NHL has a duty to protect: could fisticuffs on the ice lead to handcuffs?

Employers have a duty to protect: could fisticuffs in the NHL lead to “handicuffs”? Those who oppose fighting tend to do so on moral and civil grounds or legal grounds. Like matters of taste, levels of civility and morality are much more variable than I had realized, thus difficult to argue without sounding righteous or patronizing. Criminal law and employment …

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Sofa diving could be the new sport for procrastinators everywhere

I have now taken procrastination to new heights (or perhaps I should say depths). Avoiding the work I needed to do, I decided to clean under the sofa cushions. Luckily, I feel justified in having done so. My daughter was home sick, eating a tea biscuit, while lying on the couch. Crumbs went everywhere. I got out the hand vacuum …

It doesn’t matter why Dalton wants more space — just give it to him

“Don’t stand so . . . don’t stand so . . . don’t stand so close to me,” go the lyrics to the Police song of the same title. The song serenaded my brain as I read reports of Dalton McGuinty asking for a little more room from reporters during scrums. Seems I wasn’t the only one, as Canadian Press …

Ban fighting in hockey because it’s the right thing to do

I’m on the ‘ban’wagon. I want to see fighting banned in hockey. Why? Because it is the right thing to do. Period. Need more reasons? Here are five against fighting. 1. It is wrong to punch people. That’s why in civil society you go to jail for punching people. That’s why in kid’s hockey it is not allowed. No one …

There are alternatives to stimulus packages to resolve economic crisis

You catch more votes with honey. To keep the coalition at bay, and endear itself to the voters, we expect our government soon to unveil a huge stimulus package. Since such incentives are historically unproven globally to resolve economic downturns, here are a few alternatives to consider, some more tongue-in-cheek than others. The government could begin by blaming the media …

Indulgence is allowed at Christmas — now it’s time to hit the gym

All year long, I avoid eating processed dinners because of a food allergy, and it helps keep me and my family relatively healthy. I also avoid baking or buying desserts, because once in the house, they are in my mouth. Inevitably, at least one questionable food group item ends up on my Christmas wish list, and somehow, the rest find …

Don’t go in the red for Christmas, but try to make it green

It’s a colourful time of year and red and green really are the colours of the season — red for our budgetary concerns post-holidays and green for our environmental concerns (and for the money we spend). Retailers kindly started the countdown for us right after Halloween, as storefronts changed from orange and black to colourful Christmas displays. (As if time …

Get beautiful naturally with local, great-smelling products

Kate Campbell and Allie McKeachnie like to keep things simple. If they can’t recognize or pronounce the ingredients in a product, they typically don’t buy it. That led them to create their own line of body care products, Kate and Allie’s Beauty by Nature, in the summer of 2007. Kate told me that, “With allergies and sensitive skin, we can’t …

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Don’t reward Big Three for not knowing how to be profitable

The recent bailout of the financial industry in the United States made me uneasy. White House officials said they had little choice as they doled out $700 billion to buy up bad loans that basically shouldn’t have been made in the first place (and I thought the U. S. didn’t negotiate with hostage-takers). Hard-working entrepreneurs and corporations cringed at the …