Category: Spring 1985

She is attractive, young and engaging, her slightly bouffant hairstyle and classic pearls a touch old fashioned. He is suave and handsome, well groomed and polished, his bright silk tie complementing his jacket puff. They could be the perfect couple on the perfect evening, and in a sense they are. She’s Gail Smith, he’s Tom… Continue reading The Right Staff

It’s been described as unique, essential and on the leading edge. Some compare it to a pulpit. Others say its community is made up of eccentric, committed people who honor intellectual curiosity and share a social conscience. The object of their esteem is, surprisingly, a radio program. The show is Ideas, now in its twentieth… Continue reading The World According to Ideas

When a corporation goes broke, it declares bankruptcy. Or goes under. Or is “forced to shut its doors.” But when the same thing suddenly happens to a magazine (and the event is usually sudden), people use the words “died” or “was killed.” Which is an odd use of the terms. The people who describe the… Continue reading Requiem for a Magazine

Last January 3, a swarm of reporters scrambled up and down the ski slopes of Banff, Alberta, in pursuit of two Toronto newlyweds. Mr. Justice Samuel G.M. Grange had just delivered his long-awaited report on his inquiry into the 1980 and ’81 baby deaths at the Hospital for Sick Children, one of the most controversial… Continue reading The Grange Ordeal

Bob Barnes stood near Runway 06-R, at what was then known as Toronto International Airport, and watched the DC-3 descend. It was June 22, 1983-the second day of summer-and, though not yet nine in the morning, already hot. Barnes and his maintenance crew had been grading a road near the runway when they stopped to… Continue reading Leaps and Boundaries