Senior naval officer was threatened after reporting McDonald allegation: sources
A senior naval officer alerted the defence minister’s office to an allegation of sexual misconduct against Adm. Art McDonald in February but was redirected and told to report the concern elsewhere, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter. And sources tell Global News the officer has received anonymous telephone threats warning that […]
Alberta seeks billions in federal funding for carbon capture projects
Alberta is asking Ottawa to commit to $30-billion in spending or tax incentives over the next decade to spur the building of large-scale industrial carbon capture projects. The provincial government says for Canada to meet climate goals, the country will have to help fund a series of carbon capture, utilization and storage, or CCUS, facilities […]
The backroom battle between industry, Ottawa and environmentalists over plastics regulation
When elementary school students showed up at Victoria city council meetings asking for a ban on plastic bags, the B.C. city’s mayor, Lisa Helps, knew it was time to listen. “The ban started with (the) students,” Helps says. “But then we spent a good couple years working with our business community … it was everyone […]
The federal Conservatives say they want to hear when two senior Liberal officials first learned about allegations of sexual misconduct by Gen. Jonathan Vance — and what they did about them. The Conservatives say they are planning to call Zita Astravas and Elder Marques to testify before the House of Commons’ defence committee as it […]
Read MoreThe Correctional Service of Canada does not keep track of whether its employees have been accused of sexual assault, or whether criminal charges have been laid, a data gap that survivors and experts say is allowing a culture of abuse to flourish inside women’s prisons. At least three guards at women’s institutions have been charged […]
Read MoreA strong majority of Canadians both approve of Parliament’s declaration that China is carrying out genocide against its Uyghur Muslim minority and favour a harder line toward the country, including economic sanctions and moving the 2022 Winter Olympics out of Beijing. A poll by Nanos Research for The Globe and Mail shows that 83 per […]
Read MoreNDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says the Liberal government’s handling of allegations against former chief of defence staff Gen. Jonathan Vance has eroded Canadians’ trust, calling for further measures to ensure victims of sexual misconduct can safely come forward. Speaking with The West Block‘s Mercedes Stephenson on Sunday, Singh said he has “serious concerns” about how […]
Read MoreThere’s a disconnect between O’Toole, who believes the party is in good shape electorally, and some members of caucus who feel the party is floundering. In two weeks, Conservative leader Erin O’Toole will give a keynote speech at the party’s policy convention that could be the most important of his leadership so far. But the […]
Read MoreCanada’s chief public health officer is expressing hope for the future as the world prepares to mark the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 crisis. The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic last March 11, and Dr. Theresa Tam says it’s been a difficult 12 months marked by hardship and sacrifice. But she says it’s […]
Read MoreFeatured Ink
O’Toole’s in a fight to keep control of a party bent on fighting itself
When Gump Worsley was goalie for the New York Rangers back in the 1950s, a reporter asked him which team gave him the most trouble. “The New York Rangers,” he replied. Now Erin O’Toole knows what that’s like. There is no doubt which team gives the Conservative Leader the most grief. It’s the Conservative Party. […]
The Forgotten War
It’s amazing how nations can put wars away neatly in the curio cabinet. That’s not always true, of course, especially if the victory won is convincing enough that it provides a sense of resolve and memory in a culture. The effects of World War Two, and the firm manner in which peace was secured, infused […]
On This Day in Canada’s Political History: Diefenbaker Leads the Charge to Expel South Africa From the Commonwealth
Today is an important anniversary for all politicos, regardless of party preference, to celebrate. It was, of course, on this date in 1961 that the famous Commonwealth Conference that would see South Africa leave the organization because of that nation’s odious system of Apartheid, got underway in London. The background is that South Africa had […]
Planning ‘The Most Significant (Budget) Of Our Lifetime’
In Mid-January, the Finance Minister, Chrystia Freeland, announced new budget consultations with Canadians to assist her in preparing her spring budget. According to Minister Freeland, the 2021 budget “will be among the most significant of our lifetime.” We have no idea what a “significant” budget means and we doubt that the Finance Minister does as […]
In Canadian politics, Erin O’Toole might be the pandemic’s biggest loser
It was not so long ago — a bit less than a decade — that Canada was the scene of a heated debate as to whether the NDP and the Liberals needed to come together under a single roof or form a coalition of some kind. Back then, the thinking was that the division of […]
Canada’s premiers want more money for health care. Will it take a federal election for them to get it?
