My Journey by Olivia Chow

When I heard that Olivia Chow was running for mayor of Toronto, I decided not to put off reading her memoir any longer. On an accidental trip to the bookstore a couple weeks ago (I say accidental because although I was stuck at the mall waiting for a bus to come, I had no intention of entering a book store or purchasing books) I grabbed this off the shelf, along with a volume of Alice Munro's short stories, and John English biography about Pierre Trudeau. I think My Journey is definitely my favourite of the three.

Olivia Chow portrays herself just as I've perceived her in the past. She appears compassionate, strong, and full of inward beauty. When she finds a cause she gets behind it with great discipline. She's a woman with the kind of work ethic and charisma that many a young woman would like to be like. Young women in Canada have few female political role-models to look up, but Olivia is one of the few.

When a took a course in comparative political economy last term, I was made aware of the problems caused by inadequate childcare programs and so I was quite interested by Olivia's discussion of the issue in this book. The fact is, if affordable childcare is not available, then women with young children cannot work, as they must devote their time to looking after their children. If the majority of a working mother's salary goes towards childcare and there is not enough left for her and her children to live on, then it is impossible to survive, and in many cases women wind up staying home. If they are single mothers with no other avenues of support, they take welfare. As a woman--as a Canadian, I find this problematic. I was quite pleased that a woman with as loud of a voice as Olivia Chow takes the issue to heart.

There's so much I could write about My Journey but I won't, because I wouldn't want to spoil the book for prospective readers. Regardless of whether you're an NDP supporter or not, or whether you're even Canadian or have an interest in Canadian politics, Olivia Chow's memoir is a great example of what it means to devote your life to other people's lives and to building a better society.

One Canada: Memoirs of the Right Honourable John G. Diffenbaker

I thought I would take the opportunity to share this trio of books on former Prime Minister Dieffenbaker. I picked them up at a thrift store bag sale over a year ago and recently pulled them from the bottom of a shelf and dusted them off. A great deal of my reading has involved Canadian politics as of late and so these three volumes are high on my to-read list.

The Longer I'm Prime Minister: Steven Harper and Canada, 2006-- (Paul Wells)

Two days ago I was about fifty pages into this book and I hadn't touched it in over a month. Today, I'm done, after a marathon day of reading yesterday and an hour or so spent reading this morning. I wanted to finish it last night, but midnight came and went and I had an early bus to catch in the morning.

I had my reservations about reading The Longer I'm Prime Minister because I knew it was about Harper. I was afraid it would one of those "lovey-dovey" books in which the author sings the praises of the Conservative leader and tells us why Conservatives are the only ones who had safely see Canada into through the next century. I was pleasantly surprised when Paul Wells began to critique Harper. However, Wells wasn't tipping his hat in the direction of any other party. He was just as hard on the Liberals, Bloc and NDP.

Perhaps it is because I am a political science major, but I read through this book with the same hunger and suspense that many readers devour romance novels, YA fiction, or thrillers. Of course I already knew the narrative, having lived through a great deal of it from the time my political awareness began in about 2008 up until 2013, when the book was published.

Overall, I was quite satisfied with Paul Well's analysis of the Conservative Party and of the last decade or so. The part that gives me chills is the way in which Harper's government has endeavored to decentralize and privatize Canada. I am concerned by the a government that places corporations and their profits before social programs and the environment.

I wish I could vote right now for a new government. After all, I didn't pick Harper. I didn't even have a say last time around.

The Fiddlehead: Atlantic Canada's International Literary Journal No.258 Winter 2014

I finally read my first issue of "The Fiddlehead." The Winter issue arrived more than a month ago, but somehow it shifted from the top of my dresser, to my desk, to the top of my record player, back to the desk and then onto the dresser again before I finally threw it my book bag this morning just before I caught the bus into the city for class. I subscribed in January and have to say I'm quite impressed with my first issue. "The Fiddlehead" is a quarterly literary publication, which is more of a book than a magazine. Over my bus rides and the moments I had before my class on foreign policy began, I read through the whole issue, all 100+ pages.

