Aug 14 2021 — Stephanie Levitz — Toronto Star — A Conservative attack ad launched ahead of an expected Sunday election call is being criticized as dumb, tasteless and embarrassing — by the party’s own members of Parliament. The 37-second video features a cut-out of Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau’s face awkwardly pasted to the face of Veruca Salt, the spoiled brat from the 1971 classic […]
Aug 6 2021 — Stephanie Levitz — St. Catharines Standard — Linda Frum, one of the most high-profile Conservative women in the country, is resigning from the Senate, the Star has learned. Frum will retire later this month, 12 years to the day after she was appointed by prime minister Stephen Harper to represent Ontario, and well ahead of the mandatory retirement age of 75. She […]
Jul 28 2021 — Stephanie Levitz — Toronto Star — Peter MacKay hired “emergency close protection” after threats were made against his wife during his failed bid for the leadership of the federal Conservative party last year. Financial returns released Wednesday show MacKay spent upwards of $5 million on his leadership bid — including $124,000 for security guards — and still owes $800,000. His return […]
Jul 11 2021 — Stephanie Levitz — Toronto Star — In 2015, and again in 2019, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau kicked off the federal Liberal election campaign in Vancouver. This past week, it seemed like he was kicking off the next one in the same spot: on Thursday, he announced $3.2 billion over five years for child care in B.C., on Friday, $1.3 billion in […]
Aug 22 2017 — Stephanie Levitz — The Canadian Press — OTTAWA — The founder of the online news site The Rebel admits its content and management need more oversight in the wake of a string of controversies. One reporter was fired, another founder quit and two other contributors resigned last week after the outlet came under intense criticism for its coverage of deadly protests in […]
Dec 31 2015 — Stephanie Levitz — The Canadian Press — OTTAWA - Mining magnate and philanthropist Peter Munk has admitted he donated more than the legal limit to the Conservative party three different times.Munk, the founder of mining giant Barrick Gold Corp., signed a compliance agreement with Elections Canada earlier this month, acknowledging that in 2008, 2010 and 2012 his donations exceeded the maximum allowable […]
Dec 31 2015 — Stephanie Levitz — OTTAWA - The federal government appears likely to miss its target of resettling 10,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the year.An analysis of current statistics and flight schedules on the Immigration department's website suggests approximately 6,300 Syrians will have arrived in Canada by Dec. 31, if all the listed government flights arrive and no […]
Dec 24 2015 — Stephanie Levitz — The Canadian Press — OTTAWA - There is no guarantee the federal government will meet its promise to resettle 10,000 Syrians by year end, but the Liberals remain confident that resettling more than twice as many by the end of February is possible, Immigration Minister John McCallum said Wednesday.There are too many factors beyond the government's control to say […]
Dec 22 2015 — Stephanie Levitz — OTTAWA - For years, the millions displaced by the ongoing civil war in Syria hardly registered on Canada's radar, but a single death this fall suddenly brought the conflict home.And the way the Syrian refugee crisis then galvanized Canadians has prompted news editors across the country to select it as Canada's News Story of the […]
Dec 17 2015 — Stephanie Levitz — The Canadian Press — OTTAWA - Closing arguments at Sen. Mike Duffy's criminal trial will begin next year as testimony concluded Thursday with final evidence given by the senator himself.The exact date for the final phase of a trial that's carried on far longer than the scheduled eight weeks hasn't been set. Only after the final lawyers' submissions — […]
Dec 16 2015 — Stephanie Levitz — OTTAWA - Multiple government flights of Syrian refugees will land daily in the final weeks of this month as the pace of the Liberals' resettlement program intensifies with a goal of bringing 10,000 people here by year end.The next flight, a chartered plane from Beirut expected to be carrying mostly government-assisted refugees, is set to […]
Dec 10 2015 — Stephanie Levitz — OTTAWA - In 1972, Toronto MP Arif Virani's family stepped off a plane into a cold October day in Montreal with nothing more than two suitcases.A Canadian government plane had been sent to Uganda to help rescue some of the thousands of people of Asian origin the county's president had expelled.His parents, his older sister […]
Dec 9 2015 — Stephanie Levitz — The Canadian Press — OTTAWA - About 300 Syrians are expected to arrive in Canada by Saturday as the long-awaited, first flights under the Liberal plan to resettle thousands of refugees from the war-torn region finally touch down.The first aircraft is scheduled to land Thursday evening in Toronto, with a second flight arriving Saturday in Montreal, Prime Minister Justin […]
Dec 3 2015 — Stephanie Levitz — IRBID, Jordan - The Alhajalis are animated, talking over one another as they compare the prosperous and peaceful pre-revolution life they enjoyed in Syria to the daily struggles they now face as 10 of the 630,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan.Nine-year-old Adnan grabs his mother's cellphone, his two brothers and cousin huddle to play video games, […]
Dec 2 2015 — Stephanie Levitz — AMMAN, Jordan - Khaled Dos says he understands why Canada is focusing on families as it chooses thousands of potential new citizens from among the millions of Syrian refugees desperate for a fresh start.It's hardest for those with young children to find safety, either in Syria or in one of the countries they now live, […]