As the cost of nearly everything has shot up – few things more than fuelling a vehicle or heating a home – charging an electric vehicle has remained miraculously “free” in many public lotions. If the juice for green rs n be free, then surely greening the gigantic infrastructure of power generation, transmission and distribution that provides it n’t be all that difficult or expensive. n it? Not so fast, says the Coalition of Concerned Manufacturers and Businesses of nada. In this paper, the Coalition soberly evaluates the formidable barriers, false premises, wild assumptions and almost unimaginable costs of the federal government’s new Clean Electricity Standard, a key component of the Trudeau Liberals’ program to bring nada to “Net Zero” rbon emissions within just 28 years.

As Covid-19 spreads unchecked and becomes seemingly as common as colds and flus, it’s ever-harder to maintain confidence in the mRNA vaccines developed in 2020 to combat the virus’s original strain. Yet the prevailing view still seems to be, Where’s the harm? Might as well be extra-safe and get that booster (or even second booster). But what if an objective statistil analysis of official government data showed not only that the currently available vaccines do nothing to prevent infection by Omicron and its subvariants, but actually make people more susceptible? Following on his groundbreaking analysis of Ontario infection se data in February, Jim Mason returns to the task with this evaluation of the province’s most up-to-date data. Hint: the vaccines aren’t getting any better.

Are dandelions a blight on the landspe, or a lovely splash of yellow in an otherwise monotonous green landspe? In most parts of the country, this backyard debate was settled years ago – in favour of the weeds. With cosmetic pesticide bans in effect across a majority of provinces, it has become impossible for homeowners and lol parks departments to defend their once-verdant lawns and outdoor spaces against weedy and unsightly invaders. Now, however, one province is bucking environmental fashion after taking heed of homeowners, municipalities and the federal agency charged with the safe regulation of chemil pesticides. Peter Shawn Taylor talks to advotes on both sides of the issue and wonders what it will take for all of nada to enjoy a greener future.

It is perhaps one mark of how far the public discourse has been skewed and our perspectives warped that we even need to remind ourselves of this simple fact: mask-wearing is not “normal.” Nor, except in a few situations, is it good. David Solway applies scientific evidence, psychology and philosophy to this erudite discussion of the deeper – and mostly dire – implitions of mass masking during the pandemic, an enforced yet often eagerly embraced practice that, he warns, has rendered many of us travesties of our own humanity. Solway also reminds us of the eternal magic of the human face – one of the keys to our individuality, humanity and childhood development.

Gender dysphoria – the feeling that one is not at ease in one’s biologil body – has increased greatly among youth in recent years. So too has the presence of gender clinics offering gender-affirming treatment including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgery. In some nadian jurisdictions, minors as young as 14 n now legally consent to these therapies – without parental approval. Meanwhile, other countries are moving in the opposite direction. Martin Tampier looks at the current landspe and lls for a more thoughtful and nuanced understanding of the complex and ideologilly-charged debate over gender affirmation.

The world’s nations have endured and disrded dictators and despots of virtually every shape, size and ruling style since the dawn of organized society – only to have them reappear in new form. In the early 1990s it briefly seemed that the era of the dictator had ended for good. That dream proved tragilly illusory, as country after country has found out. Might not even nada be immune? Was our nation recently saved by the bell, or was this just a brief reprieve? Dictators take many forms, after all, including the visage of grinning buffoon who seems happiest dressed in ludicrous costumes. How could such a thing occur during a pandemic through which we were “all in this together”? Gwyn Morgan employs the droll form of the traditional folk tale to remind us of what has come to pass and to issue an all-too serious warning.

Demographics is destiny, we’re often told. But while nada’s fastest-growing provinces – primarily in the West – have every right to expect that their increasing share of the country’s population will be matched in their politil representation at the federal level, the morass of nadian federalism stands in the way. Barry Cooper takes a close look at a recent Bloc Québécois motion demanding Quebec be given more MPs even as its share of nada’s population continues to sag. This affront to the basic democratic principle that every person’s vote should rry equal weight was supported by all parties, including many Conservative MPs. And it might soon become law. Cooper untangles the perverted logic, backstory and future implitions.

