Mar 29 2019 — Campbell Clark — Globe and Mail — This wasn’t the Clerk of the Privy Council making a threat. Michael Wernick was, almost sheepishly, warning Jody Wilson-Raybould about someone else. It was Justin Trudeau who wanted to get his way. Now that we have seen everything that was said in a Dec. 19 phone call between the head of the civil service and […]
Mar 27 2019 — Campbell Clark — Globe and Mail — It was hard not to feel sympathy for Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, a politician visibly struggling to maintain principles despite being a Liberal MP on the Commons ethics committee during a vote on the SNC-Lavalin affair. He was the one, among the six Liberal MPs on the committee, who had voted a month ago for a public […]
Mar 7 2019 — Campbell Clark — Globe and Mail — Not an apology. Not really an act of contrition. Not a full-throated defence. Not a detailed accounting of events. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s press conference on the SNC-Lavalin affair included an assertion that there were lessons learned although he wasn’t terribly specific about which ones. So what was that? The Prime Minister said that he […]
Feb 11 2019 — Campbell Clark — Globe and Mail — Quebeckers know that Justin Trudeau is the Prime Minister. Now the question is, Who is the leader of the opposition? Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer holds the title in Parliament, but that doesn’t mean that he will be viewed by Quebeckers as the chief alternative when they vote in October’s general election. Who will it be? […]
Jan 24 2019 — Campbell Clark — Globe and Mail — What was John McCallum thinking? The Canadian government has persistently pushed back at Chinese pressure over the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou by insisting this is a rule-of-law country where the government can’t influence judges. But then Mr. McCallum, Canada’s ambassador to China, waded in by suggesting that Ms. Meng, who is sought for […]
Jan 17 2019 — Campbell Clark — Globe and Mail — Quebec Premier François Legault has a pretty blunt message about what he wants from Justin Trudeau and other federal party leaders in the run-up to the next election: He wants them to bid for his approval. Mr. Legault went to meet the Prime Minister as the federal cabinet met at a retreat in Sherbrooke and […]
Jan 17 2019 — Campbell Clark — Globe and Mail — There have been detentions, dark warnings and a death sentence. And the rhetoric in the seething dispute with China turned strangely to whether Canada has a lot of friends. In Beijing, the Chinese foreign ministry’s surprisingly pugnacious spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, dismissed Canada’s efforts to rally international support in its tense dispute with China, using what […]
Dec 4 2018 — Campbell Clark — Globe and Mail — This wasn’t an Indian intelligence conspiracy. It was a Made In Canada farce. Read the report on the security hubbub surrounding Justin Trudeau’s ill-fated trip to India and you will no longer worry that the Indian government might be out to embarrass the Prime Minister. The Canadian government is already doing a bang-up job. The […]
Dec 3 2018 — Campbell Clark — Globe and Mail — In political terms, Scott Brison is often the minister of thankless tasks. The President of the Treasury Board handles internal government rules and processes, cost controls and contract negotiations with public servants. Now Mr. Brison is taking on one of those things governments have launched over and over again: a deregulation drive.
Nov 9 2018 — Campbell Clark — Globe and Mail — If you tried to look away from Tony Clement’s sex scandal, it kept coming back. It wasn’t, as we were told Tuesday, a matter of a single weird but sad incident where a lapse in judgment – sending explicit photos to someone Mr. Clement thought he was flirting with – turned into a situation where […]
Oct 31 2018 — Campbell Clark — Globe and Mail — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau fears that if Canada cuts off a sale of armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia, it could lead to a penalty of a billion dollars. Or billions of dollars. Lots of money, anyway. There’s no way for Canadians to know how much. Apparently the Prime Minister is not at liberty to say.
Oct 8 2018 — Campbell Clark — Globe and Mail — Canada and Mexico have just been through the same kind of trial in trade talks. The aftermath is a little awkward. The two smaller partners in the old North American free-trade agreement talked up a common front, but at key points, they let that slide to look out for No. 1. That’s the story of […]
Oct 1 2018 — Campbell Clark — Globe and Mail — No deal is better than a bad deal, Justin Trudeau often said. But when a mediocre deal comes along, you try to grab it and run. That’s what happened as NAFTA talks went down to the wire this weekend. Mr. Trudeau wasn’t as immune to deadline pressure as his ministers claimed last week. Canada was […]
Sep 26 2018 — Campbell Clark — Globe and Mail — The premier is still the premier. But New Brunswick’s election campaign isn’t really over. The province’s voters delivered not only a hung legislature but a Rubik’s Cube of potential pitfalls for any leader who tries to govern. First crack goes to the incumbent, Premier Brian Gallant. And it’s still possible his second-place standing could be […]
