Nov 21 2020 — Chris Hall — CBC — Dr. Neeja Bakshi was near the end of a particularly gruelling day in the COVID-19 unit at Edmonton’s Royal Alexandra Hospital, her nose rubbed raw from repeatedly adjusting the many different N95 masks she’d donned to deal with patients — when bad started getting much worse. “We had patients crashing very, very early in the […]
Nov 13 2020 — Chris Hall — CBC — The federal government is set to introduce climate accountability legislation as early as next week to formally commit Canada to its target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The long-awaited bill will set out mandatory national five-year targets to cut emissions, starting in 2025. While the Liberal government has promised the five-year targets will […]
Nov 7 2020 — Chris Hall — CBC — Manitoba is struggling to contain a renewed surge of the COVID-19 pandemic by reimposing restrictions on businesses and public gatherings in Winnipeg and other parts of the province. “We need to focus on going out for only essential reasons,” said Manitoba’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Brent Roussin on Friday. “Protect yourself. Keep your distance […]
Oct 31 2020 — Chris Hall — CBC — Florida’s state motto is “In God We Trust,” which also happens to be the motto of the United States. But for Deborah Tamargo of the Florida Federation of Republican Women, the trust is not only in el dios but in something just as big. Tamargo is one of a record number of Hispanics registered to […]
Oct 28 2020 — Chris Hall — CBC — Joe Biden dropped in on Ottawa back in December 2016 — just a month before becoming the former U.S. vice president — to salute a Canadian-American relationship that would soon be tested by Donald Trump. “The partnership between Canada and the United States is among the most robust, most complex and most important in the […]
Oct 24 2020 — Chris Hall — CBC — Federal politicians pulled back from the brink of an election this week — but three political strategists say they believe the brinkmanship in the Commons is likely to continue as the Liberals and opposition parties grapple over the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I think that if we don’t find ourselves in a national […]
Oct 21 2020 — Chris Hall — CBC — The federal government is drawing up scenarios and preparing for weeks of volatility. The federal government is preparing for the weeks of uncertainty that might follow a U.S. presidential election day with no clear winner — by drawing up contingency plans for the border and other issues that might erupt between the Nov. 3 vote […]
Oct 10 2020 — Chris Hall — CBC — MPs will soon be asked to test a new voting app — part of the House of Commons’ efforts to make the current hybrid sitting less cumbersome for the politicians who are not attending in person. “It’s very close to being perfected,” House Speaker Anthony Rota said in an interview airing Saturday on CBC’s The […]
Oct 3 2020 — Chris Hall — CBC — Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough says the government isn’t trying to escape public scrutiny of its pandemic response, despite having shut down debate this week on her bill extending income supports to Canadians hit hardest by the spring lockdown. Qualtrough told CBC’s The House that the goal in pushing through Bill C-4 was to ensure people […]
Sep 19 2020 — Chris Hall — CBC — Minister of Natural Resources Seamus O’Regan says Canadians have to be open to the idea of more nuclear power generation if this country is to meet the carbon emissions reduction targets it agreed to five years ago in Paris. O’Regan spoke to CBC’s The House in advance of next week’s speech from the throne, which […]
Sep 12 2020 — Chris Hall — CBC — A senior Conservative MP is comparing a government proposal for online voting in the House of Commons to the dating app Tinder. Chief opposition whip Blake Richards said using an app to determine the fate of important bills after the Commons returns on Sept. 23 is inappropriate because it makes it more difficult for voters […]
Sep 5 2020 — Chris Hall — CBC — The prime minister insisted all this week that he doesn’t want an election — but even with two recent public opinion polls suggesting the Liberals’ lead is evaporating, not everyone is convinced. Justin Trudeau did the rounds of news outlets from one end of the country to the other, defending his decision to prorogue Parliament […]
Sep 3 2020 — Chris Hall — CBC — Five years ago, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau gambled that Canadians were tired of austerity when his party’s election platform took the heretical step of promising to run budget deficits over the medium term. Now, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is preparing to gamble again that Canadians will support even more deficit spending when his government rolls […]
Aug 22 2020 — Chris Hall — CBC — NDP leader Jagmeet Singh says he’s not looking to force an election this fall if the Liberal government follows through on commitments to help women and other marginalized groups affected by the COVID-19 lockdown. Topping the list is child care, Singh said in an interview airing Saturday on CBC’s The House. “Right now, the pressing […]
Aug 15 2020 — Chris Hall — CBC — Andrew Scheer says whoever succeeds him as Conservative leader next weekend will have to deal directly with the growing sense of Western alienation that’s spawned the Wexit movement and talk of separation in Alberta. “I do think that there’s a real angst out there, there’s a real sentiment of frustration and people are getting ready […]