Josh D. Scheinert

A string of independent and remarkable events have transpired over the past month. Each on its own is deserving of praise; however, when taken together, the sum of their significance and the message that sends is truly extraordinary.

The month of May began with the announcement that the...

"I think same-sex couples should be able to get married," - US President Barack Obama.

There was a time when it would have been unthinkable for an American president to utter those words, but today that era has passed. In a nation divided by Democrats and Republicans,...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reorganized his governing coalition and canceled a call for elections less than a day after his cabinet agreed to hold them early this September.

For Canada, this is welcomed news. Any shift in Israel's government would pose a challenge for...

For over six years, a man who embodies everything evil has evaded justice. Prior to that, for 20 years this man tormented an entire people. He perfected the use of child soldiers and mastered the craft of sexual warfare. His shadow was cast over a nation. Whether you've ever heard...

The story is being written and soon reality will settle in. At that point, when the haze of this moment dissipates, and clarity and reason return to our national psyche, we will be faced with a moment of national reckoning for a nation that lost its way.

Too much ink...

Dear America,

It must be hard being you these days. You have so many big issues -- from the economy to national security and the looming election, just to name a few. If I may though, I'd like to focus on another one.

This is Canada, your northern neighbour (I...

Dalton McGuinty tried to do the right thing. He tried to make Ontario schools safer for kids who felt threatened. He tried to make Ontario schools more inclusive for kids who felt excluded. He tried to build a bridge to signify that Ontario had indeed moved past the...

It was never a Conservative campaign promise, nothing previous Liberal governments were accused of not doing enough of. But slowly, as events abroad have dictated, Canada has responded, and grown bolder. What was at first thought to be an exception has become the norm: Canada's Conservative government is a forceful,...

It took one month and one day for the UN Security Council to authorize a no-fly zone over Libya, which NATO then enforced. That was all. With little, if any, real debate at home, Canada dispatched 600 Canadian personnel, the HMCS Vancouver and seven...

Sometimes life just cuts you a raw deal. For Daniel Alexandre Portoraro, it's that we couldn't all be born in Syria, Egypt, or any other place where standing up for freedom puts one's life at risk. Otherwise, you're nothing but a phony.

Portoraro published a scathing critique, in...

This time they went too far. On Tuesday morning a group of 50 right wing, ultra-nationalist Israeli settlers broke into a West Bank Israeli military base and burned tires, vandalized property, threw rocks at the jeep of a senior officer and spread nails on the road. One Israeli...

In electing a mayor, Toronto got a child, or worse. Children are innocent, but our mayor is becoming dangerous. It's no longer about library closures or cutting services. Heightened debate about policy and differing views on how to balance a budget were expected.

The recent revelation is that...

You may have heard, but you probably didn't, that last week a tiny West African country you may know of, but probably don't, had an election.

The Gambia, a tiny sliver of land less than 50 km wide with a population a little over 1.5 million, re-elected...

The Government of Canada says it doesn't deport people to torture, but it did -- just ask Adel Benhmuda.

Adel Benhmuda is Libyan. The Government of Canada said he wasn't a refugee; the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said he was.

In 2000, after a decade of...

In response to the tragic suicide of Jamie Hubley, the 15-year-old gay teen from Ottawa, I advocated that it was time for Canadian politicians to be more vocal in their support for struggling LGBT youth. I suggested a simple step they might take was to join...

Jamie Hubley didn't have to die. The 15-year-old gay teen from Ottawa took his own life this past Friday, seemingly unable to cope with the depression and isolation he felt as a gay teen. Tragically, he never had the chance to experience what so many of us LGBT...

The Government of Canada is getting tough on refugees... Too tough.

A controversial bill reintroduced by the now-majority Conservatives seeks to undermine fundamental principles of due process, procedural fairness and the balance of powers in a misguided attempt to deter human smuggling.

The Preventing Human Smugglers...

It's back to school season in Ontario. This means that around the province, thousands and thousands of students are walking into schools that openly make a mockery of our diversity and equality.

For no other reason than because it's always been this way, our tax dollars -- your tax dollars...

Jason Kenney can't take constructive criticism. That is the greatest lesson to be drawn from the Immigration Minister's recent tit-for-tat with Amnesty International over Canada's move to deport 30 alleged war criminals from Canada illegally.

Responding to an open letter, the Canadian branch of the international...

I love Israel. But it's not always easy.

The Palestinian issue is one thing. Denial of their rights can always be manipulated by cries of security. But when the Israeli right targets its intolerance towards fellow Israelis, its quest for supremacy is taken to a whole new level. The Crucible...