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October 20, 2003 Features

"Anybody but Bush"

Canada-US relations and the next Presidential election

anyonebushbush_fp.jpgThe relationship between Canada and the US has been rocky since George W. Bush took office. Some have blamed this on a personal disconnect between Jean Chretien and President Bush. For example, in March 2003 Liberal MP David Pratt said "I don't think things will change until our leadership changes"--i.e., when Chretien leaves office. Many pundits and politicians agree with Mr. Pratt.

But is this realistic? Exactly how does the relationship between a Canadian Prime Minister and a US President affect Canada-US relations--and how might upcoming federal elections in both countries change the situation?

- by Susan Thompson -

Canada-US relations and the next Presidential election

September 27, 2003 Environment

The Swoosh Swoops into Mountain Equipment Co-op

mec_fp.jpgNike AGC cross trainers arrived on the shelves of Mountain Equipment Co-op's only Atlantic Canadian outlet this August. Canada's largest cooperative is confident in Nike's commitment to greener products, sustainable practices and international labour codes. "They're not perfect, but are certainly putting lots of effort and resources into changing their ways," says MEC's CEO Peter Robinson.- by Norma Jean MacPhee -

September 12, 2003 Environment

North America in the Dark: the Blackout in Context

blackout_fp.jpgOn August 15th, 50 million people in the United States and Ontario found themselves in the dark, but many argue that North Americans have been 'in the dark' about the global context of their energy consumption for far too long. The 'biggest blackout in history' can shed some light on the inequalities of global energy consumption. The course that policy makers chart in the future must stretch beyond blackouts to looming problems that face all societies across the globe.

- by Yuill Herbert -

August 8, 2003 Features

One Citizen, One Vote: Towards Proportional Representation

An interview with Larry Gordon, Executive Director of Fair Vote CanadaLarryGordon_fp.jpg

Fair Vote Canada (FVC) was formed in August of 2000 as a multi-partisan citizen's campaign to reform Canada's voting system. FVC promotes the adoption of a system that is proportional, uses positive, effective votes, and results in a stable and accountable government. The organization does not recommend a specific type of proportional representation, but calls for a public process which will allow Canadians to learn about voting system alternatives and choose a new one.
- by Susan Thompson -

An interview with Larry Gordon, Executive Director of Fair Vote Canada

July 27, 2003 Canadian News

National News Briefs

July 26, 2003 Arts

Caution: Extreme Shakespeare in Halifax

Generally I am not a person who plans elaborate activities of merriment on calendar holidays. But, once and a while, an opportunity to celebrate gives me that tingling feeling and I am compelled to go out and join the party. It was that kind of crazed motivation that got me out of bed at 3:15 a.m. on July 1 to watch A Midsummer Night's Dream on the wharf of Casino Nova Scotia in Halifax. - by Sylvia Nickerson -

July 11, 2003 Features

Social Torment: Globalization in Atlantic Canada

Excerpts from Thom Workman’s book on neoliberal policy and its effect on workers

/img/features/quebec_fp.jpgAt its core, Thom Workman's thesis is simple: labour is a major cost for businesses of all kinds, and thus an impediment to profits. As such, "transnational capital" seeks constantly to lower the cost of labour; when they do this by breaking down "trade barriers" to gain access to cheap labour or invoke international competitiveness to roll back wages, the process is called globalization. In Social Torment, Thom Workman starts by outlining the history of this shift from the "class compromise" of the twentieth century to the newly invigorated attacks on unions and the working class. And then he does something interesting; rather than spinning together a series of anecdotes to support his case, Workman looks at the numbers.

Excerpts from Thom Workman’s book on neoliberal policy and its effect on workers

July 11, 2003 Arts

Riding the Aesthetic Underground

There's nothing that makes the critics line up -- nothing that makes them side and spit -- like the publication of a new book of non-fiction by John Metcalf. In the Calgary weekly FFWD, Lee Shedden writes: 'The release ... should be a Canadian national holiday; there should be drunkenness, jubilation, public nudity, mariachi bands, streamers, confetti.' Meanwhile, in The Danforth Review, Gordon Phinn calls Metcalf a 'rabid bulldog', and threatens to do unsavoury things to his 'balls'. - by Amanda Jernigan -

July 11, 2003 Canadian News

Canada In Review

June 26, 2003 Features

Gouging Together a Living

How banks get away with making you pay for your savings account

bank_fp.jpgMost Canadians don't need to be told that bank fees are rising, while interest rates paid on deposits--even in long term savings accounts--have diminished to the point of being inconsequential. Since the early nineties, the "big five" banks in Canada (Toronto Dominion, Royal Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Bank of Montreal) have been accelerating a collective move away from traditional retail banking, which is based on the premise that depositors lend their money to a bank and receive interest and certain services in return.Instead, the trend has been to charge increasing service fees while moving customers into areas more lucrative for banks such as credit cards, mutual funds, money market accounts, and stock market investments. Simply storing money in chequing and savings accounts is no longer a considered as a mutually beneficial arrangement; it is now a service to be paid for. - by Dru Oja Jay -

How banks get away with making you pay for your savings account

May 17, 2003 Arts

Writing Canada

In a letter to the Irish critic and writer James Stern dated February 22, 1970, Australian novelist Patrick White (1912-1990) wrote the following astonishing pair of sentences: "How lucky the Irish are, and the American Jews, in having those rich tormented backgrounds to draw on; here we are, the bloody Australians, with nothing, having to conjure rabbits out of the air... - by J.P. Loosemore -

May 17, 2003 Canadian News

Regional News

Archived Site

This is a site that stopped updating in 2016. It's here for archival purposes.

The Dominion is a monthly paper published by an incipient network of independent journalists in Canada. It aims to provide accurate, critical coverage that is accountable to its readers and the subjects it tackles. Taking its name from Canada's official status as both a colony and a colonial force, the Dominion examines politics, culture and daily life with a view to understanding the exercise of power.

»Where to buy the Dominion