Nov 15 2019 — Chris Selley — Postmedia — It has been more than a month since Federal Court Justice Russell Zinn forced the Leaders’ Debates Commission to accredit Rebel Media and the True North Centre for Public Policy to cover the Oct. 7 English-language debate. The commission had already been under fire for inviting People’s Party leader Maxime Bernier to participate, based on […]
Nov 8 2019 — Chris Selley — Postmedia — At a Wednesday press conference in Ottawa, a Globe and Mail reporter asked Andrew Scheer if he believes homosexuality is a “sin.” He didn’t answer, as has become his trademark on this file; instead he pledged, for the umpteenth time, simply to stand up for gay rights in all their forms. It has been maddening […]
Oct 31 2019 — Chris Selley — National Post — There are many things for the Conservative Party of Canada to ponder in the wake of their election-night performance last week, and one of them is certainly Andrew Scheer’s leadership. It should by no means be beyond reproach. Quite apart from anything else he signed off on a dispiriting grab-bag of a platform that seemed […]
Oct 22 2019 — Chris Selley — Postmedia — This will come as little comfort to the hundreds of Conservatives who came out here on Monday night expecting a “strong Conservative majority government” — something Andrew Scheer repeatedly assured them was in the cards, ostensibly based on internal polling. CBC was on the big screen at the International Trade Centre as the network called […]
Oct 20 2019 — Chris Selley — National Post — “Yes.” That’s all Andrew Scheer needed to say. The Globe and Mail reported this weekend that the Conservatives hired a consulting firm, Daisy group, to dig up dirt on Maxime Bernier and his People’s Party, with a goal of keeping him out of the leaders’ debates or, failing that, just generally discredit them as much […]
Sep 13 2019 — Chris Selley — National Post — “Now with 25 per cent fewer leaders.” That was Maclean’s writer Paul Wells’ very apropos quip to introduce the first leaders’ debate of the 2019 federal election campaign. Despite what Liberal partisans might tell you, Justin Trudeau’s absence is neither justifiable nor a good look. On Aug. 6, 2015, Stephen Harper, Trudeau, Thomas Mulcair and […]
Sep 11 2019 — Chris Selley — Postmedia — As Canada’s federal politicians head to the campaign trail, climate scientists warn we are at the precipice of global disaster. The governing Liberals echo said warnings. Yet neither they nor the Conservatives have a plan to achieve our existing emissions targets, never mind the more ambitious ones the boffins insist are necessary. Green Party leader […]
Aug 30 2019 — Chris Selley — Postmedia — Pre-campaign books about politicians are always interesting when the author gets significant access to the subject, because it gives the subject a chance to offer a well-thought-out and carefully considered case for his election or re-election to an impartial reporter. It’s not a press conference full of headline-hungry hacks marinating in Red Bull; it’s a […]
Aug 21 2019 — Chris Selley — Postmedia — Many Canadians have been understandably flummoxed, with gusts to outraged, by news that Elections Canada has warned organizations advocating for more forceful action against climate change that they may have to register as “third parties” for the upcoming election, and be subject to limits on advertising expenditures during the campaign. “The climate crisis is objectively […]
Aug 20 2019 — Chris Selley — Postmedia — On Sunday we learned that Jack Letts, known in the British press as Jihadi Jack, is no longer a British subject. Then-home secretary Sajid Javid and then-prime minister Theresa May reportedly approved stripping the alleged ISIL fighter of his citizenship as one of their administration’s final acts and it seems they didn’t even send a […]
Aug 1 2019 — Chris Selley — Postmedia — When it comes to Canadian politicians and money, it might be difficult to explain to a foreign visitor exactly what’s kosher and what’s not. Ontario Premier Doug Ford got some bad press this week for having promoted the Pelee Island Winery in one of his impossibly cheesy “Ontario News Now” propaganda videos, just weeks after […]
Jul 23 2019 — Chris Selley — Postmedia — It takes some chutzpah, perhaps, for the Conservatives to accuse the Liberals of dropping the ball on fixing the crumbling, asbestos-ridden hulk that is 24 Sussex Drive. “The renovation costs … are a failure that Justin Trudeau has been unable to fix in four years,” alleged Daniel Schow, spokesperson for Conservative leader Andrew Scheer, in […]
Jul 19 2019 — Chris Selley — Postmedia — Part of the standard Liberal narrative about Conservative leader Andrew Scheer is that he’s beholden to social-conservative party members who supported Brad Trost for party leader but wound up picking Scheer over Maxime Bernier on the final ballot. This explains to many Canadians why Scheer is likely to legislate on abortion despite vowing not to, […]
May 17 2019 — Chris Selley — National Post — Whatever other adjectives might describe the 2019 federal election campaign, “novel” is unlikely to be one of them. Four years ago, Justin Trudeau asked us to look past a dozen positive economic indicators and instead interrogate our feelings: “Are you better off now than you were 10 years ago when Stephen Harper became prime minister?” […]
Apr 27 2019 — Chris Selley — National Post — Robert Kokonis, president of the aviation consultancy AirTrav, told the Financial Post this week that by 2030, a family of four could “easily” be paying $600 in carbon tax for a flight from Toronto to Vancouver. That’s based on predictions and best guesses as to where the tax rate goes and how it applies after […]