This is a decisive moment in the history of the Conservative Party of Canada, and of Canada itself.

They can lead their party back towards the better values of the majority of our country, and embrace moderation.

Or they can follow the angriest and loudest voices, and hurl themselves into the abyss of extremism.

For the sake of our country, I hope they choose wisely.

The Future of the Conservative Party of Canada

Russia's state-controlled media network RT interviewed me today, about the government of Canada's response to the illegal border blockades and occupation of Ottawa.  

Reasonable people can and do disagree about the wisdom of the federal government invoking the Emergencies Act.  

However, no one can deny that Vladimir Putin is attacking it to discredit, and not to defend, our democracy.  

This was my message to him.

Ottawa Protests, Canadian Democracy, and Foreign Interference

Chance, my thoroughbred, is the dominant male horse of his herd.  As a result, when he is led out of sight of the other horses, he calls to them to reassure them that he has not gone far, and to keep track of where they are, based on their reply calls.

I recorded one of his contact calls and played it back to him, to see how he would react.

He was initially quite startled and uttered a vigorous response call.  However, I suspect that he was soon able to tell that there was something sly afoot: by the third playback, he stopped taking any notice of the sound.

I have a brief web page about Chance and his involvement in the sport of Tent Pegging at http://www.tentpegging.org .

Equine Whinny

My address in the United Nations General Assembly Chamber, on GOPAC's strategy to bring the world's worst kleptocrats to justice.

More information is available at http://www.maharaj.org/humanity.shtml

I spoke in my capacity as CEO of the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption.

Address in the UN General Assembly Chamber

Until November 2014, the last time I had played a musical instrument was more than two decades ago, in my compulsory high school music class.  I was assigned the oboe, which I imagine would be quite a beautiful instrument -- in someone else's hands.

The years since them have slipped by faster than I care to think, but I always harboured a desire to return to music through the piano, just for the pleasure of it.  I began my lessons in the autumn of last year, and can certainly attest that being an adult student is a humbling experience.

My first time playing in public was this past week, at the music festival in the small community of Renfrew, near my home in the Ottawa Valley.

I played Prelude 1 of Book 1 from JS Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier.  I selected this piece primarily because I have always enjoyed it, but also because I hoped that the regular geometry of the composition would place it within my modest abilities.

The festival asked pianists not to record their performances, and so this is a recording of one of my late practice sessions.  I realise that I play the piece much more briskly than is usual, and I will likely moderate my pace in the future.

Bach wrote that the pieces of The Well-Tempered Clavier were, “for the profit and use of musical youth desirous of learning”.  It has certainly been a while since I was a youth, and I have never been terribly musical, but I am desirous of learning.


The Well-Tempered Clavier, Prelude 1, Book 1

The bitterest irony of the bloodshed in Gaza is that Israelis and Palestinians desperately need one another, to endure in a region that is home to them both.

Ultimately, neither will survive, if the other perishes.

But accepting that requires courage, foresight, and empathy: qualities in tragically short supply.

This is my full radio interview on Gaza, with CBC Radio’s Metro Morning.

The War in Gaza: Interview with CBC Radio's Metro Morning

Observer Radio 91.1 FM of Antigua and Barbuda interviewed me in my capacity as CEO of the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC), along with Juno Samuel, Chair of the country's Electoral Commission.

We discussed reform of political party financing, an issue that has taken on new gravity in Antigua and Barbuda with the recent arrest of John Ashe, the country's former Ambassador to the United Nations and a former President of the UN General Assembly.

Radio Interview on Political Finance Reform in Antigua and Barbuda

On 13 September 2018, I was part of a NATO-hosted meeting of the executive leaders of Ukraine's defence and security services.

I spoke on measures to increase democratic oversight of the armed forces, to reduce corruption in defence procurement, and to strengthen the country's capacity to resist the Russian government's occupation of its territory.

This recording is a brief excerpt of my address, when I emphasised that corruption has become an existential threat to the very survival of Ukraine as a free and independent state.

I participated in the discussions in my capacity as CEO of the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC).

Day of Reckoning: Addressing Ukraine's Military Leadership

This is my inaugural address as CEO of the Mosaic Institute.

Mosaic is a Canadian charitable institution that advances pluralism in societies and peace amongst nations.  It is a pillar of Public Diplomacy, and brings together people, communities, and states separated by strife, to foster mutual understanding and to resolve conflicts.

I wrote about my path to Mosaic, and my plans to take the Institute forward, at https://maharaj.ca/mosaic

Mosaic and the Arc of History

This is a recording of my testimony to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, in May 2019.

The Committee was considering what steps social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter should take — and what steps government should impose upon them — to reduce the the spread disinformation, social polarisation, and hate.

Some of democracy's most sacrosanct principles collide in this debate: freedom of expression; the right of all citizens to dignity and equality; and the imperative of national democratic oversight in a globalised world.

Practical Idealism

Regulating Social Media: Testifying at the House of Commons

The Oxford and Cambridge Society of Toronto invited me to speak to the new cohort of Canadian students, about to embark for Oxford and Cambridge universities.

I felt pangs of happy, nostalgic envy in speaking with them. 

Studying at Oxford completely changed the trajectory of my life.  It opened up new possibilities that I had previously only glimpsed as a distant observer.

https://www.maharaj.org/education.shtml

Addressing Canadians at Oxford and Cambridge

Ambassador-at-Large for the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption.  Director of Policy for Nature Canada.  I also ride for Canada in equestrian sport, and write on statecraft and international affairs.

Visit my web site at www.Maharaj.org for everything you never wanted to know about me, and more!

Akaash Maharaj

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