Editorials - Aug. 8, 2025
Survivor
A University of Guelph professor and his colleagues have recently published a paper calling for an international conservation strategy to save the “alarmingly low” numbers of monarch butterflies.
Monarchs have long been threatened by deforestation in their winter home in Mexico and the loss of native plants, including milkweed, along their migratory routes. Climate change and extreme weather events are now also contributing to their decline.
The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife designated the monarch as endangered back in 2016, and the Government of Canada included it as endangered in the Species At Risk Act in 2023, affording it additional protections. However, the United States has not declared any formal endangered designation. Professor Ryan Norris’ group has proposed a conservation strategy that focuses on restoring milkweed, the sole food source for monarch butterfly caterpillars, along the migratory route in areas where monarchs lay eggs during specific times of the year. The plan will take significant funding, about $150 million over five years, and co-operation from all three countries.
Grassroots organizations with support from federal and state agencies have been working together to conserve the species for many years, but the funding required to make a meaningful attempt requires government participation from Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. Given that we have all known about the decline in monarch butterflies for years, and have heard conservationists preaching the necessity of restoring milkweed, why is there not already an international strategy? The three countries need to get moving before the iconic butterfly moves to the next list. – DS
Through with love
If the reports are true - you should know by the time you’re reading this - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has convened his security cabinet with plans of full occupation of Gaza. This escalation of the conflict in the Middle East is sure to weed out any fence-sitters, if any are left, forcing the nations of the world to take a side in this bloody and tragic battle that has seen many in the world read beyond the headlines and endeavour to understand the nuance of a situation that many don’t see as black and white.
On the other hand, many do, and there are loyalists on both sides. Recently, Canada joined Britain and France in signalling its intention to recognize a Palestinian state, while the U.S. remains defiant in the face of increasing international pressure. (An Angus Reid poll shows a majority of Canadians supporting the recognition of a Palestinian state, even if it complicates trade between Canada and the U.S.
While many governments and international agencies were content to sit on their hands and play both sides of the fence as one of the oldest and most complicated conflicts raged on, this intense escalation, if it comes to pass, is sure to motivate them to pick a side, or at least advocate for peace in a way that is lasting and, ultimately, fair. Whether that can be achieved or not remains to be seen.
With major international implications, the war we hoped would just go away is doing anything but, and now the pressure will be on for Canada and its international partners to do the right thing. – SL
Say my name
Chappell Roan’s mention of Saskatchewan in her new single arrives like lightning across the prairie sky; unexpected, striking and strangely moving. This moment is about more than novelty. It comes during a fascinating chapter in the relationship between Canada and the United States. At a time when the two countries are sorting out their differences over trade and environmental policy, it’s comforting, almost disarmingly so, to have a human connection over the border in the form of music. There’s no negotiating table, no legal language or red tape, just a voice in a song choosing to reach for a place many listeners may have never heard of. In doing so, Roan introduces Saskatchewan not as a curiosity, but as a destination worth considering. For Americans, it is a name that now holds a certain poetry. For Canadians, it is a reminder that the quieter parts of this country still hold power, especially when filtered through someone else’s lens.
Saskatchewan is not often first in line for attention. Its beauty is vast but understated. Its people are grounded, proud and, by necessity, unflinchingly resourceful. So when a small moment like this happens - a mention in a pop song, a ripple across social media, a hint that someone from far away sees you - it’s more than just a novelty. It’s a welcome disruption. And the fact that it comes in the voice of a queer American artist, rising rapidly to global prominence, makes it even more resonant. It suggests a cultural bridge built not by policy, but by feeling. Not by institutions, but by artists. That’s why it matters. That’s why the mention stuck. And that’s why people are still talking about it. Not because Saskatchewan needed validation, but because every now and then, it’s nice to be called by name. – SBS