Reality Check

Sometimes it is a wayward twist of the facts by politicians; other times it's simply a tangle of mistaken assumptions. The result is the same a yawning gap between reality and what we read or hear. The aim of Reality Check is to bridge that gap.

December 20, 2007: What's happened to the silver bells?
April 19, 2007: Is meeting Kyoto 'bad economic policy'
Jan. 31, 2007: Stephen Harper's three deft moves to shore up his defences
Jan. 23, 2007: Does China's space blast herald a new arms race?
Jan. 11, 2007: Is a Candu really the answer for Alberta's oilsands?
Oct. 19, 2006: Good intentions but can Ottawa really regulate pollution?
Oct. 12, 2006: Iraq's death toll, the numbers debate
Oct. 4, 2006: Life with the mechanical heart
Sept. 29, 2006: Electronic health records. When will Canadian doctors join the computer age?
Sept. 15, 2006: A sea change in police tactics when it comes to gunmen
Sept. 6, 2006: Who really wins if Israel opens its jails?
Aug. 21, 2006: Dam-ed if you do: Alcan's Kitimat expansion
Aug. 16, 2006: When doctors do politics
Aug. 10, 2006: Women and HIV: The promise of microbicides
Aug. 9, 2006: When is a war a War?
Aug. 4, 2006: Generic AIDS drugs: What happened to Canada's pledge to Africa?
July 26, 2006: Calgary's millionth citizen
July 24, 2006: Peacekeeping in Lebanon. Can it work?
July 21, 2006: Is the mighty monarch butterfly on its last wings?
July 14, 2006: What to do with Boo?
July 11, 2006: North Korea's rocketman: Now Japan is talking pre-emptive strike
July 7, 2006: Is America's carmaker up for brie and sushi?
July 5, 2006: Is Alberta going broke?
June 30, 2006: The Gitmo decision: A judicial rebuke for George W. Bush but that's all
June 28, 2006: Live8 one year later
June 23, 2006: Political report card
June 20, 2006: Sticking it to Teflon
June 16, 2006: Teen smoking, down but not out
June 15, 2006: The benefits of booze
June 8, 2006: The fine print in the Palestinian referendum
May 19, 2006: The difference between Kyoto and the new U.S.-led climate pact that Stephen Harper is suddenly keen to join
May 18, 2006: Political wizardry by the man from Oz
May 17, 2006: Gun registry shootout – at a time of Stephen Harper's choosing
May 11, 2006: Churchill Falls again. Can Newfoundland finally be master in its own house?
May 10, 2006: Ontario's Third Way: Did Ralph Klein fold his medicare reform tent too soon?
May 2, 2006: The ING approach to government financing: It's your money
May 1, 2006: Leviathan under siege. Why is Canada silent as commercial whaling takes off?
April 26, 2006: Copper prices through the roof. Don't throw out your penny jar
April 24, 2006: When to lower the flag for Canada's war dead
April 21, 2006: Inside native politics: the dispute within the dispute in the Six Nations standoff
April 19, 2006: Brian Mulroney, environmental prince. Who knew?
April 18, 2006: Counting homeless when the numbers don't fully add up
April 12, 2006: Loopholes for lobbyists
April 11, 2006: The federal accountability act: An idiot's guide
April 7, 2006: Life support for the Kyoto protocol
April 5, 2006: Are Ralph Klein's controversial health-care reforms on life support? Don't overlook the Preston factor
April 4, 2006: Talk-talk: Stephen Harper's make-work way for surviving minority government
March 31, 2006: Minority governments, Stephen Harper vs. Joe Clark: The tale of the tape
March 30, 2006: The Cancun summit: Can good neighbours really make good fences?
March 24, 2006: Waiting for Stephen Harper's GST break? So are the banks
March 24, 2006: Think Alberta's rich? You should see Norway's bank account
March 23, 2006: Bardot loves animals, humans not so much
March 20, 2006: Online citizens unite: Is there a Howard Dean around to take over the Liberal party?
March 17, 2006: Rethinking incineration: How long can Toronto keep exporting its trash?
March 14, 2006: Rrrolling up the rim on real odds of winning
March 10, 2006: Remembering Vioxx: Should Canada hitch its drug review process to that of the U.S.?
March 8, 2006: Browbeating the ethics czar and other fun pastimes
March 7, 2006: Learning to love India's bomb
Feb. 22, 2006: Are you finished with those organs yet? The case for presumed consent
Jan. 24, 2006: What if Canada had a different way of electing MPs?
Jan. 24, 2006: Gentlemen, start the revolutionvery, very slowly
Jan. 19, 2006: Promises, promises. The final tally.
Jan. 18, 2006: What happens if the Tories walk away from Kyoto?
Jan. 17, 2006: Taxing inquiries
Jan. 6, 2006: Should Stephen Harper be giving the provinces Ottawa's cash?
Jan. 4, 2006: Is Ottawa playing the polling game?
Dec. 30, 2005: So, whats missing from the party platforms this time out?
Dec. 22, 2005: Patriot games. Why is Paul Martin criticizing Stephen Harper for being more like him on Quebec?
Dec. 20, 2005: Is true crime on the rise?
Dec. 20, 2005: Notwithstanding notwithstanding
Dec. 15, 2005: When it comes to tax credits, read the fine print
Dec. 13, 2005: Turnaround on Iraq.Will no one stand shoulder to shoulder with George W. Bush today?
Dec. 12, 2005: The provinces gave Paul Martin a campaign gift for his Christmas election a pledge to cut hospital wait times in five key areas. But it's a present that comes with no guarantees.
Dec. 8, 2005: How many child-care spaces does a billion bucks buy?
Dec. 8, 2005: Energy gluttons? Who us?

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Robert Sheppard

ABOUT ROBERT SHEPPARD

Biography

Robert Sheppard began his career at the Montreal Star (may it rest in peace), spent 22 years at the Globe and Mail and was recently senior editor at Maclean's magazine. He has co-authored a book on the Canadian Constitution and writes on a variety of subjects.