A national child-care program: it took a pandemic

One of the most meaningful outcomes of the pandemic is the long-awaited establishment of a national program to provide high-quality, affordable child care. Advocates argue that this $30-billion investment will be good for children, good for women and good for the economy. With every province now having signed on, the program’s path to realization and…

Armenian Easter bread

Choereg is a traditional, slightly sweet bread, especially made for Easter time. It is delicious for breakfast with a nice cup of coffee, similar to a French brioche bread. Choereg can be made individually or as a large braided loaf of bread. One of the ingredients is a spice called Malheb, which is used in cooking…

Men’s mental health is the silent killer

Everyone told me these would be the best days of my life. I’m 18, finishing college and the world around me seems to be imploding. I haven’t had COVID-19, I have a job and I consider myself one of thelucky ones. But my entire college experience is a zoom room with screens off. I’ve met…

Microlending to support skilled immigrants

The Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC) – Canada’s leading citizenship organization and the world’s foremost voice on citizenship and inclusion – has made a $500,000 investment in Windmill Microlending’s innovative and highly-effective Community Bond program, helping 50 skilled immigrants build successful professional lives in Canada thanks to Windmill’s accreditation and upskilling loans. “New immigrants don’t…

Feminism on the rise in Canada

Since the second wave of the women’s equality movement in the 1960s, the term “feminism” has been subject to bouts of withering criticism. At various times, feminism has been deemed too militant or radical, has been declared “dead” or has met with critics seeking to replace it entirely with something more palatable; “equalism” has often…

Genomic research lacks diversity and that’s a problem

Conducting foundational genomic research with more diverse populations, even if the sample proportion is small, is highly beneficial. As 2020 and 2021 have shown us, Canadians are becoming more aware – and increasingly concerned – about addressing systemic inequities and racism. From the thousands of Indigenous children found buried at residential school sites to the…

Almost half of healthcare workers are not doctors and nurses: Health policies must address their burnout too

Vaccination rates are climbing, and COVID-19 cases are decreasing. While this is surely a relief to most of us, many healthcare workers are bracing themselves for a significant post-pandemic fallout. Far from getting a much-needed reprieve from an emotionally and physically draining 20 months, these professionals will be forced to work under scheduled again. There…

More than 200 influential Canadians call on the federal government to fast track the Canada Disability Benefit

What do former Health Minister, Allan Rock; Senator Mohamed-Iqbal Ravalia; former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, David Onley; professional dancer, Luca Patuelli; ‘Mincome’ economist Evelyn Forget; best-selling author, Tara Ross; the CEO of Community Foundations of Canada, Andrew Chunilall; singer-songwriter, Christa Couture; disability activists, Ali Mohammed and Meenu Sikand; several order of Canada recipients, noted physicians…

For Your Interest: Emojis. Part 2. Real Messages. Real Feelings.

Introduction from Part 1. Text speak and emojis have taken over social, business and personal expression. It’s in advertising & marketing, all over direct messages (DMs), on social media, across webmail, and even schools & governments  https://hungarytoday.hu/fidesz-government-billboard-campaign-emojis-natl-survey-soros-migration-taxation/ have jumped on board. Facts: 92%* of the people on the internet use emojis. 97%** of U.S. adults text at least once a week. 10* billion emojis…

Canada needs a national Youth Climate Corps – we’ve proven it works

Recent years have been immensely disruptive, between climate change and extreme weather, a global pandemic, systemic racism and economic turmoil. We need big, interdisciplinary solutions to address these big, interdisciplinary problems. As we move past this uninspiring election, we need to move forward with unifying and inspiring action on the climate crisis and the many…