Roots and reconciliation
As I write, a ceremony called “Witnessing the Future” is streaming live to televisions around the newsroom from Rideau Hall in Ottawa. It is a window into a world of hurt, and healing. With Excellency...
View ArticleAre Canadians "deeply unimpressive"?
Canadians are a mediocre lot. At least, that was the opinion of Lord Moran, British High Commissioner in Ottawa from 1981-84, as spelled out in letters sent to the British Foreign office. The letters,...
View ArticleGreat Lakes be dammed
Imagine how the several million inhabitants of the Lake Chad watershed feel today. The lake they depended on, once the sixth-largest in the world, is now a tenth of its former size. The shrinking of...
View ArticleConsidering the canoe
Last Thursday morning, a small group convened in a boardroom in downtown Toronto for a brainstorming session. There were two boxes of Tim Hortons doughnuts on the table, and sandwiches ordered for...
View ArticleA conversation about reconciliation
I’d like to share the spirit of a conversation I had this morning over breakfast – and some thoughts about healing, Hudson Bay, Wikipedia and the stories we tell. My conversation partner was Mike...
View ArticleRainbows over the Reserve
It’s Aboriginal History Month, and I just spent a week on the Mishkeegogamang First Nation, seven hours drive north of Thunder Bay. I was there to do arts and music workshops for school kids with three...
View ArticleThe notion of a nation
“Rupert’s Land” (Image, Wikimedia Commons) Today is National Aboriginal Day in Canada, and a good time to reflect on the relationship between Aboriginal people and Canadians at large. We’re...
View ArticleMariposa minority report
There was a rainbow over the Mariposa Folk Festival site, as the grand old dame celebrated her 50th anniversary last weekend in Orillia, Ontario. But some metropolitan festival-goers quietly wondered...
View ArticleWhy Alberta should fund "Dirty Oil"
Alberta’s Minister of Culture and Community Spirit has an arithmetic problem. He thinks provincial funding for a documentary questioning the Alberta oil sands just doesn’t add up. “It’s wackier and...
View ArticleNot just the Average Lakes
Documentary filmmaker Kevin McMahon knows the Great Lakes as few people do: He spent years making the acclaimed documentary “Waterlife,” a portrait of the Great Lakes in peril. The stunning film has...
View ArticleThe sickness and the healing
A couple of years ago I dove into the works of William Faulkner. Some I liked, some I didn’t, but through Faulkner’s unique vision and voice, I did gain some insight into the American south, which was...
View ArticleNorthbound II, Calgary, March 18
Back by popular demand after a stellar show last May, this unique evening performance / presentation will feature: Back by popular demand after a stellar show last May, this unique evening performance...
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