Patrick Brown holds narrow lead in Brampton mayoral race, poll finds
A new poll suggests former Progressive Conservative leader Patrick Brown holds a narrow lead over incumbent Linda Jeffrey in the Brampton mayoral race. According to a survey by Mainstreet Research, 43.9 per cent of decided voters that were polled were in favour on Brown, while 39.3 per cent supported Jeffrey.
Singh urges Ottawa to cancel $15B Saudi arms deal
Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is urging Ottawa to cancel a $15-billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia. “We’ve got a regime which has got a serious record of horrible human rights violations against its own people,” Singh told CTV News from Kapuskasing, Ont. on Saturday. “And now,” he added, “its implication and involvement in the […]
Kennedy Stewart named mayor of Vancouver; one over several B.C. turnovers
Former New Democrat MP Kennedy Stewart has won a neck-and-neck mayoral race to lead Vancouver, as Metro Vancouver saw significant local government shakeups across the region. Supporters chanted, “Kennedy, Kennedy,” and broke out in dance as results came in early Sunday morning, heralding Stewart in as the first Independent mayor of Vancouver in more than […]
Leonard Krog’s victory in the Nanaimo mayoral race Saturday will send a tremor through B.C. politics — one that may not be fully felt for a year or more.
Read MoreNDP MLA Leonard Krog has been elected the mayor of Nanaimo, triggering a provincial byelection that could shift the balance of power in the legislature. Krog won nearly 73 per cent of the vote. He defeated Don Hubbard by more than 13,000 votes. “The numbers are living proof that [people] did want me to run,” […]
Read MoreAlberta Party Leader Stephen Mandel is taking aim at the province’s carbon tax, saying it needs to be changed but that axing it is not the magic wand for a province running multibillion-dollar deficits. “I find it fascinating that this carbon tax is such a major issue,” Mandel told about 485 party members Saturday in […]
Read MoreAfter four days of lineups at pot shops across Alberta, some store owners say there’s not enough weed left to keep their doors open and they’re struggling to order more. In the meanwhile, the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission has granted 14 more retail cannabis store licenses since Wednesday, bringing the total number to […]
Read MoreCanada has condemned the killing of a Washington Post journalist in Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Turkey. Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a statement Saturday night that the Saudis’ “explanations” of the killing of Jamal Khashoggi “lack consistency and credibility.” She also reiterated the federal government’s call for a thorough investigation in collaboration with […]
Read MoreForeign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland says that anyone who thinks the new trilateral North American trade agreement limits Canada’s trade sovereignty is misguided. Freeland told Chris Hall, host of CBC Radio’s The House, that the section of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that lays out the rules for making pacts with “non-market” countries won’t limit Canada’s […]
Read MoreFeatured Ink
Are cabinet leaks really a new norm?
Cabinet leaks of confidential information have always led to explosive headlines. This week was no exception. The question is whether leaks have become an accepted practice and if so, what are the consequences? At issue is a criminal charge against the Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff, Mark Norman. His lawyer, Marie Henein, has reportedly made […]
How the new USMCA strengthens Canada in future trade deals
Now that the threat of the NAFTA-pocalypse has lifted for Canada, the Monday morning quarter-backing is well under way on whether the new United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) Agreement is better or worse than trade pact that preceded it. But beyond the negative headlines, the USMCA probably leaves Canada stronger than it was going into the negotiations […]
Pot legalization a lesson in savvy political timing
In politics, there are two factors — over which you have no control — that determine your fate: timing and luck. In running for office, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seems to have taken his father’s advice that “the essential ingredient of politics is timing” to heart.
How election fraud looks in the 21st century
When I was very young, allowed to stay up at my grandfather’s campaign headquarters because it was election night, the most astonishing sight was two grizzled old loggers swaggering in some time after polls closed. They would brag to everyone’s nervous amusement about how many times they had voted that day. With British Columbia’s archaic […]
Climate Science Warns Us of Disaster And Neuroscience Says It’s Not a Problem
According to the latest UN report on climate change, the world has 12 years to avoid catastrophe. Unfortunately, according to Behavioural Economics, humans aren’t hardwired to think long-term. Basically, our brains aren’t very good at assessing the risks. The irony would be comical if the stakes weren’t so high. So, how bad is it? The […]
Electoral reform is finally coming to Canada and not a moment too soon
Monday may in time come to be seen as the day electoral reform came to Canada. A year from now the country that, alone among those still using “first past the post” system of casting and counting votes, does so at every level of government, could have very different systems in place in several jurisdictions, […]
Federal Liberals stumbled into a $20B windfall — then they spent it all
The Economist this week warns policy makers to “start preparing for the next recession” while they still can. The release of the government of Canada’s annual financial report for the 2017-18 fiscal year, however suggests the Trudeau Liberals have no notion of foregoing that most enjoyable of all entitlements: spending other people’s money.
