Rick Salutin

What term could you use to replace, say, socialism? How about -- socialism?

Electoral politics is still basically about aggregating people, not dividing them -- which the Democratic establishment does in a freakily similar way to what they accuse Trump of.

I think it's largely arbitrary whether you choose to be amazed that people don't learn solidarity from viole catastrophes or that they do.

CBC also claims it's our bulwark against U.S. culture. But c'mon -- the greatest threat to Canada's self-sense isn't U.S. cop shows, it's treating daily reality there as if it's our own.

The legalization of cannabis this week, and many Canadians' relieved reactions, underlined how rarely governments do something that genuinely alters people's daily lives.

Howard Zinn said that it's always one step forward, two back. But today's regressive feels so depressive partly due to the proud ignorance that accompanies it.

Toronto is a city people love, but its strength is in its neighbourhoods and demographics, not its leadership. As we gear up to face Ford, wouldn't it be nice to have strong mayoral representation?

Why is "war of civilizations" discourse enjoying a revival? Canadian nationalism lacks traction with youth and a Pew poll from last week showed 74 per cent Canadian support for welcoming refugees?

Why are venerable institutions going back centuries so vulnerable? And what sustains decency and democracy in trying times, if not history and institutions? It's something simple.

Canada is a prime example of a blighted electoral system. We routinely endure governments that got around 40 per cent of votes and act like absolute monarchies.

In rejigging NAFTA, Trump seems to have delivered on one of his main pledges, which no one anticipated.

U.S. deep state villains are called 'patriots' for preventing Trump coup.

Two of Robert Lepage's shows were cancelled: SLAV, while in production in Montreal, and Kanata, a collaboration with Ariane Mnouchkine's Théâtre du Soleil in Paris.

It's not always easy, in extreme situations, to find the right words.

Reflections on Trump's Europe tour, nationalism, and the President's case of whataboutism.

Right-wing populism is not isolated south of the border. There's a rhetorical family resemblance between Ford and Trump that spells danger for Canada.

The U.S. separation of immigration children from their families is symptomatic of global failure to safeguard children's rights.

The sex ed curriculum will be an overt omen, but there's a bigger picture. Ford's staff has a reputation for undermining the public education system with tax breaks and standardized tests.

This happens to be a populist moment politically but ours won’t be a particularly Trumpian one, not because Ontarians are smarter than Americans but because there’s a populist alternative.

Philip Roth, an American novelist who was a pre-eminent figure in 20th-century literature, died at age 85 last week.

The only reason for panic is our retrograde, undemocratic electoral system. It would give Doug over 70 per cent of seats with his 40 per cent of the vote.

This must have been a week of cognitive dissonance for Trudeau. He apologized emotionally for Canada's turning away of Holocaust refugees, while slamming the door Nigerian asylum seekers from the U.S.