McKenna says you can’t erase a troubled history by removing statues
The minister responsible for Parks Canada says tearing down statues is not the solution when it comes to addressing the darker side of Canadian history. Environment Minister Catherine McKenna has asked the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada to look at how to address concerns with historical figures like John A. Macdonald, whose role […]
Federal government to declare statutory holiday to mark painful residential school legacy
The federal government is consulting with Indigenous groups before declaring a national statutory holiday to mark the painful legacy of Canada’s Indian residential schools. The main sticking point has been choosing a date for the annual event. “The overall picture is that it is important to have that day set aside so Canadians continually get […]
Trudeau government started pressing Saudis to release Badawi long before Twitter flap
The Trudeau government has been bringing up the case of imprisoned Saudi blogger Raif Badawi privately at high levels with Saudi Arabian officials since its first weeks in power, documents obtained by CBC News show. A confidential 2015 memo to then-minister of foreign affairs Stéphane Dion was drawn up by officials in his department to […]
A longtime Quebec Liberal backbencher is being shown the door by the party a week before the provincial election campaign officially begins. The Liberals are looking to reserve the Montreal riding of Marquette for a different candidate and have asked Francois Ouimet to step aside after 24 years. Ouimet held a news conference in Quebec […]
Read MoreLe gouvernement Trudeau devra mettre les bouchées doubles au cours des 12 prochains mois afin de pourvoir de nombreux postes vacants au sein de l’appareil d’État avant les prochaines élections, prévient le Bureau du Conseil privé dans une synthèse des nominations «à faire avant octobre 2019.
Read MoreAsked if he’s concerned that selling weapons to Ukraine would escalate the conflict in that country, the owner of a Canadian arms company said: “It may sound callous, but not particularly.” “Since the dawn of time, mankind has been engaged in war, and part of that is equipping yourself properly,” Ross Spagrud, owner of PGW […]
Read MoreFewer than 10 of 84 top-level public servants identify as visible minorities: so few that the federal government won’t pinpoint exactly how many there are. That means fewer than 12 per cent of top federal managers say they are people of colour. By comparison, that’s less than the 14.5 per cent of bureaucrats as a […]
Read MoreA new e-petition is set to force the government to respond to a sexual misconduct allegation against the prime minister from nearly two decades ago. The petition, which first opened for signature on Aug. 1 and is buried in Parliament’s e-portal for official petitions, points out that since Justin Trudeau became party leader five years […]
Read MoreQuebec’s leading trade negotiator on the NAFTA file says he’s not remotely worried by the fact that the U.S. and Mexico are talking trade without Canada. Raymond Bachand, a former Quebec provincial finance minister and the province’s NAFTA negotiator, made the comments in an interview with CBC News Network’s Power & Politics on Tuesday. “I’m […]
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Maxime Bernier keeps the headaches coming for Andrew Scheer
One week before the first Conservative national convention on Andrew Scheer’s leadership watch — and the last such gathering before the next federal election — one would not normally expect Conservative MPs to be debating each other on social media about whether to draw a line on Canada’s diversity.
The Saudi temper tantrum could land one devastating blow — to Canadian health care
Here’s a proposed Canadian reply to the escalating Saudi temper tantrum. Call in the kingdom’s ambassador and tell him: Sorry, Mr. Ambassador, but Canadian universities will never again accept Saudi medical residents. The government could explain that cancelling orders for relatively piddling amounts of wheat and maple syrup is the kingdom’s perfect right, subject of […]
Why you should worry when Maxime Bernier loses his marbles over Canadian diversity
After watching a video of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau giving a speech in which he reiterated one of his favourite statements about “diversity being what makes Canada strong,” Conservative MP Maxime Bernier lost his marbles and went on a Trump-like Twitter rant about diversity and the dangers of promoting it too much.
