Sep 20 2020 — Chantal Hébert — St. Catharines Standard — The presentation next week of the second speech from the throne in less than a year will formally reset the clock on Justin Trudeau’s second term government. But for how long? Minority government typically survive the confidence vote associated with a throne speech and there are many reasons to believe it will again be the […]
Sep 12 2020 — Chantal Hébert — St. Catharines Standard — Voters will get a glimpse at how incoming federal Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole fares on a tightrope when he holds his introductory meeting with Quebec premier François Legault on Monday. Over the first weeks of his leadership, O’Toole has sounded determined to break with some of the ways of his predecessors. Stephen Harper never wanted […]
Sep 5 2020 — Chantal Hébert — St. Catharines Standard — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau believes enough Canadians are craving for an activist post-pandemic agenda to earn the Liberals another mandate. But what if he is misreading the public mood? Come Sept. 23, the Liberals will gamble the life of their minority government on a throne speech that, if the advance billing is to be believed, […]
Aug 30 2020 — Chantal Hébert — St. Catharines Standard — On his way to winning the Conservative leadership, Erin O’Toole decisively beat his rivals in Quebec. But their battle was fought in a field of ruins. In the big picture, the campaign in Quebec to succeed Andrew Scheer took place in closed circuit, at a potentially unbridgeable distance from the province’s political mainstream. Year in […]
Aug 22 2020 — Chantal Hébert — St. Catharines Standard — Here is a bit of free advice for Canada’s incoming Conservative leader: treat the abrupt prorogation of Parliament as a welcoming gift. By putting Parliament on pause until Sept. 23 and the presentation of a new Throne Speech, the prime minister has effectively shut down the opposition-dominated committees that were looking into the WE Charity […]
Jun 28 2020 — Chantal Hébert — Niagara Falls Review — With the best of intentions, the prominent Canadians who would have Prime Minister Justin Trudeau enter into a quid pro quo with China to secure the freedom of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor have done their cause more harm than good. In a letter to Trudeau dated June 23, 19 high-profile signatories, including former parliamentarians […]
Jun 20 2020 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — On the heels of back-to-back leadership debates, the campaign to succeed Andrew Scheer as federal Conservative leader is more than ever Peter MacKay’s to lose. Going into the debates, the former minister was already the widely perceived front-runner in the race.
Jun 13 2020 — Chantal Hébert — Cambridge Times — With cameras in tow, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was out touting one of his government’s pandemic relief programs in an Ottawa-area business on Thursday. A week ago, Trudeau joined an anti-racism march in progress on Parliament Hill.
Jun 8 2020 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — I’ve never competed for a position against a non-white colleague. Had that happened at some point over the 45 years I’ve spent in journalism, it’s very likely the dice would have been loaded in my favour.
May 30 2020 — Chantal Hébert — The Peterborough Examine — Based on the recent past, the tears provincial and federal leaders shed over the failings of long-term care in Canada tend to dry up fast. If only for that reason, waiting for one or more post-pandemic inquiries to come up with advice as to how to address the oft-documented problems that plague the system may […]
May 23 2020 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — By the time Andrew Scheer hands over the Conservative party to a successor in late August, he will have been at the helm for a mere 39 months. As it turns out, that will have been more than long enough to squander the key pieces of Stephen Harper’s legacy. That starts with the status of […]
May 16 2020 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — In normal circumstances, the crowning this week of Dominique Anglade as the first ever female leader of Quebec’s Liberal party would have ranked as a top political development. Anglade, a former deputy premier of Haitian origin, made history on two fronts. It is the first time in Canada that a major provincial party is led […]
May 10 2020 — Chantal Hébert — Windsor Star — It is not necessary to subscribe to the horse-before-the-cart speculation about a snap federal election this fall to know that once Canada really is in post-pandemic territory, pressure will be on Justin Trudeau to cash in his electoral chips and make a bid for a governing majority. At that point, there will not lack for […]
May 2 2020 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — Since COVID-19 caught up with Canada, no government decision has been quite as controversial as the bid by Quebec Premier François Legault to take the lead on the rest of the country by reopening part of his province’s school system later this month. Based on the current plan, all Quebec elementary schools and child-care centres […]
Apr 25 2020 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — Canada’s climate-change agenda was a casualty of the 2008 global financial crisis. Will history repeat itself post-pandemic? The 2008 storm hit as voters were headed to the polls in a federal election. One of its immediate consequences was to sweep the campaign carpet from under then-Liberal leader Stéphane Dion and his climate-change platform.