In a #metoo measurement where Harvey Weinstein is a 10, Patrick Brown is a 1. But no matter the level of their past proclivities, the number of Canadian politicians who have fallen from grace because of alleged sexual misconduct has risen to three in recent days. They include Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Brown, Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative leader Jaimie Baillie, and federal Liberal Sports Minister Kent Hehr. In addition to the immediate repercussions, such news will have a lasting impact beyond getting men to clean up their act. It’s already hard enough to get good men to run for office. The comparison of past politicians...

Is it just my imagination, or is every singer you ever heard of out on a farewell tour? Ozzy Osborne begins his in May and continues to 2020. Elton John’s starts in September and will go for three years at which point he says he wants to spend more time with his family. We’ve heard that excuse before but not usually from a gay man. Some farewell tours are celebratory. The Tragically Hip, for example, even with Gord Downie’s brain cancer. Others are gut-wrenching, like Glen Campbell with Alzheimer’s, forever captured in the documentary, “I’ll be me.” Was the family really interested in...

So the City of Toronto has dispatched snoopers to peer into our blue bins set out for pickup to see if we’ve included anything not able to be recycled. If they spot something, they tag the bin and leave an educational pamphlet. Second offence, the bin is not collected, the owner has to sort through and eliminate the wrongly deposited items. For repeat offenders, fines might be levied. The city says 26 percent of what’s in the bin shouldn’t be there. For every percentage point of garbage reduction, the city could save up to $1 million. On paper, recyclable of course, this makes eminent...

It’s time for my annual forecast of events, both political and economic, in the coming year. The S&P/TSX 60 Index will finish the year down 15 percent. The Canadian dollar, now sitting just over US80 cents, will rise two cents then edge back down again, ending the year at US78 cents. Patrick Brown will become the 26th premier of Ontario in the June election. Oil from Canada will continue to sell at a deep discount compared to strengthening world prices. The U.S., now a net exporter, no longer wants our product and all our ambitious proposals for new pipelines to the Atlantic or Pacific...

A lot has happened in 2017. Earlier this year, Barack Obama was president of the United States. Here’s my top ten list of memorable events. Best TV series: The Crown. The celebrity I miss the most: David Letterman. Worst thing that did not happen: Nuclear war with North Korea. Best thing that did happen: Recently learned about 75 boxes of files helpful for my current book project. Best day: Boat trip under sunny skies skippered by Aeneas to Little Fogo Island, Newfoundland, amid Northern Gannett, Atlantic Puffin and Razorbills along with cod hauled up from the deep. Best Book: Hero of the Empire,...

The Globe and Mail must be desperate to find additional revenue for their newly designed newspaper. You know, the paper that’s so small that if it’s mailed, there’s no room for a postage stamp? Their new venture is offering the top floor of the Globe building on Toronto’s King Street East for corporate events, bar mitzvahs and gatherings of that newest group, Readers No More. While the ad say it’s the top floor, the photo shows the roof. I can just imagine the TTC drivers’ Christmas party up there this month trying to keep the barbecue going on a breezy evening after the sun has gone down...

I don’t like Donald Trump. No one I know does. He’s a groper, a blowhard, and a liar. But, you know what? He’s getting things done. They might not be what you or I would want but they are what he said he would do. He’s designated Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, taken two million acres of national monument and turned the land over to strip miners, altered the makeup of the Supreme Court, and may get a tax bill that pays off his oligarch donors. Meanwhile, Ottawa has become Never-Never Land. As one of those who voted for the Justin Trudeau Liberals,...

The much-ballyhooed redesign of the Globe and Mail arrived today and it is disconcerting. In a week when Torstar and Postmedia exchanged papers and killed their young, I wish the redesign had been more uplifting. First off, while top to bottom measures the same, there is one inch less width to the paper. Beyond shrinkage, the other obvious alteration is what has become the Globe’s definition of news. On the front page, there are three stories and one photo with a pointer inside. Of the four topics, two are news, the other two are soft stuff. With an average of three...