Apr 14 2018 — Tonda MacCharles — Toronto Star — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will hug just about anyone. But he is about to drop the niceties. He’s asked B.C. Premier John Horgan and Alberta Premier Rachel Notley — NDP leaders both — to meet him in Ottawa Sunday to grapple with what seem like irreconcilable differences. Texas-based Kinder Morgan Inc. announced last Sunday it […]
Mar 2 2018 — Tonda MacCharles — Toronto Star — Finance Minister Bill Morneau is again fending off accusations he is in a “perceived conflict of interest” on the newly promised national pharmacare program because of his previous ties to Morneau Shepell, a pension and benefits consulting firm. After first winning plaudits for Tuesday’s budget announcement that the Liberal government is looking to chart the […]
Feb 15 2018 — Tonda MacCharles — Toronto Star — Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland met unexpectedly with Donald Trump’s trade czar out of the public eye Wednesday, a meeting her office described as “cordial and constructive.” Freeland met with United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer at his office at the end of the afternoon on Wednesday in Washington, D.C. – a meeting his […]
Feb 13 2018 — Tonda MacCharles — Toronto Star — The Liberal government will propose Criminal Code changes next month to reform jury selection rules, bail processes and other justice measures that it says have long led to unfair treatment of Indigenous people in Canada’s legal system. It comes on the heels of the controversial acquittal of a Saskatchewan farmer in the death of Colten […]
Feb 12 2018 — Tonda MacCharles — Toronto Star — The family of a slain young Cree man met with Trudeau government ministers Monday, and afterwards issued a quiet but forceful call for change, saying reforms to jury-selection rules in the wake of his killer’s acquittal are one “quick fix.” Hours later it appeared their voices and the voices of hundreds of supporters had been […]
Jan 29 2018 — Tonda MacCharles — Toronto Star — NAFTA trade talks look set to go to the next round of negotiations in Mexico City and possibly another round after that, a sign that, at the very least, nobody has quit trying to reach a deal. Round seven is set for Feb 25th in Mexico, said one source speaking on background. Round eight was […]
Jan 25 2018 — Tonda MacCharles — Toronto Star — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended his decision to sign a trans-Pacific trade deal that excludes the United States and says he is sure a new North American trade pact is within reach. “I know that we are going to be able to get there,” Trudeau said, “because so many jobs in Canada, in the United […]
Jan 5 2018 — Tonda MacCharles — Toronto Star — The Toronto Right to Life Association is taking the federal Liberal government to court over its decision to limit Canada Summer Jobs Program funding to groups whose “core mandate” respects charter rights, including the right to have an abortion, according to government officials. Two officials who spoke to the Star say the Liberal government hasn’t […]
Dec 9 2017 — Tonda MacCharles — Toronto Star — For once, Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin’s famous composure crumpled. As Canada’s top judge bade a public farewell Thursday from her centre perch on the bench of the Supreme Court of Canada, she struggled to steady her voice and stop the tears.
Nov 29 2017 — Tonda MacCharles — Toronto Star — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will announce his selection for a vacant seat on Canada’s top court Wednesday. In an invitation sent to faculty and students at the University of Ottawa law school, Trudeau revealed he’ll name the person to fill the Supreme Court of Canada seat that, by tradition, has been held by a judge […]
Nov 20 2017 — Tonda MacCharles — Toronto Star — The Opposition says it will not support the Liberal bill to overhaul national security, with Conservatives ripping Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government as soft on terrorists in the face of returning Daesh fighters. The political attack by the Conservatives came as parliamentary debate finally got underway on Bill C59 – a massive security package introduced […]
Nov 14 2017 — Tonda MacCharles — Toronto Star — The “deliverology” mantra of the Trudeau government has delivered a new toy. The Liberal government has set up a new website to publicly report on the progress — or lack thereof – that federal departments are making on the marching orders Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered to each minister when his government came to power […]
Oct 31 2017 — Tonda MacCharles — Toronto Star — Finance Minister Bill Morneau is in the process this week of selling all his and his family’s shares in Morneau Shepell, the company his father founded and together, over 25 years, they expanded. And his office says Morneau intends to donate not just any profits on the value of his shares since taking office, but […]
Oct 27 2017 — Tonda MacCharles — Toronto Star — No doubt, the finance minister, a multimillionaire, has baked himself a cowpie. But ethics watchdog Mary Dawson provided some of the ingredients. A poster at a children’s community centre hung over Bill Morneau’s shoulder Wednesday as he fielded reporters’ questions about ethics: “Life is what you bake it.” Unquestionably, Morneau, a multimillionaire, has baked himself […]
Oct 25 2017 — Tonda MacCharles — Toronto Star — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says “there is no conflict of interest” in Bill Morneau’s role in approving a multi-million loan to Bombardier despite his holding shares in Morneau Shepell, which does pension work for the aerospace giant. Nevertheless, Morneau will proceed to sell those shares and meets with Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner Mary […]