We are glad to hear that the French flag has been “flying outside Toronto’s city hall … in solidarity with the people of France.” And we were pleased to read about how “Toronto’s French community gathers for Charlie Hebdo vigil … Facebook group summons demonstrators to consulate Wednesday to declare ‘Je suis Charlie’ after massacre […]
This past Sunday evening I and my regular TV watching partner, along with millions of other viewers in North America, took in the fifth season premiere of “‘Downton Abbey’ … the PBS hit about dressing for dinner” (Melinda Henneberger). At the end of the episode my TV partner and I exchanged some casual repartee on […]
Time magazine named eight final candidates for its 2014 Person of the Year designation : acting Iraqi Kurdish Region president Masoud Barzani  ; first openly gay Fortune 500 CEO Tim Cook ; the Ebola caregivers ; the Ferguson protesters ; controversial National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell ; Chinese e-commerce giant founder Jack Ma ; […]
The recent murders of two New York City policeman by an emotionally challenged young man, who claimed to be making a political protest, are without any shred of doubt altogether appalling and unacceptable. Such acts are nothing more or less than high crimes, with no redeeming or any other kind of political content in a […]
I remember the Christmas Eves on Cardigan Avenue in the 1950s – from 1950, say, when my grandfather died, to 1957, when we moved to the suburbs. Later I understood that my father’s family had big parties because they were immigrants. Friends and acquaintances recruited from similar backgrounds in the city mixed with the children […]
For Canadian federal politics 2015 is bound to be a crucial year. And two recent comment pieces by Andrew Coyne and Chantal Hébert make for rather ominous reading, as the start of the year comes into clear view. Both Mr Coyne and Ms Hébert are worrying about just what may or may not happen if […]
Some time ago now I was assigned the task of congratulating the new mayor of Victoria, BC, Â Lisa Helps – for declining to swear allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II during Mayor Helps’s inauguration the week before last. Maybe just because I’m getting older and slower, in the midst of the very rapidly gathering holiday season, […]
This coming Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (December 9—11, 2014) “First Nation leaders from across Canada will gather in Winnipeg … for the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Special Chiefs Assembly (SCA) and election for AFN National Chief.” Nancy Macdonald has nicely summarized the details here on the Maclean’s website. (Or not, if you don’t like […]
Like others on this site, I have been an agnostic on John Tory – who was sworn in as the new Mayor of Toronto, Canada’s current largest metropolis, this past Tuesday. (Mr. Tory succeeds the better internationally known Rob Ford, now battling a rare form of cancer. While he recovers, Rob is sitting as one […]
Whatever else, Stephen Harper has become the kind of opponent you worry about. He has now been prime minister of Canada since early in 2006. He is up for re-election this coming 2015. He has  obvious major flaws. He lacks constructive wisdom about the country. But you fear he may have other, lower talents that […]
