Oct 19 2018 — John Ivison — National Post — The Economist this week warns policy makers to “start preparing for the next recession” while they still can. The release of the government of Canada’s annual financial report for the 2017-18 fiscal year, however suggests the Trudeau Liberals have no notion of foregoing that most enjoyable of all entitlements: spending other people’s money.
Oct 18 2018 — John Ivison — National Post — A column last week made the mistake of saying that Leo Gerard, the Canadian-born international president of the United Steelworkers union attended a ceremony in the Oval Office last March with Donald Trump, where the president signed off on steel and aluminum tariffs. In fact, the pictures of Gerard shaking hands with Trump, and receiving […]
Oct 16 2018 — John Ivison — National Post — In Parliament, falsehood often flies and truth comes limping after it, to quote Jonathan Swift. It is now the received wisdom that Scott Brison, the Treasury Board president, tried to block approval for the contract for a naval supply ship being built at the Davie yard in Quebec because he was lobbied to do so […]
Oct 16 2018 — John Ivison — National Post — Accused in the House of Commons Monday of lobbying on behalf of the powerful Irving family, Scott Brison was defiant. The Treasury Board president responded to questions about the case of Vice-Admiral Mark Norman by saying his role is to ensure there is due diligence in the expenditure of public funds. When the Liberals came […]
Oct 10 2018 — John Ivison — National Post — Canada plans to diversify away from its trade dependence on the United States in the wake of recent local difficulties with President Donald Trump. In the summer cabinet shuffle, Jim Carr became the minister for the newly minted portfolio of “international trade diversification.” But those plans have hit a snag. Trump quite likes Canada being […]
Oct 10 2018 — John Ivison — National Post — Andrew Scheer’s trip to India is probably worth the cost to the Conservative party, if only because it allows the leader to repeat his joke about Canadians not having to worry: “I don’t dance and I am not bringing a celebrity chef.” Any investment that conjures up the image of Justin Trudeau, in full sherwani […]
Oct 9 2018 — John Ivison — National Post — Many people — not least former prime minister Stephen Harper in his new book — say one reason there has not been a populist backlash in Canada is our banking system, which stood firm during the financial crisis of 2008. The reason it did so, Harper argues, is because Canada rejected the kind of deregulation […]
Oct 9 2018 — John Ivison — At one point in Right Here, Right Now, Stephen Harper writes that he does not want his new book to focus on Donald Trump. Nor does he want it to focus on himself. Inevitably, it does both. The book’s subtitle is Politics and Leadership in the Age of Disruption. The agitator in this case is […]
Oct 1 2018 — John Ivison — National Post — “Today is a great day for Canada,” Justin Trudeau proclaimed, sounding like King Pyrrhus of Epirus, just after he lost the bulk of his army in battle against the Romans. As with Pyrrhus, another victory like today and we will be utterly ruined. Trudeau claimed the trade deal signed with the Americans and the Mexicans […]
Sep 26 2018 — John Ivison — National Post — The debate in the House of Commons over the fate of the murderer of eight-year-old Tori Stafford was as bad-tempered and unpleasant as any in recent years. Justin Trudeau, who had rushed back from the United Nations in New York to handle the government’s defence of the file, was increasingly flustered, as if secretly ashamed […]
Sep 25 2018 — John Ivison — National Post — Julie Payette is said to be unhappy with her role as governor general, but she can have no complaints about the pay and perquisites that come with the office. An overview of benefits and personal considerations provided to Payette by the Privy Council Office just before her appointment in July 2017, shows that she earns […]
Sep 24 2018 — John Ivison — National Post — How do you solve a problem like Julie? The Prime Minister’s Office won’t even admit there is a problem with the Governor General, Julie Payette. Rideau Hall insists that the Queen’s representative in Canada is “fully committed to the responsibilities” of her office. “I look forward to sharing our accomplishments to date and to presenting […]
Sep 20 2018 — John Ivison — National Post — It’s a healthy strategy to be sceptical of anyone who says “the cheque is in the mail” or “I’m from the government and I’m here to help” — the more so if it’s someone from the government who tells you the cheque is in the mail. But distrust of the Trudeau Liberals doesn’t come close […]
Sep 19 2018 — John Ivison — National Post — The study, which will be released next week, is by Canadians for Clean Prosperity, a non-partisan group led by Mark Cameron, ex-policy director to Stephen Harper. “Bring it on.” That was Conservative leader Andrew Scheer’s response Wednesday to Justin Trudeau’s defence of the Liberal carbon tax and the Liberals’ willingness to fight the 2019 election […]
Sep 18 2018 — John Ivison — National Post — The concept of “leader’s courtesy” may be about to make a come-back. It might sound as quaint and old-fashioned as monacles and top-hats but it is simply a form of parliamentary etiquette that means other parties don’t run candidates in byelections in which a rival party leader is running. Green leader Elizabeth May has already […]