Those who have been doubly hurt by the Boston bombing and the recent arrest of the two alleged Canadian terrorists on Monday, are the vast majority of hard-working, law-abiding Muslim Canadians. Because once again, Canadian Muslim men, or Canadian converts to Islam, are seen to be planning, organizing or actively engaging in terrorist activities.
Personal learnings from the Countering Violent Extremism portfolio echoed the sentiments that Justin Trudeau expressed following the Boston Bombings -- to get to the root cause to prevent future attacks. Last year I had the chance to work with the Department of Public Safety on National Security Policy, and if there's one thing that you need to focus on in preventing any kind of violence from happening -- whether it be localized gun violence or terrorism -- it's the root cause. Mind you, gun violence and extremism are two very different animals, but what they do share in common is an immature and ridiculous sense of expression through violence.
In the 24 hours since I touched down in Regina for the Juno awards, I've been overcome by the stark landscape, the kindness of the locals and the strength of the alcohol in my body. I'm hungover. I found myself at the Juno reception which was held at a Mountie training facility. There were Mounties everywhere.
The majority of Canadians are in favour of decriminalized or legal weed, while some think the penalties for possession should be more severe. Two men who have worked on the front lines of drug regulation are here to weigh in. Scott P. Hilderley, a Corporal in the RCMP Drugs and Organized Crime Awareness Service, and William VanderGraaf, a retired Winnipeg Police Service homicide detective and member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, debate whether marijuana legalization should get the green light. What do you think?
I was paralyzed in my bed. I remembered my dream to be a police officer because I wanted to help people and here was this young man, who wanted nothing more than to be accepted for who he was, taking his own life. I decided that I was going to be more than someone reading headlines, hoping the world became a better place. I decided to go out there and make a difference myself.
Our government may say that we're engaging the Saudis to foster reform in the kingdom. Apartheid South Africa's allies made similar arguments, calling for "constructive engagement" with the racist regime. Thankfully, Canada rejected that approach and led the world on sanctions, which hastened the end of apartheid.
While TransLink's habitual tax increases, never-ending budget deficits and lack of direct accountability have been well documented over the past several years, Metro Vancouver has slid somewhat under the radar. This lack of accountability to taxpayers has been a problem at Metro Vancouver for a long time, fostered by staffers playing political games and local politicians distracted by their elected duties at their various city halls.