Coal Front
For centuries, coal miners toiled in dim, claustrophobic tunnels in the grip of a constant fear. Coal dust mingled on their bodies with the cold sweat brought on by an invisible enemy. They [...]
Westbound Train
In the summer of 1970, a 12-coach train painted with day-glo hippie flowers carried Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead, The Band, Ian and Sylvia Tyson, Buddy Guy and other folk-rock and blues icons [...]
Puppet State
There was a time in this country, and not so long ago either, when “puppet” was a dirty word. Sure, there was the kiddie entertainment ghetto, where slack-mouthed, rubber-headed Muppet [...]
Holistic Cow!
A walk across the historic A7 Ranche, west of Nanton in southern Alberta’s foothills, reveals a land rich in native grasses and wildlife. Cattle and deer graze the hills, keeping the land [...]
Strange Bedfellows
When the federal Liberals are in power—and except for the Diefenbaker and Mulroney years (and the Clark and Campbell months), that’s been the case since 1935—it’s a given that Ottawa and Edmonton [...]
MOST READ
MOST READ
Missing Answers
On February 23, 2021, something amazing happened—almost a miracle, as far as I’m concerned. I got to ask Premier Jason Kenney a question during a news conference (about the upcoming legislative sitting). Before that, the last time I’d been called on to ask a question was December 18, 2020—67 days ...
The $120 Billion Question
The Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) has lately come under intense criticism. The Kenney government’s changes to the Crown corporation’s mandate in 2019—the transfer, without prior notice, of several public pension funds to AIMCo—alarmed pension fund members who worried about ceding control of their pensions and were unsure about AIMCo ...
Should Post-Secondary Education be Free?
Hugh Mackenzie
The economist and research associate at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says yes.
Free tuition would redress a massive intergenerational inequity created over the past 30 years. In 1990–91, average university tuition in Canada was $1,464; adjusted for inflation, that would be $2,541 in 2019–20. Today the actual average ...