Canadian Author and Activist
Erin O’Toole brags about attending the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC). This tells us a lot about his politics, world view and priorities given the troubling history of the Kingston-based university. O’Toole spent four years at RMC. Friends say the Conservative party leader and possible future prime minister was heavily involved in RMC life... Continue Reading →
Justin Trudeau regularly boasts about supporting the “international rules-based order” (IRBO). But reality is quite different. Let us count some of the ways the Liberals have failed to support international accords that strengthen an IRBO: According to the National Observer, Canada is refusing to support a draft resolution to advance a global agreement to curb... Continue Reading →
When thinking about corporate Canada and the federal government, an image of a sow, labelled Ottawa, and piglets, labelled with a dozen company names, sucking at her teats, comes to mind. The picture became especially vivid after reading a recent Globe and Mail Report on Business article by Ian Brown that called for Ottawa to... Continue Reading →
Annamie Paul’s refusal to answer a question about Israel at the election debate was a reminder of her staunch anti-Palestinianism. But an omission in the Green Party platform is an equally loud comment on her international ideology. During the recent French language election debate Paul was asked about Green Party members challenging Israeli colonization.... Continue Reading →
Canadian imperialism in Africa has had a rare social media moment. On Twitter K. Diallo recently posted a map of the continent with the sum of Canadian mining investment in each African country under the words “75% of mining companies globally are now Canadian. Canada is a great source of corporate neocolonialism expansion.” The tweet received 25,000... Continue Reading →
During the first month of the election campaign the discussion of international and military affairs has been dismal at worst and non-existent at best. Unfortunately, there is no quick fix to the problem that requires a profound shake up in the popular understanding of Canada’s place in the world. A number of liberal minded foreign... Continue Reading →
Some of those overseeing Montréal’s Anarchist Bookfair have lost the plot. They have banned the city’s only English language anarchist publisher from participating on the grounds they’ve published my recent books. On Friday Black Rose Books informed me that they have been blocked from tabling at Montréal’s Anarchist Bookfair on Sunday because of their association... Continue Reading →
The NDP’s foreign and defence policy election statements are poor. Let’s begin by looking at the good part of the NDP’s platform. The highlight of “A better role in the world” is a call to “suspend arms sales to Israel until the end of the illegal occupation.” The call for a patent waiver on COVID... Continue Reading →
Erin O’Toole’s Conservative party is obsessed with China and to counter the Chinese “threat” they openly appeal to British colonial settler solidarity. The Conservatives’ election platform refers to “China” 31 times and “Chinese” 10 times. By comparison Saudi Arabia is not mentioned once, which is far more authoritarian at home and violent in its region.... Continue Reading →
Charities that promote racism against Palestinians, illegal West Bank settlements, the armed forces of another country and racial/religious purity in Israel are subsidized by Canadian taxpayers. Incredibly, people of conscience are being forced to launch legal complaints with the Canada Revenue Agency to end these subsidies that violate their policies. There are as many as... Continue Reading →
The growing campaign to oppose spending tens of billions of dollars on 88 new fighter jets faces an important, if unconventional, obstacle: the warplanes themselves. Fighter jets are an important tool of militarist propaganda. In recent weeks Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) planes have done numerous flyovers and participated in airshows across the country. As... Continue Reading →
In the vast history of imperialist exploitation few episodes match the depravity of Haiti’s debt of independence. Military blackmail of a small country by a superpower, prioritizing “property rights” over human rights, racial capitalism, a sellout “light skinned” local bourgeoise and the way our past haunts the present are all part of the story. After... Continue Reading →
While recent events have destroyed the credibility of militarists who pushed for the invasion and 20-year-long occupation of Afghanistan, the moral bankruptcy of their supporters in the aid industry has also been stunningly revealed. A quick Taliban victory over the foreign trained “Afghan army” at least (momentarily) embarrassed Canadian militarists. But what about their... Continue Reading →
Toronto’s waterfront shouldn’t serve as a prop to promote violent warplanes. With the air force set to select a new fighter jet, the controversial F-35 Stealth Fighter will be participating in this weekend’s Canadian International Air Show. As a father of a young child, I understand the appeal of some excitement in the sky, especially... Continue Reading →
The forest fires, torrential floods and other extreme weather events wreaking havoc around the world are a cry from Mother Earth to take bold action. It’s time for environmentalists to directly challenge militarism, which is inherently anti-ecological and divides the world into good guys and bad guys at a time when we need international cooperation... Continue Reading →
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