Amplify: I took my husband’s last name because I wanted to, and that’s true feminism
When I decided to change my last name after I got married earlier this year, I expected plenty of questions about how to pronounce it. What I didn’t expect were the unfavourable reactions to my decision. I’m Sarah Bugden, editor of Amplify. A few months ago, I was Sarah Nolan. When I told my coworkers…
Amplify: Miss, Mrs., Ms. or Mx.? A look at how honorifics have evolved over time
Tavia Grant’s feature on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, published in the Globe and Mail earlier this month, contained some jaw-dropping revelations about the extent of abuse-related scandals in Canada. But the piece included something else, too – a new, two-letter prefix that our readers haven’t seen before in our stories: Mx. If the prefix is…
Can I endure the worst and hope for the best? I’m working on it
If you’re a friend I haven’t seen for a while, as happens in our busy lives, you may ask how I’ve been. If you’re a casual acquaintance, I may say fine and leave it at that. If you’re a trusted friend, I may give you a very different response. As my friend, you remember I’m…
How do I deal with a co-worker stealing my meals from the office fridge?
THE QUESTION Our office has a food thief. While this was humorous at first, it’s gotten serious and out of control. Yesterday my breakfast was taken brazenly from our cafe after I stepped away for five minutes! Several others have complained about their food going missing from the fridge. We have raised the issue with…
Spending on doctors set to rise sharply this year, according to new report
The amount of money that Canada spends on doctors is expected to grow more quickly this year than spending on hospitals or drugs, according to a new report that predicts the public and private sectors will shell out more than $264.4-billion on health care in 2019. The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) said spending on physicians…
In the gig economy, a worker is never an employee. And that’s a problem
California gave the world the modern sharing economy. Companies based there, such as Uber and Instacart, invented ways of programming a smartphone to quickly and easily order a cab or have your groceries delivered to your door. But the software behind those transactions is only half of the story. The other essential element is the…
Honey, it’s Ottawa calling, and they’re offering the best cell phone deal ever
Canada has some of the highest #smartphone costs in the world. It is also in the middle of a federal election campaign in which the parties are going hard on the issue of affordability. Put the two together, and you’ve got a bunch of promises being made to lower our #phone bills. This makes for…
Medically assisted dying laws are changing, and it’s about time
From Day 1, it has been clear that the legal requirement that only people whose natural #death was imminent would be eligible for #assisteddeath was unduly restrictive and discriminatory. What we have, Canada, is not so much a right to #die as a right to die if you’re already on the verge of death. But…
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month
October is #Breast #Cancer Awareness Month which is a worldwide annual campaign to increase awareness of the disease taking place in involving thousands of organizations, to highlight the importance of breast #cancer awareness, education and research. The pink ribbon has been the logo of breast cancer awareness for the past several years, and its use…