Globe editorial
Coercion adds to trauma
Judges have a responsibility to look with skepticism at new offerings from medical or psychological professionals. Yesterday it was repressed-memory syndrome; today, parental-alienation syndrome
Crackdown not needed
A temporary combination of circumstances does not amount to a compelling argument for the existence of a residential real-estate bubble that is due to burst, or for a policy change in mortgage-insurance standards.
Pawns of the theocracy
Three American hikers just marked six months in an Iranian jail. They are the unlikely symbols of a repressive regime now single-mindedly focused on security. As the opposition prepares for more protests this week, the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, it is time for the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to end the worst abuses in its criminal justice system, and release the hikers and others being used as political pawns.
Erosion of trust
The Toyota recalls are many things: a nuisance for car owners; a vindication for those whose defect-burdened vehicles careened into danger; and a headache for the company's employees and shareholders. They also shine a light on the importance of trust and transparency in modern economies.
The dormant bubble
President Barack Obama's proposals to reduce the risks that led to the credit crisis of 2008 and 2009 are one-sided; that is, he has become more bold in trying to limit the speculative behaviour of banks, but he has done little or nothing to restrain unduly hopeful home-buyers or - what amounts to the same thing - to protect American taxpayers from carrying almost all of the risk of mortgage default in the United States.
The return of legitimacy
It is time to end the international isolation of Honduras, and to recognize Porfirio Lobo as president. This Central American nation of eight million has taken the necessary steps to demonstrate that constitutional rule is being respected. The election of Mr. Lobo, in November, 2009, met the standard for democracy. The boycott of aid and international recognition punishes Hondurans, half of whom live below the poverty line, and works against building stability in the third-poorest country in the Americas.
Opening a window
The RCMP has dragged its own name through the mud so many times in the past few years it comes as a shock when it suddenly recognizes what it needs to do to begin restoring public trust. Commissioner William Elliott announced on Thursday that the force will no longer investigate its own members who are involved in cases of death or serious injury. This is a sign, one hopes, that the force's culture of arrogance is on the way out.
The school of fewer hard knocks
Seen in their true light, children's vulnerabilities may also be the source of their strength and hope, a new study says. Those children who are unusually sensitive to stress - the orchid children, the Swedes call them - are more likely than their hardier peers ("dandelion children") to suffer in poor soil. But let them grow in nurturing soil and they are more likely to become flowers of striking beauty.
Globe editorial
Not yet decisive victory
Ottawa's success in this negotiation was too slow; a sustained, cross-border pro-free trade campaign will help sure that interests never gain the upper hand to begin with
Globe editorial
Lesson learned
Stephen Harper's elimination of spring break won't undo the damage, but it is tacit admission outrage expressed by Canadians has resonated in Ottawa
Solid, not a turnaround
At mid-term, Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach is in trouble. The recession, a growing deficit and uncertainty around the province's economic future have thrown his leadership, and the very future of the Progressive Conservative party, into question. Yesterday's throne speech needed to deliver a compelling vision of his government's direction, but the effort, while laudable, came up short.
Globe editorial
Ghost consultants haunt the system
The choice of Canada's future citizens is vital to the country. Honesty and competence among immigration consultants are essential
Globe editorial
Two seal hunts, not just one
Federal politicians need to stop conflating the Inuit hunt with the east coast hunt, which has not fooled animal rights activists, European legislators or many Canadians
Eschewing extremes
Recent immigrants, immigrants of longer vintage and de souche Quebeckers continue to look for the best way to live together. A new manifesto co-signed by 220 academics shows that drawing the lines of reasonable accommodation is harder than denouncing discrimination. But it is a constructive engagement with conflicts and questions that many in Canada are too happy to ignore or wish away.
Time to tell freely
Don't ask, don't tell, the United States policy on gay men and women in the military, should be repealed immediately. There is no need for a drawn-out review that will invite more bigotry and sow more division. Leadership is needed to bring gays up quickly from the back of the U.S. military bus.
Globe editorial
Health care and the public's trust
Is there one standard of health care for the public and another for government leaders?
Globe editorial
A case not being made
It wasn't quite a reprimand, but Environment Minister Jim Prentice's remark that when it comes to Canada's oil sands, governments and corporations "need to up [their] game," was a necessary and overdue reminder to an industry often too happy to ignore its responsibilities. It is awkward for Mr. Prentice to point fingers, though, when talking about climate change.
Far from Magna Carta
On Tuesday, Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister of Britain, advanced the idea that his country should have a written constitution, in time for the 800th anniversary in 2015 of the signing of Magna Carta at Runnymede. His desire for a codification of constitutional conventions suggests that he misunderstands the unwritten constitution. This is a matter highly relevant to Canada, in spite of the written documents called the Constitution Act, 1867, and the Constitution Act, 1982.
Globe editorial
Canada is not innately wise
Conscious policy decisions and well designed institutions protected Canadian banks through the international financial crisis
Donors' sundry agendas
Relief work in Haiti continues at a rapid pace, funded by exceptionally generous governments and donors. But a growing list of incidents and trends suggests that some benefactors, at least, are being driven by paternalistic impulses, not just humanitarian ones. Givers must not let their own biases or value systems dictate how the aid gets delivered, or who gets it in the first place.