Dispatches
Free speech’s living barometer
A version of this speech was delivered as the keynote address at the Canadian Committee for World Press Freedom luncheon in Ottawa on May 2. It was 1903 and Pennsylvania governor Samuel Pennypacker had had enough. After a year of being depicted as a parrot by the cartoonist Charles Nelan of the North American, [a daily newspaper […]
New NAFTA must ‘do no harm’
When the North American Free Trade Agreement was drafted in the early ’90s, most Canadian households did not have internet. Consumers drove to their local mall to purchase an item and financial interactions involved a teller, not a machine. Today Canadians can flip open a tablet and order a pair of shoes from Italy, a […]
No place like home
You could holiday in Spain, rent a cottage in P.E.I., or spend your vacation hauling yourself and the kids around New York City. Or you could savour the neglected delights of Ottawa and surrounding areas — not to mention saving a bundle in the process — with a staycation. Sound tantalizing? Here are some possibilities. […]
A thrill a minute
Summer is upon us and it is time to choose an adventure. It is this imperative that has guided our decision to compile this list of adventure tourism activities that offer us thrills beyond the ordinary. The Adventure Travel Trade Association defines adventure tourism as a trip that includes at least two of the following: […]
The killing fields of Africa
Why do Africans kill each other so easily? Atrocities abound, whether in Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, South Sudan or Zimbabwe. Even South Africans, in fits of xenophobia, attack outsiders. Some of these episodes of murderous mayhem rise to the scale of genocide, as defined and prohibited […]
Taiwan’s search for global space
In early December 2016, U.S. president-elect Donald J. Trump accepted a congratulatory telephone call from President Tsai Ing-wen of the Republic of China (ROC)-Taiwan. In addition to breaking with decades of U.S.-China diplomatic protocol, this telephone conversation has been seen as one of the highest-profile examples of Taiwan’s ongoing search for international space in its […]
CANADA’S 40 YEARS OF JOB-TARGETED EDUCATION: 800 programs, 100-plus countries
There has been much talk about closing borders and the uncertain future of our unquestionably globalized world; however, Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) has been busy working across borders with Kenya’s ministry of education to get our latest international program off the ground. The Kenya Education for Employment Program (KEFEP) will help national post-secondary institutions […]
The learning curve
A good education system is at the core of a country’s success. We list the leaders in science, math and reading, according to a study by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Every year since 2000, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has tested school children’s aptitudes around the world and compressed […]
Financial crises; no lessons learned
In many countries, economic crises often result in political transformations. In some instances, they lead to cabinet shuffles or even changes of government. They can also give rise to substantial changes in the economic course of a country, as policy priorities shift to counter negative economic trends. Active and effective actions by governments are often […]
China and Russia: It’s complicated
With the advent of Donald Trump and the rise of populism in much of the western world, many fear we have descended into a new age of authoritarianism in which Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping set the tone for international politics. While China and Russia have enjoyed close relations in recent years, easily dismissing […]
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