May 13 2021 — Don Martin — CTV News — The original public health message from just five or six weeks ago was short, simple and effective. Vaccines are the gateway to a near-normal summer and the best vaccine is the first one available. But like everything else about COVID-19 in Canada, the only constant is inconsistency and the only consistency is confusion. So now, […]
May 5 2021 — Don Martin — CTV News — As former Alberta premier Ralph Klein used to say, the secret to being a successful politician is to figure out which way the parade is going and jump in front of it. So spare some pity for current Premier Jason Kenney as he tries to straddle two marching bands of public opinion, which are on […]
Apr 29 2021 — Don Martin — CTV News — It’s a mid-sized pipeline with a bland name, but it packs a helluva punch to Central Canada’s energy supply. Meet Line 5, a critical connection that will be ordered offline in just two weeks, an unjustified act of treaty-breaking hostility by our American neighbours. The impact of any shutdown will be widely felt in Ontario […]
Apr 20 2021 — Don Martin — CTV News — Whenever Doug Ford puts on that feel-your-pain “folks, I’m being honest with you” face, his pandemic-fighting plan from yesterday is about to be slammed into reverse – and replaced by something even worse. I’ve been watching politicians since covering Calgary city council alongside a television reporter and future premier named Ralph Klein – yes, I’m […]
Apr 19 2021 — Don Martin — CTV News — Reading the federal budget spending spree as it scrolls on for 720-plus pages, a certain numbness takes hold. The columns traditionally assigned millions of dollars are now given extra zeros to become billions in what my CTV colleagues tallied up as 280 handouts in Monday’s epic fiscal blueprint for 2021. It was a super-spreader event […]
Apr 15 2021 — Don Martin — CTV News — For a few hours there, it looked like Justin Trudeau had something to worry about. After all, the prime minister wants a Neanderthal to fight in the next election and Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole would’ve been dragging his knuckles around the campaign trail if he didn’t put a climate change plan on the platform. On […]
Apr 8 2021 — Don Martin — CTV News — Consider the Canadian teacher, now one of the most vulnerable professions in this pandemic. They’re surrounded by hundreds of rambunctious students infected with an energetic outbreak of spring fever. Masks regularly slip or get removed. Student groups soak up the sun between classes in close potentially-contagious circles. The youngest yearn to reach out and touch […]
Mar 29 2021 — Don Martin — CTV News — The unwritten conclusion of that scathing auditor general’s report into how the Public Health Agency botched early pandemic detection is obvious: Replace Dr. Theresa Tam. That might sound harsh for the high-profile face who has been calmly cajoling Canadians to stay home, wash their hands and, after her change of mind last April, wear a […]
Mar 24 2021 — Don Martin — CTV News — With the Conservatives reeling, vaccines rolling and job creation rocking, the election plotting wizards in Justin Trudeau’s backrooms must be gleefully rubbing their hands with anticipation. The signs of a spring vote are everywhere, notwithstanding the prime minister’s public posture against calling an unforced election. Ads highlighting the merits of government relief programs are airing, […]
Mar 19 2021 — Don Martin — CTV News — Coming soon to an airport departure lounge near you: Boarding pass? Check. Photo ID? Check. COVID-19 vaccination certificate? Whaaat? With injections ramping up quickly, the federal government should be turning its attention to the fall of 2021 when vaccinated Canadians will be salivating to re-enter global travel and large-crowd hospitality venues.
Mar 11 2021 — Don Martin — CTV News — Justin Trudeau deserves better. Specifically, the prime minister deserves a much better Official Opposition. With so much going so wrong for this prime minister, the Conservatives should be hauling in a bounty of first-place ribbons from a parliamentary field day on this, the first anniversary of a planetary pandemic.
Mar 4 2021 — Don Martin — CTV News — It’s been exactly one year since the Trudeau government finally got the message: Canada, we have a COVID-19 problem. On March 4, 2020, after a month in denial, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a top-level cabinet committee aimed at curbing the spread of a virus rapidly taking hold in Canada. It would take another two […]
Feb 23 2021 — Don Martin — CTV News — The bromance bounced back Tuesday – and it’s almost too gushy for political distancing comfort. Still, after four years of holding our collective breath following every prime ministerial meeting with the mercurial former U.S. president, Tuesday’s summit afforded a welcome sigh of relief at the happy harmony of it all. President Joe Biden poured on […]
Feb 17 2021 — Don Martin — CTV News — There will be no spring election. There can’t be a spring election. It’s ridiculous to even THINK there’s going to be an election in June with coronavirus variants spreading, the slow ramp-up of vaccines and ominous predictions of a third infectious wave on the horizon. But there was something in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s eyes […]
Feb 11 2021 — Don Martin — CTV News — A few steps from the soft drink and candy vending machines at Oakland’s International Airport is one that kicks out $200 COVID-19 rapid-testing kits. This instant-access rollout is expanding by the day and will soon be in hundreds of locations across the United States. In Canada, by starkly inexplicable contrast, more than 95 per cent […]