Garry Fairbairn

It takes a considerable amount of ambition and self-confidence to publish a feature boldly declaring to identify “the 100 most important Canadians in history.” But, with the aid of a panel of historians and other analysts, Maclean’s magazine did just that in its Canada Day issue. For those who tend to suspect the national media […] Read more

The “Phase One Report” by Justice Willard Estey on his review of the grain handling and transportation system gives few clues as to what recommendations he will eventually make to the federal government. As Estey notes in it, the purpose of the preliminary report is merely to briefly catalogue the issues and representations made to […] Read more

One hundred and twenty-five years ago, an earlier generation created an organization that became essential to the development of Prairie agriculture and rural society. That organization was the North West Mounted Police, a collection of vagabonds and adventurers who were given quaint pillbox hats and sent to bring law and justice to the vast Canadian […] Read more

A story of two child-care centres in urban Virginia may seem an unlikely place to inspire thoughts on rural Prairie life. But it has some useful reminders about important principles. The first centre, in Fairfax, Va., was the scene of momentary panic and horror when a mother arrived to get her child, but found the […] Read more

The recent report of the Senate agriculture committee won’t produce any magic consensus among farmers on what to do about the wheat board. But the senators have made a helpful contribution to the process of reforming the board, and perhaps brought closer that eventual consensus. Rather than rubber-stamping the government’s proposed legislation (Bill C-4) to […] Read more

As if dryness, weak grain prices and high freight rates were not enough, Canadian farmers are also faced with the threat of a renewed U.S.-Europe export subsidy war. Like one schoolyard bully taunting another, Europe seems irrationally intent upon provoking the United States to retaliation. Not only did the European Union unleash subsidies of $80 […] Read more

Imagine if a public-opinion survey were held to ask Canadian taxpayers if they wanted more senators. To many (if not all) voters, it would be a classic exercise in futility, especially given recent tales of a Mexico-based senator who rarely showed up for what passes for senatorial work. Rather than clamoring to spend more money […] Read more

According to a group of senior civil servants in Ottawa, Canadians lack a “sense of common purpose.” Traditional unifying symbols and institutions – everything from the monarchy to hockey – are said to be losing their appeal, creating a national identity crisis. Southam news service reported that the civil servants, members of a Privy Council […] Read more

With each month that passes, the absurdity of the federal government’s gun-control legislation seems to increase. Yorkton-Melville MP Garry Breitkreuz noted last week that the complex 137-page piece of legislation “now has 140 additional pages of mind-numbing regulations.” As the bureaucracy lurches toward implementation of the legislation, it is becoming clear that the result will […] Read more

Is there room for compromise in the farmer-versus-farmer war of words over the wheat board? In a recent letter, one farmer said there must be some way to find a compromise between wheat board supporters and the “forces of change.” That’s an appealing thought – shouldn’t everyone be in favor of a compromise to stop […] Read more