Why We Shouldn’t Have a Referendum on Electoral Reform in Canada

The Conservative Party is doing its best to inflame the public into calling for a referendum on the issue of electoral reform. It may seem obvious that if the goal is to ensure better representation for Canada’s diverse public, why not just ask that public what it wants? Here are three reasons why this is problematic.

Sia Confesses Origins of “Cellophane”

Sydney, Australia

Sia Furler, better known simply by her stage name Sia, is riding the wave of her new album This Is Acting. In a recent interview she was asked about the cryptic song from her hit album 1000 Forms of Fear. The song “Cellophane” has been a subject of conjecture since the albums release in 2014.

Welcome to Apartheid America

It’s one of the most abundant replenishable resources on planet Earth, and it is essential to the survival of every living thing. You would think that basic truth would be enough to ensure a right to clean drinking water at least in our modern, wealthy, progressive democracies that fly around the world with paternalistic visions of human rights.

Thank You NFLD! Closing the Inequality Gap Through Education

It didn’t get a huge amount of attention in the news, but Newfoundland recently abolished student debt, and replaced their system of loans with one of needs-based grants. Any advocate of education had to be at least a little heartened by that news. 

Let’s Teach Sociology in Public School

Our public schools are the primary site of social reconstruction. Children enter school and are socialized according to the rules of society, and the privileged ones go on to be ‘good’ adults who have children and begin reconstructing the society at another primary site: the home.

Rise Like Lions! Resisting Activist Apathy

A few years ago I attended a free screening  of a film which exposed the horrors of the food industry. The event was organized by volunteers through a program called Cinema Politica which makes a library of educational documentaries available for small community organizations to screen. 

Can Men Be ‘Feminists’?

I used to call myself a feminist. I believed that my experience on the margins as a gay person was a source of unity between me and other people similarly marginalized. What I didn’t realize was that not even the margins of our society are equal.