Opinion like advice is often unwarranted, stop giving it!
Sabrina Almeida A co-volunteer called me last weekend to update me on his progress regarding a community program our group was working on. After informing …
Is multicultural justice the next big thing?
Pradip Rodrigues Recently an Ontario Superior Court Justice Shaun Nakatsuru declared that the time has come for the judiciary to consider the effects of systemic …
When tragedy strikes… how do you respond?
Sabrina Almeida Have you ever wondered how the end will come? Most of us do not want to have such “morbid” thoughts. However, the only …
Why is it so easy for South Asians to win nominations?
Pradip Rodrigues At the beginning of my career 30 years ago, I recall meeting a semi-retired philanthropist industrialist who was often asked to consider politics …
Do earnings impact relationships and marriage?
Sabrina Almeida The adage ‘when poverty walks in the door, love flies out the window’ is as relevant today as it was a hundred years …
Why immigrants need to look beyond their community
Pradip Rodrigues Last week I interviewed Pakistani-Canadian filmmaker Arshad Khan on the release of his documentary called Abu. We spoke about his life growing up …
Should we confront stereotypes or laugh them away?
It has been said that Indians lack a sense of humour. The flood of stand-up comedians of Indian-origin on the world stage tells a different …
Thoughts about reparations for India’s colonization
Rekha Iyer An author, politician, and former international civil servant, Shashi Tharoor straddles several worlds of experience. Currently a second-term Lok Sabha MP representing the …
Trucking company ordered off the road after Saskatchewan crash
Pradip Rodrigues The crash involving a truck and a bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos hockey team which killed 15 and injured 14 ranks as one …
Time to bring all cultural festivals into the mainstream
Pradip Rodrigues Carrassauga in Mississauga and Carabram in Brampton are two festivals that promoters of multicultural Canada love to believe celebrates cultures and cuisines. White …
Why you should encourage your children to read
Sabrina Almeida A news report on International Children’s Book Day (ICBD), celebrated on Monday, April 2 this year, got me thinking about how a critical …
To help newcomers honesty triumphs political correctness
Pradip Rodrigues I was in a group discussion recently talking about ways we could really help newcomers in Canada. Naturally then everyone threw up the …
What’s in your blue recycling bin?
Sabrina Almeida Do you give much thought to what you put in your recycling bin? If not, chances are plenty of wrong items will end …
Are boys and men being set up for failure?
Sabrina Almeida It’s no longer a man’s world, according to Tucker Carlson. And he may be on to something big here! The Fox News anchor …
What aspiring Canadian politicians can learn from the news cycle
Pradip Rodrigues The Canadian news cycle has been dominated by two stories, both involving leaders of two federal political parties and having to do with …
Looking for happiness can make you sad!
Sabrina Almeida Looking for happiness could actually stress you out and make you even sadder than before! How? It’s a time-consuming task, cautions a new …
Women’s Day ignores cultural hurdles faced by immigrant women
Pradip Rodrigues Last week I attended an event commemorating Women’s Day at Mississauga City Hall hosted by Mayor Bonnie Crombie. In attendance were selected female …
Weight loss is all about your relationship with food
Sabrina Almeida It’s only the middle of March and many of us have already abandoned our weight loss resolutions. Having let many family gym memberships …
Why do South Asians love posing with Canadian politicians?
Pradip Rodrigues Pictures of South Asians posing with white politicians makes me cringe. Most of those who go out of their way to pose with …
The status of women hasn’t changed much!
Sabrina Almeida With International Women’s Day almost upon us, pink is getting its fair share of notice. No doubt cities all over the world are …
What clothing says about people and their culture
Pradip Rodrigues An internet search revealed that there are just about 20 places left on earth where its inhabitants stubbornly cling to traditional clothing, cultural …
The average Indian’s impression of our Canadian prime minister
Sabrina Almeida Headlines in Indian newspapers on the Trudeau visit have been quite unflattering, to say the least. “Family vacation” and “unusual trip” have been …
Do we vote for candidates who are ethnically similar to us?
Pradip Rodrigues In 1999, the BBC ran an BBC News Online poll for the millennium, and the result shocked Britain when Bollywood filmstar Amitabh Bachchan …
Why vacationing in India is both exhilarating and frustrating!
Sabrina Almeida It was my first trip to the home country all by myself. I had no expectations as it all seemed surreal till I …
Many South Asians celebrate “Joint” Family Day
Pradip Rodrigues When Sweetie, a sauntered into her office with a box of chocolates because she moved into her new million dollar plus McMansion house …
Bad news, Canada is one of the ‘best-educated’ countries in the world
Last week there was a news report about Canada being one of the best-educated countries in the world, all thanks to immigrants. An internal government …
News Flash: Populism can and will take root in Canada
Some months ago I dedicated a column to explaining why highly multicultural Mississauga with its large and growing Muslim community suffered more instances of ‘Islamophobia’ …
Will 2018 be your debt-free year?
Sabrina Almeida If you haven’t made a New Year’s resolution yet, here’s a practical one—a plan to become debt free! (A Utopian dream for most …
The poverty of the west is loneliness
Pradip Rodrigues Last week UK PM Theresa May appointed the world’s first Minister for Loneliness, coincidentally a B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled that the practice …
Sexual misconduct: It’s time we women acknowledged our role in it
By Sabrina Almeida Comedian Aziz Ansari is the latest male celebrity to be accused of sexual misconduct. When the dust on this whole issue has …
Why are we making a big deal over Trump’s s**thole comment?
Pradip Rodrigues By now everyone of planet earth must have heard US President Donald Trump say: “Why are we having all these people from shithole …
Are your children addicted to their smartphones?
Open letters by two of Apple’s biggest investors urging the company to help children fight their addiction to technology vindicate my worries. For years I …
The problem with Hindi as a ‘national’ language
If there is one thing that could hopelessly divide India, it is language and too many people been injured or killed over the years due …
It’s a new year but the stories are all the same
Pradip Rodrigues It’s a new year, but the stories in the media will sound like old news. Lets start with one major piece of news …
Should you make New Year’s resolutions?
Sabrina Almeida It’s a purely Western tradition, my first born said suddenly taking refuge in his non-Canadian roots, when I asked him what his New …
Only Quebec has a plan to save community newspapers
Pradip Rodrigues Last week the Quebec government released details on how it planned on disbursing $36.4 million to struggling newspapers over the next five years. …
Mastering the art of giving
Sabrina Almeida An eight-year-old girl’s letter to Santa that gathered more than 23k likes on Facebook, shames us into restoring the true spirit of the …
Paying the high price of insurance fraud
Sabrina Almeida Renewing your auto insurance in Ontario is perhaps one of the most dreaded times of the year. You’re almost sure that your premium …
The troubling double standards of western liberals
Pradip Rodrigues Millions of liberal Canadians from coast to coast denounce Quebec’s anti-niqab law and express support for women wearing the veil everywhere. This I …
The perils and politics of apologizing and bending backwards
Pradip Rodrigues It is often pointed out that Canadians are polite to a fault. The average Canadian says sorry at least a dozen times a …
Do you know what’s going on with your teens?
Sabrina Almeida Three months ago, I wrote about the rising number of teen suicides. My column at that time was prompted both by new data …