OVER THE last six months, Canada has attracted more local media attention. For the English-speaking CARICOM countries, Canada is a fellow member of the Commonwealth and a key trading partner in goods and services. It is home to a significant...
On its face, the recent closure of the Chinese-owned car repair garage at Ferry, St Catherine, was a straightforward case of regulatory enforcement. The labour ministry wanted to ascertain that any Chinese employed at the facility had the...
So how many times have you laughed at your parents or grandparents for forgetfully referring to something as a “doohickey”? Trust me you don’t have enough fingers and toes to count. But I bet you didn’t know “doohickey” is a real word. My favourite...
Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) is a non-profit human rights organisation. I joined JFJ because I have a keen interest in human rights and empathise with people who have been abused or treated unfairly by those charged with the responsibility of...
Judging from the legislation Horace Chang listed among his priorities in his address to Parliament last week, it appears that the Government has totally dropped plans for a law allowing judges to issue unexplained wealth orders (UWOs). In fact, the...
In some respects, Peter Dutton was like Donald Trump long before Mr Trump emerged as a force in American politics. In his first election in 2001 for the seat of Dickson in Brisbane, the capital of the Australian state of Queensland, Mr Dutton, the...
An employer’s relationship with its employee shares similar characteristics to a marriage. The underlying parallels for both relationships are fostered on mutual respect, compatibility and an agreement to commit to a prosperous, faithful and...
As the world mourns the loss of Pope Francis, it is time to reflect on his profound impact, not just as the head of the Catholic Church, but as one of the most influential voices in the global environmental movement. From the moment he chose the...
The Government recently unveiled ‘cottage’ homes built by HAJ in the hills of St James and announced improved National Housing Trust (NHT) financing. While visually appealing and a welcome step, they don’t address the real crisis, Jamaica’s massive...
At the Grade 7 Academy we had Easter School for those students whose progress in literacy and numeracy require special attention. The regular teachers understandably pleaded fatigue, so four experienced volunteer instructors gave the children the...
It would be good indeed if the number of murders in Jamaica this year fell below 800, as the security minister, Horace Chang, noted was possible, given the current trend lines. While Dr Chang suggested that this figure would be a “historic low” for...
“Knowledge send us Heavenly Father…” In matters of public affairs, we tend to place great emphasis on the side of secrecy. In most situations, government ministers are bound to secrecy in the discussion of Cabinet matters. Similarly, civil...
The Old International Economic Order, which emerged after World War II with the United States of America as the fulcrum, has been permanently fractured. The fracture has become most visible in the World Trading System (WTO) with President Trump’s...
Black and blue are usually the evidence of one’s losing a fist fight. Last Tuesday, as my alma mater St George’s College kicked its 175th anniversary celebrations into high gear, it was exciting to see full displays of blue. Unfortunately, the...
It was Saturday on the Easter Holiday weekend. Joan and I decided to take the scenic route from Kingston, through places like Spanish Town, the Bog Walk Gorge, Bog Walk, Linstead, Ewarton, over the mountains, Moneague, Walker’s Wood, then through...
Even before I ended up at Carlton University, Canada, one of my favourite writers was the great Canadian humourist, Stephen Leacock. What I liked most, even then, was what Stephen Leacock said about himself, “I am a great believer in luck, and I...
Across the nations of the Americas, a silent emergency is suffocating hope, stealing futures, and exacting an unbearable toll on lives lost and potential squandered. That “silent emergency” is a mental health crisis which is growing, unrelenting,...
In the face of the uncertainties caused by Donald Trump’s tariff war against the world, a little noted domestic development may offer one potential path for Jamaica to navigate the crisis. Last week, the Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory...
I wore black on Tuesday. I wore black because I support the police, and am appalled at how their reputation is being damaged by the appearance that they are using excessive force in the execution of their duties. No Jamaican that desires social...
By now, good sense, we hope, has prevailed and Colleen Lowe, the clerk to the Houses of Parliament, has withdrawn her threat of disciplinary action against staff who come to work with hickeys. They would be sent home, Ms Lowe said in an internal...
For centuries the Third World has endured an unbroken entanglement of subjugation at the hands of Western Empires. Otherwise said, the chronicle of servitude has culminated in modern day pillaging to which Cuba is no exception. Prior to the...
This newspaper welcomes Chief Justice Bryan Sykes’ announcement last week of the judiciary’s intention to live stream court cases. We, however, look forward to further and better particulars of how the process will work, especially how decisions...
LAST WEEK, while scrolling mindlessly through yet another Instagram feed, I came across a story on something quite interesting coming out of the good old US of A. Among the conspiracy theories, bad spelling, and daily prayer chains, a Washington...
THE YEARS-LONG road to the rehabilitation of the Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) has been paved with challenges, coupled with periodic criticisms from some quarters, and, in particular, from those without a firm grasp of the precise scale of the...
It is not yet clear about all the lessons that other countries should learn from Canada’s election on Monday, which gave the Liberals a fourth consecutive term in government. But one obvious takeaway should not be lost on the United States and the...
