centre of the universe

Tag: Canadian Politics

  • Separate and Distinct?

    The Premier of this province has been bumbling around, talking about how his party wants to create a distinct “nation within a nation” in Saskatchewan, and that they want to somehow create a more autonomous province. There’s media out there today about how a good chunk of folks who live in Saskatchewan think that’s a […]

  • A Canadian (Thanksgiving) Parable

    Once there was a Queen. She reigned over many lands, in the manner of constitutional monarchies with their own parliamentary systems based largely, if not wholly, on the parliament of the Queen’s own land. The Queen had many great powers, not the least of which were Longevity, Great Hats, and Mechanical Aptitude. But one of […]

  • Much Ado

    There’s little doubt that cannabis and cannabinoids (not an alien race of green-skinned interstellar travellers, but the compounds that comprise the active ingredients in cannabis, like THC (which makes you loopy) and CBD (which does not)) will be big business in the coming years, although it’s uncertain whether legal weed will be the revenue-generating panacea […]

  • Keep ’em separated

    Keep ’em separated

    Recently the Government of Canada included on its summer student funding program a check box that asks whether the business (non-profit/agency/charity/etc.) applying for federal tax funding complies with Canadian law. Normally, that’s not a problem. Normally, if you apply for federal funding, you’re all, hells yes we comply with federal laws. It’s exceedingly rare for […]

  • Conscientious Objection shouldn’t mean dereliction of duty

    Conscientious Objection shouldn’t mean dereliction of duty

    Canada passed a law in June 2016 to make legal and to offer protection to the providers of medically assisted dying. Let’s just pretend for a moment that “Medically Assisted Dying” isn’t one of the lamest, most watered-down name for the practice of euthanasia. Predictably, there were a number of objectors to this bill, many […]

  • Alouette

    Way back in the nineteen somethings, Canada was going through the sort of identity crisis we all go through when we’re about fifteen. Québec was all stomping around the place, slamming doors and cupboards and shouting “JE PARS” everytime someone looked at it. “Hey, Québec,” we’d say, “I like your cheese. You have lovely cheese.” […]

  • Cardboard cutout

    I’ve heard a lot of stupid things in my time. Hell, I’ve probably said more stupid things than a really large number of people who’ve said stupid things, combined with an equally large, or possibly larger, number of people who’ve said stupid things. Don’t believe me? Okay, how’s this: Grade 10. The Long-Suffering Sarah and […]

  • Uncomfortable Dinner

    Canada’s federal Minister of Health has just slapped Saskatchewan’s hands for offering pay-to-use MRIs, prompting the Saskatchewan Minister of Health to thumb his nose at the Feds, in an act that surprises absolutely nobody.  While the Conservative Libertarians among us crow that it’s nobody’s business how we spend our after-tax dollars, in a less-than-surprising yet uplifting exercise […]

  • Gender what now?

    Yesterday, Premier Brad Wall announced his new cabinet (full disclosure: up until my mid-20s I thought a “cabinet shuffle” was a really, really lame dance move), a move which was met with literally no excitement. You could have sandwiched this media announcement between “Man Walks Dog” and “Library Fines Stay The Same As They’ve Always Been” […]

  • Wealth, Taxes, and Citizenship

    Wealth, Taxes, and Citizenship

    I saw this posted on effbook, from these folks. LUCY PARSONS: “MORE DANGEROUS THAN A THOUSAND RIOTERS”: Eldine Gonzalez Parsons (born c. 1853 – March 7, 1942), described by the Chicago Police Department as “more dangerous than a thousand rioters,” was an American labor organizer and anarchist, born around 1853 in Texas, likely as a […]