Dec 7 2021 — John Ivison — National Post — A new report into Ottawa’s spending by the Parliamentary Budget Office suggests that economist Milton Friedman was not wrong when he said there is nothing so permanent as a temporary government program. The PBO looked at what are known as the “Supplementary B Estimates” – the latest submission to Parliament by the government, seeking approval […]
Dec 6 2021 — John Ivison — National Post — Dominic Barton said that his decision to step down as Canada’s ambassador in China is personal and not related to any policy friction with the government. That may well be the case — he declared his “core mission” was securing the release of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor from Chinese jails and he has good […]
Dec 3 2021 — John Ivison — National Post — The typical bank economist is so boring that a near-death experience would see someone else’s life flash before their eyes. They are, by nature, irresolute – “on the one hand….but on the other.” That is why a special report that emerged from National Bank Financial this week was so startling – a compelling, unequivocal look […]
Nov 30 2021 — John Ivison — National Post — The belief in government appears to be that the less the opposition parties and the media know about what is going on, the better. Erin O’Toole made light of Justin Trudeau’s description of the 2021 general election as a “pivotal, consequential moment for Canada” in his reply to last week’s Throne Speech. “It was so […]
Nov 26 2021 — John Ivison — National Post — Justin Trudeau saw for himself the impact of the atmospheric river that broke rainfall records in British Columbia, leaving dikes breached, homes submerged, highways washed out and livestock drowned. Another pulse of storms is forecast for this weekend. “We’ll see what God has in store,” one resident told Global TV, stoically.
Nov 25 2021 — John Ivison — National Post — How it started: the first question period of the 44th Parliament began with Conservative leader Erin O’Toole saying how nice it was to see MPs in their seats, before cordially inquiring for an update on the situation on the B.C. floods. How it ended: Justin Trudeau complained that the Conservatives had not asked any questions […]
Nov 23 2021 — John Ivison — National Post — Now the Canadian Senate has moved off Parliament Hill, it really is the Outer Mongolia of our political institutions. But since it’s nice to go anywhere these days, I headed down to watch the new Governor General Mary Simon read the Throne Speech in Inuktitut, English and what may have been French.
Nov 18 2021 — John Ivison — National Post — One early December morning in 2016, Joe Biden got up, inquired into President Barack Obama’s health, and set off for a snowy Ottawa. The lame duck vice-president was feted at a ritzy state dinner in the capital, where he called on Justin Trudeau to be a defender of the international “rules of the road” during […]
Nov 12 2021 — John Ivison — National Post — Stephen Harper had a reputation as a strict disciplinarian when it came to caucus management but, in fact, his MPs most often policed themselves, with discipline enforced by a sense of mutual respect and common purpose. One former Conservative MP said caucus regulation was a collective effort. “We kept it under control ourselves. You always […]
Nov 8 2021 — John Ivison — National Post — As Justin Trudeau presided over his first Liberal caucus meeting since the election, he must have been snickering up his sleeve. In September, he barely hung on to his minority government status, winning the support of just one in five of those on the elector’s list — one third of the 62 percent who voted. […]
Nov 8 2021 — John Ivison — National Post — “Canada is having a good week,” reported Jonathan Wilkinson, the natural resources minister, from the COP26 conference in Glasgow – as if Ottawa is resolving the climate crisis singlehandedly. Yet, as a call organized by the Business Council of Canada with some of this country’s biggest corporations made clear, it is corporate Canada that is […]
Nov 3 2021 — John Ivison — National Post — The government will raise the Maple Leaf on federal buildings in time for them to be lowered to half-mast to honour Canada’s war dead on Remembrance Day, according to a senior Liberal source. Justin Trudeau hinted that a resolution was imminent this week when he said the government is working with Indigenous groups to find […]
Nov 3 2021 — John Ivison — National Post — It’s a rare occurrence – roughly on par with a total eclipse of the sun – but sometimes this column concedes that Justin Trudeau is right. The prime minister is at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, known without irony as the Dear Green Place, despite its tendency for ominous grey clouds (Scottish comedian Billy […]
Oct 30 2021 — John Ivison — National Post — It was a more subdued Steven Guilbeault who spoke to the media on Friday morning, than the swaggering figure who appeared after his first cabinet meeting as environment minister earlier in the week. Then, there was a triumphant tone to comments about how his government plans to reduce emissions from the oil and gas sector, […]
Oct 27 2021 — John Ivison — National Post — ‘This is Canada’s first NDP prime minister,’ said one Liberal. The reaction to the most recent cabinet shuffle from a number of current and former Liberal caucus members was visceral.