Raise the Hammer

Burlington's by-laws and enforcement culture have not yet caught up with the supportive rhetoric coming from the city's political leadership.

If the City can't even maintain a rainbow crosswalk from defacement, there's not much hope for rebuilding the badly damaged relationships that currently exist between city leadership and communities threatened by right-wing extremism.

Burlington residents are abusing the lot maintenance by-law to harass and bully neighbours embracing ecological landscaping to create naturalized areas.

The AGB is determined to be vigilant and visible in their support of 2SLGBTQIAP by placing critical conversations on gender diversity back into the public education sphere.

Canada's Yellow Vest movement feeds off some of the same anti-elite and anti-urban identity sentiments as the Gilet Jaune movement in France.

We cannot afford for our daily newspaper to play any role, however inadvertent, in the creeping normalization of violent extremist ideology.

What needs changing is the way we as a province conceive of education and educators. We all-too-often value the appearance of success over actual mastery.

This new feature film, co-written by Charly Chiarelli, is a delightful story made up of a surprising number of layers.

The radical, extremist right are desperate to gain power by hijacking conservative politics and migrating into the mainstream. It's already happening, right before our eyes.

Music is frequently accepted as a common language, and the presence of the Love in the Hammer Choir speaks volumes.

The creative response of the businesses on Ottawa Street was impressive, but why should they have to divide their time between serving their customers and shaming Nazis?

Ignoring fascists doesn't make them go away. Bland, generic press releases don't deter them. Calmly treating with them while bringing the hammer down on anti-fascists emboldens them.

This year's TIFF will be premiering two incredible stories of First Nations courage, perseverance and ultimately success.

This film takes a fresh, often moving look at a variety of lesbian and gay athletes who are working to overcome the stereotypes and prejudices in order to improve life for all athletes.

It's easy to dismiss Maxime Bernier and his openly racist breakaway party, but the same paranoia and extremist hatred are widespread within the mainstream Conservative Party.

It's time for the City of Burlington to stop destroying naturalized landscapes and to devise a plan to educate residents on the benefits of getting rid of their outdated, high-maintenance, grass-covered yards.

Our city's front porch is considered a threatening environment, and our inertia in the face of rising extremism has allowed this threat to grow.

While Hamilton Police continue to make an example of anti-fascist demonstrators, the crisis of escalating white supremacism is on our doorstep and things aren't getting better.

Despite declaring a climate emergency, the City of Burlington continues to threaten a property that has been naturalized to sequester carbon and support local widlife threatened with extinction.

What I saw and heard continue to make me question the judgment used in dealing with marginalized communities by Hamilton Police.