Tag Archives: Canada
Free At Last!
It was only two weeks – but it was a long two weeks. Today I will celebrate by going for a walk. COVID-19 restrictions vary from place to place, and are never easy. In Canada those arriving from overseas must quarantine for two weeks, whether they show any signs of illness or not. I understand […]
No Game Today
For the first time in my life, there is no Grey Cup game. Canada’s national football championship, scheduled for today, has been canceled. The Canadian Football League is a gate-driven enterprise. Unlike the league to the south, television revenues are not enough to allow the teams to break even, or even operate at a small […]
Setting The Age Limit
In Canada you must be 18 in order to vote. It is like that in most countries. You can join the military before you turn 18, but you have to have parental permission. In some places, such as British Columbia, a parent’s consent is required to obtain a driver’s licence if you haven’t reached your […]
Handling A Crisis
I remember waking up when the bomb went off, though I didn’t know what it was. I found out the next morning that there had been a terrorist attack on a nearby bridge. That was 1963. We think of Canada as a peaceful place, but growing up in Montreal in the 1960s we were very […]
That Unending War
I am reading a book about the First World War that brought some memories of a trip to Belgium in 2014 and this post from September of that year. A century later, it haunts them still. The last Canadian veteran of the First World War died in 2010, and I would imagine that is pretty […]
No Ice
Went to a garden party recently, which gave me the opportunity to note one of the major cultural differences (to me anyway) between Canada and Germany. No ice. I’m not talking about winter either, though the lack of snow and cold here is something I can’t quite get used to. Germans think they have winter, […]
Was Donald Trump Right For Once?
I had expected today to talk about the new leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. He or she was supposed to be announced before 9 p.m. Ottawa time Sunday. Yet as I write this at 8:30 Ottawa time (2:30 a.m. where I am), due to mechanical issues with the machines that opened the mail-in […]
Counting The Ballots
It’s the biggest turnout for a party leadership vote in Canadian history. A day before the deadline more than 150,000 ballots had been received at Conservative Party headquarters. (Don’t tell Donald Trump – it was a mail-in contest.) When the leadership contest started I had intended to devote the occasional post to the campaign. That […]
An App For Our Times?
Have you downloaded the app yet? Installed it? Or are you distrustful of this latest bit of modern technology? Big Brother really is watching. When the COVID-19 phone app was first announced, I had my doubts. The idea seemed intriguing, an application that would warn you if you were exposed for 15 minutes or longer […]
Quacking Like A Duck
“Stephen Harper used prorogation to avoid difficult political circumstances. We will not” – Justin Trudeau, 2015 So much for promises. Again. The funny thing is, Canada’s Prime Minister has good reason to prorogue (reset) Parliament. A new plan for the COVID-19 era makes sense. It’s the timing that makes it look so bad. He appears […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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