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Random Policy Idea: Why not more taxis?
A few weeks ago, I read an article in the Winnipeg Free Press on the regulatory practices of the Taxicab Board (TCB). In “Cabbies, customers deserve better”, Graham Lane, a former chairman of the Public Utilities Board, argued that the TCB was unnecessarily limiting the number of taxi licenses granted, beholden to the interests of taxi company owners.
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Duplicity is a mug’s game
As the CBC’s Chief Correspondent and national television anchor, Peter Mansbridge should know a thing or two about journalistic ethics. He should be aware, for instance, that as a leading representative of Canada’s public broadcaster his supposedly impartial editorial appointment must not be influenced by money.
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U-Pass on the move
Last week, amid a long enduring journey spanning over 15 years and countless pleas, the basic framework of a U-Pass passed Winnipeg City Council. Without delving into the intricacies of political process involved with moving legislation through Winnipeg City Council, it is important to recognize the long term potential that the U-Pass brings to both post-secondary students and the general public.
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Discrimination and Sochi
Sochi, Russia is the site of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games and, as most following the event will already know, has become a source of controversy because of that country’s repressive laws targeting its LGBT* communities.
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Proposed changes to immigration rules make it harder to become Canadian
On February 6, 2014 the Canadian Federal government tabled Bill C-24, a new piece of legislation that proposes changes to the Citizenship Act making it more difficult for many to become Canadian citizens.
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The importance of representation in our world today
Laura Jane Grace (born Thomas James Gabel) is a name you may have heard a lot in the past year. Last month, she and her band Against Me! released its sixth studio album, Transgender Dysphoria Blues, and will be playing the West End Cultural Centre on April 1. As you have probably guessed, the album mostly deals with Laura’s experiences coming out as a transgender woman.
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SodaStream and Israeli occupation
Last weekend, Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson drew the ire of pro-Palestinian groups after appearing in a commercial for Israeli company SodaStream. Though the ad was completely innocuous – SodaStream manufactures home carbonation systems – the 29 year-old was condemned for her support of the company which operates its principal manufacturing facility in Ma’ale Adumim: the third largest Israeli settlement in the West Bank considered illegal under international law.
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Big change on the horizon for Winnipeg
For most Winnipegers, civic elections elicit nary a blip on our collective radar as years past have produced lackluster candidates and even more unimaginative policy ideas. Those trends and patterns may have served the city in an adequate fashion as a mid-sized prairie town, but times have changed: Winnipeg is now a growing city and is only now presenting itself as a city on the upswing after years of minimal growth or even slight recession.
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Generation Y Not?
Recently I was at a friend’s home enjoying the typical snack of crackers and cheese as we discussed our future plans and potential careers. Our daydreaming was cut short when our conversation veered towards the potentiality of a bleak future greeting our generation, Generation Y. For those born roughly between the early 1980s to mid-1990s (other sources may say the 1970s - 2000), you are considered a member of Generation Y, also known as the Millennials.
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Lessons of Mondragon
It’s never delightful when a community enterprise is forced to close after 18 years in business. Nor is it pleasing to write an obituary for one of Winnipeg’s last strongholds of progressive thought and alternative dialogue for nearly two decades.
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Phil Fontaine and conversation
On January 22, Phil Fontaine, former Grand Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, was scheduled to speak at the University of Winnipeg on “First Nations issues in the past, present, and future”.
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Looking deeper
Commentators and leaders in the indigenous community lined up to oppose the recent disruption of a presentation by former National Chief Phil Fontaine at the University of Winnipeg. The talk was intended to provide insight into some of the shifts and changes witnessed during his time in positions of leadership.
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Opening Cuba?
I travelled to Cuba during Christmas holiday. From the viewpoint of a Chinese-Canadian who has had the experience of growing up in China throughout decades of economic reform under a Communist political system, I can see some similarities between Cuba and China; Cuba today is what China was like during the 1980s and ‘90s.
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Keep it in your pants
You’re the first thing I see in the morning, and the last before I close my eyes at night. You keep me company all day long, and I never get sick of you. You make me happy.
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The Blue Bass
A few years ago someone asked me if there was an instrument I would take with me were I ever stranded on a desert island. This seemed like a ridiculous question at first – if I were ever in fact “stranded on a desert island”, surely I wouldn’t have the opportunity to prepare for the stranding beforehand.
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Taking a Year of Music beyond 2014
2014 will be an exceptionally exciting year for Winnipeg’s music scene. It’s Manitoba’s Year of Music and we’re hosting JUNO week, Aboriginal People’s Choice Awards, Breakout West and the Western Canadian Music Awards, all on top of all the usual great Manitoba festivals.
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Fort Mac firsthand
Everybody needs oil, everybody knows it. This is why people working on pipelines and rigs are making so much money. It's so valuable, and people are willing to pay whatever they have to pay to get it done.
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The call of the void
Winnipeg at a surface level seems to be a self-deprecating place. The city is aware of its shortcomings - aware of the urban decay, homelessness, the number of individuals with functionally limiting mental illnesses being discharged from acute care centres with few supports to “no fixed address.”
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The first days of legal marijuana in the United States
Colorado’s first official day of legal marijuana commerce has passed with great aplomb.
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White Christmas Blues
You’re sitting in Starbucks sipping an eggnog latte from a festive holiday cup. You’ve loaded an array of modern and classic Christmas music to your iPod, and you hum along while you plan out the next month of parties, dinners, cards and gifts. Every place you go is lined with shining lights and decorated with green and red bows. You can feel it in the air. ‘It’s the most wonderful time of the year!’