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I was the master of ceremonies at my brother's wedding. I wanted to engage the audience and what better way than using humour to do so. I searched for some wedding jokes for ideas but they were just too cliché-ridden. I stumbled upon some "Before Marriage and After Marriage" jokes using a play on Bollywood movie titles

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No poverty, zero hunger, good health and well-being. Worthy causes, but unattainable aspirations at first glance. What is the meaning of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) if, as critics attest, their attainment is "virtually impossible?"

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Sustainability is a complex and sometimes challenging dialectical concept, much like beauty, justice, democracy, and equality, etc. By dialectical I mean it is difficult to analytically define the term; more commonly you have to discuss the matter conceptually and show examples to illustrate your arguments.

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Being a successful freelancer is a confidence booster, but some people ask me, "are you actually getting paid to write?" My eyebrows cave in, and I realize at times that even though there are successful freelancers out there on YouTube and television, many still believe that the writer's life is simply a hobby that brings minimal success. The truth is, if you do things in a certain way, you can travel the world, collaborate with C-suite professionals on projects, and help others during your career.

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As Mother's Day approaches, Canadians will be celebrating the people who brought us into this world and nurtured us as we developed. Most of the adulation will be due to social graces, such as care, kindness, and those life lessons that always come in handy. But there are other reasons -- specifically molecular -- making Mom a baby's best ally.

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The Gord Campbell-led Liberals had substantially more votes than our principal opponent, the B.C. New Democrats - some 40,000 votes. We owned the popular vote, right from the moment that the polls closed. We'd end up with three percentage points more than the NDPers, in fact. But we were still losing.

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There are many who ascribe the value of a sin tax to non-medical cannabis use. The argument for high taxation levels is to increase government revenues and discourage the use of an inebriating substance. Proponents of this argument might go as far as to say the more tax the better. This creates a problematic externality.

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If parents and schools make it too easy for young people to shirk their work, it's unlikely that these youth will ever be willing or able to do what's necessary, in order to excel in their training or in their future jobs. If a young person has had helicopter parenting and/or has graduated from a college that coddled them, how can they overcome these disadvantages and achieve success in the workplace?

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When corruption and callous disregard for the marginalized can be so richly rewarded, what incentive do my students have for being good? When cheating does not preclude you from occupying the highest office in the province, why should they listen to my warnings about plagiarism?

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Every Canadian has a stake in this issue. All women are at risk for developing ovarian cancer, yet there is no reliable screening test, no vaccine to prevent it. Progress is long overdue and it's about time for government to step up its support.

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I'm tired of pacifists. I'm not going to be polite around them anymore. I'm not going to be accommodating in polite society and pretend that while I differ, I respect the pacifist opinion. I don't. Pacifists are wrong, and this is why. Pacifism tolerates, even abets, terrorism and fascism -- and the war and violence that come from them.

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The biggest threat to our strong real estate market and local economy is a generation of buyers who, in pursuit of the housing dream, throw caution to the wind, assume a crippling mortgage, and take on more debt than they can handle.

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The so-called B.C. Liberals aren't liberal. They try to run government like a business. B.C. is the only province without a poverty reduction plan. Not a word on this from the corporate premier. Clark likes to brag about BC's strong economy, but she won't address the gross inequality in our province or the record number of children in poverty.

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In a disturbing case of history repeating itself, we find ourselves in the same place we were 17 years ago with the Manitoba government once again assisting in the unrestricted growth of the pig industry, with devastating environmental consequences and immeasurable animal suffering sure to follow.

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During this B.C. election, decision-makers say they're acting on climate change and conserving the environment without acknowledging that out-of-control housing costs work in direct opposition to those goals. Hundreds of thousands of people commute into and out of cities they cannot afford to live in.

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There have been government committees, discussions with the private sector and even a national strategy to teach Canadians basic personal finance. But when Statistics Canada data showed late last year that Canada's household debt is now larger than its GDP, it became painfully apparent that we're failing.

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Many in Canada overlook the importance of having a well-developed physical education programs in our public schools. There is often the assumption that "gym class" isn't a priority and should be limited to provide more class time for linguistics and mathematics. Although these subjects are extremely important, physical education is just as critical and should not be overlooked.

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The main problem I faced was a distorted belief system. I felt that love came with accomplishments and accolades. I didn't believe that I was good enough to love as is. When love is missing, a lot of negative stuff comes out of the woodwork: anger, resentment, fear, jealousy.

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Considering how important cannabis is to our province in every way, it's surprising that legalization hasn't been a bigger topic in this election. Legalization could be a big boon for B.C., or it could be a devastating blow to our provincial economy. We need a premier who will get it right.

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As a fertility specialist, one of the most common sentiments I hear is, "I was careful my whole life to get pregnant and now that I am ready, I can't believe it is this difficult!" Contrary to what your high school sex ed teacher would have had you believe, the chances of pregnancy with intercourse are not 100 per cent every month.

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British Columbia is larger than many countries and our provincial government is in charge of key portfolios; education, natural resources, health, justice, agriculture, and municipalities, all of which have a huge impact beyond our provincial borders.