U.S. politicians fume over Canada’s extended border restrictions
American politicians who are normally friendly to Canada are fuming over news that the border will remain closed to non-essential travel for at least another month. They decried the latest prolongation on Friday as overly cautious, unfounded in science and unclear. “I wish there was a more artful way to say this — but this […]
Transport minister condemns Iran over shootdown of Flight PS752
For the first time, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra publicly condemned Iran in a speech at a session of a UN aviation agency’s council on Friday, more than 17 months after the deadly shootdown of Flight PS752. It was the strongest language Alghabra has used to date while speaking in front of the International Civil Aviation […]
Trudeau defends Sajjan, accuses Tories of slandering embattled defence minister
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau voiced his support for Harjit Sajjan on Friday after opposition parties banded together in the House of Commons to censure the embattled defence minister. The prime minister used part of his opening statement during his first COVID-19 update in a week to tout Sajjan’s previous service as a police and military […]
After Linda O’Leary’s speedboat crashed into another boat on a lake in Ontario’s cottage country, O’Leary was “very hostile” towards police, an officer testified at trial on Friday. “She was very hostile towards us, she was not co-operative, she did not wish to speak with police any further and pretty well told us she was […]
Read MorePrime Minister Justin Trudeau is defending his government’s decision to extend restrictions against non-essential travel to the United States for another month, saying Canada has not yet reached a safety threshold of first- and second-dose vaccinations. The Canada-U.S. border will remain closed to non-essential travel until July 21, the government announced on Friday, a renewal […]
Read MorePrime Minister Justin Trudeau’s promise of a two-dose fall is looking a lot more like it will become a two-dose August. Trudeau says Canada is on track now to have 68 million doses delivered by the end of July, which is more than enough to fully vaccinate all 33.2 million Canadians over the age of […]
Read MoreOntario Premier Doug Ford is shuffling his cabinet, bringing back a minister who resigned last year after violating pandemic travel guidelines. Rod Phillips, who left his role as finance minister after travelling to St. Barts in December, is back in cabinet as the new minister of long-term care. He replaces Merrillee Fullerton, who is leaving […]
Read MoreAlberta will lift its remaining COVID-19 health restrictions on July 1, becoming the first province or territory in Canada to do so. Premier Jason Kenney says 70.2 per cent of Albertans aged 12 and over have now received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. He says that means it’s safe to return to […]
Read MoreThe Canadian government is looking at a plan to reopen the United States border to people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Quebec Premier François Legault said Friday. Legault told reporters at an event in Laval, Que., the reopening could happen when current border restrictions expire on July 21. “We had a meeting by telephone […]
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On This Day in Canada’s Political History: Tories Victorious in Canada’s Fifth General Election
Canadian voters handed Canada’s early Tories a majority victory on this date in 1882. It was only the fifth time since Confederation that Canadian citizens had gone to the polls. There were 211 House seats up for grabs back then and Sir John A. and his supporters celebrated victories in 133 ridings. Edward Blake, leading […]
Weak-willed O’Toole ignores infrastructure bank boondoggle
You can forgive yourself if you’ve never heard of the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB); the largely useless, ultra-expensive federal government boondoggle set up by the Liberals to boost the economy by funding infrastructure projects – “green” projects preferred. Most people in the infrastructure industry have probably never heard of the CIB, or wish they hadn’t.
Linking Israel to apartheid now ‘acceptable’ anti-Semitism
If former Green MP Jenica Atwin had tweeted the white supremacist slogan “the Jews will not replace us,” it’s a safe bet Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would not have welcomed her into the Liberal Party of Canada. But because hers was the more politically acceptable tactic of describing Israel as an apartheid state, she was […]
Canada’s Green Party airs its grass-stained laundry
The Green Party, it is well known, throbs with love for the planet, the trees and every thing that creepeth upon the earth. On the other hand, it has always seemed a little iffy about human beings, as if they were a kind of acne on the face of Gaia. More particularly, while the party […]
Without a quick resolution to their leadership crisis, the Greens will fade away
From the hospital bed where she is having a knee replacement, former leader Elizabeth May must be requiring extra medication to keep her blood pressure down as she watches her beloved Green Party implode. The threatened reign of successor Annamie Paul is the most bizarre, messy and unfortunate political drama among many raging on Parliament […]
Justin Trudeau may benefit from the Green party implosion, but he can hardly be blamed for it
Justin Trudeau is not the Green party leader’s biggest problem, though Annamie Paul is increasingly portraying him that way. Over two remarkable days this week, Paul has been putting Trudeau and the Liberals on the hook for the strife that’s imploding within her party. If nothing else, this is a definite break from the past, […]
Where is the outrage over Quebec’s discriminatory law?
