Robert Baldwin and Louis Lafontaine led the Reform Party to power in 1848, bringing an end to the influence of appointed chambers of representatives  in Canada. The principle of elected, representative government has held sway ever since. And yet, there is one group of appointed individuals whose power, though slight, remains to be dealt with:… (read more)

Today marks the first anniversary for this blog.  I would like to thank Miles Corak, who encouraged me to start.  Miles has an influential blog on economics.  My son Anthony arranged for the domain name and got me started in WordPress.  I would also like to thank you, my readers.  The Answer I have been… (read more)

The topics for this blog range in and out of what I am competent to talk about.  Yet the tale is no less fascinating for being told by a neophyte.  In particular, I propose to explore the fields of ecology, economics and evolution.  They have more in common than simple alliteration. The first two are… (read more)

Story tellers have always needed an audience.  Yet the joy in story telling is not entirely rooted in the slack-jawed amazement or teary-eyed delight of the listeners.  The urge to create a new jumble of ideas or to portray a venerable idea in a fresh new perspective is ever present.  The story teller is driven… (read more)