Rob Brown

MAKING choices is one of the most human of activities and also one of our most difficult and dangerous. Yet making choices is essential to building the lives of individuals and communities. In coming months, I will discuss items related to making choices, and their impact on Canadians today, as we try to build a […] Read more

I WAS recently involved in two very different activities related to building a moral economy. One was local; I was a participant. The other was national; I was an observer. The first was a meeting of people who wonder about the direction in which their community is moving. I came to listen and to ethically […] Read more

THE United States Supreme Court recently struck down the Bush administration’s attempt to block Oregon’s death with dignity law. That decision should be a wake-up call for Americans and Canadians who are concerned about the future of health care. The court ruled on a narrow legal issue and did not directly support death with dignity. […] Read more

I WAS hoping we wouldn’t have an election for at least a couple more years. I believe many things are going well in Canada. I also believe we have significant problems. Yet I do not believe much will be solved by this election. That leaves me feeling hopeless. Many other Canadians feel the same way. […] Read more

WHAT DO the following have in common? Giving the man next door a ride to work because his car has broken down. Establishing Medicare. A bumper sticker from the 1980s, saying: “Your farm neighbour is more important than your neighbour’s farm.” The federal government’s plan to turn its fleet of grain hopper cars over to […] Read more

SASKATCHEWAN Wheat Pool may be on the verge of a huge change, both economic and cultural. The grain company set up to protect the interests of farmers by making them the principals in the business is now thinking seriously about putting the company into the hands of shareholders. That means anyone who wants to invest […] Read more

BACK in the 1980s, when I worked full time doing radio news, I reported from time to time on farm accidents and deaths. The message was much the same, whether I got my information from the province’s Department of Labour or the Saskatchewan Safety Council or the fledgling Centre for Agricultural Medicine at the University […] Read more

LIKE most Canadians, I’m eager to see what will happen now that our federal election is over. Eager, and a little uneasy. While recounts may change a few seats, it’s clear we have a minority government. But will that be a good thing for Canada and Canadians? Will it lead to increased government flexibility or […] Read more

The quotation jumped off the page and into my face when I came to it: “When you subsidize poverty and failure, you get more of both.” The source of the quotation was identified as one James Dale Davidson. The statement appeared in a recent newsletter of an agricultural organization, whose leader was calling for lower […] Read more

“NOBODY’S got a sense of community anymore. . . . they all know more about the Simpsons neighbours than they do about their own. Nobody knows their corner grocer anymore because they all shop at those giant corporate warehouse superstores that’ve driven the family-owned corner grocery stores out of business.” – Tim Brown, Pulpspotting “Your […] Read more