Columns

You can't just go around annexing parts of other countries - well, unless you're a ruthless dictator - nor do I think Justin Trudeau would consider such a move, neither practically nor politically, but, hear me out: Minnesota for Alberta - straight up.

In the grand tradition of fighting for what truly matters, The Chaff would like to draw your attention to a crisis of monumental proportions that has befallen us.

The season changes from summer to autumn, and yet, the wildfires continue to burn in northern Canada and the lower mainland of British Columbia in the worst fire season we have ever experienced.

Use it or lose it, The neverending pandemic, The time to act is now

If a person were to take the time to peruse the listing of landowners in local history books, they might find the repetition of one name in particular.

One of the particularly fulfilling aspects of being the parent of a three-year-old is that she's now become old enough to appreciate things on a new level.

Welcome back to The Chaff, your weekly wander through the weird, wild and wonderful world of whimsy, wantonness, and "We want our money back because The Chaff makes us upset in ways we don't understand."

As I contemplated, on the weekend, what to write this column about, outside on our country acreage the sound of steam whistles at the annual Huron Pioneer Thresher Reunion leaked across the fields.

Disagreeing on disagreement, Make it worthwhile, Ain't no party like a Conservative Party

Lately, there has been a trend on social media, specifically with right-wing conspiracy theorists, of posting mashed-up clips, put together like a news story, in an effort to make an argument.

Despite the best efforts of The Chaff's crack team of chemically unbalanced agents at the Department of Month Prevention, September slipped in sideways and surreptitiously snuck in through August's unsecured backdoor.

Universities and colleges across Canada came back to life last week as thousands of students enrolled for the coming year. Down the road at the University of Western Ontario, 40,000 students moved in.

A thankless job, Off the market, Another day in the sun

There is a saying that when one is getting a bit long in the tooth that they are old as dirt. Well, I am dirt and I am as old as they come.

Not many people could be accused of lumping together the ideas of privilege and protest, but there are some ways in which the two intersect if you really stop and think about it.

Welcome back to The Chaff dear Chaff-olytes. Today we are getting right down to business and not wasting any time.

It's been a historic summer, as forest fires have destroyed more acres of Canada's woodland than at any time in recorded history.

Not the right path, Protect yourself at all times, Local pride in the arts

As a young man interested in literature and the prospect of writing for a living I quickly realized that I was in the wrong place as a student of the high school I attended as a ragamuffin back in Pickering.

Hello there, fellow aficionados of absolutely everything that makes no sense whatsoever!

A bit of the past was recalled last week in a Globe and Mail guest column by Jamie Michaels, an instructor at the University of Calgary's Department of English.

Better safe than sorry, Should you choose to accept it, M(icr)o' plastic, mo' problems

These days, it is very difficult to avoid all the back-to-school hype that is present in advertising and in the retail stores. Have you ever wondered what the case was in the month of August in our yesteryears?

THIS FILM SHOULD BE PLAYED LOUD. That's what greets viewers just seconds after pressing play on The Last Waltz, the Martin Scorsese-directed concert film of the last show The Band ever played.