Mark BourrieMy paternal grandfather was a very smart man. He was educated in an expensive Catholic boarding school, on the Quebec classical college model. Get enough rye into him, and he could recite passages of Classical literature in Latin. But he also had some strange beliefs. For example, there were four giant grain elevators in his … Read moreKick ’em when they’re up, kick ’em when they’re down
I went back on Twitter last month because I thought I would have a lot to say about the Canadian federal election campaign. And I am not thrilled about the way society is dealing with Covid. I think Covid is a test of morality – how much we care about others and are willing to … Read moreCan You Pass This Simple Test?
Mobs. Who would have seen them as a factor in a modern Canadian election? Yet there they are, especially in rural and small-town Ontario, making it too dangerous for a Canadian prime minister to make a speech at a rally and following his tour from town to town. This is how fascists operate. Since the … Read moreOf Mobs and Men
In the reign of Catherine the Great, the Russian empress had a lover who also happened to be a decent general and a capable administrator. Grigory Potemkin also had a lot of enemies, and they claimed he would create false-front villages along Russian roads to impress foreign visitors. Behind these facades, Russians lived in squalor.Apparently, … Read moreRunning for mayor of the Potemkin Village
A couple of years back, the women employees of Canadaland walked out in a huff. They said they were underpaid, under-respected, and just fed up. One went public about how she was so poorly-paid that, even with side work, she couldn’t afford new clothes or the equipment to do journalism. A while back, Canadaland’s employees … Read moreWhite Savio(u)rs and Disgrunts: Gripers gotta gripe
I hope someone writes an honest book about media coverage of this election so I can finally understand what the hell’s been happening. There hasn’t been a good book by a Parliament Hill journalist in years, and all the latest political books have been stillborn, with minimal sales, but where there’s life, there’s hope.First, I’d … Read morePreliminary Notes on an Early Election
Last October I wrote a piece called ““The Attempted Murder of the Kielburgers”. Now, ten months later, Canadaland has a new-five part podcast called “The White Saviors”, listed under True Crime in the Apple podcast catalogue. The Kielbros may still be alive, but if this is an attempt to portray criminality, then I would argue … Read moreWhite Savio(u)rs and Shame Wizards
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice released two decisions last week on SLAPP motions filed by defendants of lawsuits launched by Ezra Levant. I am working on a high-profile defamation case that may involve a SLAPP motion at some point. I am not going to help opponents on the other side, which is one of … Read moreLevant v. Al Jazeera and Levant v The Narwal
I made this pitch to a major publisher on July 26, 2016. I wish they’d bought it: Sweet Little Lies: Are we living in a post-fact world? Mark Bourrie Has the death of mainstream media opened the door to every political quack and snake-oil dealer with the gall to dream up the … Read moreBook Pitch, July 26, 2016
First, a little re-intro. I am a former journalist, now practicing law and writing researched non-fiction books. I hold a PhD in History, as well as a law degree and a Master’s degree in journalism. I’m a four-time National magazine Award nominee, winning once for a feature on a wrongly-accused man. In 2015, my book … Read moreThe Attempted Murder of the Kielburgers