Oct 19 2017 — Robert Morrison — The Conversation — Canada has lost one of its greatest artists — a person who consolidated us, who pushed us, who excited us, who taught us and who inspired us. We have known for more than a year that Gord Downie was going to leave us soon. But the news of his death today doesn’t soften the blow. […]
Oct 19 2017 — Robert Morrison — The Conversation — Gord Downie, the poetic lead singer of the Tragically Hip whose determined fight with brain cancer inspired a nation, has died. He was 53. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young) Robert Morrison, Queen’s University, Ontario Canada has lost one of its greatest artists — a person who consolidated us, who pushed us, who excited us, who taught […]
Oct 16 2017 — Warren Mabee — The Conversation — Did regulation kill Energy East? Conservative leader Andrew Scheer thinks it did. So does Premier Brad Wall of Saskatchewan. TransCanada, the project’s proponent, has been circumspect, merely announcing that “changed circumstances” led them to terminate the project earlier this month. Energy East would have carried 1.1 million barrels of crude oil per day from Alberta […]
Oct 16 2017 — Warren Mabee — The Conversation — Warren Mabee, Queen’s University, Ontario Did regulation kill Energy East? Conservative leader Andrew Scheer thinks it did. So does Premier Brad Wall of Saskatchewan. TransCanada, the project’s proponent, has been circumspect, merely announcing that “changed circumstances” led them to terminate the project earlier this month. Energy East would have carried 1.1 million barrels of crude […]
Oct 12 2017 — Pierre P. Lizee — The Conversation — Donald Trump desperately needs a foreign policy doctrine. He does have his views on global politics. Witness his speech at the United Nations in mid-September, where he called for a world where states do nothing more than jealously guard their sovereignty. (He used the word almost two dozen times.) But slogans aren’t strategy. On North […]
Oct 12 2017 — Pierre P. Lizee — The Conversation — U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in support of Sen. Luther Strange, in Huntsville, Ala., on Sept. 22. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File) Pierre P. Lizee, Brock University Donald Trump desperately needs a foreign policy doctrine. He does have his views on global politics. Witness his speech at the United Nations in mid-September, […]
Oct 10 2017 — The Conversation — Fall is always a good time to create new habits, and coffee chains know it. These days, they are desperately trying to find any excuse to get you to drink their java. Many chains used National or International Coffee Day, just passed, as a reason to offer their coffee at a discount, or even for […]
Oct 10 2017 — Sylvain Charlebois — The Conversation — Climate change could severely impact the world’s coffee-producing nations and turn a cup of decent java into a luxury in the years to come. (Shutterstock) Sylvain Charlebois, Dalhousie University Fall is always a good time to create new habits, and coffee chains know it. These days, they are desperately trying to find any excuse to […]
Oct 10 2017 — Robert Morrison — The Conversation — In the final year of the turbulent 1960s, as the Vietnam War and the massive counter-cultural protests against it reached new levels of intensity, John Lennon and Yoko Ono visited Canada three separate times. The purpose of these trips varied, but on the third and final one they achieved what seems to have been among […]
Oct 10 2017 — Robert Morrison — The Conversation — John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Pierre Trudeau at the Parliament Hill, Ottawa on 23 December 1969. The peace activists came to Canada to stage a love in and to meet with the Prime Minister. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter Bregg) Robert Morrison, Queen’s University, Ontario In the final year of the turbulent 1960s, as the Vietnam War […]
Oct 6 2017 — Blayne Haggart — The Conversation — A champion athlete, who is both white and not American, has the chance, at some personal cost, to protest racial injustice in the United States. Should he avoid taking a stand or lend support to a protest that doesn’t directly affect him? The question is currently being asked of Sidney Crosby. His statement that it […]
Oct 6 2017 — Blayne Haggart — The Conversation — Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins hoists the Stanley Cup during last June’s victory parade in Pittsburgh, a city that has a long history of racial strife. Crosby and the Penguins have accepted Donald Trump’s invitation to visit the White House. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) Blayne Haggart, Brock University A champion athlete, who is both […]
Oct 6 2017 — Sara Bannerman — The Conversation — Although we now live in a vast internet landscape with immense amounts of content, the diversity and quality of the news media we consume continues to be a concern. Large sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Google should not be trusted to solve these problems. Internet news platforms have contributed to the closure of traditional news […]
Oct 6 2017 — Sara Bannerman — The Conversation — Heritage Minister Melanie Joly recently announced a new policy for Canada’s cultural and creative industries competing in a digital world, but it offers little help for organizations that produce serious journalism. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand Sara Bannerman, McMaster University Although we now live in a vast internet landscape with immense amounts of content, the diversity […]
Oct 5 2017 — Shirley Tillotson — The Conversation — Is it too much to expect people to talk calmly and reasonably about tax changes? Yes. Yes, it is too much. As a historian of tax in 20th century Canada, I have read thousands of letters to ministers of finance, and they are often ferociously angry – similar to some of the outrage being expressed […]