What a wonder our universe is! Take light, for example. We can see only a tiny band of the electromagnetic spectrum. At the shorter end are ultraviolet light, X-rays and gamma rays, while at the longer end are infrared light, microwaves, radar and radio. Our atmosphere absorbs many of these wavelengths, preventing them from reaching…
On January 27, Fosiyo Iye Fidow heard that all flights for refugees travelling from Kenya to Canada are cancelled. All refugees waiting for flights have been asked to wait until further notice, and no reason was given. Fosiyo’s application to come to Canada was approved in June 2023. All requirements have been met: security checks,…
“That pipeline has to happen for our country.” Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston delivered this statement during a CBC interview on January 28. Houston said that a bitumen pipeline from Alberta to the north coast of B.C. is key to national unity. He was commenting on a memorandum of understanding signed between the government of…
Iranians living in Canada, either permanently or as migrants, have been deeply affected by the events taking place in Iran. Protests in downtown Toronto have drawn huge crowds, striving to give a voice to Iranians who have lived under severe internet restrictions since January 8. These protests clamour for world leaders to bring about regime…
If your church died, would anyone in the neighbourhood notice or come to the funeral? That’s the question being asked by Laurence East and Brian McKenzie of Reframe Concepts in Kelowna, B.C. “If your faith community vanished from the neighbourhood map, would your city feel the loss in its gut, or just notice a fresh…
The debate about a new law to combat hatred in Canada is turning into a campaign to stand up for religious freedom. In reality, both goals – combating hatred and respecting religious freedom – require more than just adopting Bill C-9, with or without amendments. The debate itself provides opportunities for faith communities in Canada…
Last summer, I wrote about the Netherlands and how the Israeli campaign in Gaza and the West Bank affected Dutch democracy. The controversy surrounding Bill C-9 now compels me, reluctantly, to make the same argument about Canada. I notice in both countries a pattern of interrelated events by which Jews are put at risk and…
“We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition. . . . The old order is not coming back.” Prime Minister Mark Carney’s diagnosis of our current global context has drawn broad agreement across Canada and the world. But does it go far enough? Is his prescription to repair the rupture adequate? Those…
When politicians make policies specifically targeting transgender kids, as they are doing in Alberta, what is their aim? Who wants you to be preoccupied about trans kids, and who benefits when you are? Politics is about principles, rights and formal justice, but it’s also about emotion, power and competition. Though we need to ask “principled”…
In the west end of Ottawa, the Parkdale Food Centre (PFC) is transforming responses to food insecurity with unique initiatives that offer choice and dignity. Clients of their PFC Grocery Program (Food Bank) are given monthly credits which can then be used towards “purchasing” food items of various kinds (fruit, dairy, etc.), as well as…
It has been a confusing time in the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA) since Synod 2022, as members of the denomination continue to wrestle with the implications of the CRCNA’s position on human sexuality. Fourteen churches in Canada have left the denomination, with a dozen or more others having disaffiliation discussions. The rest…
As I write, we have just learned that Donald Trump has captured Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, following several weeks in which American forces had been destroying seagoing vessels in the Caribbean on the pretext that they were shipping contraband drugs to the United States. This is the latest development for an administration…
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