I can’t exactly remember the conversation where my mom told me that my dad might have prostate cancer. Ironically enough, it happened on a November evening, but in the long months that ensued, we never said the words out loud again. We’d never been confronted with a something so deadly[Read More…]
Opinion
Opinions from our editorial board and contributors.
McGill loan scandal highlights a bigger problem of transparency
Last week, the Montreal Gazette reported that McGill is filing a lawsuit against Arthur Porter, former executive director of the McGill University Health Centre, over an unpaid loan (see “News in Brief,” page 2). The unfurling fiasco has brought forward one disconcerting revelation after another. It’s hard to choose which[Read More…]
Quebec’s refusal to accept Albertan oil is all political
Last Wednesday, Parti Québécois (PQ) Environment Minster Daniel Breton raised considerable controversy. When asked about proposals currently being brought forward to start moving crude oil from Alberta’s oil sands to refineries in Montreal and further east in the Maritimes, he rejected the notion outright. “Albertans want to bring their oil[Read More…]
Justin Trudeau and the Political Centre
I never knew too much about Justin Trudeau—who is now in the race for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada—other than the fact that his father’s stint in the Prime Minister’s office inspired my own father’s lifelong conservatism. “Pierre Trudeau was the first and only Liberal I’ve ever[Read More…]
Letter to the Editor
Provost Masi’s letter in the last issue of the Tribune was a response to The Daily’s editorial “Demanding student voices at the top” (Oct. 29, 2012). The Daily editorial criticized the lack of student involvement in the selection of a new Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning). Our administration can[Read More…]
Focus of Remembrance Day should remain individual sacrifice
In the past week, there has been considerable debate on campus about the role that Remembrance Day should play in Canadian life. Some have questioned whether the annual event transcends remembrance, and instead, glorifies war and idolizes a willingness to die for one’s country. Here, a key question emerges: is[Read More…]
Demanding student voices at the top
There has been some recent discussion on campus and in some of the student press about the process to appoint a new Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning). I would like to correct some misconceptions that have been circulated about this process. The Advisory Committee for the Appointment of a[Read More…]
Hope and Change
Since leaving Canadian politics, Michael Ignatieff has been forceful, intelligent, charismatic, and well-spoken. In other words, he has become the diametric opposite of the Michael Ignatieff who led the Liberal party to its worst parliamentary showing in recent memory. Speaking at the BBC’s annual Free Thinking Festival, Ignatieff decried the[Read More…]
When, if ever, can speech be sanctioned?
Is there free speech on our campus? That depends on who’s talking. According to the libertarian Justice Center for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), when it comes to protecting controversial speech, McGill University—like most Canadian universities—fails miserably. In the wake of these accusations, we must rethink the boundaries we set between offensive[Read More…]
Time for academia to embrace Wikipedia
As the years go by and Wikipedia continues to grow in scope and size, it has emerged as a great paradox of the digital age. Although the site, which turns 12 years old in January, is far and away the most expansive reference work in the world and is available[Read More…]
