Corporate charity: who is it good for? Them…

“Hi there,” began the breathlessly chatty, early February email from someone named Emily from something called Veritas Communications. Emily was just writing to let me know “Seretha W. of Hammonds Plains, N.S., recently received $20,000 from Dr Pepper Canada to be put towards her education goal of obtaining a Master of Nursing degree. As part […]

Nominated for four Atlantic Journalism Awards

I’m delighted to report I’ve been nominated for four Atlantic Journalism Awards for my writing in 2014: Best Magazine Article, Best Profile, Best Feature Article and Best Commentary. All of the finalist pieces appeared in St. John’s-based Atlantic Business Magazine, which itself earned seven nominations. You can read the complete list of the nominees here. The awards will […]

Closure

It wasn’t his fault. Rob Thompson was just a bit player in the 1992 Westray mine disaster that took 26 lives. But today, nearly 22 years later, his own small role in that tragedy, not to forget the fact he never got to testify about what he knew in any public inquiry or court case, […]

Spilled secrets: the Richard Oland murder mystery

Maureen Adamson showed up for work as usual that sunny summer morning. She inserted her key in the street-level door at 52 Canterbury Street, a refurbished 19th century, three storey, red-brick office building in the heart of historic downtown Saint John, New Brunswick. The door was unlocked. Curious. It was always kept locked. The door […]

Hard… and soft as Harry Steele

Harry Steele may have earned his business reputation by eating his unions’ solidarity for snacks and calling spades by their proper names, but there are other sides to this iconic Newfoundland entrepreneur, and they too have played a role in his success. (Photo by Marvin Moore) Harry Steele is happy to chat, he tells me […]

Seeing the world from the other side changes… everything

Imagine you could turn back the clock to before 9/11, I suggest to American audiences when I read from my most recent book, What Lies Across the Water: The Real Story of the Cuban Five. What if the United States had had its own intelligence agents inside Al Qaeda? What if those agents had uncovered the […]

What would you do to un-Harper Canada?

Winner of the 2014 Atlantic Journalism Award for Commentary — Any Medium. For as long as I can remember, Canadian politics has been a pleasantly diverting if meaningless game of rascal tossing. We pick one set of rascals to govern us and toss the last set out. After a while, those no-longer new rascals run […]

State of the union

“SOMEONE TO SEE YOU.” Mike Hachey didn’t have time. Not today. He was in the process of sorting through paperwork dregs from last week’s Atlantic Lottery commercial shoot, planning a Canada Games event wrap-up, juggling planned/hoped-for/maybe pitches for future projects and overseeing – from the afar of Halifax – renovations at his company’s Moncton office. […]

Revolution rising

As the poor keep getting poorer, global uprisings get closer and closer. You have been warned. I’m a university professor. I make better than your average income. Although ours is not a union shop, our salaries reflect the successes of traditionally strong faculty unions at bigger institutions around us. I’ve also been teaching for […]

Serendipity

Gerry Pond’s career has been marked by a series of serendipitous moments, but there’s much more than chance to the incredible success of the Atlantic angel behind a billion dollars worth of recent technology deals. “Will you be my best man?” Gerry Pond’s friend asked. It was the spring of 1966. Pond was 21. He’d […]