I could go into detail about every poem and short story in the issue, but I won't as that would take a very long time. I will say that I was impressed by the opener to the issue, a short story titled "The Disaster Equation" by Jane Rogers about a small group which encounters a number of misfortunes aboard a boat and a poem titled "Me the Man in a Hurry" by Alberto Rios, a collection of humorous lines about not wanting to pass a woman on the sidewalk in a small town.

I look forward to the remaining three volumes of my subscription to "The Fiddlehead" and would recommend the literary journal to readers of literature in any country.

The Lady in the Looking-Glass: A Reflection (Virginia Wolf)

As much as I would like to write this without giving away the ending to Wolf's short story, I cannot. I will spoil the ending only in part. Things are not what they seem within the mirror. The narrator has a rather overactive imagination as he or she describes the woman seen within the looking-glass.

Although I read this story for a class, I feel the need to write about it. It struck me, not because Wolf's style is particularly unique or because she can turn a phrase like no other writer, but because she latched onto the idea that if we are looking at a person or a thing indirectly, there is a good chance that person or thing is not what we believe them to be; we see only distortion.

We spend most of our lives gazing at the reflections of things rather than at the thing itself. Quite often the media serves as our looking-glass through which we view the world. At times we allow our politicians and corporations to fill this role.

"The Lady in the Looking-Glass" is my first taste of Virginia Wolf, but the degree to which her short story has caused me to think, makes me certain it will not be my last taste of Virginia Wolf.

Yesterday the children were dancing, by Gratien Gelinas (a play)

Yesterday the Children Were Dancing by Gratien Galinas is one the best pieces of Canadian literature I've read. I first picked up the play a little over two years ago, after finding a copy in a paper recycling dumpster. At the time, I had just begun to explore French-Canadian history and Canadian literature.

The play offers a vivid and emotionally impacting snapshot of Quebec during the early 1960's, a time when a small number of separatists escalated to violence. I loved it on my first read and every read afterwards. Although it's been a while since I've read the book, I was reminded of it today and wanted to share it. Copies are hard to find, but finding one is worth it.

Canada ... Notwithstanding (Romanow, Whyte, Leeson)

The notwithstanding clause, also known as section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms allows any provincial government to override significant portions of the charter if they so choose to. The notwithstanding clause was one of the deciding factors that helped to seal the deal between the provinces and the federal government for repatriation and amendments to Canada's Constitution--the British North America Act--after years of negotiation. The deal also included an entrenched bill of rights.

I picked up this book, Canada Notwithstanding as preparation for a term paper I intend to write on section 33 of the charter for a Canadian politics class and have to say, I really enjoyed it.  Digging further into the negotiations which occurred in the years leading up to 1982 takes me back a few years to a spring and winter in which I read about Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and the constitutional amendments. After reading this book, however, I realize how limited my knowledge on the subject was. There is a significant difference between reading modern sweeping accounts of the events of the late seventies and early eighties, or reading a few textbook chapters and digging into a work like this one, published in 1984 when the Charter was fresh and the events were recent. 

Canada Notwithstanding is a dense book, suitable for devoted readers of political science and academics. It is, by no means, beach chair reading. Although, I'd read it on a beach, but I've read Crime and Punishment on a beach, so perhaps I'm not the best judge. But, as I said, the book is dense. The authors outline the years 1976-1982, giving vast detail on each stage and each meeting, while also managing to provide snapshots of provincial policy and barriers to negotiations. In the end, what I want to do is read more about the Quiet Revolution. Sometimes we never know which subjects we lack learning it until we encounter them in the midst of something out. I have only the bare bones of the Quiet Revolution in Quebec and so, perhaps, the subject matter will be part of my summer reading. I encourage any Canadian, or interested reader, to dig into not only this book, but many other books tackling Canada's constitution. It truly is a unique and interesting subject. The issues of the Charter and Constitution are still with us today.