Is a Referendum a Good Way to Make a Decision?
TED MORTON The professor emeritus of political science at U of C and former Alberta minister of finance SAYS YES Referendums were first adopted in the western US in the Progressive Era, [...]
Dialogue
Dialogue
Should Universities “Deplatform” Speakers?
Irfan Chaudhry The equity, diversity and human rights specialist and MacEwan University lecturer says yes. In an age of increasing social and political polarization, universities are becoming [...]
Should Union Membership Be Optional?
John Mortimer, the president of the Canadian LabourWatch Association says yes As Canada is a signatory to UN’s 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, our answer should be yes. Article [...]
Is Poverty the Individual’s Fault?
CHRIS SARLO The economics professor at Nipissing University and senior fellow at the Fraser Institute SAYS YES I’ll answer yes—with two qualifications. First, the setting in which I believe [...]
Should there be mandatory minimum sentences?
Lisa Silver The U of C assistant professor of law says no Our legal system is a reflection of who we are as a society. The values at the core of that system promote fairness and justice. These [...]
Is Home Schooling in the Public Interest?
paul van den bosch says YES Many studies and a wealth of evidence show that home education is academically and socially good for the student and also benefits their family. The proof is in [...]
Should Vaccinations Be Mandatory?
DR. UBAKA OGBOGU SAYS YES. In March 2016 over 100 people were exposed to measles—a serious, vaccine-preventable disease—at Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton. The source of the [...]
Are More Pipelines in the Public Interest?
David Hughes says no. We are repeatedly told by the Trudeau government that we must meet our Paris climate change commitments and at the same time ramp up oil and gas production and build [...]
Should Jury Selection Be Changed?
Steven Penney says yes. Imagine receiving a jury summons in the mail. You dutifully report to the courthouse and wait patiently for the selection process to unfold. When your name is [...]
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 [...]
MOST READ
MOST READ
Listening to Stones
It is a brilliant way to learn. Students of Socrates used to gather around the great man and exchange heady ideas that arose out of provocative questions—what we know now as the Socratic dialogue method of education. You might think the Greek philosopher and his followers hung out in academic ...
The Plans to Strip-Mine Coal in the Mountains
It looks like spectacular wild country, but some see it more as a big money sandwich.
The top layer of that sandwich is comprised of alpine grasses, forget-me-nots and stonecrop, glacier lilies and ancient, brave pines whose branches have been gnarled and weathered by centuries of wind. In summer, solitaires and ...
Who’s Keeping Watch?
As a journalist, covering Alberta's United Conservative Party government is a bit like trying to jump aboard a speeding locomotive. So much weight is moving at such great velocity that it’s difficult, if not impossible, to keep up.
Once upon a time, Alberta governments weren’t so purposeful or so quick—or, if ...