Nov 7 2018 — Alex Boutilier — Toronto Star — A Conservative MP is stepping down from Canada’s fledgling National Security Committee after he says he sent sexually explicit messages and a video to an unknown source. Tony Clement informed the Privy Council Office, the department that supports the prime minister, days ago that he had sent inappropriate text messages to someone he believed to […]
Oct 30 2018 — Alex Boutilier — Toronto Star — Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer is pushing back on the suggestion his party is taking a more aggressive approach to reporters and news outlets in the lead up to the 2019 election. Speaking to reporters at Queen’s Park Tuesday, Scheer said he supports the role of the media in holding politicians from all parties to account.
Oct 26 2018 — Alex Boutilier — Toronto Star — The Conservative party appears to be gearing up for a fight with news outlets as part of its 2019 electoral strategy. Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer’s office has revamped its communications team to provide a more rapid response, war room-style operation. And they have not been shy about calling out reporting they don’t like.
Oct 8 2018 — Alex Boutilier — Toronto Star — One month after the deadly shooting rampage at the Grande mosquée de Québec, Canada’s spy agency quietly put together a “preliminary assessment” of the threat far-right extremists pose in Canada. The report, heavily censored and stamped “SECRET,” noted right-wing extremism and violence is nothing new in Canada — in fact, it was present in the […]
Oct 8 2018 — Alex Boutilier — Toronto Star — Canada’s top soldier frankly acknowledges there are members within the Canadian Armed Forces who harbour right-wing extremist and white supremacist beliefs. It’s obvious Gen. Jonathan Vance has given the issue much thought. “Clearly it’s in here,” Vance told the Star. Over a 40-minute interview at National Defence Headquarters, Vance repeatedly stressed that nobody holding extremist […]
Oct 7 2018 — Alex Boutilier — Toronto Star — There has been a dramatic rise in the number of white nationalist and right-wing extremist groups operating in Canada over the last three years, causing police and security agencies to reassess the threat the movement poses. But more worrying, for those who keep tabs on Canada’s extreme right fringe, is that alliances seem to be […]
Sep 20 2018 — Alex Boutilier — Toronto Star — The Liberal government will not impose privacy rules or oversight on federal political parties, rejecting a key recommendation from an all-party committee in the wake of the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal. The decision means federal political parties can continue to collect, store and use the personal information of Canadian citizens without limitations, laws or independent oversight.
Sep 17 2018 — Alex Boutilier — Toronto Star — …the talks between Alleslev and Scheer’s team began three or four weeks earlier, just a few weeks after she hosted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in her Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill riding. Above a photo of her and Trudeau on July 20, Alleslev tweeted she was “proud to be part of this (Liberal) team as we head […]
Sep 13 2018 — Alex Boutilier — If the suspense over what Maxime Bernier will call his new political party is killing you, well, potential spoiler alert. Bernier confirmed to the Star Thursday morning that his camp registered online domains for “The People’s Party of Canada” and “Parti Populaire du Canada” on Aug. 30.
Aug 26 2018 — Alex Boutilier — Toronto Star — Where are the boundaries of the Big Blue Tent? That was the central question at the Conservative party’s policy convention, which wrapped up in Halifax on Saturday. Who makes up Andrew Scheer’s conservative coalition? And what are that coalition’s priorities heading into an election year?
Aug 25 2018 — Alex Boutilier — Toronto Star — A Conservative government should get out of climate change policy, crack down on irregular migration, and exclude funding for abortion in foreign aid for maternal and newborn health, the party’s grassroots members say. Conservative partisans wrapped up a three-day policy convention in Halifax on Saturday. While there’s no requirement for Leader Andrew Scheer to adopt […]
Aug 24 2018 — Alex Boutilier — Toronto Star — Election night 2015 provided a rare sight on Canada’s political map: an entire region, down to the last riding, painted red. From the eastern tip of Newfoundland to the Quebec border, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals began the night with 32 of 32 seats — a good head start on their way to a historic […]
Aug 20 2018 — Alex Boutilier — Toronto Star — For the rookie political leader, it’s a chance to set the tone for his campaign to unseat Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government — and to pivot away from a week of former rival Maxime Bernier’s musings on the dangers of multiculturalism and “political correctness.” Last week, Scheer was forced to respond to a Bernier […]
Jun 26 2018 — Alex Boutilier — Toronto Star — “Who writes your tweets Minister? How do you find someone this incompetent (aka stupid)???” That’s how businessman and former Dragon’s Den personality W. Brett Wilson began a Twitter broadside on federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna Monday. Wilson has frequently made his displeasure with the current Liberal government known to his 178,000 Twitter followers. But what […]
Jun 21 2018 — Alex Boutilier — Toronto Star — The cohort of young immigrants was protected under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which the Trump administration announced they will phase out. They now remain in legal limbo, as court challenges against their deportation proceed and the U.S. Congress remains unable to craft a legislative solution. “While some DACA recipients may […]