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Showing posts from January, 2018

Editorial: Yes, Climate Change is a Real Thing

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Around 78% of the United States’ population believes that climate change is a real life phenomenon, and that it is caused by human activity, according to a research survey conducted in 2016. It is believed that if we continue to contribute to the change in our climate, global warming, rising sea levels, the lack of natural resources and the displacement of our very own people, are issues we will soon be facing. For that other 22% of Americans, climate change is only a figment of our imagination. Climate change is not something we should take lightly, as it is caused by human activity, and in consequence, will cause harm to our home planet.  Driving your car, taking the bus, flying across the ocean and the inadvertent emission of greenhouse gases are all day-today human activities, which contribute to climate change. Believe it or not, a sixteen year old,such as myself, is responsible for these contributions during their daily routine. People like myself, are the reasons why we wil

EDITORIAL: Beyond Just Saying No: Rehab For Canada's Drug Laws

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The opioid crisis has taken North America by storm, and Canada is no exception; in a recent national report, it was found that, in 2016, over 2,800 Canadians were killed in opioid-related incidents, and that number is only increasing this year. The solution? Decriminalizing all drugs. The existence of addicts is a sad truth in our society, but it's important to remember that they usually pose next to no threat; it is much more common for an alcoholic to commit a violent crime than it is for a drug addict. Most of the time, the only person a drug user is a danger to is himself. They are simply victims to circumstance, and the best way to help them would be to remove the criminality from their actions.  It may seem counter-intuitive at first, but making illicit drug abuse a medical concern instead of a criminal one actually has its benefits. This was proven in 2001, when Portugal decriminalized the use of all drugs. Twenty years ago, Portugal had a crisis of its own. In 1999,

Editorial: A Nationwide Dream

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Welcome to Canada, the country where the leader stands in front of the United Nations and preaches about human rights when the original people don’t have them. The declaration of human rights states that Education is a fundamental human right. So, why do first Nations children in Canada receive 30% less funding for education than any other Canadian child. Canadians get funding for education from their provincial governments where status First Nations people get education funding from the federal government. So why the huge gap? First Nations children are Canadian citizens and deserve the right to education just as any other Canadian child does. Our communities are in such dire need of these funds that we are literally stuck in this vicious cycle. It’s very sad that after 150 years our children are still being told that they are not good enough and that they are undeserving of an education. These children deserve a future and to acquire said future we need to provide them with educat

Editorial: Gun Violence Is Preventable

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These days, shootings and massacres have become an immense issue in the United States of America. Seeing such violence on the news has become practically commonplace; so, why is it that America’s gun laws are so rarely talked about? The root of the issue can be attributed to a thought—an ideology—that has progressively integrated itself into American culture. This outlook encompasses “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms”, per the Second Amendment in the United States Constitution. This right assisted the American civilians of 1791 in protecting themselves during such turbulent times. However, this entitlement of theirs to have firearms in today’s American households, clinging on to a document written more than 200 years ago that is incomparable to modern day standards, is simply ludicrous. To make the situation all the more nonsensical, in 1996, the NRA (National Rifle Association) swayed Congress to ban the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) from spending f