Okanagan Conservatives Facebook poster denies he’s racist
Disappointing. That was the term used by many in describing a social media post that’s being widely panned. Earlier this week, a post was put on the Okanagan Conservatives’ Facebook page. The post said “This is what happens when you have a cabinet based on affirmative action” and linked a story to the Ottawa Citizen […]
Ottawa to deliver competitive boost for Canadian companies
The federal government will roll out measures to improve the competitiveness of Canadian companies but will stop short of matching U.S. corporate tax cuts in the fall economic update due to the eye-popping price tag. Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s department has calculated it would cost up to $70 billion over five years in lost revenue […]
Ontario PC Party members met for first time since election victory
Progressive Conservatives are meeting for their first convention since the party swept to power in Ontario’s spring election, but the celebration comes at a time when the new government is weathering a series of political storms. Party members from across the province have gathered at the Toronto Congress Centre to debate policy, celebrate the June […]
Striking Canada Post workers will not get to vote on a pair of offers put forward by the Crown corporation this week before the deadline on them expires. Global News has confirmed the union representing striking postal workers will not take the latest offers, made by Canada Post on Nov. 14, to the membership for […]
Read MoreAn oil leak from a flowline to a tanker off the coast of Newfoundland caused an estimated 250,000 litres of crude to spill into the sea, Husky Energy said Friday. The spill from the SeaRose tanker about 350 km off the Newfoundland coast happened around mid-day on Friday in the White Rose field while crews […]
Read MoreA social media post from the Okanagan Conservatives that has since been deleted is being labelled as racist, and federal politicians were quick to denounce it. Earlier this week, a post was put on the Okanagan Conservatives’ Facebook page. The post said, “This is what happens when you have a cabinet based on affirmative action” […]
Read MoreCanada Post has asked its international partners to halt mail and parcel shipments to Canada as it reels under the weight of a 30-day delivery backlog resulting from a labour dispute with its employees. The Crown corporation said Friday that its domestic customers are also backed up with packages waiting for delivery as rotating strikes […]
Read MoreThe federal government is expected to lay out fresh plans next week to support Canada’s struggling news industry. The measures, expected in Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s fall economic statement Wednesday, will be designed to help journalism remain viable after years of shrinking advertising revenues. The decline has already shuttered newsrooms, led to job cuts in […]
Read MoreCanadian Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer says his support for Britain’s departure from the European Union is undiminished, despite the chaos Brexit has sown in British politics. The United Kingdom was plunged into uncertainty Thursday as Prime Minister Theresa May’s new Brexit deal with Europe met a rash of criticism. Two cabinet ministers resigned, the British […]
Read MoreFeatured Ink
What would possess Andrew Scheer to endorse this Brexit madness?
It would be hard to imagine a more hideous train wreck than the steaming pile of metal, flesh and bone Britain has made of its departure from the European Union. By the time all the bodies have been bagged and tagged, Brexit’s victims may include, not only the country’s membership in the EU, but also […]
Meet Dean French, the political unknown who has become an omnipresent force in Ford’s government
When Ontario Progressive Conservatives gathered for a “unity rally” last March, the plan was for Doug Ford to be introduced by the candidates he had defeated for his party’s leadership days earlier. It was to be an important gesture of conciliation, after a hurried and heated race that he barely won. But when Christine Elliott […]
Trudeau has a chance to play statesman by bringing the U.S. and China together on trade
Justin Trudeau promised to restore Canadian leadership in the world. He pledged that the “proud tradition” that saw Canada help create the United Nations and champion the international treaty to ban land-mines would be revived on his watch. The reality has been underwhelming. Trudeau’s crusade to change the world has been more symbolic than substantive. […]
Ahead of a federal election, what road will Conservatives take on immigration?
On the surface, the contrast between Canada and the United States on immigration is sharp. U.S. President Donald Trump was recently warning of an “invasion” by a group of migrants crossing Mexico on foot, even going so far as to send troops to the border in a theatrical flourish just ahead of the mid-term elections. […]
GSAs, Kenney and Carpay: The tangled web of Alberta politics
Oh, what a tangled web. And at the centre: John Carpay, former Alberta director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation; current president of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms; member of the United Conservative Party; friend of UCP leader Jason Kenney; not a great friend of gay-straight alliances. Carpay flung himself headfirst into the headlines this […]
Taxpayers have spoken, winter games not worth the Olympic-sized bill
The Lords of the Rings gazing down from their Mount Olympus headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland may have cause to furrow their collective brow at the goings-on in Calgary this week. On the ballot of a civic plebiscite was permission to pursue a $5-billion government-backed bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics. And for the first time […]
What is it that keeps Canadians up at night?
