By Brady Tighe We’re now officially in the aftermath phase of the northern Alberta wildfire crisis. The fire is long gone, and everyone with a home to return to is back in its cozy confines. The money has been raised, the relief cheques have been sent out, the insurance claims are in, the liquor stores are operational, and […]
Our selective sympathy
By Brady Tighe It is a powerful thing to see the destroyed homes of the Beacon Hill neighborhood in Fort McMurray — husks of buildings that once contained a family, their possessions, their memories, their keepsakes, their records, and their favourite throw pillows; everything minor and major, wiped out by an implacable force. The destruction […]
Fort McMurray’s caustic cycle
By Brady Tighe When I fly up to Fort McMurray for a seven-day shift in camp, there are some things I expect: Bad coffee, salty food, miserable weather that ranges from vicious heat to teeth-shattering cold, profanity, talk about sports teams that suck, bugs the size of Buicks, country music that makes me want to […]
Fair weather Cons, foul weather Libs
By David@Sixthestate.net Was the Lac Megantic disaster caused by too much government regulation? Probably not, but I made you look, no? I can’t resist an “I told you so” moment on recent coverage of the tragedy in Quebec. Not very long ago, I pointed out in the wake of the disastrous floods in Calgary that […]
Calgary’s artists rebuild
By Mark Leiren-Young As I was driving away from Calgary it started to rain. I was on my “C Canada tour,” promoting my new book in Cochrane, Calgary, and Cranbrook. The Calgary event was a reading at Pages — a funky bookstore in the type of funky neighbourhood that doesn’t exist in the minds-eye view […]
This is exactly the time to talk about climate change
By John Klein (aka Saskboy) The Prime Minister infamously implored people to not “commit sociology” when Chechen-American thugs blew people up in Boston. The PM’s point was that he didn’t want people analysing the root causes of terrorism, out of supposed respect for the distant victims. With another deadly tragedy playing out in Alberta, there […]