Opinion Columns

Last month this space focused on how the market has extended its reach into our daily lives by ensuring that everything is for sale, from air for our tires to bottled water to our free time. More than ever, the value of something is equated with its monetary value determined by the market — not for its intrinsic worth to you or me.

“My concern came in hearing of that new Canadian temperature record in Lytton ­, 49.6 C, a heat usually associated with Jacobabad, Pakistan, one of the hottest places on the planet.”

Why do we buy water? Quite simply, big business has told us we should. It’s healthier, says Nestle Pure Life and Aquafina (the latter owned by Pepsi). Why put your faith in stringent municipal testing in towns or cities when you can put your faith in the Corporation?

When I was young and wanted a drink, I went to the kitchen sink, poured myself a glass of water… Continue reading “The big lie says progress is good”

One of my favourite stories my grandfather used to tell me from his time running a taxi business in Lindsay, way back in the day, was of a return shopping trip that ended up being only a one-way fare. 

Grandpa had taken a regular customer, known for his drinking, to a local bootlegger in town.

As Canada Day approaches, we are bearing witness to the shocking continuation of the unearthing of unmarked graves of young Indigenous people. In the process, our collective consciousness has been ripped apart. Our sense of knowing who we are as a people – surely the minimum sense of nationhood — has been shattered.

As we navigate Lockdown Number Whatever due to the pandemic it’s clear the politicians are determined to simply do what… Continue reading “Benns’ Belief: Politicians are human — and so is learning from our mistakes”