The Quiet that Keeps Us Sane
Each November I hunt elk. In the eerie darkness I set out into a silent world, hoping to spot elk feeding at first light. After that first hour or two, the animals retreat into dense cover to bed [...]
Columns
Columns
Legal Pot
So, we are finally doing it: legal marijuana. Mind you, I feel I’ve experienced this twice before. In 2003 the Chrétien government had a bill in the House to decriminalize the possession of up to [...]
By Fred Stenson
The Pipelines We Need
Read any of Alberta’s daily newspapers and you will know that our province’s only hope is new pipelines. Nothing else will save us. I took some convincing, but I’m in. In fact, I’d like to [...]
Elections 2019
Even humorists feel dark about the world at times, and when I do I force myself back to the basics: food and family. Don’t worry, I’m not going to lecture on why food and water are essential to [...]
By Fred Stenson
Dear Fred:
I’m worried about government debt, but I don’t want to see any cuts to public services. And I don’t want a sales tax. What options are we ignoring? —Jocelyn, Red Deer Sadly, Jocelyn, half [...]
By Fred Stenson
Oil Sucks
I’m an addict. I use oil. We all do. That’s how we’ve wired our economy. But the fact that we’re hopelessly hooked doesn’t mean we shouldn’t confront the issue. The first step, after all, is [...]
Royalty Treatment
In the 1990s, Premier Ralph Klein and Prime Minister Jean Chrétien teamed up to lure investment dollars to the Alberta oil sands. One of the carrots on offer was that, in the pre-payout period of [...]
By Fred Stenson
Welcome, Strangers
One June day I headed deep into the Whaleback wilderness of southwestern Alberta in search of one of the most beautiful of native lilies—the blue camas. Blue camas was part of the ecological [...]
Don’t Fence Me In
Try and picture them all. On his first visit to the Waterton area in 1865, John (“Kootenai”) Brown wrote: “The prairie as far as we could see east, north and west was one living mass of buffalo. [...]
Moral Chameleons
If political partisanship bothers you, it probably means your political tribe is in power. You’re satisfied with what they’re doing, but the opposing side is making headway in the polls with [...]
By Fred Stenson
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MOST READ
Reducing the Harm
It's a little after 10 o’clock in the morning and Taylor feels like she’s climbing the walls.
When her name is called and the door to Lethbridge’s supervised drug consumption site buzzes open, Taylor moves quickly on her crutches. She settles into a chair at the second booth from the end ...
Should All Drugs Be Decriminalized?
Hakique Virani says yes.
Twelve-step addiction recovery programs teach that it is irrational to “do the same thing over and over again expecting different results.” This should be a lesson for legislators too. As the 4,000 Canadian families who lost a loved one to an opioid overdose last year know, our ...
Holy Healthcare
Just tell them we don’t have it here.” That’s what the nurse told me in Killam Hospital, an hour east of Camrose. I’d asked what would happen if a woman came into our ER asking for the morning-after pill. The nurse wasn’t being self-righteous, but simply explaining the policy.
As ...