Jan 13 2021 — Tasha Kheiriddin — National Post — “These visitors to that city on the Potomac do not come as white or black, red or yellow; they are not Jews or Christians; conservatives or liberals; or Democrats or Republicans. They are Americans awed by what has gone before, proud of what for them is still … a shining city on a hill.” Those […]
Jan 5 2021 — Tasha Kheiriddin — National Post — What did you do over your holiday break? For a growing list of Canadian politicians, the answer is: I wrecked my career. Despite the growing pandemic, they travelled outside of the country — all the while exhorting the rest of us to stay home — with predictably shameful results. Ontario MPP Rod Phillips tweeted holiday […]
Dec 29 2020 — Tasha Kheiriddin — National Post — 2020 was a year like none in living memory. From the economy to education, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted every facet of society. Governments scrambled to contain the virus, while health-care systems were swamped by the sick. On an individual level, billions of people suffered mentally, physically and financially as they coped with lockdowns and loneliness. […]
Dec 22 2020 — Tasha Kheiriddin — National Post — Christmas Day gatherings of up to five people are in — unless you’re in a grey zone. Boxing Day shopping is out — unless you shop at certain big box stores. School breaks are extended. Downhill skiing is cancelled. Oh, and bathhouses and sex clubs are closed. Welcome to Ontario Lockdown 2020, the Holiday Edition. […]
Dec 15 2020 — Tasha Kheiriddin — National Post — Seventy-five years ago, World War II in Europe officially came to an end. After brutal armed conflict, economic devastation, famine, disease, and the Holocaust, an estimated 70 to 85 million people, three per cent of the global 1940 population, had perished. Ever since, nations have marked Victory in Europe Day as the end of this […]
Dec 8 2020 — Tasha Kheiriddin — Postmedia — Dec. 10 marks two years since China arbitrarily imprisoned Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. In this 10-day series, experts examine the implications for liberal democracies. This Christmas, thanks to COVID-19, millions of Canadians are facing the prospect of spending the holidays alone. The internet is rife with advice on how to make the most […]
Dec 1 2020 — Tasha Kheiriddin — National Post — The fall economic statement is out, and national childcare is in. The Liberals are proposing $420 million for early childhood educators, $20 million for a “childcare secretariat,” and a “more concrete plan” for coast-to-coast childcare in the 2021 budget. No price tag yet, but a Scotiabank study pegs such a system at $11.5 billion a […]
Nov 24 2020 — Tasha Kheiriddin — Postmedia — After nine months of COVID restrictions, some Canadians are reaching peak crazy. In Rosemère, Que., a flash mob of anti-maskers held a dance protest in the local mall.In Kelowna, B.C., bare-faced demonstrators called for “Truth, Freedom, Choice” and to “lock up” provincial Chief Medical Officer Bonnie Henry. And then there’s Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre, flirting […]
Apr 23 2020 — Tasha Kheiriddin — Global News — What is an essential worker? The COVID-19 pandemic has turned the very idea on its head. Retail salespeople, entertainers and baristas do not make the cut. Grocery clerks, warehouse stockers and delivery people do. Without these workers, the “rest of us” would starve and run out of toilet paper. Together with health-care workers and first […]
Mar 25 2020 — Tasha Kheiriddin — Global News — Food. Drugs. Ventilators. Welcome to the survivalist economy, where production is stripped down to the bare bones — the things that people cannot do without or they will literally die. Governments have declared your local Loblaws an essential service, drug companies are racing to find treatments and vaccines, and auto manufacturers are retooling their plants […]
Mar 16 2020 — Tasha Kheiriddin — Global News — Social distancing: it’s already the phrase of the year, and we’re only in March. But thanks to COVID-19, the term is breaking the internet. Schools are closed, events are cancelled, and we’re all supposed to stand at least six feet away from each other. Particular attention is focused on those most at risk, such as […]
Feb 28 2020 — Tasha Kheiriddin — Global News — The end of oil? Only in Canada, eh. As the global demand for fossil fuels rises consistently, year over year, Canadians are told yet again, we should leave ours in the ground. This week, environmental activists celebrated the death of the Teck Frontier mine. Environmentalist David Suzuki promptly tweeted “AWESOME news! Teck has withdrawn its […]
Feb 18 2020 — Tasha Kheiriddin — Global News — Peace, order and good government. In Canada today, all three of those elements are in short supply. Blockades have shut down the country’s entire rail system for over a week. Hundreds of workers have been laid off, and more will be in the coming days. Demonstrators barricaded the B.C. legislature and roughed up employees and […]
Dec 13 2019 — Tasha Kheiriddin — Global News — Adios, Andrew Scheer. In a sorry end to a sorry election, the Conservative leader has now (finally) stepped down. After weathering the indictments of his former campaign director, his communications director, the Quebec Conservative wing and the backers of the Scheermustgo.ca website, Scheer’s leadership ultimately foundered on the revelation that the Conservative Party of Canada […]
Nov 29 2019 — Tasha Kheiriddin — Global News — He’s digging in. Against increasing odds, Andrew Scheer is sending every signal that he intends to remain leader of the Conservative party. Last week, Scheer overhauled his office, dismissing chief of staff Marc-André Leclerc and communications director Brock Harrison. His campaign manager, Hamish Marshall, saw his contract expire, as well. This week, Scheer unveiled a […]