Issues, ethics, memory
Justin Trudeau’s re-election has unleashed political outrage in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney is talking about Alberta’s being “betrayed.” Saskatchewan’s Premier Scott Moe sent a letter to Trudeau demanding that he cancel the federal carbon tax, build various pipelines and renegotiate the formula for equalization payments. I’ll withhold detailed comment on equalization payments,... Continue Reading →
Young Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who will speak to the UN Climate Summit in New York this week, has said: “I want you to act as if our house is on fire. Because it is.” One thinks of the carnage at Fort McMurray in 2016 where the houses were on fire after a massive blaze... Continue Reading →
Newspapers have recently carried lengthy obituaries on the death of David Koch, the US billionaire. Through Koch Industries, David and his equally wealthy brother Charles controlled the second largest private corporation in the US, with ownership in chemicals, pipelines and fossil fuel extraction. The company was also, until recently, a major investor in Alberta’s oil... Continue Reading →
My Facebook site has been inundated recently by people sickened by the latest mass shootings in the US and outraged that an American president is acting as an enabler to fellow white supremacists. When we Canadians look at the racism and misogyny being perpetrated by people like Donald Trump, Juan Bolsinaro in Brazil, Rodrigo Dueterte... Continue Reading →
I was invited in 2019 to speak in Ottawa to the Annual General Meeting of the ecumenical social justice group Citizens for Public Justice. They asked me to talk about populism. It's a topic that has gained new urgency following the so-called Freedom Convoy in 2022. Here is the speech: Introductory comments I am so... Continue Reading →
Pulpit and Politics 