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Op-Ed

Forget the myth: We are a communications leader

There seems to be an urban myth emerging that says Canada is somehow behind the rest of the world when it comes to communications technology -- the wireless and wired connections we depend on for keeping...

Issues & Ideas

Let's call a rape a rape -- and treat it as the serious crime it is

Over the years, I have interviewed dozens of rape survivors or, as the courts describe them, sexual assault victims.

Issues & Ideas

We must have foreign workers -- and we need to treat them better

Canada must improve its treatment of temporary foreign workers In recent years, the number of temporary foreign workers admitted to Canada has more than doubled. However, the short-term focus of Canada's existing temporary labour migration policy will not help the country realize its long-term labour market needs, and it is unfair to the vast majority of temporary foreign workers.

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Mayor Gregor's 'people': Will the chickens come home to roost?

Miro Cernetig has written an adoring portrait of Gregor Robertson, the mayor with the handsome face and nimble feet. But Cernetig forgot to mention a few others who love that chiselled jaw. For example:

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Religion in the public square

If you've paid any attention to the media over the last week -for instance, regarding whether the G8 "maternal and infant health initiative" should include abortion, or The Current's and The National's programs on CBC that focused on Marci McDonald's new book, The Armageddon Factor, that raises alarm about the rise in political power and influence of the "Canadian religious right" -you'll find this secularist truism espoused both front, centre and behind the scenes: Religion and religious voices and views have no valid role to play in the public square. Indeed, many secularists are openly hostile to any such participation. But are they correct?

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CBC and the Tories: Long-time enemies

Both "unrevised" and "unrepented," the speaker approached the microphone. The party he had twice served as prime minister was gathered in convention before him. Considered by friend and foe alike to be one of the finest parliamentarians in Canadian history -- on par with only the great Sir Wilfrid Laurier himself -- his address was eagerly awaited.

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Future of humans, Earth depends on preserving biodiversity

May 22 is the International Day for Biological Diversity, marking the day on which the United Nations adopted the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1992. In the past two decades, the scientific community's understanding of ecology -- the study of how ecosystems work and where each biological component of a system fits into the greater whole -- has exploded. With that knowledge has come two key realizations: firstly, that we are losing worldwide biological diversity at an alarming and unprecedented rate; and secondly, for humans to thrive or even survive in the future, we must preserve as much biodiversity as possible so that we do not limit our future options.

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Be prepared for a stealth proxy contest

We're in the thick of proxy season, when annual general meetings of public companies are held and boards of directors are elected.

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Salmon is a true symbol of our province

The "romance" of the Pacific salmon has ancient roots. From "time immemorial," first nations inhabitants of the land that is today's British Columbia revered the primal odyssey of the salmon as representative of our own capacity for constant regeneration and renewal. Predating the formal establishment of this province by eons, salmon have sustained us and have come to help signify the love of human beings for this beautiful place that is also our home.

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We need to value and conserve water

Spring is supposed to be time of renewal, of optimism and joy at the prospects of hot summer days ahead. Instead, here in British Columbia, Environment Minister Barry Penner is warning us that insufficient snow pack and a dry spring may be conspiring to create potentially serious water shortages for some communities. This is a dire situation indeed and perhaps a time to take a serious look at what it will take to begin balancing our water budget and how we price this most precious of resources.

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Sun special: Environmental News

Clean energy: You get what you pay for

While British Columbia's's new Clean Energy Act emphasizes preserving low electricity rates, there are good reasons to pay more for energy. Paying more can help protect B.C.'s environment, support rural economic development, and grow B.C.'s clean-tech businesses.

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Teaching the Koran to university undergrads

The contents of Muslim scripture appear to be coming up for discussion in western public discourse more today than at any time in history. What do university undergraduates need to know about the Koran in order to participate intelligently and meaningfully in this discourse -- a dialogue that shows signs of expanding in coming decades?

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Quebecers signal a return to the Two Solitudes

With considerable fanfare, a poll was released in Quebec this past weekend. (It was published in Le Devoir on May 7 and 8.) Commissioned by the Bloc Quebecois and a sovereignty-leaning group of Quebec academics, it polled 1,000 residents of Quebec and 1,000 Canadians outside Quebec, and was the subject of intense discussion at a one-day conference entitled Twenty Years after Meech, held in Montreal on May 8.

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