Every year, the World Happiness Report tracks self-reported well-being around the world. The latest results are in, and I must report that all is not cheery in our northern half of North America. Canada is becoming a nation of truly morose citizens. And before you blame the weather, the four happiest countries are Finland, Denmark, […]
National Happiness Takes Political Will Read More »
At a news conference on April 2nd, Justin Trudeau reluctantly departed his warm and cozy internal world of ideological certainty, and briefly entered the gritty and unpleasant land of consensus reality. Our Prime Minister finally stopped denying the drop-dead obvious, and admitted that the number of foreign workers and international students on our soil “has
Immigration Restriction Goes Mainstream Read More »
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on Brian Graff’s Substack: https://briangraff.substack.com/ Urban planning and housing affordability have risen near the top of domestic political issues in the last few years in both Canada and the US. There has been a corresponding rise in neoliberal YIMBYism and calls for liberalizing zoning and other regulation related
Academics Misfire In Trying To Overcome Supposed “NIMBYism” Read More »
There are a number of diagnosed personality disorders, covering a broad range of traits, that contribute to social toxicity. They are grouped into three categories – clusters A, B, and C, with cluster B disorders being the most destructive. Cluster B includes the psychopaths, malignant narcissists and machiavellian types. A common term applied to this
Do Canadian Politicians Exhibit Dark Triad Personality Traits? Read More »
In an interview with the New York Times shortly after being elected in 2015, Justin Trudeau described Canada as a “post-national state” with “no core identity, no mainstream”. Most people considered this a largely meaningless, if somewhat oddly phrased comment from a man still trying to find his footing in Canada’s highest office. Last week,
Post-Nationalism In Practice Read More »
NIMBY: Selfish parochialism or rational self-interest? The term “NIMBY” (Not In My Back Yard) refers to the opposition by local residents to any new infrastructure project, such as a housing development, group home, or incinerator proposed for their neighbourhood. As Robert Lake writes in a 1993 article, Rethinking NIMBY, NIMBY is generally seen as “selfish parochialism”
YIMBY: An Alchemy To Turn Lead Into Gold Read More »
TINA! When I write “TINA!”, likely the first thought to enter any reader’s mind will be Tina Turner. Mind you, the title above would skew things even more. I don’t think I have ever heard anyone say they disliked Tina as a person, or her music, and she had some great hits. She had a
What’s Densification Got To Do With It? Read More »
In some circles, Canada is portrayed as underpopulated because it covers a huge area and has low population density. Growth promoters suggest that a large proportion of Canada could be converted to farmland to feed both a much larger population and much of the world. That may have seemed to be the case early in
Canada Does Not Have Unlimited Farmland Read More »
There is a witty one liner that “There are two types of people in the world: Those who divide the people in the world into two types, and those who don’t” often attributed to Robert Benchley. Other variations also exist, like “There are two kinds of people in the world: Those who are wise, and
There Are Two Kinds Of People Read More »
“Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.” – To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird will no longer be on the recommend reading list in Surrey schools. But rest assured, says Surrey school district communications director Ritinder Matthew: “We are not banning
Woke Book Censors Strike Again! Read More »
