Bravo, @paulisci.bsky.social

Yeah, we did. We ruined it for misogynists and sexual predators and office lotharios and drunks and lazy loafers who had their secretaries and assistants do their actual work.

First Ottawa snowflakes. #yow #yowweather #Ottawa

Today, Dr. David Wishart, a professor of biology AND computer science at University of Alberta won Canada’s highest honour for science & engineering, the Herzberg Gold Medal, for his work in metabolomics. I had the joy of being there with Dr. Wishart and his family. #yeg #UAlberta #Edmonton #NSERC

My latest column for @albertaviews.bsky.social - on why we need a made-in-Canada verified traveller program. #cdnpoli #NEXUS #SenateofCanada #abpoli

My latest column for @albertaviews.bsky.social - on why we need a made-in-Canada verified traveller program. #cdnpoli #NEXUS #SenateofCanada #abpoli

Hm. Just got robocalled by Ekos with a (pre) federal election poll. (Scarier than any Hallowe’en ghoul or ghost!) #cdnpoli #pleaseno

Well. I was asked - on rather short notice - to speak at a public event this morning. Being a good sport, I agreed. I prepared a 45 minute presentation, as requested. When I showed up, there was no one there. I guess I’m not much of a draw! I hope this afternoon’s speakers attract a better house.

CanCon Candy - standing ready to welcome ghouls and goblins and princesses and superheroes with two Canadian classics: Wagon Wheels and Old Dutch potatoes chips! #Halloween #yeg

The Senate passed a resolution aimed at ending President Donald Trump's tariffs on Canada, with four Republicans joining Democrats to rebuke the administration's trade policies a day after they voted to terminate tariffs on Brazil. https://cnn.it/3WuHEKo

Behind a paywall - but if you subscribe to The Logic, here is their story on my efforts to create a domestic sovereign “fast pass” for verified Canadian travellers. thelogic.co/news/senator... #cdnpoli #NEXUS #SenateofCanada #yeg

Oh - and also remove the Westminster parliamentary system of government, the Royal Family and public health care! So there’s that.

Late to the party - but I just have to say that in my Jewish family, we always called my dad’s first cousins -and he had oodles - Aunt and Uncle. What else would you call them??

Today, the Senate transport and communications committee heard from two leading experts in labour law and strikes, Ian Lee of the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University and labour lawyer Paul Champ. Given the news from Alberta, I had questions. #cdnpoli #SenateofCanada #ableg #abpoli

Oh wow. Organizers of Alberta's 'Forever Canadian' petition say they collected 456,365 signatures.

The first (and until today only) time Alberta invoked the notwithstanding clause - in 1998 - the public outcry was so great that Premier Ralph Klein reversed his decision in less than 24 hours. FWIW.

As the @lukaszukab.bsky.social Forever Canadian petition campaign heads into the home stretch, I thought I should re-post our Alberta Unbound conversation from earlier this month. #Alberta #ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli #ForeverCanadian #Canada

Assaults on health workers & first responders are a real & urgent problem. But will Bill S-233 - which would allow judges to impose harsher sentences on those convicted of such assault - actually solve anything? #Canada #cdnpoli #SenateofCanada #BillS233

Obviously people on Bluesky have strong opinions about being on Bluesky! Come for the clip, stay for the comments.

The CBC maintains an account on X - but not on Bluesky (nor on Mastodon.) Why? I asked CE0 Marie-Philippe Bouchard and Editor-in-Chief @brodiefenlon.bsky.social when they appeared at the Senate Transport and Communications Committee this morning. #CBC #SRC #SenateofCanada #cdnpoli #X #Bluesky #TRCM

Five years ago, I made a video essay for Persons Day, exploring the problematic, complicated and vital legacy of the Famous 5. I haven’t shared it on Bluesky before. So on this Persons Day, here it is from my archives! #PersonsDay #FamousFive #yeg #yow #SenateofCanada #cdnpoli #Alberta #Vriend

Last night, I had the great joy of interviewing @emmadonoghue.bsky.social about her new Giller-nominated novel, The Paris Express, at STARFest, the fabulous annual literary festival hosted by the St. Albert Public Library. #STARFest #StAlbert

Tomorrow night, I'll be onstage at the St. Albert Public Library for STARfest, talking to the fabulous @emmadonoghue.bsky.social about her newest novel, The Paris Express. www.starfest.ca I wanted to tell you to come join us, but I think it's sold out! Which is both happy and sad. #STARfest

Cast my ballot(s) in the advance poll at the Stanley Milner Library today. #yeg #yegcc #yegvote #yegdt

My colleague @drkristopherwells.bsky.social rose in the Senate today, to support my motion, asking the government to investigate the creation of a made-in-Canada verified traveller program for domestic frequent flyers - one not vulnerable to US anti-trans bigotry #SenateofCanada #cdnpoli #NEXUS

Moon rise over Parliament Hill. #yow #Ottawa #cdnpoli #Canada #HarvestMoon #MidAutumnFestival

ICYMI - On the first Alberta Unbound of the season, @lukaszukab.bsky.social explains the strategy behind his Forever Canadian campaign - and his love for the country that gave his family political asylum. #ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli #SenateofCanada #ForeverCanadian #UCP #AlbertaUnbound

