In Our Opinion : More Than 100 Years of Great Canadian Newspaper Editorials

by Sellar, Don

• ISBN13: 9781550419870
• ISBN10: 1550419870
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-09-26
• Publisher: Ingram Pub Services

Summary

The dictionary defines them as "a newspaper article written by, on behalf of, or under the direct responsibility of an editor, especially one giving an opinion on a topical issue". New York Post columnist Murray Kempton described the writers behind them as "the people who come down from the hills after the battle to shoot the wounded".Newspaper editorials are as sober, passionate, insightful, witty and often as nutty as the writers who pen them, says veteran journalist Don Sellarin his introduction to this entertaining and thought-provoking collection of 175 editorials published in Canadian newspapers since the early 1890s. Whether railing against taxes and the horrors of war, mourning the death of Queen Victoria, lecturing the government of the day, pondering the future of lacrosse in 1895, or celebrating Brad Richards, "the pride of Murray Harbour," when the star centre of the Tampa Bay Lightning brought the Stanley Cup home to Prince Edward Island in 2004, editorials are the voices and personalities of our newspapers from coast to coast. Triggering letters of approval or the wrath of readers, the editorials in this engaging collection project the moods in newsrooms from St. John's to Victoria over the last 115 years, occasionally reflecting the bias, ignorance or bigotry of their day. They are, in fact, a guided tour of the passion, anger, and occasionally the downright silly opinions that have found their way onto Canadian editorial pages throughout our history.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. xix
Acknowledgments	p. xxvi
An Anniversary Medley
The Nineteenth Century, The Regina Leader, December 27, 1900	p. 1
The New Century and its Problems, The Toronto Globe, January 1, 1901	p. 4
Dieppe, August 19, The Winnipeg Tribune, August 18, 1945	p. 5
Expo - A Chance to See the Whole World, The Montreal Gazette, April 28, 1967	p. 6
The Canadian Spirit, The Toronto Telegram, July 1, 1967	p. 7
Ready for Viking 1000?, The St. John's Evening Telegram, July 5, 1997	p. 10
The Millennium Dawns, The Edmonton Journal, December 31, 1999	p. 12
Brave New World of Cyberspace, The Toronto Star, April 27, 2003	p. 14
Canada in 2020: A Changed Nation, The Toronto Star, July 1, 2005	p. 16
Farewells
Death of the Queen, The Regina Leader, January 24, 1901	p. 19
Sir Frederick Banting, The Ottawa Evening Citizen, February 26, 1941	p. 21
Nellie McClung, The Winnipeg Tribune, September 4, 1951	p. 22
Miss Jennie Webster, O.B.E., The Montreal Gazette, October 17, 1952	p. 23
Farewell, Charlotte, The Ottawa Citizen, January 27, 1975	p. 24
Terry Fox, The Vancouver Sun, June 29, 1981	p. 25
Glenn Gould, The Globe and Mail, October 5, 1982	p. 26
Margaret Laurence, Literary Giant, The Peterborough Examiner, January 7, 1987	p. 28
Harold Ballard, The Toronto Star, April 12, 1990	p. 29
Bill Reid's Vision, The Toronto Star, March 18, 1998	p. 30
Richard's Legacy, The Montreal Gazette, May 31, 2000	p. 31
Pierre Trudeau, 1919-2000, The Montreal Gazette, September 29, 2000	p. 33
Rosemary Brown Made History, The Toronto Star, April 29, 2003	p. 35
True North
