Two hundred kilometres northwest of Toronto, the century old farms of Grey County are tucked into the lovely rolling hills overlooking Queen’s Valley. This gentle landscape is the view Michael Valpy sees from his farmhouse. For 20 years Valpy, The Globe and Mail’s urban affairs columnist, has fled to this tranquil place as often as… Continue reading The True Grit of Michael Valpy
Fate of a Feminist Press
Inside a converted stable in Toronto’s west end, three women huddle over an old wooden table. This is the office where the Women’s Healthsharing collective produces its quarterly feminist health magazine. Susan Elliott, a collective member since 1985, sits with two volunteers, engrossed in a discussion of the design and placement of two appeals that… Continue reading Fate of a Feminist Press
Conflict of Interests
If the first duty of a journalist is to serve the public interest by uncovering the truth, then Alan Story, an investigative reporter for The Toronto Star, had done his job well. Last spring, his startling accounts of corruption in the Metropolitan Toronto Police force led directly to the creation of a public inquiry into… Continue reading Conflict of Interests
Showtime for Science
Every thing about the clamor for a new particle accelerator by physicists at the University of British Columbia appealed to the reporter in Eve Savory. The accelerator would produce subatomic particles – kaons, which have important medical and industrial uses-in unprecedented quantities. The kaon factory story, Savory tried to explain to her supervisors at the… Continue reading Showtime for Science
Out of the Shadows
The crew at CBC television’s Studio 6 in Toronto is preparing for the next show-switching on hot overhead lights, adjusting furniture, positioning cameras. “Any more wheelchairs coming in?” someone shouts from the shadows. “If so, you’d better move your car, Joe.” Joe Coughlin, one of the hosts, leans on a crutch, fishes in his pocket… Continue reading Out of the Shadows
