Halifax Explosion
Halifax Harbour, December 6 1917, two ships collide. An explosion, followed by a tsunami and a fire that burns much of the city. The next day, a major snowstorm. A…
The Acadians: Review
Bill Smallwood takes a complicated period of history and makes it more complicated - and that's good. The Acadians, the first novel in his Abuse of Power series starts in…
Ford Branding
Tobacco companies are probably heaving a huge sigh of relief. As far as we know, no cigarettes were smoked by Mayor Rob Ford. So they do not need to distance…
Coming Home
Coming home after an absence, you see it differently. When you leave one home to visit another, you get it both ways. Going back to Ontario after a year in…
Hampton Court House
The 140-year-old Court House in Hampton, New Brunswick has heard its last case. Court cases for Kings County will now be heard in Saint John. The town knows a new…
Stompin’ Tom Revisited
Thank you CBC Radio! Just when I think I’ll never hear anything that I haven’t heard at least once already in any given day or week, you give me a…
A Local CBC Solution
Stick with what you do well and others can’t do – that’s my suggestion for CBC Radio. An example, from this past week’s Sunday Edition, the story of The Investigator,…
Corrie Stars in London Ont
I’m glad I didn’t bother putting mousse in my hair last Friday. I hate the feel of it, but use it when it’s important to me that my hair looks…
Fanshawe Riot: Educating fools?
Last weekend, St. Paddy’s Day, London Ont. joined the ranks of cities of fools. Violent, vandalizing fools. Students at Fanshawe Community College in the city’s east end overturned cars and…
Tourist Board TV
Last night I watched the first episode of Arctic Air, CBC’s new series set in Yellowknife and surrounding lands. Tonight Republic of Doyle, set in St. John’s, returns for its…
Musée Acadien PEI
If you have a drop of Acadian blood in your veins or if you just enjoy the distinctive sound of an Acadian fiddle, a place for you to go is…
Attawapiskat ‘Solution’
In a Sun Media op-ed column this week, Jerry Agar suggests a solution for the people of Attawapiskat, the embattled Northern Ontario reserve: leave it. He points out that doing…
Goderich, Prettiest Town
The slogan of Goderich, on Lake Huron, is “The Prettiest Town in Canada.” It’s never seemed like hyperbole to me. Last Sunday, downtown Goderich was slammed by a tornado. It…
Royalty
In June 1983 royalty came to St. John's. Charles and Diana, Prince and Princess of Wales, arrived on the Royal Yacht Britannia. Two years before, I had woken up early…
Skating on the canal
Low-flying on glass, long swooping strides pushing you along. Wind at your back propelling you. Wind coming at you, slowing you, your legs pushing forward into its face. It’s you…
Losing Sgt. Ryan
Tuesday morning, I turned on the tv to watch my tape of Coronation Street. But on CBC, I saw the funeral procession for Sgt. Ryan Russell of the Toronto Police…
New Year’s Eve at the Harbourfront
The most wonderful place I ever spent New Year’s Eve was the waterfront in St. John’s, Newfoundland. The tradition started, according to CBC, in the 1960s with one family going…