Canada is All Right, The Windsor Evening Record, July 11, 1900	p. 37
The Statute of Westminster, The Toronto Daily Star, November 30, 1931	p. 38
The Flag, The Calgary Herald, May 22, 1965	p. 40
Feelings of Mixed Peoples, The Montreal Gazette, November 19, 1976	p. 41
From Sea unto Sea, The Edmonton Journal, May 21, 1980	p. 43
Our Arctic, The Edmonton Journal, August 3, 1984	p. 45
The Myth of Canadian Diversity, The Globe and Mail, June 13, 1994	p. 46
Don't Let It Crumble, The National Post, September 10, 2001	p. 48
Not Our Proudest Moments
The Chinamen, The Calgary Daily Herald, August 5, 1892	p. 51
Keep the Tricolour Off It, The Toronto Evening Star, July 3, 1895	p. 54
Ottawa and the Eskimo Tribes, The Toronto Evening Star, November 6, 1923	p. 54
Are General Morals Relaxing?, The Montreal Gazette, Januray 24, 1950	p. 56
Bring Back the Reindeer, The Montreal Gazette, October 31, 1952	p. 57
The Lost People, The Toronto Telegram, December 18, 1962	p. 59
Trial Exposes Hate Law, The Calgary Herald, July 21, 1985	p. 60
Making Amends, The Toronto Star, January 17, 1992	p. 62
Rob Anders Shamed Himself, The Edmonton Journal, June 9, 2001	p. 63
The Welcome Mat
Valuable Settlers, The Windsor Evening Record, May 15, 1900	p. 65
The East India Question, The Vancouver Sun, May 30, 1912	p. 66
The Plight of Japanese-Canadians, The Toronto Daily Star, August 7, 1945	p. 67
Unrestricted Movement for All, The Montreal Gazette, November 26, 1976	p. 69
Don't Nix Nannies, The Vancouver Sun, December 21, 1991	p. 71
We Can't Let our Population Stagnate, The Charlottetown Guardian, March 16, 2002	p. 71
Opening Our Eyes - Slowly
The Mormons, The Calgary Daily Herald, January 19, 1898	p. 73
Northern Example, The Toronto Globe, August 19, 1935	p. 74
Pardon, M'sieur, The Toronto Telegram, December 3, 1962	p. 75
Racism: It's Time it was Confronted, The Toronto Star, January 17, 1989	p. 77
Colour-Blind Justice, The Vancouver Sun, December 27, 1991	p. 78
Remember What You Fought For, The Globe and Mail, June 2, 1994	p. 79
Same-Sex, Same Old Story, The Globe and Mail, June 10, 1994	p. 80
Canada's Top Ranking Conceals Hardship, The Toronto Star, July 13, 1999	p. 82
Let the People Go, The Winnipeg Free Press, November 6, 2005	p. 84
On The Subject Of Women
Women Enfranchised, The Winnipeg Evening Tribune, January 28, 1916	p. 87
The "Persons" Case, The Toronto Evening Star, October 22, 1929	p. 88
Varied Roles, The Toronto Daily Star, July 19, 1937	p. 89
Employed and Married, The Hamilton Spectator, November 10, 1938	p. 90
"How I am Stuck on it All", The Montreal Gazette, October 3, 1952	p. 91
A Public Act of Violence, The Toronto Star, September 18, 1986	p. 92
Equal Exposure, The Toronto Star, November 25, 1991	p. 93
A Twinkle in the Sky, The Edmonton Journal, January 23, 1992	p. 95
A Judicious Appointment, The Vancouver Sun, November 5, 1999	p. 96
Slow News Day
The Nuisance of Tips, The Toronto Evening Star, August 10, 1895	p. 97
Cattle and Customs, The Regina Leader, May 23, 1901	p. 98
How to Address Royalty, The Regina Leader, September 26, 1901	p. 99
The Age of Cake and Cackle, The Halifax Herald, March 24, 1920	p. 100
He Ran with the Ball, The Toronto Evening Star, November 19, 1923	p. 101
Mystery Upon Mystery, The Victoria Daily Times, May 4, 1929	p. 102
Silk Hats, etc., The Regina Leader, November 3, 1932	p. 103