National Security is not at stake in NAFTA negotiations, it’s just give and take
Is Canada a national security threat to the United States? President Donald Trump’s administration says it is. In June, it invoked a seldom used national security provision in the 1962 Trade Expansion Act to impose tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum imported from Canada, contending that rising imports could endanger […]
Conditions are almost perfect for a snap election
Maxime Bernier probably wasn’t trying to make life easier for Justin Trudeau when he put his fellow Conservatives on the hot seat by speaking out against the prime minister’s alleged “radical multiculturalism.” And NDP leader Jagmeet Singh likely wasn’t thinking too much about boosting Liberal fortunes when he decided to shoot back at some insults […]
Here’s why Canadians deserve a federal election this fall
This is the time in the life of a majority government when minds usually turn to the drafting of a final throne speech. For a ruling party going into its last year before a general election, the occasion is an opportunity to try to articulate an auspicious ballot-box question but also, if need be, to […]
Events give Trudeau every reason to prorogue Parliament and set a new course
The Trudeau Liberals are reportedly giving serious thought to a speech from the throne to launch a new session of Parliament in the fall. That is a discussion for next Tuesday’s summer meeting of the Liberal caucus in British Columbia, after which a decision will be made. Whether they choose to prorogue or move ahead […]
An “Atlantic Community” to bolster the West
Is the West falling apart? Although news of the West’s demise may be premature, the increasingly erratic policies of US President Donald Trump are placing enormous pressure on the military and nonmilitary ties that bind us. And it’s not just the United States. Britain’s exit from the European Union, no matter how amicable the eventual […]
Maxime Bernier’s ill-advised tweets on diversity simply don’t make sense
In the world according to Conservative MP Maxime Bernier, there’s nothing wrong with diversity. There is something wrong, however, with “ever more diversity.” Confused? Me too, but I’ll try to break it down for you. Bernier made a series of ill-advised tweets around 8:30 on Sunday night. When many Canadians were presumably relaxing and spending […]
Don’t take Maxime Bernier’s bait
Conservative provocateur Maxime Bernier lit up the lines today after he decried our “cult of multiculturalism.” He tweeted about his opposition to “Trudeau’s extreme multiculturalism and cult of diversity” which he fears will “divide us into little tribes.” As a Canadian columnist, this is the part where I take sides and either double-down by arguing […]
A member of the news media was assaulted by a protester in Toronto this past weekend. The altercation happened on camera, in front of police, with dozens of people standing by. The incident in which a journalist was struck by an activist — ironically, at an anti-hate rally — seemed entirely unprovoked: a pathetic attack […]
Read MoreCertain things in public life should not be taken at face value — including election promises, government spending estimates and former ministers furthering their commercial interests under the guise of speaking about the national interest. John Baird’s appearance on the Saudi regime’s mouthpiece channel, Al Arabiya, complaining that the Trudeau government has been “poking a […]
Read MoreThe painful confrontation with Saudi Arabia is yet another example of the continuity-of-error that defines much of this Liberal government’s approach to Canada in the world. “It’s a sad tale of unfulfilled promises and possibilities left unexplored and amateurish stumbling about,” says Daryl Copeland, a foreign policy analyst who spent three decades as a diplomat […]
Read MoreBrian Pallister figures it must have taken his father, a lifelong farmer and a man of few words, more than a week sitting on his tractor to formulate a response to his son’s first political win. It is 1992 and Pallister the younger has been elected to the provincial legislature. “He says, ‘Congratulations, boy. If […]
Read MoreLong before Quebec produced a political party bent on separatism, British Columbia entertained serious thoughts of quitting Canada. The drive culminated in a resolution passed by the legislature 140 years ago this month under the leadership of then Premier George Walkem, elected on a promise to “fight Canada.” Framed as a direct plea to Queen […]
Read MoreWhat was Shannon Stubbs thinking? The Conservative MP for Lakeland — a riding just north and east of Edmonton — isn’t stupid. Far from it. If anything, she has a reputation for being bright, capable, and a smart political operator, a former staffer to both Preston Manning and Deborah Grey. She’s made her bones as […]
Read MoreMercifully, it is not every government that deploys its paid political staffers as clapping, barking seals. This appears to be a genuine first for new Ontario Conservative Premier Doug Ford, and he’s been rightly mocked for using said clappers to cut short press conferences and reporters’ questions by applauding and cheering his every pearl of […]
Read MoreJagmeet Singh’s days as federal NDP leader have been so ill-starred you almost feel sorry for the guy. That’s not a good thing. Politicians want to look bold, decisive and successful, not confused, unlucky and accident-prone. Singh can’t get a break. The last good thing that happened to him was winning the New Democratic Party […]
Read MoreSir John A. Macdonald continues to vanish from the Canadian landscape. The latest to jump on the politically correct bandwagon is Victoria, which has removed a statue of Macdonald from in front of its city hall. It is kind of ironic, actually, considering that Victoria is named for the Queen who ruled during the Macdonald […]
Read MoreTo be called the world’s worst oppressor of women by Saudi Arabia, as Canada has just been, is like being called a liar by Donald Trump. Comedy in hot pursuit of farce. The finger-pointing Kingdom is no country for women, old or young — despite Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ludicrous claim of total equality […]
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Hedley frontman Jacob Hoggard’s alleged sex offences case returns to court
The case of Hedley frontman Jacob Hoggard, who faces three sexual assault-related charges, will be returning to a Toronto court this morning. Hoggard, 34, was arrested last month and charged with one count of sexual interference and two counts of sexual assault causing bodily harm. Police say the charges relate to three separate incidents involving […]
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