Month: November 2010

Don Cherry for King of Canada

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

Royal wedding should be a non-story for Canadians

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

Caledon quarry rejection may be good news for Woolwich

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

Problems with Ontario’s Green Energy Act

In this article from the Globe and Mail called Does Ontario’s Green Energy Act pass the ‘net benefit’ test? the author, Jatin Nathwani from the University of Waterloo argues that there are serious problems with the Green Energy Act of Ontario. These problems put our entire electrical supply system in jeopardy and make its sustainability questionable. The most

Why Harper’s Afghanistan Shift Makes Sense

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

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie, In

Are Green Jobs Worth The Cost?

In his book Ethical Oil author and activist Ezra Levant argues that attempts to replace carbon based energy – in this case, oil from the Alberta oil sands – with renewable energy technologies such as wind and solar have been an “unmitigated disaster” [p207] in Spain, and by extension, other countries such as Germany. This

Iran blocked from membership on UN womens’ rights board

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

How Conestogo Got Its Name – Part 2

In Part 1 called How Conestogo Got Its Name – Part 1 I offered some background into the relationship between Conestogo Ontario and an area in southeastern Pennsylvania where the name originated. Actually it is not correct to suggest that Conestogo Ontario was named after the town called Conestoga in Lancaster Pennsylvania. As I mentioned

First History of Canada on Sale

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

Facebook Credits come to Canadian stores

I admit it, I know nothing about Facebook Credits. This just shows how online gaming-challenged I am. Facebook Credits are the “official currency of Facebook”, used in more than 200 online Facebook applications such as Farmville, YoVille and Cafe World, none of which I know anything about. The more interesting thing about this (at least

Tecumseh fights for a pan-Indian homeland

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

Harper Govt says No to Potash buyout

The federal government today announced that it was rejecting the hostile takeover of Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan. This bid had been in the works for almost 3 months and has created quite a fuss in Saskatchewan. Prime Minister Stephen Harper had previously indicated that he considered the takeover a fairly routine buyout of a company