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In an introductory course to political science at SFU, I devote an entire class to political ideologies. I begin with the left-right divide, then address liberalism, libertarianism, socialism and communism. The left-right divide is a long-standing schema dating to the French Revolution. Convened in Paris to elaborate a new constitution for the country, political actors…
Thank goodness for small mercies: B.C. Premier Christy Clark is steering clear of the federal election. Unlike Ontario Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne, who has thrown herself fully behind the aspirations of Justin Trudeau and the federal Liberals, Clark has pretty much stayed out of the marathon federal campaign. The very pragmatic reason for her silence…
This charming 127-year-old yellow house at 1380 Hornby St. has witnessed much of Vancouver’s dynamic history. George Leslie House was built in the late 1800’s by its first owner George Leslie. It’s a rare local example of the Queen Anne style. Not only is it one of the earliest houses in Vancouver, but it is…
Living the full duration of my 17 years in metro Vancouver, I have always been immersed in the cultural diversity this city embodies. My first day of kindergarten at Sir William Osler Elementary, I walked in and sat down to find myself the only Caucasian student in the class. After spending a year being introduced…
During an election campaign promises rain down. They come in waves, always with the purpose of feeding the news cycle. No party is immune, each wanting to gain momentum towards polling day. Almost daily, the party leaders, crammed into a room with smiling, agitated supporters, offer a new commitment. Stephen Harper announces a new tax…
As school resumed this month across British Columbia, many commentators made note of the one-year anniversary of the B.C. government’s dispute with teachers. The situation isn’t as hot as last year, but educators at all levels remain in an antagonistic relationship with the B.C. Liberals and Premier Christy Clark. If you take transit in the…
A trip to Gibsons, BC on Saturday, September 12, provided the opportunity to discover Shuckfest 2015, the 4th annual outdoor festival celebrating food, drink and music. Presented by Smitty’s Oyster House and the Rotary Club of Gibsons, part of the proceeds go to the local St. Bart’s Food Bank. Another purpose of the festival is…
Do I have a valid passport? Why doesn’t the lady from the office answer? Will the man from the employment office accept my letter stating I will not look for work in the country therefore forgoing my rights to unemployment without a whimper? Is my insurance still valid? So many questions – this is only…
It’s a global story with a very local connection for those of us here in British Columbia. The photograph of a drowned three-year old boy, Alan Kurdi, has now been seen around the world, a haunting image that has drawn the world’s attention to an historic refugee crisis. Kurdi, his brother Ghalib and their mother…
Here we view the reconstruction of the Vancouver Art Gallery’s (VAG’s) membrane on Georgia St. It is part of the on-going maintenance we have seen around other parts of the gallery, as well as Robson Square and Vancouver’s Provincial Courthouse. As the signs around the outside of the gallery indicate, this work will most importantly…
Born in Zimbabwe to a white family in the 1980s, I was kept mostly separate from native, black Zimbabweans – albeit less so than a generation before. As I grew up and attended a racially integrated school, I saw this gap slowly shrink before being wedged apart by Robert “Bob” Mugabe, our long-standing dictator-president, as…
From June 28 to July 31, I participated in the Explore program at the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières. I studied French in an immersion environment with a no-English rule, where you risk being expelled from the program if caught speaking English. My stay in Trois-Rivières was very exciting from beginning to end. The French…
Last week a 4.6 magnitude earthquake struck near Fort St. John in northeastern B.C., just a few kilometres from a fracking site operated by Progress Energy. The company was forced to halt operations temporarily while investigators determined the cause of the quake. Fracking is a shorthand description for hydraulic fracturing, a process where high pressure…
