Musings by Rod McQueen

My book on BlackBerry, published in 2010, took four years, twice as long as any other book I’d written at the time. Convincing the company to grant access was a lengthy effort. Even then, getting interviews on a timely basis was problematic. In all my years as a journalist and author, I’d never run across such a poorly organized company. The book came out in March 2010 when the popularity of BlackBerry was at its peak with 75 million sold and a 50 percent share of the U.S. smartphone market. Another book, Losing the Signal, by Jacquie McNish and Sean...

When Elizabeth II died last September, I declared in this space that I was a monarchist. My fealty continues to her son and heir, Charles III. I thought that once Her Highness died, there would be a groundswell of acrimonious debate in Canada about ending our links to the Royal Family. But even as Coronation Day approaches next week, on May 6, there has hardly been a peep on the topic until a recent Angus Reid poll showed that 60 percent of Canadians are against recognizing Charles as King. A bare majority, 52 percent, don’t want Canada to continue as...

Think about the number of songs with the names of American cities in the title. I’m sure I could cite one from every state: New York, New York, I Left my Heart in San Francisco, Wichita Lineman, By the Time I Get to Phoenix, Tallahassee Lassie, Viva Las Vegas, Streets of Laredo, Hollywood Nights, Philadelphia Freedom, Chicago, Do You Know the Way to San Jose. You get the idea. Even a mere spot on the American map merits a mention. Jackson Browne wrote the first line, “Well, I’m standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona,” Glenn Frey finished the rest,...

David Johnston, the former governor general, has a new book out called Empathy. Empathy, by his definition, is knowing someone’s need and stepping in to help. The book shines when Johnston reveals personal anecdotes. Early in the book, for example, he talks about his prowess as young hockey player. A Junior A scout came to his house, gave Johnston’s mother his hat, and she planned to make tea. The scout’s opening line was how, if Johnston played Junior A, he would not graduate high school because all his time would be spent on the sport. Johnston’s mother quickly returned the...

In all the shuffling involving Onex Corp. and RBC Wealth Management, an important element is getting lost. The name of the former investment firm, Gluskin Sheff + Associates, is disappearing even though it’s at the heart of this deal. Onex bought Gluskin Sheff from the founders, Ira Gluskin and Gerry Sheff, for $445 million in 2019 and made the team of financial advisors part of Onex. That deal didn’t last long. Four of the Gluskin, Sheff stalwarts were recently preparing to move to RBC. Rather than let them go, Onex decided all of the forty-one people at the firm should...

It was the worst of times, it was the worst of times. Everywhere you turn these days the world seems to be coming apart at the seams. Climate change, global warming and greenhouse gases are causing flooding in Africa, ten feet of snow in California, Colorado lows, and tornadoes touching down whenever and wherever they want. In the cities, everything seems to be coming asunder. Toronto is now more congested than New York, meth addicts are all too visible on the streets, and a gang of girls as young as thirteen swarm and beat a homeless man minding his own...

There’s been a lot of ink spilled in recent days about the closing of the thirteen Nordstrom stores in Canada. I feel badly for the 2,500 employees who will lose their jobs and the mall owners that have to fill the empty spaces. As a loyal Nordstrom shopper who has bought goods in U.S.-based Nordstrom stores over the years while visiting in New York, Florida, and California, no one was happier than I was when Nordstrom first arrived in Canada in 2014.  I was well served with outlets. There was a Nordstrom in the Eaton Centre, a short subway ride...

I love baseball. With players now in spring training, I begin to look forward to the season. I usually attend half a dozen Blue Jays games as part of a group with shared seats just six rows behind the Jays’ dugout.  But changes are afoot, and I fear for the game. In the last couple of years, Major League Baseball tried to speed up games by automatically putting a man on second base if the game went into extra innings. That was minor compared with this year’s numerous new rules. For example, pitchers and batters will have fifteen seconds to...

The first ghost-written modern-day book that I am aware of is the autobiography of Lee Iacocca, published in 1984. As CEO of Chrysler Corp., he resurrected the company. Right on the cover are the words “With William Novak.” Novak was reputedly paid $1 million for the collaboration. Every ghostwriter since has sought that same cover line “with.” Few have been paid in the seven figures. My first role as a ghost was for Sean O’Sullivan. At twenty, elected an MP in 1972, he was the youngest parliamentarian at the time. He won again in 1974 and then, in 1977, resigned...

Canada has been a whipping boy forever. The references to our incapacities are legion. In Sean Connery’s last James Bond film, Diamonds are Forever, Bond’s enemy in that 1971 movie was Blofeld who had taken up a position on an oil rig where he operated a laser satellite that had already blown up nuclear weapons in China and North Korea. As Blofeld sought other targets, the dot on his world map indicating a possible strike point crossed over Canada. He said something like, “If we hit Canada, it would be a long time before anyone knew.” These days, The Economist...

Paul Waldie’s story in The Globe and Mail today reminds me how lucky we Globe readers are to have such excellent coverage on the war in Ukraine as well as its impact elsewhere. The piece, a heart-wrenching story about abusive treatment of Ukrainian refugees by Russians living in the former East Germany was just one of many situations on which Globe journalists have recently reported. In addition, Waldie usually manages to write his weekly instalment about someone in Canada who has donated to a good cause. I don’t mean to focus solely on Waldie because Globe coverage of Ukraine is...

Over the holidays I learned a Hungarian tradition about eating that stands you in good stead for the year. My partner declared that, according to lore, on New Year’s Day you have to be careful what you eat. You can’t eat fish, because it will swim away on you. You can’t eat chicken, because it will fly away. You must eat pork because a pig digs beneath him so stays grounded. We had bacon sandwiches. With that foresight in mind, here are my top ten predictions for 2023. No Toronto team will win a championship, not the Raptors, Blue Jays,...

Dear Readers: Happy Holidays to all and may 2023 bring you and your families good health and much joy. If it’s not too late, may you do what you have always wanted to do, but never got around to it. Rod McQueen

My maximum bet has always been five cents. You don’t win much, but you don’t lose much either. Well, there was that one time I went to Las Vegas where I gambled $20 on slot machines. I was such a low-roller that the $20 lasted for five hours despite free Coronas handed out by skimpily-clad waitresses.  Somehow, earlier this year, the federal government and the provinces colluded to permit online betting in Canada. I say somehow because I don’t recall there being an announcement from either Justin Trudeau or Doug Ford about what I consider to be a major change...