TORONTO – In a third world country like the Philippines with so many poor people, rumour and gossip seem to be the national pastime. Texting (email) costs only one peso, a mere few cents Canadian. Even if this is the Philippines, poverty has not stopped citizens from engaging in online chats, Facebook and Twitter. And they feel important for they all have something to say, for after all they are a part of a larger social group.
TORONTO – Partisan politics can be a brutal environment. Intra-party relationships, even at the best of times, rarely reflect friendship (although I am happy to say I can still refer to some former colleagues and staff as friends). Loyalty and trust are virtues found only in rarified circles. Adherence to national principles and goals… well, you can imagine.
TORONTO – Just so that no-one gets the wrong impression, I am considered fully vaccinated for Covid-19, and have already had the now seemingly obligatory booster for greater efficacy. Nor am I ideologically or philosophically an “ant-vaxxer”. Neither I nor the Corriere are in the business of disseminating bad information, untruths or conspiracy theories – especially as they relate to the health and wellbeing of the population, irrespective of race, colour, sex, age.
TORONTO – The long-awaited day, that of returning to school after months and months, has also arrived for the students of the Toronto administrations, both public and Catholic. And it could be a good day, were it not for the thousand unknowns that loom also due to the delays in the reorganization of schools, necessary with the pandemic still underway. These first two days, then – tomorrow and Friday, then all at home again for the weekend – will be nothing more than a kind of “rehearsal” of what will happen during the school year. Impossible to predict, however, what will happen. (more…)
TORONTO – By definition, when you take a leap in the dark, you never have the certainty of how it will turn out. These early elections, provoked and strongly desired by the outgoing prime minister, could ultimately turn out to be a gamble with a very high bill. However, we must take a step back and try to analyze the reasons that led Justin Trudeau to play the voting card at a time when the vast majority of Canadians are struggling with many other problems than the political skirmishes, accusations and poisons that will inevitably accompany us throughout the election campaign. The starting point is the results of the two-year vote, which gave the Liberal leader a narrow majority relative to the House of Commons. (more…)