What we know (and don’t know) about the race to become the next House speaker
Full disclosure: At more than one point over the last 48 hours or so, Process Nerd started mentally plotting out a follow-up to her previous instalment to explore what could happen if a House of Commons speaker refused to resign despite near-unanimous calls to do so. As it turns out, that question can remain purely […]
Liberal caucus meeting on Tuesday night was about speaker election process: sources
A rare Tuesday night Liberal caucus meeting was held to explain the process of the upcoming speaker election, according to sources within the party.
Ottawa unveils new AI code of conduct for Canadian companies
The federal government has unveiled a voluntary code of conduct for the use of advanced generative artificial intelligence systems in Canada that includes commitments to transparency and avoiding bias. Speaking at the All In conference on AI in Montreal on Wednesday, Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said the code will complement legislation making its way through […]
It took four days from when a Nazi solider was honoured in the House of Commons to when the Speaker who welcomed him offered his resignation—but that outcome was always going to be the case because “it was just not tenable for him to stay there,” say observers. “It was the only option,” said former […]
Read MoreA dozen nuclear energy experts are calling for a formal risk assessment of emerging nuclear technologies and warning Prime Minister Justin Trudeau if a company in New Brunswick were to be successful, its product could be used by other countries to make nuclear bombs. The open letter sent to the Prime Minister’s Office is dated […]
Read MoreThe final moments of murdered B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar were caught on camera, according to members of the Surrey gurdwara where he served as president. Nijjar was gunned down in his truck outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara on the evening of June 18. The killing has became a major diplomatic flashpoint this […]
Read MoreFederal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he received an intelligence briefing about allegations that the Indian government could be behind the killing of a Sikh leader in British Columbia. Singh says after learning more information, he can “confirm” that “clear evidence” of India’s involvement exists. He received the briefing days after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau […]
Read MorePoland’s education minister says he has “taken steps” to effect the extradition of Yaroslav Hunka, a 98-year-old Ukrainian Canadian, to Poland after it emerged that the veteran served in the Nazi SS Galizien formation during the Second World War. On Friday, Hunka was invited to sit in the parliamentary gallery by Speaker Anthony Rota for […]
Read MoreAnthony Rota has resigned from his prestigious position as Speaker of the House of Commons over his invitation to, and the House’s subsequent recognition of, a man who fought for a Nazi unit during the Second World War. Rota announced his unprecedented decision to step aside after meeting with the House leaders from all parties […]
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Has The Ex-Speaker Put The Liberals In An Even Deeper Hole?
How much worse can things get for the Liberals? Does Justin Trudeau have a plan to recover from the “Nazi in the parliamentary gallery” story? If so, will it be enough to make people forget the national embarrassment caused by last Friday’s incident. Bruce Anderson on that, plus his thoughts on how two polls done […]
Rota’s gavel falls — the undeniable case for the speaker to resign
In the typically calm domain of Canadian politics, the unsavoury spectacle orchestrated by House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota has jolted the political and public conscience. The misstep of inviting and acknowledging a World War II veteran for fighting against the Russians, only to later unveil that his fight was as a member of the […]
Canada embarrassed itself when it honoured a man who fought for the Nazis. But that’s hardly the worst part
It is clear a price will have to be paid for the spectacle of Canadian parliamentarians standing and applauding last Friday for a man who fought with the Nazis during the Second World War. The man who should not pay that price is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The colonial project called Canada is outdoing itself
Did the prime minister just gaslight the entire country by claiming the Second World War history we all learned, and were tested on in school, is Russian propaganda? We need a ctrl-alt-delete restart on this colonial project we call Canada. Speaker Anthony Rota has apologized and subsequently resigned for inviting Yaroslav Hunka, who fought with […]
A sober David Dodge informs the Liberals their fiscal bender is finished
David Dodge was like the grown-up handing out black coffee and aspirins the morning after a night of teenage bacchanalian excess. The former Bank of Canada governor was testifying before the House of Commons finance committee on Monday and his message was unequivocal: The party’s over. Article content The Liberal government has rarely encountered a […]
Attempts to erase the lauding of a Nazi veteran from Canada’s records are shameful.
