J.J. McCullough

HuffPost Canada Media Critic

At its core, the Prime Minister's role in the Senate expense affair is a story about the elected head of the government of Canada demanding some shred of accountability and ethics from a crooked political institution whose members believe they have no obligation to provide either. That's not a scandal.

Alex Mifflin

Co-host, The Water Brothers

If there is one country that stands out as the ultimate example for this emerging trend of extreme fluctuations in weather and the water cycle, it is without a doubt Bangladesh. Bangladesh has become the poster child for climate change for many reasons.

Don Konantz

Chair, Coalition to Cure Prostate Cancer

On an idle Tuesday in February at 4:30 p.m., I learned that the statistic "one in six men are diagnosed with prostate cancer" became, for me, one in one. I'll never forget that moment. My life's blackboard just went blank. I thought I had done everything right: eating a healthy diet, getting checked regularly, exercising -- but there it was on the biopsy.

Daniela Oliva

Entertainment Lawyer

Warpaint are on the verge of releasing new material and it's worth getting excited about. You may have heard of the all-female quartet through their former ties to Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante, or actress/drummer Shannyn Sossamon; good attracts good, and the foursome stand on their own.

Minnow Hamilton

Editor and Chief Curator, SavvyMom Media

This week I'll tell you five things I've had enough of lately, like school shootings, Miley Cyrus, Martha Stewart, hockey fights and bad skin.

Richard Doyle

Executive Director, Dairy Farmers of Canada

Rarely, if ever, do we think of farms when we think of small business. But small businesses dot the vast country side as well. While more and more Canadians are living in cities, the farm and agri-food sectors remain economically important. Farms employ 2.1 million people, representing one in every eight Canadian job.

Clif Dickens

Graphic designer

Sandra Hawken Diaz

VP, Marketing and Communications, Canadian Women's Foundation

Last week my 12-year-old son and his friends used a term I hadn't heard before: "rape face." So we sat down to talk. He was emphatic that #rapeface wasn't actually about rape and rolled his eyes with a "mom, what's the big deal?" We need to be having these conversations with our kids and with our own peers about reclaiming words like rape if we want to start making a big deal about putting an end to rape culture.

Angelina Chapin

Blogs Editor, Huffington Post Canada

In high school, my friends and I convinced a group of guys that we didn't poop. While the deception was a victory for an insecure 16-year-old, it was a loss for the feminist I would grow into. So it's with heavy bowels that I now watch the near ubiquitous ad on YouTube for Poo~Pourri.

Kelly Rose Pflug-Back

Writer, Student, Social Activist

I didn't realize that I wasn't a virgin until the day, after coming home from Grade 1, I finally worked up the courage to ask my mother what sex was. I remember experiencing a strange sinking feeling as she calmly described to me some vague approximation of the terrifying ritual which a group of older boys I knew had been forcing me to perform with them for some time. When I started to become acquainted in later years with the world of feminist activism, I immediately felt alienated by the ways in which mainstream feminist movements approached things like sexual empowerment and body acceptance. Almost 10 years later, the face of popular, "sex-positive" feminism seems to have changed very little.

Jes Baker

Blogger, The Militant Baker

By now, we've all seen the fitspiration mom of the year who "unknowingly" unleashed all kinds of fat shaming rage across the world. The family photo of her toned body with her three children asks "Whats your excuse?"

Leanne Simpson

Writer, Academic

The kind of stories I learned in Mi'gmagi will never make it into the mainstream media, and most Canadians will never hear them. Instead, Canadians will hear recycled propaganda as the mainstream media blindly goes about repeating the press releases sent to them by the RCMP designed to portray Mi'kmaw protestors as violent and unruly, in order to justify their own colonial violence. So we are faced with a choice. We can continue to show the photos of the three hunting rifles and the burnt out cop cars on every mainstream media outlet ad nauseam and paint the Mi'kmaq with every racist stereotype we know, or we can dig deeper.

Elizabeth Hawksworth

Writer and blogger

I don't believe that acceptance means that I'm making excuses. Who are you to decide if my experience is an excuse? That's derailing and dehumanizing. When you present your fitspiration article and ask me, a fat person, why I don't look like you and what my excuse must be, you're asking a question that is none of your business. I get that it's supposed to be inspiring and make me think, but you have no idea what I do for myself and what I'm working on personally. I don't owe anyone explanations, excuses, or anything else. I only owe myself those things.

Kathy Buckworth

Author, columnist, spokesperson

When I was a kid, like many of my friends I would race home after school so I could change and get outside to play. Our time was, for the most part, totally unstructured, unless you consider being told to "be home when the streetlights go on" as structure. There are many theories as to whether exposing our kids to this type of structure and (arguably) overscheduling is good for them.

Diane Weber Bederman

Chaplain:Religion is an affair of the mind and heart.

Belief in God provides for hope and possibility even in the presence of evil. Reason insists that creation is the result of evolution; cold, hard facts. It is belief in a compassionate and merciful God that expands our awareness of the awesomeness of the universe and all it encompasses, reminding us of our obligations to all creatures, great and small.

Brian Simpson

Resident Travel Expert, Travelocity.ca

As candy lines store shelves and jack-o-lanterns make their front porch debut, people of all ages know it's time for a few frights. To help Halloween devotees celebrate, Travelocity's travel experts have identified 13 destinations for a ghastly getaway either at home or abroad.

Stacey McKenzie

Now with a rush of inspiration, fearlessness and fashionable adventurism, I decided to do one last change. I opted for my vintage 'Faster by Mark Fast' cat suit (like I said, it's all about having fun with fashion!). Then, I threw on my custom-design fur cape and Nando Muzi heart stilettos -- I was now ready for the Mercedes Benz Start Up competition.

Professional Organizers in Canada

In order to organize, maintain and protect photos, videos and children's artwork, the Professional Organizers in Canada (POC) has provided eight helpful tips -- both for preserving and cleaning up your personal memory collection:

Ward Anderson

SiriusXM Talk Radio Host, Author, Comedian

As Halloween and the holidays fast approach, the urge to indulge in candy. For that reason, many people wind up doing extra shifts at the gym. But there are annoying people at that gym and we all spot them. They are so common that it's likely you easily recognize the following five fitness fiascos from your local health club.

Linda Mastroianni

Founder, SpeakingAutism.ca

In reality, you need to be extremely rich in order to try all the possible interventions that claim to have had children recover from autism. Biomedical treatment such as chelation, which is the process of removing toxic metals from the body and hyperbaric oxygen treatment are some examples of costly alternative medicine that most insurance companies do not pay for.

Toula Foscolos

Former News Director, columnist, and current freelance writer

As the Charter of Quebec Values debate continues to heat up. The latest to make waves in our media landscape was a letter recently written by author Janette Bertrand and co-signed by 20 other women coming to the Charter's defense. In their letter, published simultaneously in three Quebec daily newspapers yesterday, the women explain that they, as ardent feminists, can't possibly be against the Charter. They then proceed to refer to all Muslim women who wear the veil as "manipulated" and "crazy". Isn't solidarity grand? Dear Janettes, You completely missed the mark. Feminism is first and foremost about choice