Every major federal party sees opportunity in Quebec’s new government
In the wake of the election earlier this month of a Coalition Avenir Québec government, Parliament Hill insiders and Quebec watchers have been scrambling to figure out how the new dynamics will play out in next year’s federal vote. It is testimony to the uncertainty that attends the arrival of an unknown untested quantity in […]
Trust me, there’s no pardon on pot in American eyes
Amid euphoric media coverage of the first Canadian to buy legal pot, the more interesting and ignored angle would be the last person charged with possession of cannabis in this country. It was probably some lippy kid living on a city street who was busted in tandem with another minor offence. But the record for […]
Is it a politician’s right to block people on Twitter?
There is something undeniably satisfying about blocking a troublesome person on Twitter. One click, and the noise is over. But that simple act, if carried out by a government official, could end up being unconstitutional in Canada if a newly launched court challenge is successful against Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson.
What are the chances the next election turns on whether a decorated Vice-Admiral was unjustly banged up by the Trudeau government for leaking a story about the cabinet discussion surrounding a $668 million sole-source contract for a military supply ship? Slim to none, in all probability. That’s because, despite the ship’s hefty price tag, it’s […]
Read MoreIsn’t some kind of broadband better than nothing? The CRTC thinks so. And I agree. When the Commission released its plans for its $750M Broadband Development Fund earlier this fall, it decided that it would accept applications to provide broadband service at download speeds of 25 Megabits per second (Mbps) and 5 Mbps up, despite […]
Read MoreA column last week made the mistake of saying that Leo Gerard, the Canadian-born international president of the United Steelworkers union attended a ceremony in the Oval Office last March with Donald Trump, where the president signed off on steel and aluminum tariffs. In fact, the pictures of Gerard shaking hands with Trump, and receiving […]
Read MorePope Francis has the most extraordinary ability to say the wrong things, often at the most sensitive times. Last Friday, he accepted the resignation of the archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Donald Wuerl — a controversial figure accused of doing too little to prevent, and perhaps even deliberately covering, up hideous sexual abuse cases. Beyond simply […]
Read MoreNever mind whether we can strike a free trade deal with China: should we? Ever since the text of the renegotiated NAFTA was released, attention has focused on its notorious Article 32.10, and whether it precludes Canada from entering into a free trade agreement with an unnamed “non-market country.” Critics claim Canada has been pressed […]
Read MoreThe sound of one hand clapping greeted the fulfilment of Justin Trudeau’s signature cannabis promise in Quebec on Wednesday. To mark the occasion, the Journal de Montréal, the province’s most-read tabloid, gave pride of place to not one but three scathing columns on the ills of the legalization of marijuana.
Read MoreAn Abacus Data poll released this week suggests Canadians are ready for marijuana legalization even if their governments might not be: Strong majorities of respondents in every age group and in every region said they could support or at least “accept” the framework that goes into effect Oct. 17. Even 54 per cent of Conservative […]
Read MoreBy the time my neighbour, Dave, goes to vote on Saturday, he’ll have spent more than five hours poring over the candidates’ lists for Vancouver mayor, council, school and park boards. He’s read their policies and the parties’ platforms as well as what’s been published in the newspapers. He’s talked to friends both on the […]
Read MoreThe disappearance and possible murder of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi is an important test case for despots everywhere. Can they get away with interrogating, kidnapping and even assassinating their critics in other countries? Khashoggi, a resident of the United States and contributor to the Washington Post, walked into Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, […]
Read MoreAfter nearly two weeks of unending attention on the disappearance and now confirmed death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the powers have finally agreed upon a narrative that can satisfy all interested parties’ state interests. Make no mistake, the now agreed upon story of Mr. Khashoggi’s death was a negotiated one between Saudi Arabia, the […]
Read MoreEntertainment Plus
Very curious, slightly confused, rapper Classified tests limits of cannabis support
Nova Scotia rapper Classified has vouched for smoking marijuana for years, but he says Canada’s new legalization laws have left him confused over the ways he’s allowed to promote the cannabis lifestyle. He knows it’s within his rights to express his love for weed. And he’s allowed to talk publicly about buying shares of OrganiGram, […]
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