Canadians are worried about a lot of things these days, according to a new survey, but they’re not the things dominating the current political debate. The results of this new Public Square Research poll, made available exclusively to the Star, are a wake-up call to those plotting next year’s federal election campaign. There appears to […]
Fake news is as old as Confederation
During the promotional tour this fall for my book on the history of the Parliamentary Press Gallery, Power, Prime Ministers and the Press: The Battle for Truth on Parliament Hill (Dundurn), I have often been asked about the news media today. The questions range from concerned inquiries about the parlous state of the industry to […]
Patrick Brown’s accidental gift to Doug Ford
He didn’t mean to, but Patrick Brown just did Ontario Premier Doug Ford a big favour. If nothing else, he’s bought him a few days of relative peace and quiet. Brown is the former leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservatives, the party Ford now leads and which forms Ontario’s majority government. Brown has a book […]
A lesson in reaction to John Carpay’s rainbow flag comparison: the cross does not justify lunacy
I was shocked when it was revealed that Christian conservative lawyer John Carpay had compared the rainbow flag to the Nazi swastika. Not because Carpay had drawn the grotesque juxtaposition, but because it had taken so long for such a sentiment to be made public. Last Saturday, Calgary-based Carpay, a leading voice with the Justice […]
The Alberta bitumen industry is panicking because of the huge price discount [by as much as $50US per barrel] for their product compared to the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate price. The main culprit according to producers is a supply glut caused by pipeline bottlenecks due largely to government-imposed delays in new pipeline construction: notably […]
Read MoreAs he travels west in search of support for his breakaway conservative party, Maxime Bernier has taken to introducing himself as “the Albertan from Quebec.” Albertans will have to decide from themselves whether a leader who reflects their values would, among other things, have Canada turn its back on the global fight against climate change […]
Read MoreAre Conservatives right to think the next federal election will be a referendum on carbon pricing? And are they likely to win if it is? There they all are on that now-notorious Maclean’s cover: the premiers of Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario, together with the Conservative leader and presumptive next premier of Alberta and the federal […]
Read MoreYou wonder if Liberal ministers believe the balderdash they spin or whether it’s so deeply programmed that it is instinctive, like the mammalian diving reflex or blushing. Ottawa is on a big trade diversification push in Asia, with the prime minister talking to leaders at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting in Singapore, while […]
Read MoreSome years ago, I wrote a book about the physical, spatial needs of democracy, comparing parliamentary and city layouts in 11 cities around the world. I praised the Canadian parliament on a number of grounds, primarily because of its openness: protests are allowed on the lawn, members regularly meet constituents inside the buildings, and Canada […]
Read MoreDoug Ford’s governmenWhat do you do when the higher-ups have no impulse control, and no one has the will to stop them? That’s a bad situation to be in at the best of times; it’s even worse when you’re talking about a government that controls a budget of $160 billion in a province of 14 […]
Read MoreIf your boss is hell-bent on firing you, would you trust him to negotiate with you in good faith? Probably not. This is how some First Nations feel about the current consultations on the Trans Mountain Pipeline. Ottawa has vowed to get the pipeline built and they want it stopped. So, what’s there to talk […]
Read MorePity Andrew Scheer. The federal Conservative leader still lags Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the polls. He is having trouble in Quebec. And now Maxime Bernier’s fledgling People’s Party of Canada threatens to be a serious contender for the right-wing vote. Bernier, 55, is not always treated seriously. Nicknamed Mad Max, the Quebec MP […]
Read MoreThe personal pronoun is best avoided, even by opinion columnists. In this instance it is necessary, to provide some context. I was in a sombre mood on Remembrance Day, having posted a tribute on Twitter to three generations of my family who wore a uniform so I didn’t have to.
Read MoreI’m going to take advantage of you — my captive audience — if you’ll indulge me for a few minutes, to talk about journalism. You are all really smart, accomplished, successful business people. You know that journalism is a business, too. And it’s a business that is seriously under threat. The business model of the […]
Read MoreEntertainment Plus
Roy Clark, ‘Hee Haw’ host, dies at 85
Roy Clark, a country music star and former host of the long-running TV series “Hee Haw,” died Thursday, his publicist told CNN. He was 85. Clark died of complications from pneumonia at his home in Tulsa, Oklahoma, according to publicist Sandy Brokaw. The guitarist and banjo player began his musical career as a young teen, […]
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