The View from Conestogo

No one familiar with the Enbridge pipeline proposal should be surprised that First Nations groups affected by the proposal have banded together to oppose it. The proposed pipeline would carry unrefined bitument from the Alberta oil sands across the Rocky Mountains to the town of Kitimat on the Pacific Ocean. Alternative route to move oil

Canadians politicians and diplomats are generally relieved that the lastest disclosures from Wikileaks do not have much to say about Canada. Yes there are a grand total of 5 documents (out of a total of 2600) which contain some mildly critical comments and observations aimed at Canada. But that’s nothing compared to what they might

Since we’re talking about the monarchy a lot these days. I thought I’d make some proposals for “King of Canada”. I would like to see us start our own monarchy in Canada, and I can’t think of a better person than Don Cherry to serve as KofC. As we all know, Don even looks great

We’ve recently been bombarded with news of the upcoming British royal wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton, and there is suddenly renewed interest in the British monarchy. The CBC, for example ran a phone-in last Sunday in which people were asked “Will the royal wedding renew interest in the monarchy in Canada?” (or something

After 13 years of fighting an application for the creation of a quarry in Caledon (near Mississauga) the OMB has turned down the application. The OMB ruled that the proposed Rockfort Quarry could possibly have a “catastrophic impact” on the surrounding environment if measures to guard against potential problems did not work. The Coalition of

Prime Minister Stephen Harper made it clear last week that it is likely there will be an extension of Canadian military involvment in Afghanistan. The government had previously committed to having all Canadian soldiers out of Afghanistan by the end of next July (2011). Has the government been misleading Canadians? Some media are interpreting this

Canadian attack of Vimy Ridge, April 16, 1917 – Library and Archives Canada In an op-ed piece in the National Post Matt Gurney argues that Remembrance Day (November 11) should not be made a statutory holiday in Ontario . There are good arguments on both sides of this debate, but generally I agree with Gurney.

There was much consternation amongst UN observers, and a fair bit of self-satisfied clucking coming from UN-detractors over the proposed makeup of a powerful new United Nations agency aimed at promoting equality for women. Countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and some questionable African countries with terrible records on women’s equality have been lobbying to

A 400-year-old book described as “the first written history of Canada”, and containing one of the earliest and most treasured maps of the country is scheduled to be sold this month at a British auction of rare volumes and historic manuscripts. Marc Lescarbot spent two years in New France shortly after the first settlement in

Growing up in Canada only 10 miles or so from the American border, I’ve always had an ambivalent feeling about the anti-American sentiment expressed by many Canadians. My initial experience of the U.S. was Buffalo, New York, a decaying industrial city just over the border. Buffalo had grubby old factory buildings, real movie theatres, powerful