Dec 3 2018 — Don Lenihan — Hill Times — Are governments losing their ability to deliver on tough planning decisions? Projects such as pipelines, hospitals, or the purchase of fighter jets are routinely changed, postponed, or even abandoned. What’s the point of having a government, we might ask, if it can’t even deliver on its own decisions? I co-chair a team of experts from […]
Nov 14 2018 — Don Lenihan — National Newswatch — If your boss is hell-bent on firing you, would you trust him to negotiate with you in good faith? Probably not. This is how some First Nations feel about the current consultations on the Trans Mountain Pipeline. Ottawa has vowed to get the pipeline built and they want it stopped. So, what’s there to talk […]
Oct 31 2018 — Don Lenihan — National Newswatch — Andrew Scheer has reportedly set up a Conservative “war room” to correct inaccurate media reports. It’s a worrying sign that the coming election will be more about populism and spin than facts and ideas. It may also be a sign that the Conservatives think their own climate change plan needs a war room – and […]
Oct 20 2018 — Don Lenihan — National Newswatch — According to the latest UN report on climate change, the world has 12 years to avoid catastrophe. Unfortunately, according to Behavioural Economics, humans aren’t hardwired to think long-term. Basically, our brains aren’t very good at assessing the risks. The irony would be comical if the stakes weren’t so high. So, how bad is it? The […]
Oct 11 2018 — Don Lenihan — National Newswatch — Nationalism and populism are in the news this week. While Stephen Harper’s new book Right Here, Right Now is getting grabbed off shelves, for my money, a more obscure release, Tom Dixon’s The Hidden Tribes of America, is a far more rewarding read. Contrasting the authors’ views on polarization says a lot about their respective […]
Sep 27 2018 — Don Lenihan — National Newswatch — #MeToo may be powered by outrage, but it is a purposeful outrage. The women coming forward and standing together know what they want to change and why. Take Canada: between 2009 and 2014, only one in 10 sexual assault charges resulted in a conviction. And the other 90 per cent? Well, either the accusers were […]
Sep 20 2018 — Don Lenihan — National Newswatch — For someone who calls himself a libertarian, Maxime Bernier seems remarkably uninterested in individual freedom. As the most adventurous experiment in generations unfolds around him, he spends his time writing tweets about diversity that would make a real libertarian blanch. So, what might a real libertarian say about freedom and diversity in reply? Let’s start […]
Sep 12 2018 — Don Lenihan — National Newswatch — What do construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline and reform of Toronto City Council have in common? Both challenge conventional ideas about democratic leadership, but in very different ways. While Doug Ford’s populism asks people to trust strong leaders, Canada’s courts are busy rethinking consultation. Who is on the right track? Let’s start with the […]
Sep 4 2018 — Don Lenihan — National Newswatch — Trans Mountain has failed the test of “meaningful consultation” with Indigenous peoples. Meaningful consultation involves dialogue and dialogue, as the court says, is a two-way street. The government seems to have missed this point altogether. As someone with a long history in dialogue processes, I’d like to say a few things about what dialogue is […]
Aug 30 2018 — Don Lenihan — National Newswatch — Whatever we may think of Donald Trump, he’s playing his cards well. The talks appear to be landing, and he is, as they say, sitting pretty. Mexico has made big concessions on cars; and Canada looks ready to move on dairy. As for the process, it’s been classic Trump: divide and conquer. Still, if Canada’s […]
Aug 25 2018 — Don Lenihan — National Newswatch — Maxime Bernier has launched a race to the bottom on diversity that Conservatives likely can’t escape. Liberals should pause before celebrating. This could be a decisive step toward the Trumpification of Canadian politics, the outcome of which is anything but clear. Bernier has a huge task ahead of him. Over the next 14 months, he […]
Aug 21 2018 — Don Lenihan — National Newswatch — Kathleen Wynne spent the last six years working on climate change, income inequality, and sex-ed – and it all vanished in a few weeks. When the pendulum swings, it can be vicious. So, when it swings back, will Doug Ford’s footprint be any deeper? Or are legacies becoming a thing of the past? The political […]
Aug 7 2018 — Don Lenihan — National Newswatch — Navdeep Bains, the federal minister of innovation, is consulting Canadians on ways to step up our digital game. So, here’s my two cents: make broadband accessible and affordable to everyone. An extraordinary experiment in Alberta (circa 2000 – 2005) shows us how. Let’s start with some context. Two decades ago, Canada was a rising star […]
Aug 1 2018 — Don Lenihan — National Newswatch — One of the oldest rubs against democracy is that ordinary people aren’t up to the job. And the friends of populism aren’t helping the cause. They’re lining up to throw democracy under the bus in the name of, well, more democracy. The result will surely be less, not more. Take Doug Ford’s decision to intervene […]
Jul 25 2018 — Don Lenihan — National Newswatch — Elections often turn on a few carefully crafted sentences – a “campaign narrative” that tells voters why they should say yes to a candidate. If Justin Trudeau nailed this in 2015, things will be a lot tougher in 2019. Last week he offered a clue as to what the new narrative might say. After shuffling […]