Opinions
Farewell to 2018, a toxic year with way too much misinformation
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on December 29th, 2018
What kind of year has it been? Apparently a toxic one, replete with misinformation and lots of people suffering the sharp pangs of nomophobia. If that sounds unpleasant and uncomfortable, that’s because it is. Twenty-eighteen was a low-down, dirty year, one we’re glad to see the back of, and the words chosen by lexicographers to ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!MLA Report: No longer the forgotten corner
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on December 28th, 2018
As many Medicine Hat constituents know by now, I will not be seeking re-election. I will remain as the MLA for Medicine Hat until the next general election and the Speaker of the Alberta Legislature until a new Speaker is chosen by his or her peers. It has been a privilege and honour to represent ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Decisions to make in 2019
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on December 28th, 2018
You may have had your fill of politics but get ready for more, a lot more, in 2019. Not only will there be a provincial election within a matter of months, there will be a federal election in October as well. National year-end stories have focused on a healthy economy and lower unemployment rates. The ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!As Facebook stumbles, we must protect online privacy
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on December 27th, 2018
The Trudeau government now has even more reason to take action in the New Year on an increasingly urgent issue: protecting Canadians’ privacy from social media giants that have accumulated far too much power for their own good — and ours. The latest evidence comes courtesy of the New York Times, which reports that Facebook ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Cannabis is legal, but governments making it hardto get any
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on December 26th, 2018
When Justin Trudeau’s Liberals campaigned on making cannabis legal in 2015 they got cheers from young voters and nods of approval from many others who believe it’s the best way to curb the black market and end the needless and costly criminalization of pot smokers. And yet here we are, two months after cannabis was ... Read More »
1 responsePower projects a wind-win-win
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on December 24th, 2018
It’s a win-win-win scenario — or should that be wind-win-win? Five planned wind energy projects in southern Alberta announced last week stand to bring benefits on several fronts. First of all, the projects are expected to create 1,000 jobs, which will provide a welcome economic boost for a province where the oil sector has been ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Sovereignty and the U.N. Compact
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on December 24th, 2018
Sovereignty. A single word teeming with power, influence and meaning. A legal concept that can lead to much confusion and misinformation. This is the case with people’s understanding of the United Nations Global Compact for Migration. Across Facebook and around the world, misinformation about the U.N. Global Compact has spread, with claims of its attack ... Read More »
1 responseGuest Column: The death of civility
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on December 22nd, 2018
I usually write about political or social issues, and often, I try to prod or poke some readers to consider thinking outside their chosen boxes. I do this not to upset or anger people who see the world differently, but simply to engage in an ancient practice that we take far too lightly. I’m talking ... Read More »
1 responsePrinciples of justice should be at centre of jury selection process
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on December 22nd, 2018
It’s time for a shakeup of Canada’s jury selection process. Since the acquittal of Gerald Stanley in the death of Colten Boushie, a 22-year-old Indigenous man, by an all-white jury earlier this year, the practice of peremptory challenges — where the Crown and defence each have the ability to automatically dismiss a certain number of ... Read More »
1 responseMLA Report: Grateful for opportunities presented by free enterprise
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on December 21st, 2018
It’s mid-December and I wake up at home to a wonderful 3 C! Just one of many things I am grateful for, and it often happens in Cypress-Medicine Hat. We are always five degrees warmer than Edmonton. Canada is the fifth-largest exporter of food in the world and that of course reminds me to celebrate ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Arguments for pay raise may be compelling, but optics are bad
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on December 21st, 2018
This week Calgary councillors and the mayor accepted a pay reduction dictated by an annual automatic adjustment based on the average Alberta weekly earnings report. It works out to a 0.08 per cent decrease kicking in on Jan. 1, 2019. It is not a huge reduction; councillors will get about $90 less annually and the ... Read More »
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