National Newswatch

David Johnston sneers at the public in Chinese interference report

May 24 2023 — Sabrina Maddeaux — “Democracy is built on trust,” reads the first line of special rapporteur David Johnston’s report on foreign interference. He’s right about that, which is why it’s a travesty that, 55 pages and one rambling news conference later, Johnston failed to take the one action that could begin to restore public trust in Canada’s system. Johnston, […]

Under Trudeau, mediocre civil servants give themselves an A+

Feb 14 2023 — Sabrina Maddeaux — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s tagline “everything feels broken” elicits indignant eyerolls and denials from Liberals, but scathing new testimony from Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) Yves Giroux adds credibility to the claim. On Tuesday, Giroux spoke to the Senate Finance Committee, delivering a series of what Politico called “sick burns” to paint a picture of a […]

John Tory helmed Toronto’s decade of undeniable decline

Feb 12 2023 — Sabrina Maddeaux — In 1991, Japan began its lost decade — in 2014, Toronto entered one of its own. This is when John Tory’s election as mayor initiated a yawning stretch of undeniable decline. Perhaps, with his resignation, the city still has a chance. On Friday night, shockwaves reverberated across the country as the Toronto Star first reported […]

Stop punishing victims of crime who exercise self-defence

Jan 12 2023 — Sabrina Maddeaux — Over the past few years, Canadian police have had some trouble telling victims of crime and criminals apart. This is because self-defence is treated less like a right in this country and more like a wishy-washy theory subject to the emotional, moral and even political leanings of law enforcement. The bottom line: if you ever […]

Stop quivering Liberals, and stand up to the Chinese bully

Nov 17 2022 — Sabrina Maddeaux — Xi Jinping’s public dressing down of Justin Trudeau was a bully tactic, meant to intimidate and humiliate. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s dressing down of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the G20 summit was as close to Real Housewives-style table flipping as intergovernmental forums get — at least publicly, anyway. The decision to confront Trudeau in […]

Renewed mask mandates? Enough to drive us all mad

Nov 11 2022 — Sabrina Maddeaux — While writing this column, my finger slipped, and I accidentally typed “mad mandates” instead of “mask mandates.” It so happens my mistake was apt for the situation at hand. Nearly three years into the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s positively mad that some people still advocate for mask mandates as a go-to public health tool. In Ontario, […]

Doug Ford musn’t be allowed to duck the Emergencies Act inquiry

Oct 26 2022 — Sabrina Maddeaux — To say no one is coming off particularly well in the ongoing Emergencies Act inquiry is a gross understatement. Each day of hearings brings new revelations about just how discombobulated and, in many cases, downright incompetent various levels of government and law enforcement were back in February. Unfortunately, there’s also little reason to believe much […]

Canadians united in their resentments towards each other

Oct 19 2022 — Sabrina Maddeaux — If you google “Canadian characteristics,” you’ll find the internet believes us to be respectful, polite, tactful and peace-loving. But what about alienated and bitter –– particularly when it comes to each other? A new Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP) poll finds Canada’s “Resentment Index” is soaring in regards to federalism and interprovincial attitudes. […]

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