@senatorpaulasimons.bsky.social Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share with your listeners a little bit about myself and about the #ForeverCanadian movement. podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/a... #cdnpoli #ableg

Welcome back for another season of Alberta Unbound. We kick off with a humdinger - an interview with Thomas Lukaszuk about his anti-separatism petition. A mad idea that plays right into the separatist’s hands? Or does it call the premier’s bluff? You’ll want to listen. #AlbertaUnbound #ableg #abpoli

Today, the Senate of Canada passed a bill to create Ukrainian Heritage month. I was honoured to be the final Senator to speak, and to celebrate the courage and resilience of Ukrainian Canadians. In this dark hour, they offer a bright legacy of hope and inclusion. #cdnpoli #Ukraine #Alberta

The Senate is not sitting today, as we remember victims and survivors of residential school. But we did gather for this photo last week, to express our commitment to truth and reconciliation. There is still so much work to be done - we must not backslide. #cdnpoli #SenateofCanada #OrangeShirtDay

I really only knew Dr. Darren Markland via social media. But his front line reports from the ER during Covid moved me to tears. His bravery, his compassion, his commitment to patient care, and to the truth, were unparalleled. In the worst of the pandemic, he was the hero we needed. #yeg

If Canadians, travelling domestically, want to use the "good" security line at the airport, they need a NEXUS card, even if they aren't going to the US. And they need the blessing of Donald Trump's Homeland Security apparatus to get one. I'm calling on Canada to end this absurdity. #Canada #NEXUS

If Canadians, travelling domestically, want to use the "good" security line at the airport, they need a NEXUS card, even if they aren't going to the US. And they need the blessing of Donald Trump's Homeland Security apparatus to get one. I'm calling on Canada to end this absurdity. #Canada #NEXUS

Such a privilege to work alongside such remarkable Senate colleagues. Well said, @senatorsenior.bsky.social. #SenateofCanada @senindepend.bsky.social

I almost forgot to remember.

I recorded this podcast with Kristy Harcourt and Alex Marshall in April 2024, when Danielle Smith first proposed her anti-trans laws. With the news the UCP intends to invoke the notwithstanding clause - and the rising tide of anti-trans rhetoric from the US, I invite you to listen. And to hear.

The first time an Alberta government invoked the notwithstanding clause, public outrage forced a reversal in less than 24 hours. I wish to God Albertans would show the same moral fury now, when school children are outed & bullied by the government that is supposed to protect them. #ableg #abpoli

Robert Redford was my first movie star crush - and The Sting was the first “grown up” movie I ever saw. But it was All the President’s Men that shaped the course of my life and inspired me to become a journalist. What a film legacy he leaves the world. #RobertRedford

As city columnist for the Edmonton Journal, I wrote often about the crisis of homelessness. I was naive. For years, I thought people wanted to help those living on the street. It took me ages to realize that many people just wanted the homeless gone, someplace away, out of sight and out of mind.

This spring, I gave notice in the Senate that I will move a motion asking the government of Canada to investigate setting up a verified traveller program for Canadians using Canadian airports, one that doesn’t depend on a NEXUS card issued by Homeland Security. But I have question…,

"We could and should seize this moment to recruit top academic talent: undergrads and graduates who’ve either had their US student visas delayed or denied, or who’ve decided not to run the risks of being a foreign student in Trump’s America." Instead, we get scapegoating and limits.

At the risk of…well, the obvious…can anybody tell me where I can find these 4 alleged graphic images that the UCP govt is so keen to remove from our school libraries? Is there someplace on the Alberta Ed website where we can see these supposed smutty drawings? #ableg #abgov #abed #Alberta 🙈🙈🙈

Very unimpressed that a city council candidate in my ward put their sign in the grassy verge in front of my house without my permission or knowledge. Pulled it out. Then walked out of my house to see that same sign stuck in the grassy boulevards up and down my street. #yeg #yegvote

The cows of Kaleido. The 118th Ave Kaleido arts festival, now in its 20th year, kicks off tonight with a lantern parade, and runs all weekend. One of my very favourite Edmonton events: music, dance, visual arts, clown, family activities, fabulous multicultural food. #yeg #Edmonton #Kaleido

A good day to make borscht. (All vegetable grown in the Edmonton area - including hyper local beets from my sister-in-law’s Bonnie Doon garden.)

“Julie King-Yerex, co-owner of Magpie Books in Edmonton, said people have come into the shop ‘asking for our vicious compliance section.’ “ (By CP’s Aaron Souza) #Ableg #AbEd

A beautiful essay by my remarkable new Senate colleague, Baltej Dhillon, a Canadian hero. #SenateofCanada @senindepend.bsky.social #cdnpoli #bcpoli #RCMP

Current demand at the Edmonton Public Library for the four graphic novels at the centre of Alberta's new (and fluctuating) school library rules: #AbEd #Ableg #EPL #bannedbooks

I sometimes have to remind myself, that not everyone here “knows” me, the way they once did on Twitter. So let me clarify. I support vaccination, sound public health policy, trans rights, abortion rights, labour rights, treaty rights, free speech, and access to information.