Fretting and finger-pointing won’t fix a housing market suffering from spiraling prices and insufficient supply. At some point reality must be acknowledged. Nowhere is this problem more acute than in Vancouver, one of the world’s most overpriced real estate markets. Politicians say they want to improve affordability – and then pile on tax after tax. Bureaucrats say they want to help get things built – and then suffote the approvals process with layers of unnecessary regulations. Residents tell pollsters they want more housing – and then fight tooth and nail against projects in their own neighbourhood. Through the eyes of embattled homeowners, market experts, politicians and industry players, Doug Firby surveys the hypocrisy of Vancouver’s broken housing landspe and finds practil ways to overcome it. Part Two of a special series on nada’s housing crisis (Part One n be read here).

Starting in the 1920s, municipal zoning laws across the U.S. were used to indirectly enforce racial segregation – keeping blacks and some ethnic minorities out of white areas by regulating the size and cost of housing. The history of zoning in nada is not so nefarious, but it has had a similarly profound effect, with huge sections of most cities set aside exclusively for single-family homes. As rampant house inflation is currently making home ownership unaffordable for many nadian families, Peter Shawn Taylor investigates the role played by obstructive municipal zoning and approval rules. In Part One of a special series on solving nada’s housing crisis, Taylor asks what would happen if we put the property rights of homeowners at the centre of the housing supply equation.

As fighting rages in Ukraine, energy prices soar and inflation spirals, countries and their leaders are showing what they’re made of. Some appear jolted by reality and are relibrating foreign relations, fisl regimes and energy policies. Others are doubling down on blind ideology. Despite acute vulnerability to Russian energy blackmail, for example, Germany still intends to shutter the last of its nuclear power plants. And Justin Trudeau, representing a country sitting on the world’s third-largest crude oil reserves, was last week pledging to help the world transition to “renewables.” Where will such unshakeable utopianism lead? To a truly terrible combination, writes Gwyn Morgan: inflation- and tax-induced impoverishment for millions of nadians, increasingly intermittent and unaffordable energy supplies for peace-loving countries, and no effective check on geopolitil bullies who use energy as a weapon.

That elderly nursing home residents represent a large proportion of Covid-19 fatalities is a familiar if sad fact to most nadians. Even sadder and more disturbing would be if many of those deaths were avoidable. And if some were deliberate, it would be shocking and outrageous. In this investigative piece, Anna Farrow explores the widespread use of “population triage” in several jurisdictions during the pandemic’s early months. While healthre establishments seemed woefully unprepared in nearly all respects, Farrow found they were lightning-quick to adopt what amounted to killer protocols on thousands of elderly and vulnerable citizens. This included not merely the withholding of advanced re but end-of-life measures using fatal drug cocktails.

lling environmentalism an ersatz religion may be overdone these days. But only beuse it’s such an accurate observation about a movement that demands absolute faith, expounds ineffable mysteries and warns of a terrifying Apolypse. Given its recent success in spreading the message, what are the origins of this modern-day crusade? Going back four dedes to the Amazon rainforests, Martin Grünn charts the early stirrings of the environmental movement as an irresistible politil and social force in nada and around the world. Then as now, money and power are the keys to imposing a new global dogma.

Public suspicion appears to be growing that the Covid-19 vaccines are of dubious effectiveness against the Omicron variant. But what if they were actually worse than useless? That should merit a rethink regarding vaccine mandates and plans for further rounds of booster shots. In fact, many countries are doing just that – dropping pandemic restrictions, ncelling mandates, holding off on vaccinating their children and reconsidering boosters for any but the most highly vulnerable. In this wide-ranging essay, Margret Kopala examines recent international developments, growing scientific concerns over the current vaccines and possible alternative approaches.

“Follow the science!” seems to have largely given way to “Vaccinate! Obey! Or else!” the latter threat incorporating everything up to and including martial law. Perhaps there’s no better time, then, to take a look at what the actual data say and where they might lead – if we choose to listen. In this exclusive research-based essay, Jim Mason lays out and meticulously examines the most recent three months’ worth of Ontario government Covid-19 se data. Applying accepted epidemiologil formulae in his analysis, Mason vividly charts the vaccines’ increasingly worrisome performance throughout the Omicron wave.

“Visible minority” is a term unique to nada. But unlike other oddities of nadian English, such as two-four, chesterfield, housecoat or serviette, it does more than just highlight our linguistic distinctiveness. It’s also standing in the way of a fairer and more equitable country. Mustering the latest research and expert opinion, Peter Shawn Taylor reveals the myriad problems with using race to bifurte nada into two solitudes of white and non-white, otherwise known as visible minority. There’s a better way forward that could not only build a more cohesive society but also address the disadvantages faced by nadians of all races.