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BY:IRWIN BLOCK Being leader of Canada’s fifth political party is not the easiest way of getting the nation’s attention. But that has not stopped Green Party chief Elizabeth May from making her presence felt in the hurly burly of Ottawa politics, even if the NDP, Liberals, and Bloc have priority [...]
What kind of country is Canada becoming under the Stephen Harper Conservatives? Under the stealth of omnibus legislation, and with the virtually unbridled power of its majority, we respectfully paraphrase Shelley to observe: “Look upon these mean-spirited works, and despair.” A prime example: Under new rules, refugee claimants will be [...]
BY: IRWIN BLOCK In 1994, Pointe Claire resident Charles Curtis got the result from what was then a relatively new test for something called the PSA level in the blood. Prostate specific antigen, PSA, is the substance produced almost exclusively by certain cells within the prostate gland. When my own [...]
BY: IRWIN BLOCK The average satisfaction rate of patients at the Jewish General Hospital has been dropping marginally over the past two years, but it remains above the 80-per-cent level. The satisfaction level dropped almost three percentage points—to 81.5 per cent in the April 2011 to March 2012 period from [...]
BY:KRISTINE BERRY Contrary to what many believe, it is not having grandchildren the Raging Grannies have in common, since being a grandmother is not a prerequisite for membership. What they share is an unyielding belief in certain values, the courage to fight for them and a great sense of humour. [...]
BY: HAYLEY JUHL When I say I go to the Ormstown Fair for the extreme heat, I mostly mean I’m going to watch cars demolish each other in a dirt arena. But also, it’s hot. This year’s fair marked the first time I felt justified in wearing my Stampede-approved cowboy [...]
BY: MELANI LITWACK The Biodôme is not a zoo. It is an immersive exploration of five ecosystems—three of which are distinctly Canadian. In 1989, a feasibility study was conducted on Montreal’s former Olympic Velodrome and three years later it was repurposed as the Biodôme—a zoological marvel unlike anything Montrealers had [...]
BY: CATHERINE MCKENTY As long as he could remember, Neil McKenty was interested in writing. A teacher in grade school gave him a key piece of advice: “Find something to write about.” And he did. At 9, he won his first oratorical contest, no doubt helped by his mother, Irene, [...]
BY IRWIN BLOCK The irrepressible Vic Vogel was on the phone from his home near the Jacques Cartier Bridge, searching for words to explain what he does with Cuban music. Words failed him, so he put down the phone, went over to the piano and played a few bars of [...]
BY DANIEL SAILOFSKY From sculptors and singers, to painters and programs, Donna Farmer and the people who live at Residences Symphonie know how to have a good time. While Farmer, an animator at Symphonie, may have been the primary group leader and coordinator of this year’s event on May 31, [...]
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