Columns

Quebec protestors just spoiled brats

The Quebec students’ strike just won’t go away.

Stories typically get stale in a hurry, but these bozos have managed to embarrass themselves for many weeks as they give a black eye to an entire generation and province. Who knew that Quebec had such low tuition fees for its pampered post-secondary students before the current riots? READ

Going to bat for our furry flying friends

Bats are fascinating creatures, and they’re more important than many people realize. A bat can eat more than 1,000 insects in an hour — up to 6,000 a night. Some bats consume bugs that attack agricultural crops and some feast on pests like gnats and mosquitoes. READ

Tories kill off voices, one at a time

Sometimes a politician can stumble and tell the truth. READ

Hosting the world no cheap trick

Given the serial embarrassments associated with hosting leaders of the world’s most developed economies, it’s a wonder that many nations are still keen to take on that task. READ

Trashy teen outfits sure to attract creepy attention

It’s only natural that when the weather warms up, women start wearing less clothes. READ

Illinois: heart of Alberta’s economy

Albertans know the importance of being a global trader — and these days, the chatter is about new and burgeoning global markets. China is the hottest market in the world! We’ve got a free trade deal with Mexico, don’t we? What about Canada’s talks to expand exports to Europe? And don’t forget the nearly 200 million Brazilians! READ

Horror of trial will linger

Every once in a while, a crime is committed in this country that’s so horrible, it feels like the only fitting punishment would be the death penalty — if we had it. READ

Follow Lougheed’s lead

News that three Alberta companies are pulling the pin on the provincial government’s much-vaunted carbon-capture program should come as no shock. READ

Why activism really matters

Canada would be a different place without our 80,000 registered charities dedicated to everything from health to economic policy to the environment. We’d be much poorer without the two million employees and millions of volunteers who devote their time to causes that strengthen our nation. READ

Greek default, Euro collapse?

Last year, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel warned: “Nobody should believe that another half-century of peace in Europe is a given. If the euro collapses, Europe collapses. That can’t happen.” READ

The view from the highway

There is a youth movement away from the philosophy of the car and something has been lost along the way. READ

Can we keep the good times rolling?

Alberta’s economic prospects are pretty good right now. In fact, they are better than in every other state and province in North America, including booming Saskatchewan next door. READ

Green power an expensive failure

A recent study, conducted by respected energy economist Gerry Angevine for the Fraser Institute, found that Ontario residents will pay an average of $285 million more for electricity each year for the next 20 years as a result of subsidies to renewable energy companies. READ

Smith deserves clemency

Ronald Smith, once of Red Deer, committed brutal crimes in Montana 30 years ago. Drunk and stoned on LSD, he marched Thomas Running Rabbit and Harvey Mad Man Jr. into the woods and shot them. He has spent the last three decades on death row and is now awaiting word on his final appeal to have his sentence commuted. In a wrenchingly emotional clemency hearing last week he said he is “horrendously sorry” and wept. READ

We’re tired of being disrespected

The single most contentious issue plaguing Premier Alison Redford and her party during the recent election campaign was without question the infamous “no-meet committee” scandal. The Progressive Conservatives managed to dodge a bullet on election day — with some “strategic” help from the left and a few “bozo eruptions” on the right — but have they absorbed the message? READ

The failure of environmentalism

Environmentalism has failed. READ

Curing health wait times

Sometimes public health care is like the human body. When you have an ailment in one area, you need to look somewhere else in the anatomy for the cause. READ

‘Denier’ label closes possibility of debate

I still have a great deal of difficulty with the catch-all phrase that proclaims that “the science is settled on global warming.” This will automatically get me categorized as a denier in today’s world because I have dared to question the science behind global warming. “Denier” is a good buzz word to use against people who question the science behind global warming as it has been presented by such luminaries as Al Gore, a man who has parlayed his zero-science political career into an incredibly lucrative global warming alarmist career. READ

The Suzuki Foundation’s politics

David Suzuki recently resigned as a director of the board of his eponymous foundation as a way, he said, of ensuring that his own political opinions and activities didn’t get the David Suzuki Foundation in trouble. READ