Can strapping on a headset that puts you in a mountain meadow induce you to visit that actual meadow on your next vacation? The travel industry thinks so, and last week’s Globe article “Can virtual reality bring real tourists to B.C.?” practically yodels “YES!” in reply. I beg to disagree, or at least to pause in praising […]
Today, tobacco is on the run in Canada and the U.S., and in Ontario, it’s even against the law to smoke in your own car if there’s passengers under the age of 16 with you. What did it take to turn tobacco from something everyone did to something only social pariahs dare keep doing? Timely
Doctors have killed tobacco. So why can’t they beat obesity? Read More »
On Wednesday, Justin Trudeau will announce a new cabinet made up 50 per cent of women. That example could have painful consequences for a community that’s been hobbled by the Harper Tories and is expecting great things — especially more money — from the new Liberal Government. The major arts groups in Canada’s largest city
Now That We’ll Have A Diverse Cabinet, The Arts Need To Catch Up Read More »
Though the vast majority of Canadians support doctor-assisted dying, the Conservative government has set up a policy review process that’s built to ignore them. Ottawa recently announced an expert panel who will consult with Canadians on doctor-assisted dying. This panel will guide the government in how to respond to the Supreme Court’s ruling in February that if
Canadians agree on assisted suicide. Why isn’t Ottawa listening? Read More »
At the finish line of this year’s Boston Marathon stood a large sign that read: “Absolutely no weapons allowed.” Really? Bostonians had to be told that? But at least they had tragic reality as a backdrop. Here in Toronto, the “Conditions of Entry to a Venue” at the Pan Am Games are as bizarre and Martian as
When it comes to Pan Am Games, there’s bound to be an overkill of rules Read More »
The largely white, male boards of Toronto’s top arts organizations may be one reason for declining attendance and reduced funding. Two years ago this week, I had a look into the gender and racial makeup of the boards of Toronto’s Big Six arts organizations. They were overwhelmingly male and white. Since then their overall attendance has trended
Think you can hike? What you need to know before pulling your own Wild Wild, Cheryl Strayed’s best-selling story of hiking 1,770 kilometres of the Pacific Crest Trail, hits movie screens this month. If you’re feeling inspired, read this first. Movies are not life. They’re better. That’s why we watch them and worship their stars. Those
Debate over police powers missing key voices: women and minorities. The biggest story in America this year is that racism isn’t dead. Just ask any young black man who’s been ‘carded’ by the police. Or the families of those who were killed by police under murky circumstances. Or the families of police gunned down in
Audiences Shouldn’t Have to Put Up With Politicians ‘Bringing Greetings’ I recently paid $50 to attend a preview screening of the movie, Still Alice, about the decline and fall of a woman struck with Alzheimer’s at age 50. Most of my money went to support the event’s sponsors: the Alzheimer’s Society of Ontario, Baycrest and the
The group with the largest numbers in Toronto still has the least power. God is not on the side of the big battalions — at least in Toronto. In fact, here in the world’s most diverse city, the group with the biggest numbers has the least power. I refer, of course, to non-white women. With
Non-White women missing from Toronto’s power corridors Read More »
Walking never got any respect: it was slow, unsexy and boring. Only losers walked. But today, walking is what the cool kids do, whether they’re staving off Alzheimers and depression, losing weight or gaining creativity. In fact, over 4.5 million people have watched Toronto doctor Mike Evans’ online video: 23 ½ Hours: “What’s the single best
So how’s the Ontario Security Commission’s new “comply or explain” policy doing in nudging our public companies to put more women on their boards? Well, if the first six months offer any clue, it will take 68 more years before boards will reach gender parity – longer than anyone reading this piece will be alive.
The misplaced optimism of gender diversity targets Read More »