Leave the Rooster Alone, The Toronto Globe, July 30, 1935	p. 104
Jeeves, Will You Please Carry On, The Montreal Gazette, October 15, 1952	p. 105
A Sneer for Mona, The Toronto Telegram, December 15, 1962	p. 107
Ingathering Time, The Saint John Telegraph Journal, October 19, 1981	p. 108
The Next Generation
Air Guns, The Windsor Evening Record, April 6, 1900	p. 109
A Public Bathing Place, The Windsor Evening Record, May 15, 1900	p. 110
Happiness and Success, The Victoria Daily Times, May 3, 1929	p. 110
The Magnetic Quintuplets, The Toronto Globe, July 30, 1935	p. 112
Unfair to Themselves, The Hamilton Spectator, November 5, 1938	p. 113
Young Canadians and the U.S.?, The Montreal Gazette, October 8, 1952	p. 114
There Should be More Halloweens, The Montreal Gazette, October 28, 1952	p. 115
Don't be an "Academic Dumpling", The London Free Press, September 27, 1958	p. 116
Barring the Beatles, The Calgary Herald, May 28, 1965	p. 118
Teach, Don't Preach, The Edmonton Journal, May 31, 1980	p. 118
Dealing with Young Offenders, The Globe and Mail, June 3, 1994	p. 119
Searching for Education, The St. John's Evening Telegram, July 16, 1997	p. 121
Good Behaviour in the Stands, The Charlottetown Guardian, March 5, 2002	p. 122
War
The Bayonet, The Hamilton Spectator, February 8, 1900	p. 125
Canada and Conscription, The Victoria Daily Times, May 6, 1929	p. 126
A Chance for Hitler?, The Regina Leader, November 25, 1932	p. 127
War in Art, The Ottawa Evening Citizen, February 24, 1941	p. 128
Crusade Berlin, The Vancouver Sun, June 6, 1944	p. 129
Victories of Peace, The Toronto Telegram, October 15, 1957	p. 132
What They Died for in Normandy, The Globe and Mail, June 7, 1994	p. 134
Canada's Iraq Policy: Inconsistency, Ho!, The Globe and Mail, March 19, 2003	p. 136
Afghanistan 2006, The Globe and Mail, May 19, 2006	p. 138
War Memorial Outrage, The Toronto Star, July 5, 2006	p. 139
Havoc, Home and Away
The Great Fire, The Hamilton Spectator, April 27, 1900	p. 141
Halifax Will Rise Again!, The Halifax Herald, December 12, 1917	p. 143
The Blast Heard Around the World, The Winnipeg Tribune, August 7, 1945	p. 145
Taking Care of Our Own, The Toronto Daily Star, May 10, 1950	p. 147
Who Will Help Rwanda?, The Globe and Mail, June 8, 1994	p. 148
Death in the Morning, The National Post, September 12, 2001	p. 150
Workers of the World Unite
The Irrepressible Conflict, The Toronto Globe, March 14, 1892	p. 153
Punch Clock Absurdity, The Vancouver Sun, June 30, 1912	p. 154
The Winnipeg Dispute, The Ottawa Citizen, May 20, 1919	p. 156
Letter Carriers Threaten, The Halifax Herald, January 28, 1920	p. 157
Insurance for Jobless, The Regina Leader, November 17, 1932	p. 158
Settlement or Strife, The Toronto Globe, July 3, 1935	p. 159
The Forgotten Unemployed, The Toronto Globe, August 5, 1935	p. 160
"On-to-Ottawa", The Toronto Globe, August 12, 1935	p. 161
Labour Day, 1981, The Saint John Telegraph Journal, September 7, 1981	p. 162
Big Mac Attack, The Montreal Gazette, March 24, 1998	p. 164
Ensuring Safety on Our Farms, The Charlottetown Guardian, March 6, 2002	p. 165
Balancing the Scales of Justice
Education and Crime, The Toronto Globe, February 10, 1892	p. 167
To Check Suicide, The Toronto Evening Star, July 29, 1895	p. 170
Carrying Concealed Weapons, The Vancouver Sun, May 16, 1912	p. 170
A Too Expensive Legal System, The London Free Press, February 1, 1919	p. 171
