Tag: canada

Leaders tells us what we want to hear

Watching the leaders debate last night (the English version) I had the distinct impression that Harper “won” – at least in the sense that he presented the strongest case for why the Conservatives should continue running the party. The only other credible alternative is the Liberals, and Ignatieff had a difficult time IMHO saying just

NDP credit card cap is a non-starter

Jack Layton recently kicked off the NDP federal campaign by announcing that they would put a cap on credit card interest – no more than 5% above prime. This “promise” has been trotted out by Layton in at least two previous elections. This proposal has about as much chance of being enacted – NDP or

Coureurs de bois were uniquely Canadian

I suspect that most Canadians have heard the phrase coureurs de bois and at least some of us have a vague idea who they were and what they did. But I also suspect that very few of us know how truly unique these people were and what an important role they played in Canada’s early

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

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

Battle Over SunNEWS TV Channel

In this video from early September Kory Teneycke, then a VP with SunNews TV and a former top aide to Stephen Harper, and Ricken Patel of Avaaz.org square off over the application by Sun media to the CRTC to start a cable news station called SunNews. The proposed new station has been dubbed “Fox News

Alberta Oil Sands – Disaster or Bonanza?

Bitumen has been flowing naturally into the Athabasca River for thousands of years. This is the way most of us think of the Alberta oil sands: humungous equipment and open pit mining. Surmont project north of Fort Macmurray – Newer projects in the oil sands do not use open pit mining. Most Canadians are blissfully

Failure to Cut ties to Britain Shows Political Cowardice

The failure of Canada’s political elite to cut formal political ties to Britain is an insult to Canadian independence and should be an embarrassment to all Canadians. This once again became apparent in the installation of our new Governor-General, David Johnston. Not that I have anything against David Johnston. He seems like a very nice