May 24th, 2024

Opinions

It’s time Ottawa moved to expunge criminal records forpot smokers

By Medicine Hat News Opinon on October 16th, 2018

If police brass who vigorously enforced cannabis laws can reinvent themselves as pot promoters then it’s high time to give Canadians with possession records their own second chance. The legalization of cannabis this week is a welcome step forward for Canada, and an overdue acknowledgement that criminalizing pot-smokers was a costly and dangerous mistake. But ... Read More »

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Mental health therapies should be fully funded by medicare

By Medicine Hat News Opinon on October 15th, 2018

Troy Media Media headlines tell us in detail about the mental health struggles of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain before their deaths by suicide.But what too often goes untold are the stories of thousands of people who die by suicide every year in Canada — our friends, relatives, colleagues and neighbours. What’s also not well ... Read More »

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Additional funding for legal aid a step forward

By Medicine Hat News Opinon on October 15th, 2018

“Justice delayed is justice denied,” we’re told. So for Albertans who can’t afford a lawyer, there’s no justice at all. That’s why it’s crucial that Albertans have access to a legal aid service to help them through some of life’s biggest challenges. That access has been difficult in recent years, as the population has grown ... Read More »

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Legal cannabis around the corner; don’t mess it up, Canada

By Medicine Hat News Opinon on October 13th, 2018

On Wednesday, Canada will make history by being the first big country to legalize marijuana nation-wide, which if successful could serve as a model for other developed nations. Uruguay is the only other state to have legalized it across the country, which it did in 2013, but with a population of 3.4 million, it’s about ... Read More »

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National Affairs: PM salutes media,but hasn’t acted

By Medicine Hat News Opinon on October 13th, 2018

Last week being National Newspaper Week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau decided to send out a tweet extolling the value of newspapers to our democracy. “In an ever-changing world with an ever-changing media landscape, our local newspapers play a vital role in protecting our democracy,” he wrote. “We salute the papers — big and small — ... Read More »

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Gov’t driver testing a long time coming

By Medicine Hat News Opinon on October 12th, 2018

A tragic highway crash last weekend reminds us once again. If we want to reduce deaths and injuries on our roads, we must have common-sense road laws — and enforce them. Eighteen people on their way to a birthday celebration and two pedestrians in New York state became the victims, apparently, of a driver without ... Read More »

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Guest Column: Turning the sex ed clock back to 1998 puts our youth at risk

By Medicine Hat News Opinon on October 12th, 2018

Troy Media It’s now widely known that the Ontario Ministry of Education will be reverting to the 2010 sex education curriculum to teach youth — despite widespread criticism. Worse, youth in Grades 7 and 8 will actually be taught the 1998 sex ed curriculum. In 1998, U.S. President Bill Clinton got in trouble over Monica ... Read More »

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Governments faced with trying to solve oilpatch’s problems

By Medicine Hat News Opinon on October 11th, 2018

An increasingly hostile campaign that accuses Eastern Canadians of supporting “dictator oil,” “terrorist oil” or worse is increasingly off-base and not helping win over average Canadians. To be frank, your average Canadian doesn’t import any oil, doesn’t own a refinery and doesn’t have the financial resources to make a pipeline happen. Do you? Yet, politicians, ... Read More »

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NAFTA negotiations showed U.S. willing to play rough in order to win

By Medicine Hat News Opinon on October 10th, 2018

We’re in Canada, so perhaps it’s all right to use a hockey analogy. You’re playing in an important game, out there on left wing, and the way the lines are juggled, you end up playing opposite the same player on the other team. He used to be on your team; you even liked him then. ... Read More »

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Scalpers on the loose

By Medicine Hat News Opinon on October 9th, 2018

Music fans have long been suspicious and angry when tickets to Vancouver concerts by acts such as the Eagles and Pink sell out in minutes and scalpers seem to reap the rewards. They have more reason to be skeptical after new revelations about Ticketmaster’s practices. An investigation by the CBC and the Toronto Star is ... Read More »

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Guest column: She said, he said: The Kavanaugh case

By Medicine Hat News Opinon on October 6th, 2018

Sept. 27 was a full day of “she said, he said,” and the millions of us who watched the uncomfortable spectacle chose sides. Those sick and tired of political correctness, angry at all the challenges to “the way things used to be, and should still be,” who saw nothing wrong with a culture of male ... Read More »

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