’s new federal legislation ratifying the implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions — an international treaty intended to ban the use of  cluster bombs.  Canada signed the treaty in 2008, but has only now ratified it by passing the implementing legislation.  There is widespread […]

 The Canadian Nuffield Farming Scholarship Trust is accepting applications for their 2016 program.  Applications are due by April 30, 2015 and forms can be downloaded from the Nuffield Canada website at http://www.nuffield.ca. Three scholarships of $15,000 each are available for 2016. Nuffield Farming Scholarships are awarded to enthusiastic individuals, with a passion for agriculture and […]

Science Matters Vol. 17, No. 8 24 Feb 2015 We have to stop filling and killing the oceans with plastic By David Suzuki Eight million tonnes. That’s how much plastic we’re tossing into the oceans every year! University of Georgia environmental engineer Jenna Jambeck says it’s enough to line up five grocery bags of trash on...

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) needs help in naming a handful of their newest (and cutest) recruits! The Police Dog Service Training Centre (PDSTC) in Innisfail, Alberta is asking young Canadians to suggest names for 10 German Shepherd puppies recently born at the Centre. Children are encouraged to be original and imaginative in finding […]

This Op/Ed video is by Derek Forgie. Some readers might recognize him because he travelled with Clara Hughes' Big Ride as she came through the Boundary and West Kootenays. Check out his stance on the "War on Christmas."  Bio (NSB): Equality Advocate Actor, comedian and activist Derek Forgie is a remarkable plate-spinner....

Two weeks after the senseless murder of a soldier on Parliament Hill (and another earlier in Montreal) there are several things we know and many we don’t. Obvious questions have been asked and inconvenient ones have been left aside. We know — and indeed could predict one second after the shooting — that Stephen Harper would...

The RCMP’s investigation of the October 22, 2014, terrorist attack in Ottawa is advancing and has revealed a great deal about Zehaf-Bibeau’s movements and actions prior to the attack.  The RCMP has identified persuasive evidence that Michael Zehaf-Bibeau’s attack was driven by ideological and political motives.  Zehaf-Bibeau...