On Monday, Liberal Government House Leader Karina Gould attempted to move a motion to erase all records of the Speaker of the House of Commons recognizing a veteran of the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (a Nazi division), during the address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s to Canada’s House of Commons. This decision […]
Today in Canada’s Political History: Margaret Thatcher addresses Toronto’s Canadian Club and Empire Club
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was in Canada on this date in 1983 to address members of Toronto’s storied Empire Club. Ontario Premier William Davis welcomed Mrs. Thatcher to the podium. “It is an honour for me to introduce to you,” he said, “not only a distinguished lady, not only a person who is head […]
The Speaker isn’t supposed to be a problem — and that’s a big problem for Anthony Rota
The Speaker of the House of Commons is not supposed to be the problem. The Speaker of the House is the individual chosen by their fellow members to preside over their business, check their behaviour, protect their privileges and represent the institution. The Speaker is the officer in robes overlooking the proceedings from his throne, […]
Trudeau’s handling of Rota affair has very real implications for Ukraine
Putin’s propaganda about “denazifying Ukraine” thus got a major boost, complete with slo-mo video footage of our MPs rising to their feet to applaud a beaming Yaroslav Hunka, who served in the SS 14th Waffen Division, which committed numerous atrocities against Poles during the Second World War. Article content Meanwhile, our Five Eyes allies are […]
Canada’s shame is Ukraine’s disaster
Up until the fiasco of Parliament giving a standing ovation to a 98-year-old Ukrainian-Canadian named Yaroslav Hunka, who, it turned out, had fought with the Waffen SS against the Soviets in the Second World War, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s North American tour had gone reasonably well.
Jews across Canada were preparing for the holiest day on the religious calendar on Sunday, as word was spreading about a major snafu in Ottawa two days earlier. Ahead of a 24-hour fast to atone for sins committed in the previous year and ask to be inscribed into the Book of Life for the year […]
Read MoreTrans people are currently in the crosshairs of some Canadians who are following a pattern set in the United States: Extreme commentators and their political enablers distort and amplify anecdotes to depict trans people as a threat to our children, and other people follow along.
Read MoreHere’s what we know about the hottest issue in Canadian politics. Two out of three Canadians see housing affordability as a “crisis”. Even most Liberals (59%) agree. But expensive houses don’t affect everyone the same way. Rising prices have been only bad news for half the population, but only good news for 17%. Others see […]
Read MoreAfter the first week back in Parliament, it is obvious that all three leaders of the national parties have their work cut out for them. The prime minister has the most obvious problem. Justin Trudeau’s press these days reads like a savage review of a Broadway flop. Maybe he’s playing rope-a-dope with Conservative Leader Pierre […]
Read MoreOver the summer, something remarkable happened. Women, across every voting demographic, started migrating their voting intention away from the Liberal government. But that trend shouldn’t come as a surprise, given that economic data from that period suggests that high interest rates and sustained high inflation – particularly in the cost of fuel and groceries – […]
Read MoreProtests and counter-protests on the rights of children to use their chosen pronouns were held across the country last week. New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh led a counter-protest in Ottawa, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to X (formerly Twitter) to condemn “hate and its manifestations,” and reiterate his support for the 2SLGBTQ+ community […]
Read MoreNova Scotia’s John Thompson, a respected jurist and past Premier of Nova Scotia, entered the cabinet of Sir John A. Macdonald on this date in 1885. He had been sent to the Commons by his province’s voters in a by-election after accepting the pleas of Sir John A. to enter federal politics. Thompson took up […]
Read MoreI get to ask thousands of Canadians, hundreds of questions each week and I’ve been doing this for 13 years now at Abacus Data. At no point in that time have I seen the kind of shifts and surprising results in our surveys than I do today. Take for example the rapid shift in vote […]
Read MoreIt was supposed to be a parliamentary sitting about affordability and public safety but quickly became about India and allegations of a politically motivated murder. How does this all influence the political pulse of the week?
Read MoreIs there a way out of this India story or are the two sides just too entrenched in their positions? Chantal and Bruce have their thoughts on the story that has dominated the headlines all week. And Doug Ford — does saying you’re sorry clean up the Greenbelt mess?
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