Canadian military not ready for ‘space army,’ former defence chief says
Canada’s military may not be ready to plant a flag in outer space, but a former chief of the defence staff says the federal government would do well to keep an eye on what the U.S. does next with its promised new “space force.” It wouldn’t make sense for Canada to attempt to build something […]
Trump warns Trudeau on lack of defence spending ahead of NATO summit
Just weeks ahead of the NATO summit U.S. President Donald Trump is calling on allies, including Canada, to increase defence spending on NATO. It comes by way of a letter, obtained by iPolitics, written on White House letterhead and signed by Trump, that was sent to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on June 19. “There is […]
Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority fires back against Ambassador Bridge’s ‘untruths’
The Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority is firing back against the Ambassador Bridge and the “untruths” contained in its TV ad that aired in Washington, targeting U.S. President Donald Trump. That ad said the construction of the new Canadian-funded Gordie Howe International Bridge will take jobs and trade away from the U.S.
Daniel Peacock says this year is tougher for Camp Jordan. The small Baptist summer camp in Jordan Falls, N.S., has relied on $4,000 in federal grant money to hire a student camp counsellor for the last four years — a job that is invaluable, according to Peacock, a member of the board that oversees the […]
Read More“It’s my opinion, I’m Bill Good,” the broadcaster’s familiar voice has signed off daily over the Vancouver airwaves for nearly three years. Now, listeners of News 1130 and B.C. residents far and wide are hearing more from the award-winning veteran broadcaster — who’s also wearing a different hat as the voice of a new anti-electoral-reform […]
Read MoreJagmeet Singh was supposed to be in Chicoutimi. Headlines heralded the arrival of all three major party leaders to the riding north of Québec City last week, just days before a federal byelection. Singh, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer were actually expected to appear at the same event: the opening leg […]
Read MoreThe Liberal government has concluded a deal with a Quebec shipyard to purchase, through a sole-source contract, three medium icebreakers to relieve pressure on the Canadian Coast Guard’s aging fleet. The agreement struck with Chantier Davie of Levis, Que., which operates the Davie shipyard, was announced Friday in a release by Public Services and Procurement […]
Read MoreOne of Donald Trump’s protectionist “America first” policies is partly to blame for making home ownership too costly for more than one million Americans. According to the U.S.-based National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), American tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber have caused housing prices in the United States to jump by an average of $9,000 […]
Read MorePrime Minister Justin Trudeau has been fined $100 for another breach of Parliament’s ethics code, this time involving a gift from the Premier of Prince Edward Island. Neither the breach nor fine were disclosed until Parliament prepared to adjourn for summer recess.
Read MoreFeatured Ink
A snap election? Unlikely, but with the obstacles ahead, Liberals may be tempted
The journalist Susan Delacourt raised eyebrows recently with a column floating the possibility of a summer election. It wasn’t clear what set her off — it would rather fly in the face of federal legislation fixing Oct. 21, 2019 as the date, among other objections — aside from the mounting threat to the country’s well-being […]
In Ottawa, all eyes are on Donald Trump
The main takeaway from Canada’s uncommonly intense political spring is a wilder-than-ever Donald Trump card. That is first and foremost a challenge for a federal government that has had to deploy more resources to do damage control on the Canada/U.S. front than any of its recent predecessors — with so far less than optimal results.
Canada’s new chief justice keen to drag Supreme Court into the light
The Gnomes of Ottawa may not be the secretive, underground creatures of modern fairy tales. But the men and women who have run Canada’s great institutions have tended to be equally shy and enigmatic. Until now, that is. Richard Wagner, the new chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, held a press conference Friday […]
How Chrystia Freeland became the (unofficial) deputy prime minister
A cabinet shuffle may well be coming in the next couple of months in Ottawa, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seems to have already jumped the gun and created a new job for one of his ministers. Chrystia Freeland, already Canada’s foreign affairs minister, is increasingly looking like the unofficial deputy prime minister to Trudeau.
Trump’s America an embarrassment to this dual citizen
I’ve always been proud of being born in the U.S.A., even after five decades as a Canadian citizen. Having access to dual citizenship in a country that gave so much to the world economically, militarily and democratically was a bonus branch from our family tree. Not any more.
Trump gives Trudeau a golden ticket, but can he cash in?
