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June 04, 2013
  Northern Sprites: The real problem with women in techPDF files may take a moment to load

Women are vastly underrepresented in the tech industry, making up only about 25 per cent of the information and communications technology employees in Canada — even though over half of the country’s workforce are women. This disparity has been noted by The Chic Geek, a new Calgarian organization that aims to increase the number of women in the tech industry.

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May 19, 2013
  Northern Sprites: The two faces of video gamesPDF files may take a moment to load

Even to a person who is familiar with video games the list of speakers at this year’s Ottawa International Game Conference could seem perplexing. Looking down the list, one can find that for every independent, bearded artist there are half a dozen suit-clad marketing gurus — with a few nerdy programmers sitting awkwardly between those two vastly different groups. People this different can’t possibly be representative of the same industry, can they?

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April 14, 2011
  Just another pick-up linePDF files may take a moment to load

Take one quick look at the campaign trail and you'll find a smorgasbord of promises designed to attract the largest variety of voters possible. Voter apathy is a problem at all levels of government in Canada and abroad, so politicians have responded by passing out one-liners. I don't doubt that they plan to keep these promises (as much as any politician intends to) but they only focus on one issue. I see it like a pick-up line at a bar or an attractive feature at a university: something to catch my attention, but nothing more.

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April 07, 2011
  This election is not a two-way racePDF files may take a moment to load

In 1997, as vice-president of the Citizens' National Coalition, Stephen Harper delivered a speech belittling the divided and regionalistic Canadian political system and implicitly fawning over the two-party system of the United States. Harper's views have hardly changed since then ­­-- he spent the first week of the election laying out a choice between a Conservative parliament and a nonexistent coalition. This time, however, Harper was hardly the only culprit in propagating a "two-way race" theme.

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March 31, 2011
  Coalition talk is distractingPDF files may take a moment to load

As we all know by now, a federal election campaign is currently under way. So far this campaign has been dominated by talk of "coalitions," that scary sounding word and frightening political circumstance that, ever since 2008, has haunted the nightmares of every Canadian.

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March 31, 2011
  Feces? GrossPDF files may take a moment to load

Having grown up in rural Alberta, I have been witness to numerous attempts by eccentric country-folk in starting up "zoos." This strange phenomenon was often unsettling and left me with uncomfortable emotions toward the unnecessary containment of non-livestock animals. However, the cages and pens of GuZoo Zoo-- located out on the prairies just a few kilometres north of Three Hills, or an hour and a half from the steel cages and concrete pens of downtown Calgary-- are an exception.

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March 10, 2011
  Harper is bad for our democracyPDF files may take a moment to load

With a federal election likely occurring soon, now is a good time to reflect on the impact of the five years of Stephen Harper's leadership. There is no shortage of material for such an inquiry, but right now one thing in particular comes to mind: the negative impact his government has had on our democracy.

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February 03, 2011
  Quebec multiculturalismPDF files may take a moment to load

Canada is multicultural in law and practice. As long as your language, culture or religious beliefs do not harm another individual, they are welcome here. Yet the province that always appears to be the exception maintains its notoriety. Parti Quebecois spokeswoman Louise Beaudoin recently stated that "multiculturalism may be a Canadian value, but it is not a Quebec one." And she is right, in practice and law. Multiculturalism is entrenched in the Canadian Constitution which Quebec did not sign.

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January 20, 2011
  The Liberal Party needs a real planPDF files may take a moment to load

Campaigning has started for our next federal election and Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff is showing us his true colours. This spring, the opposition will probably send us to the polls by not supporting the budget being released in March by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. Currently, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has a seven point lead over Ignatieff in the latest EKOS poll. In an attempt to make up this deficit, Ignatieff has released a 12-page campaign report appealing to the non-partisan voting population.

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