Provinces in Canada are fond of telling the big bad federal government to mind its own business. So it was somewhat unexpected this week to see provincial premiers inserting themselves into the ongoing debate over when and how Canada could be tipped into a federal election as soon as this spring. Technically, this would be […]
One year into pandemic, federal digital government is largely business as usual
It’s been a year since the Government of Canada, like every other organization, household and individual, was forced to move its work to the web in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. When this shift first took hold, many predicted that the digital demands of the crisis would provide the push the government needed to finally […]
I’m a mother, but COVID made me realize I have to prioritize my career
At the time the Ontario government announced school closings in March, 2020, I was finally pursuing my dream of becoming a writer, after spending nearly a decade at home raising my three kids. In the early days of the lockdown, my husband and I supported each other as we both worked from home, surrounded by […]
What the Liberals got right — and wrong — in long overdue reforms to assisted dying
It has been a long, winding and unnecessarily tortuous journey, but finally, the federal government is about to recognize all Canadians’ right to a peaceful death. Back in 2016, when the Trudeau government first introduced legislation that legalized medical assistance in dying (MAID), the government described it as “the responsible first step.” It would have […]
Canadians are left on their own to figure out ever-evolving COVID-19 vaccine policies
Back in November, top public-health officials in Ottawa said they were working on a campaign to address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. It was an indulgent thought back then – before a single vial had landed on Canadian soil – and could arguably still be one now, as long as vaccine demand outweighs supply. But the delivery […]
So much for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the premiers following the science and the best medical advice as they claim they’ve been doing since the start of the pandemic. Now, because of our dire vaccine shortage for COVID-19 and its variants, Canada is launching a nationwide experiment no other country has attempted, using us […]
Read MoreOh dear, what can the matter be? This latest episode of COVID-19 upset is brought to you by a couple of chief medical officers on opposite ends of the country, and an organization you’ve probably never heard of unless it was your business to hear about it. To the west, British Columbia’s Dr. Bonnie Henry […]
Read MoreWhen Canada created election finance laws — among the world’s best — there were two principles: levelling the playing field and ensuring that every dollar given or spent was made public. Delivering on the first principle meant putting a hard cap on what candidates could spend. Somewhat naively, caps on donations were thought to be […]
Read MoreBill C-14 “An Act to implement certain provisions of the economic statement tabled in Parliament on November 30, 2020 and other measures” was introduced into parliament on December 2, 2020 by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland to the Liberal government’s “Fall Economic Statement 2020”. The bill is in second reading, with the most recent […]
Read MoreIt was on this date in 1985 that Peru’s Pérez de Cuéllar, Secretary General of the United Nations, addressed Canada’s Parliament. He was the second leader of the UN to do so, following his distinguished predecessor U Thant, who did so in in 1964. Later, Kofi Annan, in 2004, became the third UN Secretary General […]
Read MoreAnyone involved in Canadian politics knows that being leader of the Official Opposition is hard, and that growing the fractious Conservative coalition is even harder. That doesn’t change the fact that Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole needs to do a better job. Justin Trudeau’s Liberals are vulnerable. Canada’s performance in acquiring vaccines has been mediocre at […]
Read MoreMultiple reports suggest there is widespread disgruntlement in federal Conservative ranks. Among social conservatives, there is a sense of betrayal at Derek Sloan’s abrupt dismissal from the party, by a vote of conservative caucus no less, for his alleged “pattern of destructive behaviour.” Apparently this wasn’t what so-cons had in mind when they parked their […]
Read MoreWhile Canada appears to have conceded the point with regard to the demise of the Keystone XL project, let’s not be lulled into thinking that the trade-off is peace on the Canada-U.S. energy front. One could argue that at least the decision on Keystone XL, as much as it dashes many economic hopes, more or […]
Read MoreThere’s an ongoing campaign by sovereigntists in Quebec to remove former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s name from Montreal’s airport, arguing he oppressed Quebecers. They want the Montreal-Trudeau International Airport renamed to honour, Rene Levesque, the late separatist premier of Quebec.
Read MoreFor women in the Canadian Forces, there is no way to look up the ranks, past top military brass, to find the person who is accountable when there are allegations of sexual misconduct against high-ranking officers. There is no one. Not Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, who is supposed to be responsible, but who can’t give […]
Read MoreEntertainment Plus
Dick Smyth, Canadian maestro of news radio commentary, dies at 86
TORONTO — Radio and television personality Dick Smyth, whose booming commentary filled Canadian airwaves for decades with hot takes on the day's topics, has died at 86. His daughter Tracy Smyth said he died Saturday afternoon in Huntsville, Ont. "He was a mentor to many, many people in the business, and I know that he's […]
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