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More Darkness in Ontario’s Democracy
In Canada, after an election first ministers write mandate letters to their cabinet colleagues, laying out deliverables their departments should achieve. Some governments make them public (Trudeau, McGuinty and Wynne in Ontario), but others don’t (Harper, Ford). A newly-elected government traditionally outlines its program in its platform and speech from the throne; mandate letters may…
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Nitrogen Hypoxia: An Innovation in American Government?
Because it has a monopoly on legal violence, government is in the business of killing people. Agencies that carry out killing, such as the military and the police, are constantly thinking about how to do it more efficiently. When capital punishment is practiced, as is the case in many of the American states, this thinking…
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The Science Centre’s Bridge to Nowhere
A few days ago, I visited the Ontario Science Centre (OSC) to see for myself its state of disrepair and imagine its potential if it were maintained and upgraded. When our children were young, we were frequent visitors but, because their interests have developed in other directions, it’s likely been a decade since I was…
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Academic Data Fraud: A Slippery Slope
A recent sequel to the discussion of Harvard President Claudine Gay’s resignation has been the contrasting of Gay’s slap on the wrist for plagiarism with Harvard’s heavy-handed treatment of Business School Professor Francesca Gino for accusations of data fraud. As in my post about plagiarism, I’m not writing about whether Gino committed data fraud. But…
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Budget Consultations: Vote Early and Often
The federal and Ontario governments have once again posted their online budget questionnaires, as part of their 2024 pre-budget consultations. The Ontario government’s is available until January 31 and the federal government’s until February 9. Completing the questionnaires is an easier way to submit your views than presenting a brief, attending a meeting, or contacting…
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Why Plagiarism Matters
I had been considering writing about whether former Harvard President Claudine Gay should have been selected a little over a year ago or should be fired now, but her resignation has made both questions moot. Nonetheless, accusations that she plagiarized by incorporating sections of other scholars’ work without attribution into her own doctoral thesis and…
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In-Person or Online: Community or Convenience
Last week’s post about watching the Metropolitan Opera Live in HD broadcasts got me thinking about the frequent post-pandemic choice between attending an event in-person or viewing it online. I will explain two such choices I made in the last few days. Furthermore, I can think of four contexts in which this choice presents itself:…
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Toronto’s Best Spot for the Met Live in HD
I’m a huge fan of the Metropolitan Opera’s Saturday afternoon Live in HD broadcasts. The Met is a superb company with the best artists doing great operas – both classic and increasingly more contemporary – with camera work bringing you closer to the artists than at any live performance, and with fascinating intermission interviews, all…
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Needed: A Partnership Transparency Act
The Ford Government is laser-focused on building infrastructure: public transit, highways, hospitals, and of course Ontario Place. Its Ministry of Infrastructure is headed by Kinga Sirma, well known as a Ford loyalist. The Ministry has a major agency – Infrastructure Ontario – and is committed to using public-private partnerships as a key methodology, especially for…
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OSC => OP: Ford’s Latest Assault on Democracy
In the last two weeks, I’ve been on the CBC’s Metro Morning twice to talk about the Ford Government’s relocation of the Ontario Science Centre (OSC) to Ontario Place (OP). The first time was after the Government released its business case supporting the move and the second after the Auditor General’s report criticizing the move.…
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The Eclipse is Coming!
A total solar eclipse is coming to Mexico, the US, and Canada on Monday, April 8, 2024. Its path crosses northern Mexico, then moves from Texas to the Midwest, southern Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic Canada, and Newfoundland. I’m fascinated and amazed by solar eclipses. I travelled to Manitoba in winter 1979 and Baja California in summer…
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A New Deal, But not A Good Deal
As I was reading the terms of the deal between the Province of Ontario and City of Toronto announced by Premier Ford and Mayor Chow yesterday, Thucydides’ maxim came to mind: “the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.” The province is strong because its finances and credit rating are…
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Let’s Debate Billy’s Fate
As Samuel Johnson opined, deadlines “concentrate the mind wonderfully.” Not only does Billy Bishop Airport’s (BBA) lease expire in 2033, but – more urgently – the airport must meet a Transport Canada requirement to have in place runway end safety areas by 2027. RESA’s, as the term suggests, are flat obstacle-free zones at the end…
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Orator or O(pe)rator?
I came of age politically in the late Fifties and early Sixties in a Liberal household. In my Manichean worldview, the good guys were JFK and Lester Pearson and the bad guys were Richard Nixon and John Diefenbaker. In eighth grade every day at recess, I debated the 1962 federal election with a young Conservative.…
- I am Professor of Public Management Emeritus at the University of Toronto, having retired in July 2020 after a 45-year academic career.
- My latest book, Public Representations: Screen Stories, Narrative, and the Public Sphere, co-authored with Beth Herst, was published in April 2026 by University of Toronto Press (open access).
- On this website I post blogs about politics, narrative, and my life experiences.
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