For Justin Trudeau, spotty record and all, Donald Trump could be the improbable ticket to re-election. The question is, does Trudeau understand why the Trump card is so important? The domestic political situation facing Trudeau and his Liberal government is increasingly gloomy. Whether he knows it or not, the disappointment amongst the coalition that gave […]
The dazzling deceit of big marijuana
Alex MacDonald is a grizzled old pothead. He has a cough from 50 years of smoking dope. He used to be a dealer, too, though he hasn’t done that for years. Today he remains a faithful consumer and a close student of the industry. He thinks a lot of the hype around legalization is ridiculous.
How Canada’s G7 summit fell short for women
Canada is being praised in some quarters for taking a strong stance on supporting women’s empowerment as host of the G7 leaders’ summit earlier this month, but the praise is somewhat misplaced. There was a $400 million investment in women and girls’ education; a commitment to raise $3 billion to support women’s economic participation in […]
Without the Safe Third Country Agreement, we’d soon see how liberal on refugees we really are
You must understand, there is never going to be a turning point. People keep expecting, even predicting one: the dramatic “have you no decency, sir” moment when Donald Trump at long last goes too far, even for his supporters, and begins his inevitable decline and fall. But life is not a movie, and resists our […]
The passage of the Cannabis Act is crucial for Trudeau’s credibility
Promise made, promise kept — which is not something this government has been able to say very often. The passage of the pot-legalization bill before the summer recess was crucial for Justin Trudeau, who during his 959 days in power has garnered a reputation as a promise-breaker. After reneging on the pledge to usher in […]
Yesterday in this space, I called for an election on how Canada should respond to Trump. In a note, public affairs expert Andrew Beattie neatly laid out what I believe is a widely shared fear about such a debate: the issues are too complex, and it would quickly degenerate into bombast and sloganeering. I see […]
Read MoreIn the parliamentary calendar, it is inevitable that the subject of Question Period’s dysfunction will emerge, often with a twinge of anger. It’s happening again in these last few days, led by the Toronto Star researching into the veracity and truthfulness of that one time in the House where the government must account for its […]
Read MoreIs representative democracy in Canada in trouble? The Samara Centre for Democracy, a Canadian charity working to improve politics thinks so. Their recently released report, Flip the Script, paints a grim picture of Canada’s system of elected representation. Based on interviews with 54 Members of Parliament exiting after the 2105 federal election, it portrays a hyper-partisan House […]
Read MorePrime Minister Justin Trudeau needs a better summer in 2018 than he had in 2017 — and the Chicoutimi-Le Fjord byelection was not exactly the most auspicious start. Publicly, Liberals are casting the Conservative victory as not a big deal — the byelection, they’re saying, was always going to be an uphill struggle against local […]
Read MoreToday, on World Refugee Day, Canadians might see yet another news story about the traumas of young Central American girls and boys being separated from their asylum-seeking parents by US immigration officials. As the American Civil Liberties Union recently reported, children who flee to the US unaccompanied are also being brutally mistreated: child immigrants in […]
Read MoreWe keep looking for a politician who’ll stand up and admit failure. Suddenly here was one. There’s a kind of nobility in taking your licking, I guess. “We’re disappointed” in Monday’s by-election results in the Quebec heartland riding of Chicoutimi-Le Fjord, Jagmeet Singh told a knot of reporters outside the House of Commons before Question […]
Read MoreRelief is here, premier-designate Doug Ford told his raucous new caucus at Queen’s Park on Tuesday morning as they prepare to take over the provincial government next week. Ford gave a quickie version of his stump speech from the Progressive Conservatives’ successful campaign before closing the meeting of six dozen Tory MPPs, most of them […]
Read MoreAndrew Scheer’s Conservatives are not going to allow Justin Trudeau to rebuild a Liberal fortress in Quebec without a fight: that’s just one of the messages from Monday’s Chicoutimi-Le Fjord’s byelection upset. And some of the other messages — in particular for the New Democrats — are more alarming than others. But first some essential […]
Read MoreThe results of the Chicoutimi-Le Fjord byelection suggest the Bloc Québecois chapter in Quebec electoral history is over — and that the NDP’s is closing. The convincing Conservative victory on Monday night may not offer great insights into how the general election will play out next year, particularly given the low voter turnout of just […]
Read MoreJustin Trudeau rose in the Commons this week to accuse New Democrats of playing politics with Donald Trump’s inhumane treatment of children warehoused in cages. Some 99 times out of 100, the prime minister would have been correct. One needs not search very hard before tripping over an outbreak of politics in the nation’s capital.
Read MoreEntertainment Plus
Here’s What’s Playing On Netflix Canada In July 2018
Netflix Canada welcomes July 2018 with a wide range of new and original titles, including the much anticipated return of Orange Is The New Black Season 6 on July 27.
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