Bringing you the issues since 1986 
The Charbonneau inquiry into corruption in the construction industry has uncovered a problem. The RCMP had video evidence of thousands of dollars in kickback money from construction entrepreneurs allegedly being handed over to Mafia bosses. But they did not share this information with the Sûreté du Québec and it took [...]
In spite of federalist fears, the Parti Québécois’s return to power, in a minority position, is actually a welcome result for a number of reasons. It saddles Pauline Marois with immediate and difficult challenges that will require compromise and toning down of the PQ’s more radical election proposals. It also [...]
BY: MOLLY NEWBORN There is a narrow and mysterious road that travels far north in Queensland, Australia. It begins in the sleepy sugar-cane town of Mossman and winds north along the coast deep into the mystical Daintree rainforest, up to a headland discovered by Captain James Cook in 1770, when [...]
BY: BARBARA MOSER & IRWIN BLOCK Last winter, we spent four weeks in Argentina and Chile. It was our first trip to South America. The seven-hour bus ride to San Pedro de Atacama in northern Chile from Pumamarca in northern Argentina was stunning, with desert, snow-capped mountains in the distance, [...]
BY: IRWIN BLOCK Israel is seen as a society beset by seemingly insurmountable obstacles, challenges and threats. Based on what we see and read in the media, life in the “promised land” would seem to be unlivable. But on the streets of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa, there is a [...]
In 1976, the Gazette’s Aislin drew his famous “Okay, everyone, take a Valium” cartoon featuring René Lévesque in the aftermath of the first Parti Québécois victory. A lot has happened since then—we have more effective anti-depressants, and the PQ is back in power. The Quebec Liberals’ expiration date has arrived. [...]
Gil Benabou (from left), Molly Mouyal and Coby Steiner talk politics and sip coffee at Pain Doré on Monkland. BY: IRWIN BLOCK It was the day after the Quebec election, and for many west end residents there was a sense of relief that Pauline Marois’s Parti Québécois will be restrained [...]
BY: BARRY LAZAR When I cook, there is often a battle between my two masters—the mentor and the teacher. My cooking mentors speak to me in volumes. They are wonderful practitioners with lots to convey. They inspire me. They are alert to correct but don’t intrude. I open their books [...]
BY: BONNIE SANDLER, BS.W. Many residences have beautifully equipped art rooms with wonderful works of art decorating the walls. Visitors express disbelief that these creations have been produced by people with little or no background in art who may have cognitive deficiencies. Choosing an inspiring activity and hoping that it [...]
BY: BRENDA HENRY The movie Bully, a documentary on peer-to-peer bullying in schools across America, shows punishing scenes of young students being kicked, poked and stabbed with pencils, knocked off bus seats, ignored and isolated. When I was 14, my father bought me a brand new J.C. Higgins bike: south-sea [...]
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