A ballot for Alberta’s potential separation from Canada has been received by over 658,000 voters. With reports indicating varying economic impacts of independence, the referendum will focus on identity rather than pure calculations. The choice is whether to initiate a constitutional process for a binding separation vote, with emotions likely outweighing facts. … More Know to the ‘nein’. And yes (to an uncertain future).

STAMPEDE IN CALGARY is a time for cowboy hats, boots, and big questions. Last week, in a convention centre ballroom, I moderated a debate between Derek Fildebrandt, pro-separatist publisher of the Western Standard news and self-described “mosquito in the tent they just can’t quite kill,” and Duane Bratt, Mount Royal University political science professor who … More Make up or break up…

Canadian policy keeps trying — and failing — to wall off our culture from America. Rinse and repeat. FOR DECADES, Ottawa has waged a quixotic campaign to shield Canadian content from the cultural tsunami coming at us from south of the 49th parallel. The effort long predates Pierre Trudeau (the elder), but his Liberal government … More Streaming screaming…

A FEW WEEKS AGO, on my Calgary doorstep, a polite woman from Stay Free Alberta invited me to sign a petition for a separation referendum. She was nervous. I was firm: I’m pro-Canada. We talked for 15 minutes anyway—calmly. No yelling. She left saying the civil exchange felt rare. That small moment crystallized everything I’ve written … More Yes, no, or know…

A SPIN on a Leonard Cohen song comes to mind. First, we take… And then we take Colombia? Greenland? Iran? One thing is for certain: the ‘rule of law’ that governs the world order has irrevocably changed; recent events in Latin America should make plain what’s ahead in 2026. The Chinese president in his New … More ka-boom…

THE DOG DAYS of summer are on the wag. Donna is in flight returning from a trip abroad. And I’m still in the driver’s seat for the blog. And you know that question we asked? Oh, okay… sure. the ask: WILL YOU SUBSCRIBE to a digital stream (with a monthly fee of no less than five … More 3: Two people, a dog and a cat…

WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND would want to be a politician these days? Donna is on ‘leave’ and I’m filling in with a progress report on our ‘ask’ for a TWO PEOPLE TALKING podcast. I’m disappointed in you. Yes, you. I’ve been watching the blog’s analytics. And I know you’ve seen the ‘ask’. What gives, … More 2: Two people asking…

YES— it’s been awhile since our last blog entry. Here’s why: Donna, as you may know, has a National Post weekend column; it often reflects the intent of Beyond Polarity — amplifying voices and ideas not typically featured in legacy media. Donna’s inquisitive essays are read across the country. That’s the good news.  We’re thinking of making a podcast. An ongoing … More Two people talking…

IS ALBERTA’S PREMIER HAVING A PARIZEAU MOMENT? Three weeks in, and it’s already a trying year in Canadian politics: There’s the leadership vacuum.  Justin Trudeau, prime minister of the moment, throws Alberta under the bus and frames premier Danielle Smith as disloyal. Deja vu all over again?  In 1980, Trudeau (the elder) did much the … More Alberta’s Parizeau moment?

RICHARD HUNTLEY SPENT DECADES enforcing Canada’s border. He says we have a rep for ‘being very generous … that’s going to be a problem’… … More oh, oh… border crisis ahead

SEVEN YEARS AGO, I launched the Beyond Polarity blog.  I was tired of people taking rigid, either-or positions. Weary of people feeding polarities. Getting angry at those why tried to manipulate, to get me on their side of an issue.  Everything was a debate, with winners and losers. I wanted to do something about it. … More Killing the mute button…

The PM was in NYC this week auditioning for a new gig… … More Situation wanted, will travel…

IT’S A TOUGH JOB being Katie. Katie Telford (KT) is the power behind the curtain that runs the Liberal Party of Canada (LPC); as Chief of Staff in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), she corrals what goes where and who does whatever within the ranks of a bulging federal bureaucracy. As we watch the slow-motion … More Raising the curtain on a wife in politics…

IT’S DIFFICULT HAVING CONVERSATIONS with people we respect but don’t necessarily agree with—especially when the issue is sensitive and polarized. Recently, I reached out to a former colleague, Iranian by birth, to talk about what’s going on in the Middle East. Bijan and I don’t agree on who is to blame.  But we do agree … More A Difficult Conversation

DEAR READER, Typically, it’s a slow-time for the news cycle. Not so, this summer! American politics is a daily drama with cliffhanger twists. And closer to home… Forest fires burn out of control in Alberta and BC. But, hey — it’s the summer. It’s hot. Very hot. And the prime minister has taken his leave…holidaying … More more breaking news…

