MARIJUANA: Canada unlikely to react to U.S. legalized states, say experts
If you’re hoping to fire one up at a marijuana café near you any time soon, don’t get your hopes up: experts in Canada’s marijuana trade say legalizing the drug in a pair of U.S. states won’t lead to significant policy changes in Canada this year. They expect the federal government will stick with its […]
In Alberta, a government-approved disaster monthly
If you just looked at the numbers, you might think Alberta is one of the most dangerous places on the planet: after all, the number of natural disasters declared here has increased seventeen-fold in the last 12 years. Floods, fires, hail storms, acts of God that crippled entire industries. We’ve got it all. But critics […]
POLL: Canadians want PM’s powers limited
Canadians believe the law should place greater restrictions on the powers of the Prime Minister and other legislative leaders, a new national survey suggests. The Harris/Decima Research poll was conducted on behalf of the pro-Democracy lobby group Your Canada, Your Constitution (YCYC). The survey asked 2,013 Canadians ages 18 or older whether they agreed or […]
Carson Cole writes one final love letter to biker culture
After 30 years of being the bikers’ favourite rock musician, Carson Cole is hanging up his guitar to work on the rigs – but the Motorcycle Madman is leaving a love letter in his wake. Two new CDs, actually: one acoustic and one “as blues as a white guy from Coronation can be,” will be […]
ECOLOGY: Butterflies in Edmonton, explained
University of Alberta entomologist John Acorn knows a whole lot about butterflies. “Their numbers fluctuate a great deal and that can be pretty confusing, but in general the common species are always common, but the rarer species are still here,” he says. Acorn’s specialty means he realized the potential for last summer’s butterfly explosion in Edmonton. […]
FAITH: Online, every living room is a congregation
You won’t find many guys out there as optimistic as Rev. Brian Kiely. Despite flat-lined membership numbers, the Edmonton-based president of the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists figures his congregation isn’t leaving, just changing. “I spent my sabbatical studying life in the digital age and one of the things it convinced me of is […]
CRIME: Review faces tough choices on money laundering
If anyone ever needed proof that money laundering goes on in Canada, they’d only have to look at the scrutiny Quebec’s corrupt construction industry is facing: task forces, hearings, trials, shady payoffs to bureaucrats. It’s like the Sopranos moved to La Belle Province. And our national record for fighting money laundering over the last decade? […]
TRADITION: Ashes to ashes, bucks to bucks
The days of the family crypt and side-by-side plots may soon be a thing of the past: cremation now dominates burial statistically in Canada, say funeral experts, a complete reversal from two decades ago, when the practice was still frowned upon by many faiths. “Edmonton’s rate is about 70% cremation now and Vancouver Island’s is […]
INTERVIEW: Nelly Furtado goes everywhere, finds herself
There’s a good reason why Nelly Furtado isn’t a bigger star than she ought to be. It’s because this has all been just a “hobby” for her. The singer admits as much during a recent interview to pump up interest for her show at the Jubilee Auditorium on Tuesday, part of a big round of […]
CNIB singing contest judges the voice and ONLY the voice
American Idol and its televised talent show ilk have often been criticized for being “glorified karaoke” – so it must follow that actual karaoke has been elevated to a higher Idol-like status. Amateur singing nights are still all the rage, anyway. It’s not hard to find karaoke in Edmonton, but the popular karaoke hangout B […]
Why Blue Rodeo never wears out its welcome
How many times have we seen Blue Rodeo in Edmonton? Given at least one visit for each album plus eight folk fest appearances over almost 26 years, the conservative estimate is that they’ve played here 23 times. Does that sound right? Could be more if you count solo appearances from the two frontmen Jim Cuddy […]
Mark Meer elected Edmontonian of 2012 in landslide victory
We should’ve known what would happen if we put Mark Meer on the list. Of course he was voted GigCity’s Edmontonian of the Year – in a landslide, with 68% of the vote. He’s such a tireless self-promoter and wields such a formidable clout in social media that winning our little contest/social experiment was a […]
