Health Care Series: Canada’s Prescription Drug Imbroglio – GIVE ME SOME COVERAGE!

 When it comes to buying prescription drugs in Canada, some provinces are more equal than others. Buy prescription drugs in Quebec and you are in luck. The province provides universal coverage to all residents who do not have private health insurance. (In every other province, Canadians pay for their own

Ottawa’s Urban Artists Connect at Ravenswing

 With summer rearing its head, Ottawans are getting excited for the multitude of community events coming up. For local art enthusiasts, Ravenswing is an event not to be missed. Ravenswing is an urban artist market that features local artists, merchants and musicians. Referred as Ottawa's D-I-Y fair, this annual event

Real Class in the Glass!

 The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) has released its May 12 line-up. I would have to say that although we are entering the hot weather months – which usually means white wine season – there was a rather unimpressive selection of whites to choose from. In this release there

Putting the “Science” in “Science Fiction” – Iron Man

 Superheroes have fascinated us for a long time, to the extent that some people have been inspired to emulate them in the real world, but the type of superpowers that are portrayed in movies and comic books are far beyond the realm of possibility. Many superheroes have powers that are

The Uncertain Future: France’s Socialist Resurgence

 All is not well in Europe. The European Union (EU) in general and the Eurozone financial union in particular are in a precarious position. Crushing debts and deficits as well as unsustainably expensive social welfare programs — not to mention unemployment rates in excess of 20% in certain EU countries

Queen In Disgrace: Canadian Task Force in Ukraine

 Once she was the face of the Orange Revolution.With a peasant-braided hairstyle that she wore as a crown, Yulia Tymoshenko led mass protests that swept Ukraine in 2004. She was a leader of the Fatherland Party. In 2005, Forbes magazine pronounced her the third most influential woman in the world.

Railway Series: Interview with Michael Bourque

 Ottawa Life interviewed Michael Bourque, the new President & Chief Executive Officer of the Railway Association of Canada. Here is what he had to share. Why is this a very exciting time for Canada’s rail sector? Michael Bourque: Well, it’s clear that we’re going to continue producing a lot of goods in

SOS Mayfair: Orleans Cinema Seeks More Support

 Since opening on December 2nd back in 1932, the original Mayfair Theatre, located in Lower Town, has become a landmark in the community. A second location of the independent cinema opened on December 2, 2011 in Ottawa's East end, near Place d'Orleans. Although the Mayfair Orleans is still in its

Rail Trends: The Economic Spin-Offs Benefit all Canadians

 Canada's rail sector has bounced back from the 2009 global economic downturn and is posting solid volume growth. The industry continues to invest significantly in increased capacity and efficiencies. The findings are outlined in Rail Trends 2011, an annual compendium of statistics about rail sector performance published by the Railway

Kafka Choreographers

 I was chatting with two women over dinner a few weeks ago when one asked me; “How do you go about choreographing a dance?” It’s a tricky question to answer without sounding like an alien or an arts snob. I hesitated then replied. “I see ideas, do lots of mulling,

Covering Humanity at War

 Nahlah Ayed will never forget the day she looked into the eyes of death. She stood still, the gun pointed at her. The man was ready to shoot her. She stood on a street in Iraq and kept repeating that she was just a journalist, she was just doing her

The Natural: Laureen Harper Talks Family, Fitness and Canadian Pride

 Laureen Harper is a natural. She’s found the secret to balancing her official duties, being a mom and finding time to do what she loves most. There is more to Laureen Harper than meets the eye. Charismatic and unpretentious, her personality is a refreshing reminder that although she may be

The Tympanic: Beat Goes On

 For six years, Ottawa groove-rock band Tympanic has been rocking stages across the country and at home in the Capital. The band loves jamming and according to lead vocalist and self-proclaimed wild child Troy Lajambe, Tympanic has set its sights on a life filled with bigger gigs, never-ending “boombastic” beats

Travel Diary: South Africa

 I heard a “joke” in Ficksburg, South Africa, which went something like this, “What is the difference between a tourist and a racist?” The answer: “Two weeks.” This racist attitude was evident throughout my travels in Southern Africa. I travelled to Lesotho and South Africa to work at an HIV/AIDS

The Price of the Word: It’s Time for a Change in Kazakhstan

 Journalism and fear never go well together. Just one day before I interviewed CBC foreign correspondent Nahlah Ayed, who has been covering the Middle East for over a decade, I learned that somebody tried to kill my colleague in Kazakhstan, journalist Lukpan Ahmediarov. As I was interviewing Ayed, I couldn't

Eulogizing the Senators

 Breakout, drop pass, gather, wind-up, wrister, twine, the last step serving as the swiftest route to pandemonium. The horn rang for 36 seconds, resonating from the sound booth to the rafters, delighting and fuelling the raucous crowd stretching the limits of the building’s capacity. Each decibel commemorated a landmark season

Publisher’s Message: Canada Lives in the Centre

 Ottawa is still a small big town. Federal politics are deeply woven into   the community and play a large part in the vibe of the city.  Politics can be a nasty business and I believe that over the past two decades the political arena has become exceptionally partisan and toxic

The Celebrity Look for Less: Kirsten Dunst

 The month of May is all about slowly transitioning out of your winter wardrobe while embracing the trends for summer. Actress Kirsten Dunst attended the Spirit Awards wearing a casual chic ensemble appealing to her laidback demeanor. Achieving this look is quite simple with only a few needed additions to

Gypsy “Now Playing” in Cornwall

 Are you into rock, soul and some blues? Then you have to be at Gypsy's new CD release party this Saturday at the Lola's Pub in Cornwall. The Cornwall based band is releasing "Now Playing” - their second album. Gypsy members: Camil Lapointe (guitar), Christine Hickey (cello), Bobby Tessier (bass)

Film Review: The Cabin in the Woods

 If you like movies about cabins in the pines with secret elevators underneath them leading to a compound populated by busy scientists and IT experts in white shirts and lab coats holding clipboards and viewing dozens of large screen monitors as they work for a government agency mandated to ward

Solar Dance: Genius, Forgery, and the Crisis of Truth in the Modern Age

 Today Vincent Van Gogh is everywhere. Prints of the Dutch master’s most famous paintings adorn student dormitories, living rooms and cafes.  Many paintings feature the moon and stars or the sun hovering over landscapes. Van Gogh’s ubiquity, however, has undermined our appreciation of his role in helping us understand some

Polling Déjà vu in Wild Rose Country

 In November of 1936, in the depths of the Great Depression, incumbent Democrat President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was running for re-election in what appeared to be an extremely hostile political climate. The American unemployment rate was roughly 25% and there was an ideological divide in much of the country regarding

Recipe for a Dancer

 By: Chick Snipper With the arrival of shows like So You Think You Can Dance (important enough to have its own acronym — SYTYCD) and Dancing with the Stars, to name the two biggies, dance has become the new American Dream. Fame, fortune, partners with pecs — they can be

Book Review: Behind The Bank Counter

 Brian L. Coventry’s You Can Bank on That: The Early Years, a second sequel to the author's first book Adopted at Age Four, will give its readers a perspective on how the credit business operates inside and out. In this book, the main character Leslie Swartman - - who was

Dalai Lama Visits Ottawa

 The 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet may have come with a serious message, but His Holiness started his public address to the City of Ottawa last Saturday with characteristic humor. With a twinkle in his eye and placing a red baseball cap upon his head before an audience of 7,000