Born in Winnipeg in 1950, Jon Allen (LL.B., University of Western Ontario, 1976; LL.M., International Law, University of London School of Economics, 1977) joined the then Department of External Affairs in 1981.
For our third Whiff@Home meeting, we welcomed back John Anderson Fraser to speak on Tuesday, November 24, 2020 to answer the timely question “What to do about China!“.
John last spoke to us 10 years ago this month, when his topic was “Through a glass darkly: Why academics (and journalists) should never try to predict anything“. [You can see that meeting notice in this Internet Archive Wayback Machine captured page.]
NOT ALL events have been postponed
due to the COVID-19 pandemic!
As per the recent Junta email of May 29th, the 2020 June Bash, originally scheduled for a perfect evening at the RCYC on Toronto Island with a great sunset view of the city, sadly had to be cancelled due to this tragic pandemic. Instead, your Junta will be hosting an open bar event, that requires no frustrating cross-town drive in rush hour, right from the comfort of your very own lock-down venue (as long as it has an internet or phone connection and your favourite tipple!).
Your Junta wanted to provide a social forum for all Whiffers (and significant others if they wish to join in) to catch-up on the exciting things we’ve all been doing, wish each other well for the summer and discuss ideas for how to continue to have speaker meetings in a pre-Covid19 vaccination world. Continue reading Virtual June Bash, 5PM Tuesday, June 23, 2020→
Our climate is determined by the interactions between internal mechanisms (plate tectonics) and the receipt and processing of solar radiation. For most of geologic time that has conditioned a world much warmer than the current one with a larger greenhouse effect. Contemporary global warming reflects our inadvertent interference with the natural balance, mostly through the burning of fossil fuels. So far mean global temperature has increased by only 1.5°C over the last 70 years, but climate models predict that the world will warm by as much as 4°C by 2100. What impact will that have?
Can we stop it happening?
Can we redress the situation? Continue reading Tony Davis, Associate Emeritus Professor, U of T, Geography and Planning, “Putting the Brakes on Global Warming”, January 28, 2020→
“Terry Fallis writes just about the tidiest romantic comedic novels you can find on earth, let alone in Canada.” The Globe and Mail
A two-time winner of the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, Terry Fallis is the award-winning author of seven national bestsellers, including his most recent, Albatross (2019), all published by McClelland & Stewart (M&S). Continue reading Terry Fallis, Author, November 26, 2019→
Bern Grush is the Chief Innovation Officer at Harmonize Mobility, Inc. He is an author, innovator and entrepreneur in the fields of autonomous vehicles, parking reform, and road pricing. He is the principal author of the 2018 textbook “The End of Driving: Transportation Systems and Public Policy Planning for Autonomous Vehicles”.
