…for all that is being said about Alberta today, infected Albertans have so far survived COVID-19 at three times the rate of Quebeckers, and nearly at twice the rate of the average Canadian.

People will disagree with public officials and their decisions. In a democratic arrangement, there is an expectation that people will address their differences respectfully, and even in friendship. Frederick Haultain, the founder of Alberta and Saskatchewan, was notorious for his kind and respectful ways. Unlike our contemporary crop of leaders, he never insulted even his…

For generations now, successive federal governments have made promises without delivering. For all the inflated rhetoric, even the present federal government has been incapable of permanently delivering potable water to so many Indigenous children. Worse still, not that long ago, Prime Minister Trudeau openly mocked Aboriginal women at a Liberal Party fundraiser in Toronto when…

There are two strong reasons for the costs of increased usage of the Kananaskis wilderness areas to be shouldered by the healthcare budget. It is a health matter. Physical activity and social interaction are salutary for Albertans coping with the economic and psychological hardships imposed by their government. Second, a pricing mechanism is wrong because…

One would think that citizens whose lives are being hurt by their own government policies would receive sympathy and compassion. But instead, those suffering outside the medical tutelage of Alberta Health are disparaged as “unhinged conspiracy theorists.”

This week marked the anniversary of the COVID-19 confinements that were only supposed to last for a few weeks. That was 52 weeks ago. In many ways, fear became the pandemic. Different people drive the COVID-19 fear, but its principal generators are statisticians and the medical bureaucrats–the experts “advising” the politicians, who in turn display…

About a third of Albertans steadily favour breaking away from Canada. That number has recently been as high as 50 percent (February 2020, Angus Reid). Some among them believe that joining the US as a 51st state is the best option. But that’s not likely the case anymore. The impulse to reject Canada is not…

There is wisdom in the long-standing advice about offering unsolicited advice, which is independent of whether the advice given is good, bad or petty. This is because it’s difficult to offer unsolicited advice without actively joining, or appearing to join, a busybody club. Publicly given “advice” always begs the question of intentions, agendas and ambitions.…

On September 18, Israel relocked down the country for the following three weeks, becoming the first developed country to shut down for the second time. This second COVID-19 lockdown comes four months after lifting the first one instituted in March. How Israeli citizens react to the unsustainable nature of re-lockdowns will be instructive for the…

The University of Calgary (UC) has admitted to being a systemically racist institution against blacks, indigenous people and other people of colour. The revelation by its Senior Leaders University Team has hardly received any attention. The shocking admission was made on June 24, which coincidentally is the unofficial discovery of this country, when John Cabot…