Today marks 150 years since Canadian Confederation. For some Canadians, our 150th is a historic opportunity to celebrate our national pride. For others, celebrating Canada’s 150th conjures mixed feelings, or is anathema, due to some of the uglier aspects of our history–especially those related to the mistreatment of First Nations–or to areas in which we…
In politics, compromise and cool-headedness are usually virtues, especially when facing a bitterly divided electorate. Occasionally though, a time or challenge calls for bold action that ruffles a few feathers in the short term, but pays big dividends in the long term and resounds in history. Examples of such bold action from the past century…
–Jared Milne– Recently there have been harsh criticisms levied against past–and often celebrated–figures in Canadian history, particularly Prime Ministers like John A. Macdonald and Wilfrid Laurier. Critics have pointed out the way past historians often ignored or downplayed the negative aspects of their legacies, such as the “head tax” on Chinese immigrants, the discrimination against…
–Jared Milne- Tax time has come and gone again in Canada, which can remind us of politicians’ comments on taxes. Many politicians, especially conservative ones, have talked about tax relief, offering all kinds of tax cuts and rebates for everything from fitness to children’s art programs. Oftentimes, they also guarantee that these tax cuts can…
–Jared Milne- At first glance, pipelines to get Alberta’s oil to market seem stalled. Many people across Canada don’t think the advantages of pipelines are worth the environmental risks they’re worried about. As I’ve pointed out before, Stephen Harper deserves a lot of the blame for opposition to pipelines becoming as strong as it has.…
-Jared Milne- This article was submitted to The Tête-à-Tête as part of a Discussion on inclusivity, free speech, and identity politics. Several years ago, the St. Albert Gazette ran a letter from a resident who said that the statue of Father Albert Lacombe erected outside the St. Albert Catholic Parish Church should be taken down. He argued…
This article is part of a Discussion on inclusivity, free speech, and identity politics. This is also the first in a new series of posts on the science of social justice. You can follow and/or comment on the series here and on Twitter using the hashtag #SJScience. The purpose of the series will be to scientifically examine solutions to common political,…
War on climate change (Wade Davis, The Globe and Mail): The global economic recovery from the Great Recession remains weak and climate change presents a global threat that will require significant investments to overcome. These circumstances provide an interesting parallel to WWII and the aftermath of the Great Depression. In the 1940s, allied powers made big, all-hands-on-deck investments and overcame both major challenges…
Is there such a thing as too little corruption or too much anti-corruption? High levels of transparency and low levels of corruption in government and the private sector are critical to the stability of a democratic society. Even the appearance of corruption is known to erode public trust and social cohesion. As a result, populist…
As those close to me know, I’m a huge news junkie – especially Canadian news. In recent years, The Globe and Mail has been my primary source. Reading it on my phone while waking up has been part of my daily routine I rarely miss. Even though I could catch up on all of the headlines…
The Tête-à-Tête 