Fri., June 18, 2021timer3 min. read Want to see outrage these days? Mention any issue that even smacks of racism or prejudice and you will see Canadians respond with anger and passion. Why has this energy not extended to Quebec’s Bill 21? If there ever was a law that flies in the face of everything […]
After Trudeau, no one will ever believe another word about ‘respecting’ Parliament
The way government House leader Pablo Rodriguez tells the story, life in a minority Parliament absolutely sucks. Not for the Liberals, mind you. Rather, for Canadians. “There’s one party in the House that … is using its minority to block the will of the majority in the House, and that is Erin O’Toole’s Conservatives,” Rodriguez […]
Risking the wrath of the U.S. may be Canada’s best bet for a digital tax
There’s a big idea afoot after last weekend’s G7 summit, an idea that is supposed to make the digital economy of the future just and fair. A global minimum tax is being touted as a tempting solution to so many problems — inequality, middle-class erosion, greedy corporations, and tech behemoths that have rolled all over […]
Stop trying to elect senators, Alberta
Oil and gas have traditionally been Alberta’s primary exports, but bad political ideas are a close second. This year is set to produce a bumper crop of them, with a referendum on the federal equalization program scheduled for October and the ongoing silliness of the province’s “Fair Deal Panel” threatening to put things like an […]
So, it’s over. Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin wrapped up their sessions in Geneva, Switzerland, and the deeper assessment of the American President’s foreign trip has begun. He had quite a timetable: G7, Boris Johnson, Queen Elizabeth, the EU, NATO and, finally, the critical one-on-one with Putin. There are general developments that we can take […]
Read MoreAs Canada begins to emerge from the third, and hopefully last, wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are many lessons that have been learned over the past year and half. Among these lessons, the pandemic has fostered a greater appreciation for the fixed and wireless broadband networks that allowed Canadians to stay connected, conduct business, […]
Read MoreIt was on this date in 1973 that India’s famed Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, addressed Canada’s MPs and Senators sitting in joint session. One of the most fascinating world leaders of her time, Prime Minister Gandhi served in India’s top job from 1966 to 1977, and then again until 1984. Sadly, for her nation and […]
Read MoreIf you asked Justin Trudeau who worries him more – Erin O’Toole or Jagmeet Singh – the odds are high he would say the NDP leader, rather than the Conservative. With the march to a fall election apparently inexorable, O’Toole has focused on the prime minister’s competence, or lack of, to no great effect.
Read MoreWhether it’s losing the fight against the federal carbon tax or having their legislation overturned, conservative provincial governments are getting their butts kicked in Canada’s courts lately. But Ontario Premier Doug Ford appears to have landed on a new strategy: overruling them.
Read MoreMaybe you think Doug Ford was wrong to invoke the notwithstanding clause to save his election spending law, Bill 254, after a judge overturned parts of it on Charter grounds. Maybe you think the increasing tendency for premiers like Mr. Ford to make use of it shows the clause should never have been adopted. Alternatively, […]
Read MoreWhen exactly did Canada become a Constitution-bashing country? For nearly 30 years, the political class has adhered to an unwritten ban on talking about the Constitution. But that passive aggression seems to have given way recently to outright kicks at the constitutional can. Three provinces — Ontario, Quebec and Alberta — have taken some runs […]
Read MoreIt was on this date in 1990 that the great Nelson Mandela, freed from prison in Apartheid South Africa only weeks earlier, arrived here in Canada for a triumphant visit. The highlight of his trip occurred on June 18, 1990 when he delivered a historic address to our Parliament, thanking our country and Prime Minister […]
Read MoreThere was a time in Alberta when mention of a Triple-E senate would get the citizenry excited and filled with hope. No longer. On Tuesday, Premier Jason Kenney stood in the legislature to enter Motion 85 formally requesting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to respect the democratic voices of Albertans and refrain from filling Alberta’s two […]
Read MoreThe strange period from 1987 to 1993 is like a fever dream for me. It was the age of Meech Lake and Charlottetown accords, ripe with possibility of real Canadian democratic reform, and even a Triple E Senate that would have given all provinces the same number of senators, thus ending the dominance of Quebec […]
Read MoreEntertainment Plus
‘Springsteen on Broadway’ clears way for AstraZeneca recipients to attend show
The theatre behind a Broadway production featuring Bruce Springsteen says it’s now able to welcome audience members who received the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. Jujamcyn Theaters had previously said audience members wishing to attend “Springsteen on Broadway” needed to be immunized with vaccines approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, leaving those who received AstraZeneca […]
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