Heidi Loney

Blogger and YA Author

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(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX3HN7OOj4Q)

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Is the restaurant industry more sexist now? In short, I think so.

Is the restaurant industry more sexist now? In short, I think so.

The restaurant dress code has made the news once again and it is shocking that in 2016 this is even an issue.

This is a bit of a personal issue for me and here is why. While I was in college, I worked as a server for several years at a few independent and chain restaurants and bars. It’s always going to be murky waters when you couple a largely male dominated industry with alcohol and the general…

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Food Insecurity in the North - A Canadian Crisis

Food Insecurity in the North – A Canadian Crisis

A few months back, while I was working with Syrian newcomers in the GTA, a friendly Inuit man from Gjoa Haven, a small island hamlet around the 69th parallel, introduced himself to our Facebook group. The community group that I volunteered at were giving out warm winter coats and boots to Syrian refugees, while his family was in need too. It’s understandable that he would feel forgotten. The…

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The Preludes to Assaults

The Preludes to Assaults

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New Years resolution for 2016: purging the comment section

New Years resolution for 2016: purging the comment section

Last summer, Canadian expat Barbara Haynes tweeted “#DonaldTrump is like if a Comments Section ran for office.” That pretty much summed up what most of us have thought all along – that the trolls and the radicals are controlling the comment section.

I have been toiling with the idea of abandoning the comment section of late. I’m not sure for me what purpose it really has except for my fellow…

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The Hateful Eight is not just a Quentin Tarantino Movie

The Hateful Eight is not just a Quentin Tarantino Movie

Last month, I penned an article called The Mainstreaming of White Pride in which I outlined the reasons why I believed that both the Students for Western Civilisation and in turn, Toronto’s white student union are innately racist. At the beginning of December, VICE interviewed well known white supremacist and Alex P. Keaton look-alike Richard Spencer in the piece, We Asked a White Supremacist…

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The Mainstreaming of White Pride

The Mainstreaming of White Pride

By Heidi Loney

After two months of silence, the Students for Western Civilisation (SWC), the same group behind the White Students Union on Toronto university campuses, have finally poked their head out. On a blog post dated October 19th, the same day as our federal election, they’ve revealed themselves to the world just a smidgen.

The SWC white student union poster spotted at one of Toronto’s…

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The history of the (almost) short-lived conservative campus rag

The history of the (almost) short-lived conservative campus rag

Linda Frum handing out issues of the McGill University Magazine

By Heidi Loney

Comedian Sarah Silverman recently said in speaking of progressives at university, “They lead the revolution. They’re pretty much on the right side of history.”

Student-run campus university papers have long been a tradition – the voice of the socially active progressives – with many of these young journalists carving…

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Why Toronto is the Centre of Canada

Why Toronto is the Centre of Canada

Looks like the centre of Canada to me Hey Toronto, it’s not like you’re the centre of Canada! Geographically speaking, I think that honour goes to somewhere just east of Winnipeg.  And why are you the capital of Ontario?  You’re at the bottom of the province, nowhere near the centre.  Well, actually, we are.  And I’ll tell you why. Toronto, as many of you might know, is the largest city in…

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What's the BIGGY about HOV?

Toronto traffic has always been a bone of contention with commuters, but never more so since the introduction of HOV lanes or high occupancy vehicles lanes. So much so, that it has dominated Toronto airways, news outlets and overshadowed the Pam Am games over the last few weeks.

As someone who doesn’t drive and has taken public transit for the better part of my adult life, I find the whole…

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GMO Science Is Not All Black and White

It’s interesting, as of late, that journalists, most notably at the CBC, are coming under fire for conflict of interests – the most recent case being the firing of Evan Soloman.

I have no conflict of interest, because, 1. I don’t work for anyone and 2. I am not paid. I do, however, have my bias, which as always I am open about (see the title of my blog).

So this brings me to this posting, for…

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It's Time to Toss Out Sexist School Dress Codes

It's Time to Ban School Dress Codes

Carrying secularism too far, French school banned this Muslim girl for wearing a long skirt.

Ottawa grade eight student sent home for revealing their bra straps at school.

Seriously, Canada. WTF is wrong with you? Just stop telling women what to wear, period. You are a country, a country that is supposed to be democratic. We are not a police state. If you want to be policing something, how about…

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Why is my House Full of Kipple?

Why is my House Full of Kipple?

Recently, I re-read and old favourite book of mine: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, by Philip K. Dick.  I read this book back in high school, and watched the cult masterpiece Blade Runner just shortly after. Until recently, I forgot about the term kipple, as it held no relevance in my life in the 80’s.  It was the beginning of consumerism, but nothing like it is today.

The protagonist…

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Is Trophy Hunting Conservation?

I have no problem being outspoken and I’ve never shied away from even the most controversial of topics.

That’s why in this blog post: Is Trophy Hunting Conservation? I would have to answer, I’m not sure.

Personally, I have no problem with hunting if it is for reasons of subsistence and sometimes even for employment. Furthermore, I am not a vegetarian, so I don’t want to come across as some sort…

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This Week In Entertainment - Double Standard Edition

Two things happened this week in show business that caught my eye. One was a kiss between Madonna and Drake, the other an SNL sketch about statutory rape. You might be wondering why I’d choose to combine both of these stories together in one blog post. Besides living in the world of entertainment, what do they really have in common?

Well they do in fact have a common denominator. They both…

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My Snow Day is Bigger than Your Snow Day Friday brought the GTA a blast of winter, with a 25-35 centimetre dumping of snow in less than 24 hours. 

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Feeling Food Insecure?

Hey Canada! Did you know that just a handful of food giants produce the majority of the food you eat? In fact, Nestle and Pepsico are the number one and two biggest food companies in the world, respectively, Nestle alone with 8000 brands and $99 billion in sales in 2013.

According to Oxfam’s Behind the Brands, only ten companies are part of an industry valued at $7 trillion, larger than even the…

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