Michael Heykoop

The year 2017 is set to be one of celebration and reflection across Canada. July 1 of this year will mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of the nation, when four provinces formed a confederation known as the Dominion of Canada. Events are planned across the country throughout the year to mark this milestone. It also serves as an opportunity to look back on Canada’s successes and failures over the past 150 years, and should prompt us to ask important questions, such as “How did we come to be where we are?” and “Where are we going?” Perhaps the most important might be “Is there a better alternative?”

Do You Know What’s Going On?

Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky at morning, sailors take warning. For millennia, people have recognized that it would be beneficial to be able to read the signs of the times to predict future events. Sometimes the signs can be wide open for all to see, but only those who are able to put them into the right context can understand what they mean for the future!

"The True North strong and free!" This exclamation from Canada's national anthem has long illustrated the feeling this vast nation holds for what it so deeply values as its northernmost territory. In recent years, however, this patriotic assertion has come under fire, with neighbouring nations making similar proclamations of ownership regarding the North Pole.

Several claims now sit before the United Nations in an effort to answer an important question: Who owns the North Pole—and, perhaps more importantly, the resources that lie under the northern tip of our planet?

A storm is gathering on the horizon. Are you prepared?