In all this early summer 2020 heat and coronavirus worry, I am struggling in spare moments with my Long Journey to a Canadian Republic chapter on the Chrétien (and then Martin) years in Ottawa (1993–2006) — with special reference to the almost big surprise of the second Quebec sovereignty referendum on October 30, 1995. Dwelling […]

History is written by the winners as the old adage has it. Looking at Donald Trump’s USA halfway through 2020 suggests a corollary : it is also constantly being re-written as the winners change. “America” today is not what it was in 1920, to say nothing of 1820, 1720, or especially 1620 when the Mayflower […]

CANADA DAY, JULY 1, 2020. GANATSEKWYAGON, ON. As quite recently noted by the counterweights editors, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has urged that the COVID-19 pandemic has given us a “chance to reshape Canada’s future.” In the prime minister’s own words, the coronavirus “has been an unprecedented challenge.” But it “has also been an important opportunity […]

According to CTV News this past Monday : “Pandemic has provided chance to reshape Canada’s future, PM says.” At somewhat greater length Justin Trudeau urged : “If this pandemic has been an unprecedented challenge for our country, it has also been an important opportunity to figure out what really matters in our communities, to have […]

GETTING SUBTLY MORE AGGRESSIVE WITH CHINA IN TRUE NORTH Along with the disturbing case of “the two Michaels,” headlines like “New nationwide polling conducted for the Macdonald-Laurier Institute reveals that 4-in-5 Canadians believe Ottawa must speak up about China’s human rights abuses” are telling us that it is time for even the Canada that is […]

The summer is in sight. We have just a few quick things to say, before settling down to a more rigorous holiday schedule of (more) regular (but more brief) reporting in these fascinating and intermittently near-overwhelming times. (That at least is the plan.) To start with, while diverse protests for equality and freedom in a […]

GANATSEKWYAGON, ON. MAY 31, 2020. 2:00 AM ET. I don’t yet know quite what to make of the protests against the Minneapolis police role in the tragic death of George Floyd (and much else) that have dominated cities across the USA for the past few days. (The parallel actions where I live in Canada have […]

Before the issue vanishes altogether from the daily news I just want to quickly unburden myself of my quite certain and crystal clear views on dual citizenship and full-bore participation in Canadian democratic politics. My media texts are “Scheer didn’t follow through on renouncing US citizenship” by Rachel Aiello on the CTV News site (May […]

It is not easy to be humourous about COVID-19. But that is my assignment here and I will try, more or less. (While still being half-serious between the lines … maybe?) My point of departure is a May 13, 2020 article in the venerable UK publication NewStatesman, by Jerome Roos who “teaches political economy at […]

Will we finally look back on the early May days of 2020 as a hinge of fate that determined the early November US election, and set the direction for politics and economics in the Western World (as in J.M. Synge’s The Playboy of the Western World) for at least a while to come? Maybe, maybe […]