Just last month, the Canadian government fulfilled its commitment that it made in 2013 to bring 1,300 Syrian refugees into the country by the end of 2014. The government has announced a decision to receive 10,000 additional refugees in the next three years. However, as the civil war in Syria[Read More…]
Tag: Canada
Off the board: Gentrification, urban-ecoism, and cultural perspectives
The houses in Kathmandu, Nepal, where my grandparents live are very tall and narrow—there’s not a lot of buildable space in the actual city. My grandparents’ house doesn’t have central heating. It’s wired up to the electrical grid, but the electricity isn’t always there. For several hours a day, electricity[Read More…]
Commentary: Employment insurance ineffective in Canada
Over the past few decades, Canadians have taken steps—from the Canada Pension Plan to universal health care—to make Canada a more caring and equitable society. However, despite politicians’ best intentions, these societal efforts can sometimes produce unintended negative consequences. Nowhere is this more evident than with the current design of[Read More…]
Scholars examine racial discourse and practices in Canada, United States
A panel discussion on the history and development of anti-black racial practices in Canada and the United States was held on Feb. 16 as part of the David A. Freedman Speaker Series. Titled “Discourses of Race: The United States, Canada, and Transnational Anti-Blackness,” the event was organized by the McGill[Read More…]
Why Canada should reinstate the mandatory long-form census
The first week of February saw the defeat of a bill to reinstate Canada’s mandatory long-form census, prompting a sigh of discontent and discouragement from many Canadians. While every opposition Member of Parliament (MP) voted in favour, all but one Conservative MP voted against it, preventing the bill from passing[Read More…]
Towards a new system of social security
The Canadian government has a wide array of programs in place to alleviate poverty. At the federal level alone, the government spends 10 per cent of GDP on a multitude of cash transfer programs. Despite this, around nine per cent of Canadians still live in poverty. The solution could be[Read More…]
Behind the bench: Canadian uprising
Although Canada is known for producing hockey players and winter sport athletes, it may come as a surprise to some that the great white North is responsible for producing some extraordinary NBA talent in recent years. This influx of Canadian talent stems firstly from the influx of young Canadian basketball[Read More…]
Commentary: The exaggerated plight of Canada’s middle class
There is an old saying that goes, “God must love the poor: He made so many of them.” Unfortunately for the poor, in Canadian political discourse, the ‘middle class’ captures all the attention of politicians. From Justin Trudeau and Thomas Mulcair on the centre-left, to Stephen Harper on the centre-right,[Read More…]
Commentary: In conclusion
In reflecting upon my experience at McGill, it would be fair to say that much of it was true to form; the share of good and bad professors, the very real labyrinthine bureaucracy, and the infamous campus politics. In some sense, all of that is usual. In other ways, it[Read More…]
Commentary: Supply management milks customers
Most Canadians have probably heard of the term ‘supply management,’ though many probably only have a vague idea of what it means.
