National Newswatch

Canada in an Increasingly Independent World

Jun 2 2023 — Glen Pearson — They are called “non-aligned countries,” and their number is growing.  Primarily, their presence is found in the developing world and they are skittish at the thought of joining global alliances that could ultimately place them at an economic disadvantage. The Cold War is not so distant that we forget it as a time when poorer […]

All Against All

May 11 2023 — Glen Pearson — It’s common enough to overcome the hyper-partisan divide between Democrats and Republicans in the United States.  It’s also popular enough to dismantle the shared faith in deregulation, free market dominance, and the globalization partnerships of the post-World War Two era.  President Joe Biden has made it clear that he is willing to build up American […]

Our Greatest Dangers are Political

Apr 17 2023 — Glen Pearson — One of the most profound debilitating realities of the Covid pandemic was its refusal to move off the scene and permit us to get back to normal life.  It lingers still, not allowing us a clean break. It’s clear that the difficulties pervading our economy are having similar effects on the emotional well-being of Canadians […]

They’re Just Not That Into China

Mar 23 2023 — Glen Pearson — The reasons why we stop paying attention to media and political narratives are many, and occasionally, they bring about a growing disconnect between Canadians in general and those who are supposed to be taking care of their public affairs and reporting on them.  We appear to be undergoing such a distancing at present. There are […]

The Long War

Mar 9 2023 — Glen Pearson — We’ve become so used to a relatively secure Europe, full of trade treaties, human rights, military alliances, and even conventions on genocide, that we are running the danger of believing it will always be this way.  We are likely wrong. For centuries, the European continent was a simmering powderkeg for every sort of aggression.  Wars […]

When “Go It Alone” Leaves You Alone

Feb 16 2023 — Glen Pearson — In a disruptive age where nations around the world are re-examining their alliances – military, economic, political – with one another, the never-boring but always risky shenanigans playing out in Britain serve as a reminder of just what is at stake when leaders aim for the ideological instead of the practical. Brexit was a planned […]

The Economic Tide is Turning

Feb 2 2023 — Glen Pearson — Canadians continue to feel that the ongoing impacts of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict are having detrimental effects on the economy overall and their own personal standard of living as well.  They aren’t wrong.  We knew collective pain was coming.  It still is, continually prompting speculation about an oncoming recession. There are signs, however, that things are […]

Are We Ready To Walk a More Independent Path?

Jan 15 2023 — Glen Pearson — “When you can get others to admire your ideals and to want what you want, you do not have to spend as much on sticks and carrots to move them in your direction.  The key is not how many enemies do I kill, but how many allies do I grow.”  The observation by Joseph Nye […]

History’s Forgotten

Jan 3 2023 — Glen Pearson — In its own way, it was gut-wrenching.  The war in Afghanistan was at its height. As part of the Status of Women Committee in Parliament, we were given the opportunity to hear and deepen our understanding of the plight of women in that conflicted land.  As a member of Parliament for a few years, I’d […]

Peace Remains a Canadian Trait and the World Knows It

Dec 20 2022 — Glen Pearson — “Peace on earth towards those of goodwill,” the old scriptures say, and it’s remained a distant ideal for millennia.   Polls from many countries reveal a clear sentiment that peaceful co-existence now seems farther away than ever.  It’s admittedly a troubled age we’re facing, and the spectre of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict preoccupies many.  Nevertheless, evidence tells […]

The Right to Exist

Nov 30 2022 — Glen Pearson — In 2002, my wife and I were invited to speak to congressional leaders in Washington D.C. and to address the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the civil war between north and south Sudan.  We had just returned from the region, and the Americans held great interest in the unfolding conflict. While meeting with the Democratic […]

The Growing World Outside of the Republican Party

Nov 15 2022 — Glen Pearson — The Red Wave that became a tentative ripple came as a surprise to most and prompted countless observations.  One of the unseen consequences of the American mid-term results has been on foreign governments and how they will now view the effects. The most immediate and obvious will be the new hopes raised in the global […]

Touching Moments of Darkness

Nov 1 2022 — Glen Pearson — Our federal politics got a chance to look in the mirror this week and what was revealed wasn’t pretty.  In fact, it was almost tragic. When Government House Leader Mark Holland talked about his “dark place” during committee testimony this past week, the session went silent, as though someone had let humanity into the room […]

Beyond Shame

Oct 26 2022 — Glen Pearson — “Beyond shame there is politics,” noted Gerard de Marigny in an unfiltered moment.  Most of us now feel we are living in such an age.  Politics always had the element of the unpredictable and disruptive, but this era has revealed a new willingness to venture as close as possible to the political edge without falling […]

The Warning Signs are Still There

Oct 10 2022 — Glen Pearson — We wish it to be over so we might get on with business as usual.  Sometimes politicians assist us in moving in that direction, as when American president Joe Biden recently noted that “the pandemic is over” – something Dr. Anthony Fauci wisely observed was a “matter of semantics.”  Canadian politicians are primarily in the […]

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