IT’S BEEN ELEVEN MONTHS since a fateful mammogram sparked a flurry of tests (followed by waiting); diagnoses (followed by waiting); decisions (followed by more waiting); surgeries (followed by recovery, then some more waiting); radiation (followed by recovery); and finally, this week, I’ve been given my breast cancer discharge papers. How am I celebrating? Well, for … More I got my life back…

A personal journey through cancer treatment in Alberta, highlighting the importance of early detection and the need for improved healthcare resources. … More Ring the bell…

TO REPEAT–I’M DEALING WITH A CANCER SCARE. I’M NOT DYING. Today, I met with my radiation oncologist—Dr. Natalie Logie. She’s spunky, straight-talking & obviously talented; I like her. It was our first meeting and I totally concur with her recommendation to move forward with the radiation of my right breast as a pre-emptive measure to … More Waiting for Healthcare

Oh, goodness me. The carnival act that is Trudeau (the magnificent) has run out of gas… … More The Great Unravelling:

IN THE HIGH COUNTRY, no matter where I look, I see breasts!  Does this make me an honorary adolescent boy? NOT! But it is bemusing.   In a visit to Wyoming last week, a friend there leaned in to whisper that the Grand Teton—the prominent and iconic three mountain peaks jutting up around Jackson Hole—were … More Peak titillation …

TALKING ABOUT DUCTAL CARCINOMA IN SITU (DCIS) NO LONGER SCARES THE BEJESUS OUT OF ME. That’s progress. Navigating this pre-cancer condition is kind of like reacting to the yellow warning lights flashing on the dashboard of my car. It pays to do the maintenance.  Since many of you ask—and I’m grateful for that—here’s a quick … More Some heartening news

I AM NOT checking out anytime soon. The calcification in my right breast—ductal carcinoma in situ or DCIS—mercifully is not the dreaded C-word. My surgeon Dr. Quan refers to this diagnosis as pre-cancerous.  Yesterday, there was a brilliant essay in the New York Times Not Everything We Call Cancer Should be Called Cancer. If you … More I am not dying…

Cancer Journey Post #6 RELENTLESS IS THE WORD OF THE MONTH. Relentless wildfires. Relentless cancer.  Relentless anxiety.  Harrowing updates from friends who escaped the wildfires in Lahaina have my stomach churning. And while my post-lumpectomy healing is going well (and I’ve been buoyed up by an outpouring of love), the surgical pathology report that landed … More Oh, damn…

Cancer Journey, Post #5 IN A BARBIE WORLD BARBIE’S JABS AT THE PATRIARCHY ARE SETTING OFF A FEMINIST CATHARSIS!  Could there be a better time to be thinking about breast cancer and body image?   I’m a Barbie girl in the Barbie world.  Life in plastic, it’s fantastic…. At 5:30 tomorrow morning, I’ll be heading … More In a Barbie World

Donna’s Cancer Journey Post #4 Living with Cancer Yahoo! I have a surgery date: August 3rd. The Alberta Health Services (AHS) machine is in motion and I’m being flooded with information & pre-admission logistics. The certainty is definitely comforting. But deep down, I know a lumpectomy isn’t the end of this journey.  Cancer is now … More Living With Cancer

Donna’s Cancer Journey Post #3 Within 18 hours of being home from Peru, I’m sitting in the waiting room of the Breast Clinic. The clinic is housed at the Women’s Health Centre, one of the smaller buildings tucked within the vast Foothills hospital complex in Calgary. I’m grateful to my daughter-in-law, Renee, a pediatrician; she’s … More Meet the Cancer Surgeon

Donna’s Cancer Diary: Post 2 It’s a very dry spell on the Canadian prairies and wildfires continue to burn out of control. Off-and-on, the air is thick with yellow smoke and smells like acid. A sharply-worded caution from Don cuts through the haze: Don’t put yourself in the line of fire(s).  “You are tough, yup. … More Get out of the Line of Fire

Tornadoes, distant and nearby fires, a smoke choked sky, flooding … cancer. … More Booby-Trapped

Canada will face growing pressure to share its abundant freshwater with an increasingly parched U.S. but needs to safeguard its most vital resource. We’ve written about this in previous blogs.  Research Money—a publication serving Canada’s science, technology, innovation and investment community, invited us to contribute an op-ed diving deep into this question. We thought readers … More Thirsty Yanks and Canada’s water…