Nov 21 2019 — Heather Scoffield — Toronto Star — Justin Trudeau frittered away a full month after the election to come up with a new cabinet. During that month, Premiers Jason Kenney and Scott Moe mobilized their anti-Liberal supporters, amplified the animosity that was left behind by the Liberals in the election campaign and deftly set an agenda for the prime minister that now […]
Nov 20 2019 — Heather Scoffield — Toronto Star — The Liberal government committed to more than half a billion dollars in unbudgeted spending during the two months leading up to the federal election campaign, documents reveal — and the money was promised at a time when the opposition parties faced new restraints on what they were allowed to spend before the writ was dropped. […]
Nov 17 2019 — Heather Scoffield — Toronto Star — Dear Minister of Social Development, Nowhere is the age of disruption more present in people’s lives than in the world of work. We have chosen you to figure out the best role for government in mitigating the harm and amplifying the benefits of automation, labour shortages, an aging workforce, and mismatched skills. You will also […]
Nov 16 2019 — Heather Scoffield — Toronto Star — Dear Minister, With our two biggest trade partners fully engaged in a fight for global supremacy, Canada is in a precarious spot right now when it comes to international trade — the lifeblood of our private sector and our economic prosperity. I am so pleased you have agreed to take on the job of navigating […]
Nov 14 2019 — Heather Scoffield — Toronto Star — Justin Trudeau is building his new cabinet at a time when global uncertainty is threatening growth, trade, investment and Canada’s place in the world. As he puts together mandate letters to define expectations for his ministers, here is our own letter-writing attempt with a few suggestions for the finance minister. Dear Minister, Congratulations on becoming […]
Nov 11 2019 — Heather Scoffield — Toronto Star — David Dodge, the man who successfully pushed for the drastic government spending cuts in the 1990s, says it’s quite OK for Ottawa to be running a bit of a deficit these days. Dodge, who went on to become the governor of the Bank of Canada in the 2000s and is now a consultant, has developed […]
Nov 8 2019 — Heather Scoffield — Toronto Star — There’s nothing that unites Conservatives like a clarion call for lower taxes — and since the Conservatives need some uniting right now, that’s where Andrew Scheer went this week after his first post-election caucus meeting. “I have never known a problem that is solved by a new tax,” Scheer told reporters Wednesday evening after a […]
Nov 7 2019 — Heather Scoffield — Toronto Star — Someone with a big name who is respected in the West. Someone who understands the business community, investment flows and corporate decision-making. Someone who can talk to both the Liberals and Conservatives eye-to-eye. Someone who can thread the needle on climate change and economic growth, while winning over the confidence of the oilpatch. That’s who […]
Oct 30 2019 — Heather Scoffield — Toronto Star — Without federal-provincial co-operation, Ottawa doesn’t meet its climate targets. With out federal-provincial co-operation, provinces don’t get the right help they need in the next economic downturn. Without federal-provincial co-operation, Ottawa can’t negotiate a national pharmacare program. Without federal-provincial co-operation, provinces won’t get the infrastructure funding they have been counting on.
Oct 27 2019 — Heather Scoffield — Toronto Star — We could all do with a dose of Jim Prentice right about now. Prentice was briefly the Conservative premier of Alberta and before that a longtime cabinet minister under Stephen Harper. He died in a plane crash in 2016, but he left us a book and many of his thoughts. They sure could come in […]
Oct 25 2019 — Heather Scoffield — Toronto Star — The last remaining vestiges of fiscal discipline risk getting tossed out the window now that voters have reduced the Liberals to a minority government. During the campaign, the Liberals promised to keep the deficit under control all while cutting some taxes and increasing spending on some new initiatives. The commitment was to keep the debt […]
Oct 18 2019 — Heather Scoffield — Toronto Star — My two teenagers have had more exposure to federal politics than most people would find decent, but it means they’re in fine shape to participate in the electoral process — even though they’re not quite of voting age. They’ve shaken hands with Stephen Harper a couple of times. Elizabeth May once invited them to a […]
Oct 15 2019 — Heather Scoffield — Toronto Star — At the centre of the affordability promises that dominate every party’s platform in this election campaign is a riddle: it seems like everyone has a job, so why is no one able to make ends meet? Employers in Canada have been on a tear, as Justin Trudeau reminds us several times a day. The numbers […]
Oct 12 2019 — Heather Scoffield — Toronto Star — The Conservatives have finally shown on paper how they would achieve what they’ve promised for months now: a balanced budget within five years, by squeezing the civil service, tightening their fist around operating budgets and delaying billions in infrastructure spending. Released on the Friday afternoon before Thanksgiving weekend, just as advance polls opened across the […]
Oct 8 2019 — Heather Scoffield — Toronto Star — In the waning days of the last Parliament, Canada’s CEOs publicly called on the country’s political parties to keep immigration off the table in this fall’s election campaign. Their wish came true, more or less, until this week. With Alberta Premier Jason Kenney bursting into the suburbs around Toronto on the weekend, and the presence […]