Author, geographer, woodlot steward
As the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War draws to a close, we might reflect on the sacrifice that Canadians made in those years. The Reichswald Forest Cemetery in Germany provides a stark reminder. There in the quiet serenity of a hardwood forest lie the remains of 7692 British Commonwealth servicemen killed in northwestern Germany. Over…
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William Henry Nelson, decorated bomber pilot and the only Canadian Spitfire Ace in the Battle of Britain, was shot down 85 years ago today. His airplane crashed in the sea in the English Channel, and neither he nor it were ever found. He was, as has been written, a man of many talents. Few men flew as…
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My biography of Joseph Alfred (Joey) Jacobson has been published online in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography. View the entry here
This is my uncle Joey Jacobson’s grave in Lichtenvoorde General Cemetery in the Netherlands. The photo was sent to me by a man I know only because he read my book, Joey Jacobson’s War, a few years ago, and who went out of his way last week to visit Joey’s grave. I was deeply moved that he…
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I was pleased to have the opportunity to talk about my new book at our local Waterstones bookshop in Canterbury recently. I was even more pleased that Willie Nelson’s son Bill McAlister and his grandson Dan McAlister came down from London to be part of it.
Canadians are now confronted with an existential crisis. We are faced not only with economic hardship but with fundamental threats to our sovereignty and as importantly, with profound moral challenges. How we will bear and endure harsh measures against us if they come to pass, and what are we willing to do to resist? And…
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Sachs Harbour NWT, winter 1967 The Canadian North was the focus of my working life for fifty years. In 1962 I was hired by the Department of Northern Affairs as a field assistant on a resource survey on the Western Arctic coast, and for several summers afterwards continued as assistant and then director. I also…
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Huron County is the land of corn, soy, and wheat. If city folk wonder where their food staples come from, this is the place. The land here is bountiful, productive, and readily cultivated. It’s as good as it gets in Canada. Drop a nine-furrow plow in the dark soil and you could go for miles without…
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Eighty-two years ago today, on 30 March 1942, Britain launched a desperate attempt. to destroy Nazi Germany’s largest battleship, the Tirpitz. The Allies’ fortunes were at a low ebb at that point in the war, and the Tirpitz, anchored near Trondheim, Norway, posed an immediate threat to Murmansk-bound convoys carrying aid to Soviet Russia. The…
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FIFTY YEARS AGO ON THIS DAY – 21 March 2024 Fifty years ago today the Government of Canada established the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry. Its purpose was to hold hearings and report on the social, environmental and economic impact of the proposed Mackenzie Valley Gas Pipeline, and to recommend terms and conditions that should govern…
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