Too Many Guns, The Toronto Telegram, December 6, 1962	p. 173
Punishment and Crime, The Toronto Telegram, December 11, 1962	p. 174
Prison Reform, The Ottawa Citizen, July 9, 1976	p. 175
Shattering the Silence, The Globe and Mail, September 23, 1992	p. 176
Is It Just?, The Hamilton Spectator, July 8, 1993	p. 177
Sad Death of Discretion, The National Post, September 1, 2001	p. 178
Doing Justice, The Winnipeg Free Press, February 23, 2004	p. 180
Sport
The Future of Lacrosse, The Toronto Evening Star, August 7, 1895	p. 183
Bluenose: "Her Honours Gathered, Her Duty Done", The Halifax Herald, February 1, 1946	p. 184
The Old Western Spirit Still Lives, The Calgary Herald, November 29, 1948	p. 185
The Champion, The Toronto Telegram, June 22, 1964	p. 187
That's Our Nancy, The Ottawa Citizen, February 16, 1968	p. 188
Team Canada Win brings National Joy, The Windsor Star, September 27, 1972	p. 188
Goodbye Wayne Gretzky, The Edmonton Journal, August 10, 1988	p. 189
Champion Jays Make History, The Toronto Star, October 26, 1992	p. 191
Weekend of Champions, The Globe and Mail, April 15, 2003	p. 192
Bringing the Cup Back Home, The Charlottetown Guardian, August 4, 2004	p. 193
The Great Outdoors
Tree Planting, The Regina Leader, May 2, 1901	p. 195
In Defiance of Authority, The Toronto Evening Star, November 2, 1923	p. 196
Unchanging Weather, The Regina Leader, December 12, 1932	p. 197
Great Dog, The Toronto Daily Star, August 3, 1945	p. 198
Will Five Wrongs Make a Right?, The Montreal Gazette, October 29, 1952	p. 199
Smog over Metro, The Toronto Telegram, December 7, 1962	p. 200
On Wings Of Sound, The Toronto Telegram, December 12, 1962	p. 201
Nuclear Waste, The Montreal Star, September 21, 1979	p. 202
Golden Day, The Saint John Telegraph Journal, September 14, 1981	p. 203
No Time for Atmospheric Idleness, The Regina Leader-Post, February 16, 1989	p. 204
Another Cod Disaster in the Making?, The St. John's Evening Telegraph, July 12, 1997	p. 205
Kyoto Deal Fragile, The Edmonton Journal, December 12, 1997	p. 206
Across This Great Land
The Baggage Smasher, The Toronto Evening Star, August 7, 1895	p. 209
Calgary's Possibilities, The Calgary Daily Herald, January 15, 1898	p. 210
Danger for the Bicyclist, The Hamilton Spectator, April 23, 1900	p. 211
A Giant Canal Scheme, The London Free Press, March 31, 1919	p. 212
Suggestions for Establishing Aerodromes, The Halifax Herald, February 28, 1920	p. 213
Getting Out of Town, The Toronto Evening Star, November 28, 1923	p. 214
The New Air Service, The Calgary Herald, March 5, 1938	p. 215
Driving Tests a Good Idea, The Montreal Gazette, October 6, 1952	p. 216
Flying Saucers, Chunks of Sputnik, and Radio-Active Fallout, The London Free Press, September 15, 1958	p. 217
Cabinet Makes Wise Decision on Avro Air Defence, The London Free Press, September 25, 1958	p. 218
Trans-Canada Not Enough, The Calgary Herald, September 5, 1962	p. 219
Walking Weather, The Saint John Telegraph Journal, September 21, 1981	p. 220
Vanishing Railways, The Saint John Telegraph Journal, October 5, 1981	p. 221
Good Old Days of Flu, Cholera, and Hasty Burials
The Grip, The Toronto Globe, January 16, 1892	p. 223
Preventable Disease in Toronto, The Toronto Globe, February 24, 1892	p. 225
Danger!, The Calgary Daily Herald, April 5, 1898	p. 227
