The Canadian Dissident

Exhibit at the University of Alberta Rutherford Library, March 3, 2023 The University of Alberta is hosting a small exhibit honouring students who were killed in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Called " Unissued Diplomas ," the exhibit is also on display at the University of Toronto and Saint Mary's University in Halifax. The display includes pictures and short biographies of dozens of university and college students killed in Ukraine since February 2022. Some students enrolled in the military after Russia's invasion and were killed in action. Some were civilians killed in their homes by artillery strikes. Some were trapped under buildings or struck by shrapnel. Most of the students pictured were in their early 20s, but some were as young as 17 when they were killed. The exhibit is co-organized by the Ukrainian Canadian Students’ Union.  It is on display at the University of Alberta Rutherford Library until March 10. 

Everyone who takes public transit in Edmonton is used to seeing homeless people sleeping on the bus, camping out in train stations, smoking, injecting drugs, yelling incoherently, and asking passengers for money. The same scenes play out in every major city across Canada, from Vancouver to Halifax. In Edmonton, the number of  homeless people doubled during the pandemic. The number of amputations for frostbite also doubled. People obviously don't live in train stations for fun. They have nowhere else to go. The days of blaming people for their own lack of housing are over.  Between high housing prices, inflation, years of covid restrictions, and unemployment, it's no wonder so many Canadians have become homeless. The City of Edmonton tolerates (and sometimes endorses) the use of downtown stations as informal homeless shelters. City councilors and politicians of all stripes are okay with people living, sleeping, and freezing in transit facilities. Why? Because politicians don&#

2022 was a momentous year for Canada, with political turmoil, provincial elections in Ontario and Quebec, new premiers in BC and Alberta, and the lifting of covid-19 restrictions that had been in effect across the country for over two years. In January the Truckers for Freedom Convoy headed for Ottawa, and by February it was no longer possible to deny that millions of Canadians were fed up with the government's long-standing covid-19 restrictions. Vaccine mandates and other restrictions were gradually lifted  province by province , with the federal government eventually following the provinces' lead at long last. The return to normal life is arguably the biggest story of the year, but it was quickly overshadowed by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in late February. Millions of Ukrainians fled the country, including over 100,000 who arrived in Canada this year. The Canadian government has pledged  over $1 billion of military aid to Ukraine. The war has also highlig

Hidden in the basement of the Earth Sciences Building at the University of Alberta are an array of dinosaurs: Gorgosaurus, Stegoceras, and Pachycephalosaurus, to name just a few. The University of Alberta's museums are free and open to all, but due to nonexistent advertising and limited hours, they sit empty and silent most days. The Earth Sciences Building is home to two small but impressive museums. The Paleontology Museum showcases a variety of fossils, including dinosaurs, trilobites (cute little sea bugs that went extinct 251 million years ago), and the huge sea monster Dunkleosteus (pictured below).  If you've ever wanted to touch dinosaur bones, this is your chance! There's a table of fossils you can touch, including a dinosaur leg bone. Just down the hall is the Mineralogy and Petrology Museum , home to a large collection of rocks and minerals. Over 1000 specimens are on display, from diamonds to meteorites. The dinosaurs are probably the most popular exhibit at th