So, here is how we do policy in Canada today. Statistics Canada, a department of people who are experts in collecting and analyzing information, has a well-honed method of obtaining solid, scientifically relevant data developed over 35 years.
Apparently, society needs monsters – larger-than-life perils to make life interesting. Take, for example, Trevor the dog. In May, the Mae Bachur Animal Shelter found a home for Trevor in Burwash Landing.
Let's be very clear, a voluntary ban on hunting caribou cows is no ban at all. This week, a deal was struck to "conserve" the Porcupine caribou herd.
Canada's new Truth in Sentencing Act will shackle us all. The legislation ends the two-for-one credit for pretrial jail time. It means felons are going to be spending more time behind bars.
It's been a week, and all we're hearing from the Yukon Hospital Corporation Board is crickets. We've been trying to find out how the Crown-owned corporation is going to handle the overpayment made to its board since last November.
A couple of recent news items are hard to reconcile. First, the Canadian Index of Wellbeing suggests people feel rushed and constantly out of time.
A recent letter from the Yukon Hospital Corporation fails to address why board members have been awarded pay raises in contravention of the Yukon Hospital Act and against the expressed will of cabinet.
If Canada is a bilingual country, the people sitting on the Supreme Court bench should speak both French and English. If it's not bilingual, then someone should say so.
Music on? Check. E-mail? Check. Browser? Yup. Coffee near at hand? Oh yeah, baby. Twitter and Facebook feeds activated? Yesiree. Word processor program booted? Yup. Messenger? Check.
Something must be done to mitigate the damage ATVs do to the environment. A group, the Trails Only Yukon Association, has pushed for legislation that will curb their use. And it has run into stiff resistance.
Is the Elijah Smith Building public, or not? If it is, then gaining access to the building should be simple - the rules clear and readily available, contact people easily reachable, fees and paperwork kept to an absolute minimum, and bathrooms open.
The Yukon Party did itself a disservice by holding its annual general assembly in secret. Last weekend, roughly six dozen members gathered at the Yukon Inn to set the future direction of the territory and the party.
Yukon children are not well served by the education system. If 400 of the little blighters enter kindergarten, only 240 emerge from Grade 12 with a diploma scrunched up in their fist. The other 160 drop out. They're gonzo. Frankly, that is unacceptable.
The effort to combat global warming has lagged as other crises have commanded the attention of political leaders and the public.
The territory used to have a rainy day fund. Now, apparently, it just prays for rain. This probably isn't a prudent way to manage the territory's finances. Last year, Finance Minister Dennis Fentie drained an emergency fund the Yukon uses to fight forest fires.
Here is a troubling paradox: Most parents love their kids even as they undermine their health and shorten their lives. Harsh? Certainly. But sometimes the truth hurts.
If you don't think ATVs should be legislated, think again. Or start thinking. These vehicles are the bane of wild places around the world.
It is almost too painful to consider the implications of the slow-mo destruction being wrought in the Gulf of Mexico.
The federal weather guy was happy. It was a relatively mild spring day and he was sauntering around town handing out stickers with his phone number. "Call if there's weather news," he said.
In Canada, two jurisdictions escaped the ravages of the global economic meltdown - the Yukon and PEI. Yahoo! But before you break out the bubbly, you should ask whether such spending is sustainable. Or whether it was the best use of the cash.