Are People Buried Alive?, The Hamilton Spectator, January 22, 1900	p. 228
Government Quaratine, The Windsor Evening Record, April 21, 1900	p. 230
The Milk Supply, The Vancouver Sun, June 12, 1912	p. 231
Here's to Better Health
Cleaner Paper Money, The Vancouver Sun, May 13, 1912	p. 233
State Insurance, The Toronto Evening Star, November 13, 1923	p. 234
Smoking Ban, The Calgary Herald, December 22, 1965	p. 235
Saving Medicare, The Montreal Star, September 19, 1979	p. 236
E. Coli Tragedy was Preventable, The Toronto Star, May 26, 2000	p. 237
Toronto Can Curb SARS Damage, The Toronto Star, April 24, 2003	p. 239
Sober Advice
Manitoba Prohibition, The Windsor Evening Record, June 4, 1900	p. 241
The "Art of Drinking", The Regina Leader, December 10, 1932	p. 242
Penalties for Drug Peddlers, The Winnipeg Tribune, September 3, 1951	p. 243
Who Poisoned the Highball?, The Vancouver Sun, May 3, 1955	p. 244
The Spirit is Fine, but the Law Won't Work, The Globe and Mail, April 22, 1967	p. 245
Prescription for Alcoholism, The Saint John Telegraph Journal, September 9, 1981	p. 247
Transplants without Prejudice, The Toronto Star, May 27, 1990	p. 248
Decriminalize Marijuana, The Toronto Star, April 18, 1993	p. 249
Roadside Checks Still Have Their Place, The Peterborough Examiner, January 3, 1995	p. 251
Getting Close to Home
The Latest in Red Tape, The Toronto Evening Star, July 3, 1895	p. 253
A Busy City, The Calgary Daily Herald, April 4, 1898	p. 254
Write It, Alberta, The Calgary Daily Herald, April 23, 1898	p. 255
Hardships of Hawker's By-Law, The Windsor Evening Record, June 15, 1900	p. 255
A Mayor's Manners, The Toronto Globe, July 30, 1935	p. 256
Why was the Home Closed?, The Saint John Telegraph Journal, September 16, 1981	p. 257
Heart of a City, The Saint John Telegraph Journal, October 21, 1981	p. 258
Disclosure Rules, The Peterborough Examiner, January 9, 1995	p. 259
Taking a Stand
An Asylum for Eastern Harlots?, The Calgary Herald, March 5, 1884	p. 261
Out of Joint, The Calgary Daily Herald, May 28, 1898	p. 262
Ugly Toronto, The London Free Press, September 9, 1958	p. 264
End the Sunday Sham, The Globe and Mail, December 1, 1938	p. 264
Sinners All, The Toronto Telegram, December 7, 1962	p. 265
Stop Sniggering, The Toronto Telegram, December 17, 1962	p. 266
Hardship? Humbug, The Toronto Telegram, December 20, 1962	p. 267
You Must!, The Calgary Herald, May 13, 1969	p. 269
The Lottery Drug, The Montreal Star, September 17, 1979	p. 271
Even Those Who Err Must Have Their Say, The Regina Leader-Post, February 17, 1989	p. 272
Alberta's Gamble, The Globe and Mail, March 10, 1998	p. 273
Inside The Fourth Estate
Yellow Journalism, The Calgary Daily Herald, April 15, 1898	p. 275
The Fogogram, The Toronto Evening Star, November 6, 1923	p. 278
Newspapermen, The Toronto Globe, August 31, 1935	p. 279
Douglas Social Credit, The Calgary Herald, October 5, 1937	p. 280
Star Continues to See Red, The Globe and Mail, December 9, 1938	p. 282
Abuse and Neglect of Duty, The Vancouver Sun, May 14, 1955	p. 283
Is a Story Itself the News?, The Vancouver Sun, June 29, 1981	p. 284
Earnest Press, The Toronto Star, March 9, 1983	p. 286
Let the Public Judge, The Globe and Mail, October 10, 1991	p. 287
Improved Journalism is in National Interest, The Toronto Star, June 25, 2006	p. 289
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.