Jul 8 2018 — Robyn Urback — CBC — This is about hypocrisy — not about what did or did not happen at a music festival 18 years ago. It is about “believing women,” until it happens to you; about taking all allegations of sexual misconduct seriously, except if they happen to pass some arbitrary expiration date. It is about employing an unwavering zero-tolerance […]
Jun 27 2018 — Robyn Urback — CBC — If the climate in Canada were different, an 18-year-old allegation of sexual misconduct against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would be swiftly addressed, then probably dismissed. The allegation originally appeared in an August 2000 edition of the Creston Valley Advance, a small community newspaper in B.C. The editorial, which resurfaced earlier this month, claimed that the […]
Jun 15 2018 — Robyn Urback — CBC — Many more Canadians would surely tune in to question period each afternoon if we found a way to fill the benches with seals — actual seals — who would clap and honk at each leader’s statements. Mr. Speaker, because of another failure of the prime minister, Canadians involuntarily became shareholders in the Trans Mountain pipeline. […]
Jun 8 2018 — Robyn Urback — CBC — Campaign trails are sweet nectar to the ego. Gruelling as they might be — and they are, both physically and mentally — they also come with wonderful-feeling things like cheers from adoring crowds, photo requests from strangers and big buses with your smiling mug plastered on the side. I can only imagine how much more […]
May 17 2018 — Robyn Urback — CBC — There’s a party game called “Would you rather?” that forces participants to choose between two equally undesirable, ridiculous options: Would you rather walk around with wet socks for the rest of your life or sweat out mayonnaise? Would you rather have every song turn into a Hanson song halfway through, or not be able to […]
May 10 2018 — Robyn Urback — CBC — Long, long ago, there was a young political staffer named Stephen who helped to cultivate the populist vision for Preston Manning’s Reform Party. The relationship that this Stephen H. — or perhaps that’s too obvious: let’s go with S. Harper — would have with Reformers would eventually become strained, but much of his subsequent popularity […]
May 4 2018 — Robyn Urback — CBC — The NDP has provided #MeToo skeptics with a handy new case study: the expulsion of Saskatchewan MP Erin Weir from caucus. As of Thursday, the NDP hadn’t revealed the exact nature of the allegations against Weir — only that a third-party investigator had found merit in one claim of harassment and three claims of sexual […]
Apr 5 2018 — Robyn Urback — CBC — The campaign strategy for Ontario PC Leader Doug Ford has now become clear: say little, avoid specifics, remind voters that you are not Premier Kathleen Wynne. This is a good strategy for, say, a houseplant running to be Ontario’s next premier. In fact, I am confident a houseplant really could win the provincial election if […]
Mar 29 2018 — Robyn Urback — CBC — The Ontario Liberals’ re-election strategy, as delivered through Wednesday’s budget, appears to consist of one central promise: We’ll give you literally everything. Pharmacare for seniors. New funding for hospitals. A couple billion for mental health care. Expanded drug and dental coverage. Funding for a high-speed rail line. Hundreds of millions in new funding for children […]
Mar 15 2018 — Robyn Urback — CBC — NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh lucked out in a couple of ways when he posted one of his more sophomoric and senseless tweets back in 2016, marking the death of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. “He saw a country wracked by poverty, illiteracy & disease. So he lead (sic) a revolution that uplifted the lives of millions. […]
Mar 12 2018 — Robyn Urback — CBC — There’s an episode in the sixth season of The Simpsons where Marge tries out for the local police force. During the physical fitness test, she lumbers across a field carrying heavy anchors, shimmies herself under a wire fence and hurls herself at a brick wall that she struggles to climb over. Watching Marge attempt to […]
Mar 1 2018 — Robyn Urback — CBC — The best-case scenario would have been that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recent trip to India was merely embarrassing. His trip to China back in December was embarrassing: he left Canada amid the expectation that his visit would launch formal free trade negotiations, but returned largely empty handed except for a few side deals. The Chinese […]
Feb 22 2018 — Robyn Urback — CBC — Patrick Brown is doing this for you, Ontario. This is not about clearing his name — though he has said he’s on a mission to clear his name. This is not about exacting revenge on his enemies — but don’t forget that a small group of insiders is trying to derail him and his campaign. […]
Feb 9 2018 — Robyn Urback — CBC — There is a pattern, of sorts, to almost every legitimate high-profile #MeToo allegation. A credible media outlet publishes a claim against a particular man, usually after months — sometimes years — of investigation. The accuser or accusers are typically named, but occasionally their identities are withheld for fear of public retaliation. In the days following […]
Feb 2 2018 — Robyn Urback — CBC — When Henry Ford unveiled his brand new Model T at the turn of the 20th century, he noted that “Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants, so long as it is black.” A reader reminded me of that quote after I took to Twitter to share what might be Prime […]