Apr 6 2021 — Tristin Hopper — There was once a time when the official stance of the People’s Republic of China towards Canada was indifference spiced with the occasional Norman Bethune reference. Those days are now firmly over: Under the rule of Xi Jinping, China has adopted an openly aggressive stance towards the Maple Leaf, a position represented most notably by […]
Mar 30 2021 — Tristin Hopper — National Post — Today, the WHO will publish the final report of its investigation into the origins of COVID-19. The paper may offer some new details on the virus that has defined the last 12 months, but it would be a mistake to characterize it as a definitive or unbiased probe of the COVID-19 pandemic. Below, why we […]
Mar 19 2021 — Tristin Hopper — National Post — When Michael Kovrig got his first meeting with a consular official after a gap of more than 10 months last October, he was not aware that the world was gripped by a coronavirus pandemic that had begun just 1,000 kilometres south of his small, windowless cell at the No. 1 Detention Centre in Beijing. The […]
Jan 31 2021 — Tristin Hopper — Postmedia — On Friday the Government of Canada announced a new program prescribing mandatory supervised hotel quarantines for all travellers entering the country. It’s one of the strictest measures yet imposed in the fight against COVID-19, but it’s a measure with good precedent: New Zealand, one of the most enthusiastic adopters of mandatory hotel quarantines, has been […]
Jan 26 2021 — Tristin Hopper — Postmedia — U.S. President Joe Biden had only been in office for a matter of hours before he cancelled the Keystone XL pipeline, instantly evaporating thousands of jobs on both sides of the border, and spurring calls from Alberta Premier Jason Kenney to impose “meaningful” punishment on the United States. To be clear, Canada trying to impose […]
Mar 13 2019 — Tristin Hopper — National Post — Less than two days after taking the prime ministerial jet to Florida for his spring vacation, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used it to quietly return to Ottawa for a day of ‘private meetings.’ Trudeau and his family are currently spending spring break in a house on North Captiva Island, a remote tourist destination off the […]
Mar 12 2019 — Tristin Hopper — Postmedia — As another round of SNC-Lavalin revelations broke over the weekend, Justin Trudeau was spotted taking a breather in a remote corner of Southwest Florida. “Canada’s prime minister, embroiled in a political scandal, is now escaping to Southwest Florida,” announced NBC 2, a local news affiliate who got exclusive word of the visiting national leader.
Mar 5 2019 — Tristin Hopper — National Post — It’s increasingly clear that Canada isn’t particularly happy with Justin Trudeau for allegedly trying to interfere with the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin. As Jane Philpott said upon her resignation from cabinet on Monday, “the solemn principles at stake are the independence and integrity of our justice system.”
Mar 2 2019 — Tristin Hopper — National Post — As the Liberal government descends into full-blown crisis, Conservatives could take some satisfaction that this is all happening in part because of a long-ago measure they implemented precisely to catch Liberal scandals. In 2006, one of the first actions of the new government of Stephen Harper was the Director of Public Prosecutions Act, a measure […]
Jan 25 2019 — Tristin Hopper — National Post — Canada is currently embroiled in its worst-ever spat with the People’s Republic of China. On Dec. 1, authorities in Vancouver arrested Chinese Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, who faces charges in the U.S. of violating American sanctions against Iran.
Jan 22 2019 — Tristin Hopper — National Post — When violent rapist William Shrubsall received a rare indeterminate prison sentence in 2001, a Nova Scotia judge ruled that if he ever regained his freedom, the likely result would be more dead, injured and psychologically scarred women. There was no “realistic prospect of controlling the threat of dangerousness” from his re-entry into society, reads the […]
Oct 11 2018 — Tristin Hopper — National Post — A week after it came out, the newest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has been received very much like the previous ones: Headlines and columns warning of the dire forecasts of the world’s scientists, environmentalists brandishing it as evidence of the need for radical action and a whole bunch of folks wondering […]
Sep 24 2018 — Tristin Hopper — According to a recent National Post report, Gov. Gen. Julie Payette has dramatically slowed her participation in public events and is reportedly quite unhappy and frustrated with the post. However, Payette is said to be fully committed to the role and in a statement said she was looking forward to sharing accomplishments and new initiatives […]
Aug 21 2018 — Tristin Hopper — Postmedia — As statues of Sir John A. Macdonald are vandalized or removed in the country he founded, the late politician is also being disavowed by the country where he was born. A Monday report in The Times wrote that “all references” to the Scottish-born leader are being excised from official Scottish government websites and documents.
Aug 14 2018 — Tristin Hopper — National Post — As Canada’s relationship with Saudi Arabia remains on the rocks, ex-foreign affairs minister John Baird appeared on Saudi state TV over the weekend to denounce the Trudeau government for its “gratuitous attack” on the Saudi regime. “For Canada to treat a friend and ally this way has been incredibly unhelpful,” Baird told the English-language arm […]