G-20 a Missed Chance in the Making

Away from the clashes between police and protesters, looms a battle of a different sort – between Canadians trying to tax, regulate and rein in banks and financial institutions, and those who will do everything in their power to maintain the status quo. There is little appetite in Ottawa these days for brave new ideas. But we don’t have to look too far back for inspiration. In 1999, then Finance Minister Paul Martin was ahead of the rich world in proposing that the Group of... Read More

Cutting the Death Toll of City Birds

Toronto Star, TORONTO >> Michael Mesure has lobbied property owners, rallied activists, and teamed up with the City to find ways to stop birds from crashing into Toronto’s buildings. Now, in the latest in a series of campaigns that have spanned 20 years, the executive director of Fatal Light Awareness Program has released the Field Guide to Common Birds of Toronto. Far from being a pastoral picture of birds perched on tree branches, the 10 species depicted are dead,... Read More

Crusading Mom

A shrill alarm wakes Roxie Malone-Richards every day around 4 a.m., indicating the machine that feeds her daughter is out of food. The machine pumps a mixture of milk and formula through a tube that runs into 7-month-old Jessie’s nostril, down her throat and into her stomach. Until recently, she had tubes in both nostrils: the second was attached to a ventilator, which helped her breathe for the first five months of her life. Now her mother, having spent most of her maternity... Read More