I am the son of an Irishman, but I won’t visit my father’s homeland until a man who knows many tough men is safely in his grave. Did I get your attention? You know that there’s a story here and I can tell you most of it. Everything, really, except some names, especially the name… Continue reading Beware the Irishman Bearing Writs
Category: Summer 2008
On Trial
It’s early November and Richard Stursberg is sitting at CBC’s Toronto headquarters in his nicely appointed seventh-floor office, with its leather armchairs, gleaming wooden table, red Persian rug and big flat-screen TV. Dressed today in an olive blazer, green striped shirt and black pants—a much more conservative choice than the lime-green suit he has worn… Continue reading On Trial
The New News Race
Bob Cox likes to run long distances. The last time he ran a marathon, the 2006 Manitoba Marathon, he came in 52nd out of 731, eighth highest in his age division (he was 45 at the time). Lately he’s running just for the exercise, but also to let his mind wander. He tries to leave… Continue reading The New News Race
Investigating Harvey
On an August night in 2007, Luc Lavoie lounges in the shadows on the back patio behind a Montreal old boys’ club. The then-spokesperson for former prime minister Brian Mulroney cuts an ominous figure in the dark, his face half-illuminated by the glow of the club’s lights. He puffs on a cigarette in one hand… Continue reading Investigating Harvey
The Outsider
Chantal Hébert wasn’t ready the first time she arrived at Parliament Hill as a news writer in the fall of 1977. Her press card said Radio-Canada, but amid all the balding, wrinkled white men, she feared she was too much of a “baby face.” She was 23 at the time. “I felt like I suddenly… Continue reading The Outsider